Journal of medical microbiology
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Case Reports
Disseminated Nocardia farcinica infection in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus.
Here, we describe a patient with disseminated systemic nocardiosis. He had a history of systemic lupus erythematosus and had received oral prednisolone for 7 months. ⋯ There were neither clinical nor radiologic features of pulmonary nocardiosis. The patient was treated with oral trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, intravenous imipenem and surgical drainage with a good clinical response, and there has been no recurrence of the infection.
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Novel real-time PCR assays targeting the Bordetella pertussis insertion sequence IS481, the toxin promoter region and Bordetella parapertussis insertion sequence IS1001 were designed. PCR assays were capable of detecting ≤10 copies of target DNA per reaction, with an amplification efficiency of ≥90 %. From September 2003 to December 2009, per-nasal swabs and nasopharyngeal aspirates submitted for B. pertussis culture from patients ≤1 month to >15 years of age were examined by real-time PCR. ⋯ Analysis of the age distribution of RSV-positive patients identified that 129 (78 %) were aged 6 months or less, similar to the incidence observed for pertussis in that patient age group. In conclusion, the introduction of the real-time PCR assays for the routine detection of B. pertussis resulted in a 91 % increase in the detection of the organism as compared to microbiological culture. The incidence of infection with B. parapertussis is low while the incidence of RSV infection in infants suspected of having pertussis is high, with a similar age distribution to B. pertussis infection.