Journal of clinical microbiology
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J. Clin. Microbiol. · May 2006
Comparative StudyProspective study of the value of quantitative culture of organisms from blood collected through central venous catheters in differentiating between contamination and bloodstream infection.
Collection of blood through a central venous catheter for the diagnosis of bacteremia is a debated topic. Quantitative cultures of organisms from blood collected through central venous catheters were found to be highly sensitive, specific, and predictive of bacteremia, especially when a cutoff point of 15 colonies of skin organisms was used.
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J. Clin. Microbiol. · Mar 2006
Review Case ReportsRhino-orbitocerebral mucormycosis caused by Apophysomyces elegans.
Rhino-orbitocerebral mucormycosis (ROCM) caused by more common zygomycetes (e.g., Mucor) is known to cause rapidly fatal infections in immunocompromised patients. Apophysomyces elegans is an emerging zygomycete that has been reported to cause invasive cutaneous and rhino-orbitocerebral infections in immunocompetent individuals. Limited data exist describing the syndrome of ROCM caused by A. elegans. ⋯ ROCM caused by A. elegans is rarely reported in the literature. Most such infections occurred in immunocompetent patients, often after facial trauma. Survival in ROCM caused by A. elegans is favorable in reported cases, with prompt surgical debridement and antifungal therapy.
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J. Clin. Microbiol. · Mar 2006
Sensitive line probe assay that simultaneously detects mutations conveying resistance to lamivudine and adefovir.
The INNO-LiPA HBV DR v2 assay is designed to detect hepatitis B virus mutations conveying resistance to lamivudine and adefovir. Our study confirms that this assay can simultaneously detect the presence of lamivudine and adefovir resistance mutations in clinical samples, has a high degree of concordance with sequencing, and can detect mutants earlier.
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J. Clin. Microbiol. · Feb 2006
Comparative StudyHigh analytical sensitivity and low rates of inhibition may contribute to detection of Chlamydia trachomatis in significantly more women by the APTIMA Combo 2 assay.
The clinical sensitivity of nucleic acid amplification tests may be determined by analytical sensitivity and inhibitors in patient samples. We established endpoints for detection of propagated Chlamydia trachomatis L2 434, diluted according to swab and urine protocols for APTIMA Combo 2 (AC2), ProbeTec ET (PT), and Amplicor (AMP) assays. AC2 was 1,000-fold more sensitive than PT and 10-fold more sensitive than AMP on mock swab specimens. ⋯ By individual specimen type, AC2 confirmed virtually all PT- and AMP-positive specimens, but rates of AC2 confirmation by AMP or PT ranged from 62.9 to 80.3%. The AC2 test identified significantly more women infected with C. trachomatis (P = 0.001). Vaginal swabs appear to be the specimen of choice for screening.
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J. Clin. Microbiol. · Oct 2005
Transmission of Burkholderia cepacia complex: evidence for new epidemic clones infecting cystic fibrosis patients in Italy.
To analyze national prevalence, genomovar distribution, and epidemiology of the Burkholderia cepacia complex in Italy, 225 putative B. cepacia complex isolates were obtained from 225 cystic fibrosis (CF) patients attending 18 CF centers. The genomovar status of these isolates was determined by a polyphasic approach, which included whole-cell protein electrophoresis and recA restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. Two approaches were used to genotype B. cepacia complex isolates: BOX-PCR fingerprinting and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) of genomic macrorestriction fragments. ⋯ Most of these isolates belonged to four different PFGE clusters. Finally, a third clone comprised nine B. pyrrocinia isolates belonging to recA RFLP type Se 13. They represented three PFGE clusters and were collected in three CF centers.