The Journal of infection
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The Journal of infection · Feb 2010
PTX3 predicts severe disease in febrile patients at the emergency department.
The long pentraxin PTX3 is a promising marker of disease severity in severely ill patients. In order to identify patients warranting critical care as quickly as possible, we investigated the value of PTX3 as a biomarker for disease severity in patients presenting with fever at the emergency department. ⋯ PTX3 may be a useful marker for differentiation of patients with severe disease in patients presenting with fever to the emergency department.
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The Journal of infection · Jan 2010
Use of automated repetitive-sequence-based PCR for rapid laboratory confirmation of nosocomial outbreaks.
Rapid and reliable diagnosis of genetic relatedness of clinical isolates in microbiologic laboratory is essential in case of nosocomial outbreak investigation. Most molecular techniques used to type microorganisms are technically demanding and time consuming. Currently repetitive-sequence-based PCR (rep-PCR) technique has been adapted to an automated format on the DiversiLab system (bioMérieux, Marcy l'Etoile, France). Aim of this study was to compare the performance of the DiversiLab system to that of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) in nosocomial outbreaks. ⋯ Automated rep-PCR assays on the DiversiLab system were used for MRSA, A. baumannii and for the first time ESBL-producing Klebsiella spp. and proved as a rapid and reliable method for molecular analysis of nosocomial outbreaks.
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The Journal of infection · Dec 2009
A 9 year follow up of post herpetic neuralgia and predisposing factors in elderly patients following herpes zoster.
To characterise predisposition to post herpetic neuralgia following herpes zoster. ⋯ Long term pain in the elderly following zoster is associated with identifiable characteristics during the acute illness.
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Nosocomial pneumonia, which includes hospital-acquired pneumonia, ventilator-associated pneumonia, and health care associated pneumonia, remains an important cause of morbidity and mortality. The continuing emergence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) as a nosocomial pneumonia pathogen is particularly problematic not only because of its prevalence, but also because antimicrobial resistance is increasingly associated with inappropriate empirical antibiotic therapy. ⋯ These competing goals can be achieved by using an approach that initially delivers liberal broad-spectrum coverage followed by de-escalation once culture results and serial clinical observations become available. In ventilator-associated pneumonia, linezolid has demonstrated favorable activity against Gram-positive bacteria, including MRSA, and is recommended in evidence-based guidelines as an alternative to vancomycin, particularly when MRSA is documented as the etiology.