Diagnostic microbiology and infectious disease
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Diagn. Microbiol. Infect. Dis. · Apr 2013
Case ReportsA case of disseminated blastomycosis in Vermont.
Blastomyces dermatitides is increasingly found in Canada along the St. Lawrence River. However, there are only rare reports of this disease in New England. We describe a case of disseminated blastomycosis in a patient from northern Vermont who acquired the fungus while gardening.
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Diagn. Microbiol. Infect. Dis. · Dec 2012
Virulence gene profiling and molecular characterization of hospital-acquired Staphylococcus aureus isolates associated with bloodstream infection.
A better understanding of virulence gene profiling and molecular characterization of Staphylococcus aureus isolates associated with bloodstream infection (BSI) may provide further insights related to clinical outcomes with these infections. We analyzed 89 S. aureus isolates including 37 MRSA isolates (41.6%) recovered from 89 adult patients with BSI from 4 hospitals in Zhejiang province, eastern China. Thirty-five (94.6%) of MRSA isolates and 4 (7.7%) of methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA) isolates were resistant to multiple antimicrobials. ⋯ In conclusion, simultaneous carriage of multiple virulence genes and genetically considerable diversity were common among S. aureus BSI isolates. Furthermore, MRSA isolates exhibited more frequent carriage of superantigen genes and pvl relative to MSSA isolates. Taken together, there are distinctive virulence gene profiling and molecular characteristic among S. aureus isolates associated with bloodstream infection in China.
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Diagn. Microbiol. Infect. Dis. · Dec 2012
ReviewEpidemiology and outcomes of candidemia in 3648 patients: data from the Prospective Antifungal Therapy (PATH Alliance®) registry, 2004-2008.
This analysis describes the epidemiology and outcomes of candidemia in patients enrolled in the Prospective Antifungal Therapy Alliance (PATH Alliance®) registry from 2004 to 2008. Overall, 4067 Candida isolates were identified from 3648 patients. The most common Candida spp. were C. albicans (42.1%), C. glabrata (26.7%), C. parapsilosis (15.9%), C. tropicalis (8.7%), and C. krusei (3.4%). ⋯ The 90-day survival rate for all patients was 61.3%. Among the most common Candida spp., the highest 90-day survival rate was observed for C. parapsilosis (70.0%) and the lowest for C. krusei (53.6%). In conclusion, this study expands the current knowledge of the epidemiology and outcomes of candidemia.
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Diagn. Microbiol. Infect. Dis. · Nov 2012
ReviewPharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of 'old' polymyxins: what is new?
'Old' colistin and polymyxin B are increasingly used as last-line therapy against multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii, and Klebsiella pneumoniae. For intravenous administration, colistin is dosed as its inactive prodrug colistin methanesulfonate (sodium), while polymyxin B is used as its sulfate (active antibacterial). ⋯ As simply increasing polymyxin dosage regimens is not an option for optimizing their PK/PD due to nephrotoxicity, combination therapy with other antibiotics has great potential to maximize the efficacy of polymyxins while minimizing emergence of resistance. We must pursue rational approaches to the use of polymyxins and other existing antibiotics through the application of PK/PD principles.
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Diagn. Microbiol. Infect. Dis. · Nov 2012
Human metapneumovirus in Jordan: prevalence and clinical symptoms in hospitalized pediatric patients and molecular virus characterization.
Respiratory viral infections account for significant morbidity and mortality especially in young children worldwide. Human metapneumovirus (hMPV) causes illnesses ranging from mild respiratory problems to bronchiolitis and severe pneumonia. From January to December 2007, 220 nasopharyngeal aspirates were collected from children younger ≤ 13 years old hospitalized with lower respiratory tract infection to detect hMPV by revese transcription-polymerase chain reaction and to clone and sequence the hMPV-positive samples. ⋯ Human metapneumovirus was seasonally distributed; most infections with hMPV were reported in the late winter and early spring. The peak of hMPV incidence was in February (10/28; 35.7%). Sequencing of purified plasmid DNA was performed in forward and reverse direction to confirm the results of hMPV-positive samples which scored 97% identity to hMPV type A genome isolate NL/17/00 and showing C-T variation that had no effect on the amino acid sequence F(Phe)-F(Phe).