Is disinfection of mechanical ventilation tubing needed at home?

Introduction: Home mechanical ventilation is used to treat chronic alveolar hypoventilation. Maintenance protocols for home ventilation circuits (HVC) remain empirical and unproven. We have investigated (1) the cleanliness and sterility of the HVC used by home ventilated patients and (2) the efficiency of tubing cleaning and decontamination protocols recommended to them and used for 12 months or more.

Biologically active bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloids from the root bark of Epinetrum villosum.

Methanol and water extracts of the root of Epinetrum villosum (Exell) Troupin (Menispermaceae) were found to exhibit antimicrobial and antiplasmodial activities. Investigation of the active methanol fraction led to the isolation of four bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloids, i.e.

In vitro antimicrobial activity of six medicinal plants traditionally used for the treatment of dysentery and diarrhoea in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Twenty-four crude extracts derived from six medicinal plants highly valued as antidiarrhoeal agents in Congolese folk medicine were screened for antimicrobial activity against several enteric pathogens. The results of this study indicated that the methanolic and aqueous extracts derived from three of them (Roureopsis obliquifoliolata, Epinetrum villosum and Cissus rubiginosa) possessed prominent antibacterial activity, therefore supporting the ethnomedical uses of these species. In addition, phytochemical analysis of these medicinal plants showed that 1/6 plant sample contained alkaloids, 6/6 triterpenes and/or sterols, 4/6 flavonoids, 3/6 tannins and 5/6 saponins.

Burkholderia (Pseudomonas) cepacia and cystic fibrosis: the epidemiology in Belgium.

Burkholderia cepacia has become an increasingly recognized pathogen among cystic fibrosis (CF) patients and its potential role in declining pulmonary function or unexpected fatal outcome has caused widespread concern. Direct person-to-person transmission has been documented and a segregation policy of CF patients colonized with B.cepacia from non-colonized CF patients is widely adopted.