Postmortem microbiology sampling following death in hospital: an ESGFOR task force consensus statement.

Postmortem microbiology (PMM) is a valuable tool in the identification of the cause of death and of factors contributory to death where death has been caused by infection. The value of PMM is dependent on careful autopsy planning, appropriate sampling, minimisation of postmortem bacterial translocation and avoidance of sample contamination. Interpretation of PMM results requires careful consideration in light of the clinical history, macroscopic findings and the histological appearances of the tissues.

abscess of the cerebellum in an immunocompetent patient: A case report and review of the literature.

Nocardial brain abscesses are uncommon and rarely occur in patients without predisposing factors. They may be mistaken for gliomas or necrotic metastases, and surgical intervention may be required to make the diagnosis. We report the first case of cerebellar abscess in a patient without immunosuppression.

Clinical outbreak of linezolid-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in an intensive care unit.

Context: Linezolid resistance is extremely uncommon in Staphylococcus aureus.

Objective: To report an outbreak with linezolid and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (LRSA) in an intensive care department and the effective control measures taken.

Resistance to linezolid is mediated by the cfr gene in the first report of an outbreak of linezolid-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Background: From April through June 2008, we identified 12 patients in the intensive care unit and 3 patients on other wards infected with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus that was also resistant to linezolid. We investigated the mechanism of resistance--point mutations in domain V of 23S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) or presence of the cfr gene--involved in the outbreak.

Methods: Strains for the study were obtained in the intensive care unit and other wards.