High prevalence of Helicobacter pylori clarithromycin resistance mutations among Seattle patients measured by droplet digital PCR.

Background: Treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection is often empiric; however, current guidelines for management of Helicobacter pylori infection advise against the use of standard triple therapy (clarithromycin, amoxicillin, and proton-pump inhibitor) when clarithromycin resistance exceeds 20%. We developed and tested a new culture-free assay to detect clarithromycin resistance-conferring mutations to determine the prevalence of H. pylori clarithromycin resistance in patients from the United States Pacific Northwest.

Prospective assessment of consensus criteria for evaluation of patients with suspected choledocholithiasis.

Background And Aim: American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) guidelines have proposed criteria to stratify patients into low, intermediate and high risk of choledocholithiasis. The criteria include variables that are readily available in clinical practice. The objective of the present study was to prospectively assess the accuracy of these criteria.

The global regulator Ler is necessary for enteropathogenic Escherichia coli colonization of Caenorhabditis elegans.

Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) is an important cause of infant diarrhea in developing countries and is useful for general investigations of the bacterial infection process. However, the study of the molecular pathogenesis of EPEC has been hampered by the lack of genetically tractable, convenient animal models. We have therefore developed the use of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as a small animal model of infection for this diarrheal pathogen.