Clostridium difficile-associated reactive arthritis in two children.

In adults, reactive arthritis (ReA) following Clostridium difficile-enterocolitis has been documented. In children, only one case of C. difficile-associated ReA has been reported.

The value of suction drainage fluid culture during aseptic and septic orthopedic surgery: a prospective study of 901 patients.

There are no guidelines on the value of suction drainage fluid culture (SDC), and it is difficult to determine whether the organisms cultured from suction drainage fluid samples are pathogenic or simply contaminants. We performed 2989 cultures of suction drainage fluid samples obtained, during a 1-year period, from 901 patients who underwent aseptic or septic orthopedic surgery (946 operations). The culture results were analyzed to evaluate their ability to detect postoperative infection after aseptic operations or to detect either a persistent or new episode of sepsis in patients known to have infection.

Outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) for the treatment of osteomyelitis: evaluation of efficacy, tolerance and cost.

Objectives: To evaluate the feasibility, efficacy, and cost of outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) in the treatment of osteomyelitis.

Subjects: 39 patients with an osteomyelitis requiring parenterally administered antibiotics for more than 4 weeks, and able to receive antibiotics at home.

Methods: All patients had a totally implanted catheter.

Dendritic cells are early cellular targets of Listeria monocytogenes after intestinal delivery and are involved in bacterial spread in the host.

We studied the sequence of cellular events leading to the dissemination of Listeria monocytogenes from the gut to draining mesenteric lymph nodes (MLNs) by confocal microscopy of immunostained tissue sections from a rat ligated ileal loop system. OX-62-positive cells beneath the epithelial lining of Peyer's patches (PPs) were the first Listeria targets identified after intestinal inoculation. These cells had other features typical of dendritic cells (DCs): they were large, pleiomorphic and major histocompatibility complex class II(hi).

Identification of new loci involved in adhesion of Listeria monocytogenes to eukaryotic cells. European Listeria Genome Consortium.

Insertional mutagenesis was performed with Tn1545 in the genetic background of an inIAB deletion mutant to identify new adhesion determinants in Listeria monocytogenes. Four insertion mutants defective in adhesion to eukaryotic cells were identified. Insertion sites were cloned by inverse-PCR and sequenced.