Practical Guidance for Clinical Microbiology Laboratories: Mycobacteria.

Mycobacteria are the causative organisms for diseases such as tuberculosis (TB), leprosy, Buruli ulcer, and pulmonary nontuberculous mycobacterial disease, to name the most important ones. In 2015, globally, almost 10 million people developed TB, and almost half a million patients suffered from its multidrug-resistant form. In 2016, a total of 9,287 new TB cases were reported in the United States.

Mycobacterial Taxonomy.

This article summarizes the most recent (since 2012) taxonomic changes in the genus Mycobacterium Only those mycobacteria that have been isolated from human specimens are included in this summary.

Defining the Clinical Significance of Alloscardovia omnincolens in the Urinary Tract.

The clinical significance of Alloscardovia omnincolens in the urinary tract has not been thoroughly evaluated. In this study, 15 patients with A. omnincolens present in their urine cultures were identified.

Executive summary: a guide to utilization of the microbiology laboratory for diagnosis of infectious diseases: 2013 recommendations by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the American Society for Microbiology (ASM)(a).

The critical role of the microbiology laboratory in infectious disease diagnosis calls for a close, positive working relationship between the physician and the microbiologists who provide enormous value to the health care team. This document, developed by both laboratory and clinical experts, provides information on which tests are valuable and in which contexts, and on tests that add little or no value for diagnostic decisions. Sections are divided into anatomic systems, including Bloodstream Infections and Infections of the Cardiovascular System, Central Nervous System Infections, Ocular Infections, Soft Tissue Infections of the Head and Neck, Upper Respiratory Infections, Lower Respiratory Tract infections, Infections of the Gastrointestinal Tract, Intraabdominal Infections, Bone and Joint Infections, Urinary Tract Infections, Genital Infections, and Skin and Soft Tissue Infections; or into etiologic agent groups, including Tickborne Infections, Viral Syndromes, and Blood and Tissue Parasite Infections.

A guide to utilization of the microbiology laboratory for diagnosis of infectious diseases: 2013 recommendations by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the American Society for Microbiology (ASM)(a).

The critical role of the microbiology laboratory in infectious disease diagnosis calls for a close, positive working relationship between the physician and the microbiologists who provide enormous value to the health care team. This document, developed by both laboratory and clinical experts, provides information on which tests are valuable and in which contexts, and on tests that add little or no value for diagnostic decisions. Sections are divided into anatomic systems, including Bloodstream Infections and Infections of the Cardiovascular System, Central Nervous System Infections, Ocular Infections, Soft Tissue Infections of the Head and Neck, Upper Respiratory Infections, Lower Respiratory Tract infections, Infections of the Gastrointestinal Tract, Intraabdominal Infections, Bone and Joint Infections, Urinary Tract Infections, Genital Infections, and Skin and Soft Tissue Infections; or into etiologic agent groups, including Tickborne Infections, Viral Syndromes, and Blood and Tissue Parasite Infections.

Achromobacter species endocarditis: A case report and literature review.

Endocarditis due to Achromobacter species is a rare, yet serious, endovascular infection. Achromobacter species infective endocarditis is associated with underlying immunodeficiencies or prosthetic heart valves and devices. A case of prosthetic pulmonary valve endocarditis secondary to Achromobacter xylosoxidans subspecies denitrificans is described in the present report.

Unusual form of oxacillin resistance in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus clinical strains.

The mechanisms by which there is differential expression of resistance to oxacillin within the populations of a single strain remains to be fully understood. The purpose of this study was to evaluate and characterize 25 GOA48 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) oxacillin-susceptible mecA-positive strains, which were obtained by screening consecutively 832 S. aureus isolates.

A university hospital's 10-year experience with tuberculin testing: value of the 2-step tuberculin skin test.

Background: The usefulness of the 2-step tuberculin skin test as a tool for monitoring tuberculosis exposure among health care workers is controversial.

Objectives: We aimed to determine the cost-effectiveness and influence of initiation of a preemployment, 2-step tuberculin skin-testing program on the annual tuberculin skin conversion rate among a university hospital's health care workers.

Methods: The tuberculin skin test conversion rates among the recipients of 31,729 tuberculin skin tests over 10 years were retrospectively analyzed.

Time to blood culture positivity as a predictor of clinical outcome of Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infection.

Few studies have assessed the time to blood culture positivity as a predictor of clinical outcome in bloodstream infections (BSIs). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the time to positivity (TTP) of blood cultures in patients with Staphylococcus aureus BSIs and to assess its impact on clinical outcome. We performed a historical cohort study with 91 adult patients with S.

Comparison of a new lateral-flow chromatographic membrane immunoassay to viral culture for rapid detection and differentiation of influenza A and B viruses in respiratory specimens.

The performance of a new rapid lateral-flow chromatographic membrane immunoassay test kit for detection of influenza virus was evaluated and compared to that of viral culture in respiratory secretions collected from 400 adults and children seen at three large university hospitals during the recent 2003 influenza season. The rapid test provided results in 15 min, with excellent overall performance statistics (sensitivity, 94.4%; specificity, 100%; positive predictive value, 100%; negative predictive value, 97.

The prevalence of heart-healthy menu items in West Virginia restaurants.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of heart-healthy choices offered in restaurants.

Methods: Menus (N=273) were obtained from restaurants in the 10 most populated cities in West Virginia. A survey assessed the number of restaurants that provide point-of- purchase nutrition information and the heart-healthy choices offered.

Introducing a molecular test into the clinical microbiology laboratory: development, evaluation, and validation.

Context: In the mid-1980s, the polymerase chain reaction methodology for the amplification of minute amounts of target DNA was successfully developed and then introduced into clinical use; such technology has led to a revolution in diagnostic testing. Despite enormous advances in the detection of infectious agents by amplification methods, there are also limitations that must be addressed.

Objective: To highlight the pertinent steps and issues associated with the introduction of an amplification assay into a clinical microbiology laboratory as well as the subsequent ongoing activities following its introduction into routine laboratory use.

Effect of social variation on the Irish diet.

Both jurisdictions of Ireland have high rates of chronic degenerative diseases, particularly of the cardiovascular system, and Irish migrants have worse health profiles, often lasting at least two generations. The influence of socio-demographic variation over the life course, and what role diet plays, has not been well researched in epidemiological terms. There is a long history of an unusual Irish diet.