Clinical relevance of Scedosporium spp. and Exophiala dermatitidis in patients with cystic fibrosis: A nationwide study.

An increased prevalence of various filamentous fungi in sputum samples of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) has been reported. The clinical significance, however, is mostly unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical relevance of Scedosporium spp.

The Effect of Strict Segregation on Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Cystic Fibrosis Patients.

Introduction: Segregation of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) was implemented to prevent chronic infection with epidemic Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains with presumed detrimental clinical effects, but its effectiveness has not been carefully evaluated.

Methods: The effect of strict segregation on the incidence of P. aeruginosa infection in CF patients was investigated through longitudinal protocolized follow-up of respiratory tract infection before and after segregation.

Effects of decontamination of the oropharynx and intestinal tract on antibiotic resistance in ICUs: a randomized clinical trial.

Importance: Selective decontamination of the digestive tract (SDD) and selective oropharyngeal decontamination (SOD) are prophylactic antibiotic regimens used in intensive care units (ICUs) and associated with improved patient outcome. Controversy exists regarding the relative effects of both measures on patient outcome and antibiotic resistance.

Objective: To compare the effects of SDD and SOD, applied as unit-wide interventions, on antibiotic resistance and patient outcome.

Importance of bacteriology in upper airways of patients with Cystic Fibrosis.

Background: Recently the influence of the upper airways (UAW) on the general health of a patient with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) has been acknowledged. Surprisingly the microbiology of the upper compartment of the airways receives barely any attention in the treatment of CF. The aim of the present study was to investigate the microbiology of the upper airways in adult patients with CF, to correlate these findings with cultures from the lower airways (LAW) and with clinical characteristics.

Clinical impact of a highly prevalent Pseudomonas aeruginosa clone in Dutch cystic fibrosis patients.

Studies suggest that infection with highly prevalent Pseudomonas aeruginosa clones in cystic fibrosis (CF) is associated with an unfavourable clinical outcome. We studied the clinical characteristics of patients infected with a recently described, highly prevalent P. aeruginosa clone (ST406) in two CF centres in The Netherlands.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa genotype prevalence in Dutch cystic fibrosis patients and age dependency of colonization by various P. aeruginosa sequence types.

The patient-to-patient transmission of highly prevalent Pseudomonas aeruginosa clones which are associated with enhanced disease progression has led to strict segregation policies for cystic fibrosis (CF) patients in many countries. However, little is known about the population structure of P. aeruginosa among CF patients.

Transmission of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in children with cystic fibrosis attending summer camps in The Netherlands.

Background: Cross-infection of Pseudomonas aeruginosa has been reported to occur at holiday camps for children with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) with varying frequency. The study aimed to establish the degree of transmission resulting in subsequent infection of P. aeruginosa among CF children (n=80) attending holiday camps in The Netherlands.

Dry powder inhalation of antibiotics in cystic fibrosis therapy: part 2. Inhalation of a novel colistin dry powder formulation: a feasibility study in healthy volunteers and patients.

The aim of the present study was to perform a proof of principle study with a new colistin dry powder inhalation system in six healthy volunteers and five patients with cystic fibrosis. All subjects were asked to inhale 25 mg colistin sulfate dry powder. The patients were also asked to nebulize 160 mg colistin sulfomethate as a solution.

Can tobramycin inhalation be improved with a jet nebulizer?

Data on the pharmacokinetics of antibiotics after inhalation are limited. The aim of this pilot study was to assess the pharmacokinetics of tobramycin under optimalized and standardized aerosol circumstances and, furthermore, to be able to consider possible treatment of exacerbations with inhalation therapy. Six patients were studied after inhalation of 600 mg tobramycin.

Continuous infusion of ceftazidime in cystic fibrosis patients during home treatment: clinical outcome, microbiology and pharmacokinetics.

Acute exacerbations of Pseudomonas aeruginosa lung infections were treated with ceftazidime by continuous infusion in 17 adult patients with cystic fibrosis at home. Ceftazidime was delivered via an infusion pump and the effects of this 3 week home intravenous antibiotic treatment (HIVAT) were prospectively studied over a 2 year period. Patients with cystic fibrosis (eight male and nine female patients; mean age 26.

Salmonella enteritidis in an endometriotic ovarian cyst.

Isolated Salmonella infections are rare. In view of the rarity, we present a case of a 16-year-old patient with an endometriotic ovarian cyst where Salmonella enteritidis was isolated from aspirated material from the cyst. We include a review of the world literature on ovarian Salmonella infection from 1966 to June 1996.

Pharmacokinetics of aerosolized tobramycin in adult patients with cystic fibrosis.

This study was performed to determine the clinical pharmacokinetics of tobramycin in six patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) after inhalation of 600 mg. Tobramycin was administered with an ultrasonic nebulizer (WISTO SENIOR). Blood and urine were sampled until 24 h after inhalation.

Systemic Fusarium nygamai infection in a patient with lymphoblastic non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

We report the case history of a 35-year-old male patient with lymphoblastic non-Hodgkin's lymphoma who acquired a systemic infection with Fusarium nygamai during the granulocytopenic phase of cytostatic treatment. The patient survived this infection after haematological recovery and treatment with intravenous amphotericin B (total dose 543 mg). Subsequent chemotherapy courses were not complicated by fungal infections.

Inhalation of antibiotics in cystic fibrosis.

Aerosol administration of antipseudomonal antibiotics is commonly used in cystic fibrosis. However, its contribution to the improvement of lung function, infection and quality of life is not well-established. All articles published from 1965 until the present time concerning the inhalation of antibiotics in cystic fibrosis were collected by computerized literature search and analysed.

Diagnostic problems with imported cases of mycetoma in The Netherlands.

Eight cases of imported mycetomata in The Netherlands are reviewed. Seven of these were cultured; only one isolate, Actinomadura madurae, belonged to a species commonly known as an agent of mycetoma. The remaining strains either belonged to very rare species, such as Phialophora cyanescens, or could not be identified at all.