Publications by authors named "Carlo McCalla"

Background: At a time when the molecular epidemiology of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was changing, we sought to characterize several genotypic markers and glycopeptide susceptibility features of clinical isolates from patients with bacteraemia.

Methods: One hundred and sixty-eight MRSA bloodstream isolates obtained from three multicentre clinical trials were microbiologically and genotypically characterized.

Results: All isolates were susceptible to vancomycin (MIC < or = 2 mg/L); 38% belonged to accessory gene regulator (agr) group I, 52% belonged to group II and 10% belonged to group III.

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In a recent landmark trial of bacteremia caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates, vancomycin MICs were >or=1 microg/ml for only 16% of the isolates, and accessory gene regulator (agr) function as measured by delta-hemolysin activity was absent or reduced in only 28.1% of the isolates. This clinical study did not capture a population of MRSA isolates predictive of vancomycin treatment failure.

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Background: Human babesiosis is a tickborne malaria-like illness that generally resolves without complication after administration of atovaquone and azithromycin or clindamycin and quinine. Although patients experiencing babesiosis that is unresponsive to standard antimicrobial therapy have been described, the pathogenesis, clinical course, and optimal treatment regimen of such cases remain uncertain.

Methods: We compared the immunologic status, clinical course, and treatment of 14 case patients who experienced morbidity or death after persistence of Babesia microti infection, despite repeated courses of antibabesial treatment, with those of 46 control subjects whose infection resolved after a single course of standard therapy.

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