[Argentine consensus of congenital toxoplasmosis].

Mother-to-child transmission in Toxoplasma gondii infection occurs only when the infection is acquired for the first time during pregnancy. Diagnosis of maternal infection and the newborn is achieved by a combination of serological tests, clinical features and ultrasound images. An early diagnosis of maternal infection allows treatment that offers a reduction both in transmission rate and risk of congenital damage.

Congenital human toxoplasmosis caused by non-clonal Toxoplasma gondii genotypes in Argentina.

Toxoplasmosis, a worldwide distributed zoonosis, can be transmitted congenitally affecting fetuses and developing variable clinical signs. Different Toxoplasma gondii genotypes and infective dose are related factors with different clinical manifestations. Several studies indicate that atypical strains could produce more severe clinical manifestations compared to typical strains.

[Congenital toxoplasmosis: Serology, PCR, parasite isolation and molecular characterization of Toxoplasma gondii].

Congenital toxoplasmosis diagnosis in the newborn is a very important issue due to the need for early treatment to prevent future sequels. Aim To compare available methods at the institution for the diagnosis of congenital toxoplasmosis. Material and Methods In this study we have evaluated the different diagnostic tests used in 67 congenital exposed newborns, including serological tests, PCR, parasite isolation and molecular characterization.

[Prevalence of anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in blood donors in Buenos Aires city, from 1967 to 2017].

A prevalence study of antibodies anti Toxoplasma gondii in voluntary blood donors who attended the hemotherapy service at the Hospital Alemán during the first four months of the years 1997, 2007 and 2017 was carried out and the results were compared to the study carried out in 1967. The sera where processed with the Sabin Feldman Dye Test. The global average seroprevalence in 1967 was 67.

First isolation and molecular characterization of Toxoplasma gondii from a human placenta in Argentina.

Blood sample and placenta were taken from a 37-week pregnant woman; serologic results indicated acute toxoplasmosis. Placenta was inoculated into mice. Seropositive mice were sacrificed and tissue cysts from brain were inoculated into new mice.

[Prevention of congenital toxoplasmosis in a Buenos Aires hospital].

The prevention of congenital toxoplasmosis is based on providing information to women, serologic diagnosis and treatment of the infected mother and child. In this article we present the results of 12 years of implementation of a congenital toxoplasmosis prevention program in which we measured the mother's infection incidence rate, the transmission rate and the number and severity of infection in newborns. The study was performed on 12035 pregnant women in the period 2000-2011.

Prevalence survey of healthcare-associated infections in Argentina; comparison with England, Wales, Northern Ireland and South Africa.

Background: Prevalence surveillance methodology is the systematic observation of the occurrence and distribution of healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs) so that appropriate actions can be taken.

Aim: The objectives of a prevalence survey with an international validated methodology were to determine the prevalence of HCAIs for the first time in Argentina, and to provide data which could be used for international benchmarking.

Methods: In 2008, an HCAI prevalence survey was carried out in 39 hospitals in seven of 23 provinces in Argentina, with methodology identical to that employed by the Hospital Infection Society in the third prevalence survey of HCAIs in acute hospitals in the British Isles.

[Plasmodium falciparum malaria acquired in Sub-Saharan Africa].

The purpose of this paper is to present the cases of malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum in travelers coming from tropical Africa, who were treated at the Hospital Alemán (Buenos Aires). African malaria was defined as an infection acquired in any country within Africa, diagnosed and treated in Argentina. Diagnostic tools included clinical features and optic microscopy with Giemsa stained peripheral blood films.

[Multicenter study on the prevention of congenital toxoplasmosis in Buenos Aires].

Toxoplasmosis is an infection caused by Toxoplasma gondii, an intracellular parasite of universal distribution, with a variable prevalence depending on the region. This infection causes both morbidity and mortality in the fetus and newborn. The present study is an evaluation of the Argentine Consensus Guidelines regarding prenatal prevention of toxoplasmosis.

Systemic perioperative antibiotic prophylaxis may improve skin autograft survival in patients with acute burns.

Skin autograft is the most important definitive treatment for acute-deep burns. Wound infection is the most important cause of autograft loss. Prior clinical studies have not shown any significant difference in the autograft survival rate and the use of perioperative systemic antibiotics.

[Argentine Consensus of Congenital Toxoplasmosis].

The mother-to-child transmission in Toxoplasma gondii infection occurs only when the infection is acquired for the first time during pregnancy. The prenatal and early postnatal diagnosis can only be achieved by serological testing. Serologic tests have different sensitivities, specificities and complexities, so that different tests in more than one blood sample are necessary for the diagnosis.

[Acute cholecystitis and biliary tract infections due to Candida].

Candida biliary tract infection is a rare disease. Most of the reported cases have been diagnosed in patients with surgery or invasive procedures of the biliary tract, critical illness, immunosuppression or antibiotic treatment. This report deals with an 85 years old female patient with Candida albicans cholecystitis without previous risk factors and with a literature review on the subject.

Peri-Operative Bacteraemia in Burn Patients. What Does it Mean?

Bacteraemias during burn wound manipulation are frequent, especially following burn wound excision. However, these bacteraemias seem not to have any clinical consequences, and their treatment is therefore controversial. Over a 20-month period 35 surgical debridement procedures were recorded prospectively in 18 burn patients.

Antiseptic-impregnated central venous catheters: their evaluation in burn patients.

Central venous catheter-related infections are an important source of morbidity and mortality in burn patients. Antiseptic impregnated catheters have been recommended to prevent infections related to central venous lines in high-risk patients who require short-term catheters. This prospective, randomized, and controlled study compared the efficacy of standard and antiseptic devices in reducing catheter-related infections in burn patients.

Ten-year persistence of antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen in healthcare workers vaccinated against hepatitis B virus, and response to booster vaccination.

This study estimated the number of HCWs with protective antibody levels 5 and 10 years after HBV vaccination. Kaplan-Meier probabilities of protective levels were 0.95 at 60 days after vaccination, 0.

Toxoplasmic lymphadenitis--clinical and serologic profile.

Objective: To study the serologic profile of several types of test for toxoplasmosis, in order to contribute to the interpretation of antibody kinetics.

Methods: The clinical and serologic features of 120 cases of lymphadenopathy with known time of clinical onset were studied during 18 months postinfection. Antibody kinetics was determined by Sabin-Feldman dye test, complement fixation with light antigen, IgM immunofluorescent antibody test, and IgM immunosorbent agglutination assay (IgM-ISAGA).

Catheter infection risk related to the distance between insertion site and burned area.

A prospective observational study of central venous catheters (CVC) was carried out in order to determine if a CVC inserted near an open burn wound increases catheter infection risk in burned patients. The study was carried out during a 12-month period (1998-1999) at the Benaim Foundation's Burn Unit in Buenos Aires (C.E.

Efficacy and pharmacodynamics of teicoplanin given daily during the first 3 days and then on alternate days for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections.

Fifteen evaluable patients (mean age, 67 years) were enrolled to assess the efficacy of teicoplanin, 6 mg/kg given daily during the first 3 days and then on alternate days, for the treatment of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections. Eight patients had soft tissue infections, four catheter-associated bacteraemia, two osteomyelitis and one pneumonia. Clinical cure was observed in 13 of 15 patients.

Piperacillin/tazobactam in the treatment of hospitalized patients with urinary tract infections: an open non-comparative and multicentered trial.

The aim of this multicentered, prospective and open study was to determine the clinical and bacteriological efficacy and safety of piperacillin/tazobactam (4g/500 mg IV tid) in the treatment of 79 adult patients with complicated urinary tract infections (UTI) requiring hospitalization. Forty-seven women and 32 men (mean age 54.2 years, and range 21-91) from 4 Argentinean and 6 Mexican hospitals were enrolled.

Guidelines for optimal medical care of persons with Down syndrome. International League of Societies for Persons with Mental Handicap (ILSMH).

There are numerous clinical conditions observed in persons with Down syndrome, as described above, which should be taken into consideration in the course of their medical care and management. If provided with optimal medical services, pursuing specific evaluations and examinations, with a focus on preventive aspects and fostering well being in all areas of human functioning, the quality of life of individuals with Down syndrome can be enhanced significantly and their contribution to society substantial.

[Bacterial sacroileitis. Clinical findinds and clinical course in 9 cases].

Since septic sacroileitis is one of the less frequent localizations among joint infections, we decided to review 9 cases in a retrospective study of 5 females and 4 males, aged between 22 and 60 years old. None had a clinically predisposing condition. The initiating factor was gynecologic-obstetric in 4 women, the irruption of the skin barrier in 3 cases and finally in one case the infection reached the joint through the psoas muscle.

[Kaposi's sarcoma in young adults without evidence of HIV infection].

Besides the AIDS-related form of Kaposi sarcoma (KS) there are few well-known aggressive types of this disease. These non-epidemic invasive variants of KS have been recognized in young black males of equatorial Africa and in renal transplant recipients after iatrogenic immunosuppression. We report on two white patients without known risk factors who presented an invasive clinical form of KS with negative serology for HIV infection.

[Staghorn renal lithiasis treated with shock waves. Bacteriologic aspects].

Struvite renal stones are caused by infection of the urine with bacteria that synthesize the enzyme urease. Ammonium is released by the breakdown of urea by urease, the urine becomes highly alkaline, and magnesium ammonium phosphate (struvite) and carbonate apatite crystallize. Incorporation of the infecting bacteria within the developing stone, results in a focus of infection that is resistant to conventional antimicrobial therapy, and which is manifested clinically by repeated urinary tract infection caused by persistent bacteriuria.