Multiplex PCR for respiratory bacteria in acute care.

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the clinical utility of multiplex PCR for detecting bacterial respiratory pathogens in nasopharyngeal samples. Acutely ill adults in the emergency department with respiratory infection symptoms, fever, chest pain or poor general condition were enrolled for this cohort study. Samples were stored at -70 °C until being analysed with multiplex PCR for seven respiratory bacteria.

Impact of multiplex respiratory virus testing on antimicrobial consumption in adults in acute care: a randomized clinical trial.

Objectives: Inappropriate use of antibiotics is associated with development of antimicrobial resistance. In respiratory infections it is often difficult to differentiate between viral and bacterial infections, and empirical treatment is common. Enhanced viral testing is expected to clarify clinical decision-making and reduce the prescription of antibacterial agents, but the impact of such information on patient care is unclear.

Pneumonic tularaemia: experience of 58 cases from 2000 to 2012 in Northern Finland.

Background: Pneumonic tularaemia is less common clinical form of tularaemia compared with the ulceroglandular form, with only a limited number of case reports and case series in Europe. In Finland, Northern Ostrobothnia is an endemic area of tularaemia with occasional seasonal outbreaks.

Methods: In our study, a consecutive series of 58 pneumonic tularaemia cases diagnosed and treated in Oulu University Hospital in 2000-2012 were retrospectively analysed in terms of epidemiology, clinical course, and prognosis.

[Influenza A(H1N1)v-patients treated in Oulu University hospital].

Background: In Finland, the pandemic A(H1N1)v-influenza was experienced in late 2009.

Material And Methods: A(H1N1)v-patients hospitalized in Oulu University Hospital were evaluated.

Results: Altogether, 159 A(H1N1)v-patients, including 37 children, were hospitalized.

Comparison of monitoring methods for lepirudin: impact of warfarin and lupus anticoagulant.

Introduction: Appropriate monitoring methods are needed for lepirudin, a direct thrombin inhibitor, as activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) may under- or overestimate lepirudin. We compared APTT with thrombin-specific methods, also in the presence of warfarin and lupus anticoagulant (LA).

Materials And Methods: Lepirudin i.