Impact of serology and molecular methods on improving the microbiologic diagnosis of infective endocarditis in Egypt.

Background: Conventional diagnosis of infective endocarditis (IE) is based mainly on culture-dependent methods that may fail because of antibiotic therapy or fastidious microorganisms.

Objectives: We aimed to evaluate the added values of serological and molecular methods for diagnosis of infective endocarditis.

Patients And Methods: One hundred and fifty-six cases of suspected endocarditis were enrolled in the study.

High rates of intestinal colonization with extended-spectrum lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae among healthy individuals.

Background: Infections caused by extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing bacteria become an emerging problem in the community setting in many parts of the world.

Objective: The objective of the study was to determine fecal carriage of ESBL-producing organisms in a community setting.

Methods: A total of 632 fecal specimens from healthy individuals were screened for ESBL using the agar screening test with MacConkey agar plates supplemented with 1 μg/mL of cefotaxime for selection of ESBL-producing strains and confirmed by the Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute combined disk method.