The role of informational videos in parental education concerning retinopathy of prematurity examinations.

Purpose: To assess the effectiveness of educational videos in improving parental experience and understanding of the retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) examination and the importance of timely follow-up.

Methods: A prospective nonrandomized study was conducted with the parents of 142 patients who received ROP examinations. The analysis compared two groups of parents.

A corneo-retinal hypercitrullination axis underlies ocular injury to nitrogen mustard.

The vesicant sulfur mustard (SM) is a chemical warfare agent that causes acute and chronic injury to the cornea and proximal anterior segment structures. Despite clinical evidence of SM-exposure causing unexplained retinal deficits, there have been no animal studies conducted to examine the retinal toxicity of this vesciant. The cardinal hallmark of retinal response to stressors or injury is the activation of reactive gliosis, a cellular process largely governed by Müller glia.

Compartmentalized citrullination in Muller glial endfeet during retinal degeneration.

Muller glia (MG) play a central role in reactive gliosis, a stress response associated with rare and common retinal degenerative diseases, including age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The posttranslational modification citrullination​ targeting glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in MG was initially discovered in a panocular chemical injury model. Here, we report in the paradigms of retinal laser injury, a genetic model of spontaneous retinal degeneration (JR5558 mice) and human wet-AMD tissues that MG citrullination is broadly conserved.

Evaluation of the in vitro activity of WCK 5222 (cefepime/zidebactam) and currently available combination therapies against single- and double-carbapenemase producing Enterobacteriaceae: Expanding the zone of hope.

Cefepime/zidebactam (WCK 5222) is a β-lactam/β-lactam enhancer antibiotic designed to retain in vitro activity against Enterobacteriaceae that simultaneously produce metallo-β-lactamase (MBL) and serine-β-lactamase (SBL). Aztreonam (ATM) plus ceftazidime/avibactam (CZA) or meropenem/vaborbactam (M/V) is an attractive option for coverage of such strains, but clinical laboratories are not equipped to distinguish which is the more potent regimen to inform treatment decisions. We evaluated Enterobacteriaceae that expressed MBL and ≥1 SBL (n=15) using gradient diffusion strip (GDS) methods to (1) determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of WCK 5222 and (2) compare the in vitro potency of CZA+ATM vs.

Comparative Evaluation of the Activities of WCK 5222 (Cefepime-Zidebactam) and Combination Antibiotic Therapies against Carbapenem-Resistant .

The activity of WCK 5222 (cefepime-zidebactam) was compared to that of several available combination therapies among 30 clinical carbapenem-resistant (CRP) strains using gradient diffusion strips. The combinations included nonsusceptible β-lactams (cefepime, ceftolozane-tazobactam, and meropenem) with amikacin and fosfomycin. WCK 5222 MICs ranged from 2 to 32 mg/liter, and 97% were ≤16 mg/liter, while 105/146 (72%) combinations demonstrated inhibition below established susceptibility breakpoints.

Where should antibiotic gradient diffusion strips be crossed to assess synergy? A comparison of the standard method with a novel method using steady-state antimicrobial concentrations.

Multi-drug resistance among Pseudomonas aeruginosa in hospitals, and particularly intensive care units, has achieved alarming rates. Some combination antimicrobial therapies have demonstrated promising synergistic effects and an ability to overcome resistance without increasing drug-related toxicities. Nevertheless, rapid and feasible methods to identify synergy have not been routinely implemented in clinical microbiology laboratories.