Colistin Therapy, Survival and Renal Replacement Therapy in Burn Patients: A 10-Year Single-Center Cohort Study.

Purpose: Colistin is still a therapeutic cornerstone against multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacteria (MDRGN), mostly when other antibiotics do not gain adequate activity on these strains. In the present study, we evaluated in a cohort of burn patients the relationship between colistin therapy, survival and requirement of renal replacement therapy (CRRT).

Patients And Methods: Retrospective study of 133 burn patients treated with iv colistimethate sodium (loading dose 9.

Liquid and vapour-phase antifungal activities of essential oils against Candida albicans and non-albicans Candida.

Background: The management of Candida infections faces many problems, such as a limited number of antifungal drugs, toxicity, resistance of Candida to commonly antifungal drugs, relapse of Candida infections, and the high cost of antifungal drugs. Though azole antifungal agents and derivatives continue to dominate as drugs of choice against Candida infections, there are many available data referring to the anticandidal activity of essential oils. Since we have previous observed a good antimicrobial activity of some essential oils against filamentous fungi, the aim of this study was to extend the research to evaluate the activity of the same oils on Candida albicans, C.

In vitro antifungal activity of fluconazole and voriconazole against non-Candida yeasts and yeast-like fungi clinical isolates.

The risk of opportunistic infections caused by non-Candida yeasts and yeast-like fungi is increasingly common, mainly in immunocompromised patients. Appropriate first-line therapy has not been defined and standardized, mainly due to the low number of cases reported. To improve empirical treatment guidelines, we describe the susceptibility profile to fluconazole and voriconazole of 176 non-Candida yeasts and yeast-like fungi collected from hospitals in Piedmont, North West Italy from January 2009 to December 2013.

Antibacterial and bioactive composite bone cements containing surface silver-doped glass particles.

A bioactive silica-based glass powder (SBA2) was doped with silver (Ag(+)) ions by means of an ion-exchange process. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersion spectrometry (EDS) and x-ray diffraction (XRD) evidenced that the glass powder was enriched with Ag(+) ions. However, a small amount of Ag2CO3 precipitated with increased Ag concentrations in the exchange solution.

Antibiotic-free composite bone cements with antibacterial and bioactive properties. A preliminary study.

Two bone cements (Palacos R® and Palacos LV®) based on polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), clinically used in several cemented prosthetic devices, have been enriched with silver containing bioactive glass powders and compared with the plain commercial ones. The obtained composite cements have been subjected to a preliminary characterization by means of morphological and compositional analyses, compression mechanical tests, bioactivity test (by soaking into simulated body fluids), leaching tests and in vitro antibacterial test (count of colonies forming units, McFarland index evaluation, inhibition zone evaluation). The glass powders appeared uniformly dispersed inside the PMMA matrix and good mechanical properties (in compression) have been reached.

Antibiotic-loaded acrylic bone cements: an in vitro study on the release mechanism and its efficacy.

An in vitro study was carried out in order to investigate the antibiotic release mechanism and the antibacterial properties of commercially (Palacos® R+G and Palacos® LV+G) and manually (Palacos® R+GM and Palacos® LV+GM) blended gentamicin-loaded bone cements. Samples were characterized by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and compression strength was evaluated. The antibiotic release was investigated by dipping sample in simulated body fluid (SBF) and periodically analyzing the solution by means of high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC).

In vitro comparison between commercially and manually mixed antibiotic-loaded bone cements.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is the evaluation of the differences and, eventually, of the advantages or disadvantages of manual formulations with respect to industrial ones.

Methods: Medical-grade bone cements (Palacos R® and Palacos LV®), based on poly-methyl methacrylate (PMMA) and used clinically in several cemented prosthetic devices were manually enriched with gentamicin sulphate during preparation and then compared with a commercially-available, antibiotic-loaded cement (Palacos R+G®) by means of an in vitro antibacterial test (inhibition zone evaluation). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the differences and advantages or disadvantages, if any, of manual formulations compared to commercial ones.

Biocompatibility and antibacterial effect of silver doped 3D-glass-ceramic scaffolds for bone grafting.

A 3D-glass-ceramic scaffold for bone tissue engineering with an interconnected macroporous network of pores was doped with silver ions in order to confer antibacterial properties. For this purpose, silver ions were selectively added to the scaffold surfaces through ion-exchange using an aqueous silver nitrate solution. The silver-doped scaffolds were characterized by means of leaching, in vitro antibacterial, and citotoxicity tests.

In vitro activities of fluconazole and voriconazole against clinical isolates of Candida spp. determined by disk diffusion testing in Turin, Italy.

The in vitro activities of fluconazole and voriconazole against 1,024 clinical isolates of Candida spp. were determined by the agar disk diffusion test using the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) M44-A guidelines. The results of this investigation demonstrated the broad-spectrum in vitro activity of voriconazole, relative to that of fluconazole, against yeasts tested, in particular fluconazole-resistant isolates, such as Candida krusei that showed high susceptibility to voriconazole.