Antimicrobial resistance rates of urogenital Mycoplasma hominis and Ureaplasma species before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: results from a Greek survey, 2014 to 2022.

The prevalence of antibiotic-resistant urogenital mycoplasmas and ureaplasmas has been gradually increasing over the years, leading to greater concern for accurate diagnosis and treatment. In this study, the antimicrobial resistance trends in Greece were analyzed using 2992 Ureaplasma spp. and 371 M.

Blood Pressure and Heart Rate Alterations through Music in Patients Undergoing Cataract Surgery in Greece.

Introduction: Music has been proposed as a safe, inexpensive, nonpharmacological antistress intervention. The purpose of this study was to determine whether patients undergoing cataract surgery while listening to meditation music experience lower levels of blood pressure and heart rate.

Methods: Two hundred individuals undergoing cataract surgery participated in the study.

Diagnosis of Upper and Lower Respiratory Tract Bacterial Infections with the Use of Multiplex PCR Assays.

The investigation of respiratory infections by molecular techniques provides important information about the epidemiology of respiratory disease, especially during the post-vaccination era. The objective of the present study was the detection of bacterial pathogens directly in clinical samples from patients with upper and lower respiratory tract infections using multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays developed in our laboratory. Clinical samples taken over a three-year period (2007-2009) and obtained from 349 patients (adults (n = 66); children (n = 283)) with signs and symptoms of certain upper or lower respiratory tract infections, consisted of: bronchoalveolar lavages (BAL, n = 83), pleural fluids (n = 29), and middle-ear aspirates (n = 237).

Acute uncomplicated cystitis: from surveillance data to a rationale for empirical treatment.

The objectives of this study were to explore the epidemiological features and resistance rates in uropathogens isolated from cases of acute uncomplicated cystitis (AUC) in Greece, and subsequently to guide empirical treatment. Urine samples from outpatients aged >16 years were cultured and for each uropathogen isolated non-susceptibility to orally administered antimicrobial agents was defined. Demographic and clinical data were provided in questionnaire form.

Development of a single-tube polymerase chain reaction assay for the simultaneous detection of Haemophilus influenzae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus spp. directly in clinical samples.

This study describes the development and evaluation of a multiplex single-tube polymerase chain reaction assay for the simultaneous detection of Haemophilus influenzae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus spp. used as target species-specific or genus-specific genes. The assay enables the detection of 5 to 50 pg of bacterial DNA.

Direct application of variable number tandem repeats polymerase chain reaction in clinical samples obtained from patients with meningococcal disease.

A nested variable number tandem repeats (VNTR) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique was developed for the direct typing of meningococcal PCR-positive clinical samples. The system was evaluated on a panel of 43 clinical samples and isolates positive for Neisseria meningitidis. The results revealed that VNTR-PCR can be used directly in clinical samples, allowing fine typing of N.

Peer education in HIV prevention: an evaluation in schools.

Background: In recent years a number of publications have come out about the peer education method used as a tool in HIV prevention for young people. Our survey aimed at testing the effectiveness of the peer education method in HIV prevention in high school settings through a pilot intervention.

Methods: A peer education intervention took place in 10 high schools in Athens over a 1 year period.

Rapid molecular identification of Neisseria meningitidis isolates using the polymerase chain reaction followed by single-stranded conformation polymorphism analysis.

Typing of Neisseria meningitidis strains is currently performed with conventional and molecular methods. Our objectives were: first, to develop a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by single-stranded conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis of the PorA gene (VR1 region) to distinguish N. meningitidis subtypes and second, to evaluate the method for the identification and characterization of N.

Molecular sub-grouping of enterovirus reference and wild type strains into distinct genetic clusters using a simple RFLP assay.

RFLP analysis and sequencing of RT-PCR amplicons in previous studies revealed the existence of intra-serotypic variability in the 5'-UTR of human enteroviruses, complicating the use of this method to serotype isolates. During the present study, the available sequences of many enterovirus reference and wild type strains were analysed in an attempt to discover restriction sites that would rapidly and reliably aid the classification of human enteroviruses into specific sub-groups on the basis of their 5'-UTR for diagnostic and/or epidemiological purposes. Despite intratypic genetic variability in the 5'-UTR, the results of the sequence analysis, as well as data from the RFLP analysis of 61 enterovirus reference strains from 60 different serotypes and 123 clinical isolates showed that one restriction endonuclease, HpaII, may contribute to a reliable sub-classification of CAVs and the rest of enteroviruses, on the basis of 5'-UTR, into five genetic groups, which could be particularly useful in clinical and epidemiological studies.