Commercial real time PCR implementation for rapid diagnosis of onychomycosis: A new workflow in a clinical laboratory.

Introduction: Onychomycosis is a frequent and underdiagnosed condition. Approximately 90% of toenail onychomycosis infections are caused by dermatophytes, but classical diagnosis based on culture and microscopy observation is slow and has low sensitivity. Both limitations can be solved incorporating molecular techniques to routine diagnosis of onychomycosis.

Legionella pneumophila recurrently isolated in a Spanish hospital: Two years of antimicrobial resistance surveillance.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to monitor the spread, persistence and antibiotic resistance patterns of Legionella spp. strains found in a hospital water distribution system. These environmental studies are intended to help detect the presence of antibiotic resistant strains before they infect patients.

Low efficacy of metronidazole in the eradication of Blastocystis hominis in symptomatic patients: Case series and systematic literature review.

Introduction: Blastocystis hominis (B. hominis) is a protozoan commonly found in the gastrointestinal tract. There are doubts about its clinical significance.

Epidemiology of Otitis Media with Spontaneous Perforation of the Tympanic Membrane in Young Children and Association with Bacterial Nasopharyngeal Carriage, Recurrences and Pneumococcal Vaccination in Catalonia, Spain - The Prospective HERMES Study.

The Epidemiology of otitis media with spontaneous perforation of the tympanic membrane and associated nasopharyngeal carriage of bacterial otopathogens was analysed in a county in Catalonia (Spain) with pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) not included in the immunization programme at study time. A prospective, multicentre study was performed in 10 primary care centres and 2 hospitals (June 2011-June 2014), including all otherwise healthy children ≥2 months ≤8 years with otitis media presenting spontaneous tympanic perforation within 48h. Up to 521 otitis episodes in 487 children were included, showing by culture/PCR in middle ear fluid (MEF): Haemophilus influenzae [24.

[Survey of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus control measures in hospitals participating in the VINCat program].

Introduction: VINCat is a nosocomial infection surveillance program in hospitals in Catalonia. The aim of the study was to determine the surveillance and control measures of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in these centres.

Methods: An e-mail survey was carried out from January to March 2013 with questions related to the characteristics of the hospitals and their control measures for MRSA.

[Campylobacter and Salmonella acute gastroenteritis: epidemiology and health care utilization].

Background And Objective: In Catalonia the current surveillance systems do not allow to know the true incidence or the health care utilization of acute gastroenteritis (AGE) caused by Campylobacter and Salmonella infections. The aim of this study is to analyze these characteristics.

Patients And Methods: Descriptive study of Campylobacter and Salmonella infections reported in 2002 and 2012 in Catalonia, Spain.

Pertussis epidemic despite high levels of vaccination coverage with acellular pertussis vaccine.

Introduction: We describe the pertussis epidemic, based only on confirmed whooping cough cases. We have analyzed data on the diagnosis, epidemiology and vaccine history in order to understand the factors that might explain the trends of the disease.

Methods: A descriptive study of the confirmed pertussis cases reported during 2011 in the Vallès region (population 1,283,000).