Molecular epidemiology of seborrheic dermatitis/dandruff associated Malassezia species from northern India.

Malassezia is a commensal that sometimes becomes pathogenic under the influence of diverse factors. Several species of Malassezia are difficult to culture, making traditional methods of identification challenging. The problem with molecular typing of Malassezia in association with seborrheic dermatitis/dandruff (SD/D) arises due to the unavailability of these fastidious yeast cultures.

Fungal Infections in the Caribbean: A Review of the Literature to Date.

The most common fungal infections reported from the Caribbean include dermatophytosis, candidiasis, pneumocystis, aspergillosis, histoplasmosis, and cryptococcosis. The Caribbean is hyperendemic for histoplasmosis, with high population exposures. Fungal infections are a significant public health problem in the Caribbean, with rates varying depending on the specific country or region.

Comparing Standard Setting Methods for Objective Structured Clinical Examinations in a Caribbean Medical School.

Background: OSCE are widely used for assessing clinical skills training in medical schools. Use of traditional pass fail cut off yields wide variations in the results of different cohorts of students. This has led to a growing emphasis on the application of standard setting procedures in OSCEs.

Molecular identification of pathogenic fungi in formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissues.

Histopathological examination (HPE) of tissue helps in the diagnosis of invasive fungal infections (IFIs) but cannot identify the fungus to the genus/species level Available protocols for the molecular identification of fungi from formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues have limitations in terms of extraction and target selection, and standardisation. Development of sequence-based fungal identification protocol after extraction of DNA from formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues. A total of 63 FFPE tissues from histopathology proven IFI cases were used to standardize the DNA extraction (commercial QIAamp kit-based extraction and conventional phenol-chloroform-isoamyl alcohol [PCI] method) and sequence-based fungal identification protocols.

Characteristics, outcome and risk factors for mortality of paediatric patients with ICU-acquired candidemia in India: A multicentre prospective study.

Background: The epidemiology, clinical profile and outcome of paediatric candidemia vary considerably by age, healthcare settings and prevalent Candida species. Despite these differences, few comprehensive studies are undertaken. This nationwide study addresses this knowledge gap.

A prospective multicenter study on mucormycosis in India: Epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment.

Mucormycosis due to Mucorales is reported at large numbers in uncontrolled diabetics across India, but systematic multicenter epidemiological study has not been published yet. The present prospective study was conducted at four major tertiary care centers of India (two in north and two in south India) during 2013-2015 to compare the epidemiology, treatment strategies and outcome of mucormycosis between the two regions. Molecular techniques were employed to confirm the identity of the isolates or to identify the agent in biopsy samples.

Primary invasive laryngeal mycosis in an immunocompetent patient: a case report and clinico-epidemiological update.

Background: Laryngeal aspergillosis is uncommon and is usually secondary to pulmonary involvement in immunocompromised patients. Primary laryngeal aspergillosis in immunocompetent individuals is extremely rare, with a few cases documented over the last five decades.

Case Presentation: We report a case of primary localised laryngeal aspergillosis in a 21-year-old apparently immunocompetent student.

Outbreak of Pichia kudriavzevii fungaemia in a neonatal intensive care unit.

Purpose: Fungaemia is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality in neonates admitted to neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). We report an outbreak of fungaemia in a NICU due to rare yeast, Pichia kudriavzevii (a teleomorph of Candida krusei). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of neonatal sepsis due to P.

Seven cases of Saccharomyces fungaemia related to use of probiotics.

Probiotics are increasingly used in critically ill patients without enough safety data. The aim of the present study was to determine the association of probiotics with Saccharomyces cerevisiae fungaemia. Seven patients with S.