Thymidine-dependent Staphylococcus aureus and lung function in patients with cystic fibrosis: a 10-year retrospective case-control study.

Objective: Thymidine-dependent small-colony variants (TD-SCVs) of Staphylococcus aureus are being isolated with increasing frequency from patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between TD-SCV isolation and pulmonary function in patients with CF, as well as to determine whether the emergence of TD-SCVs was associated with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) use and with coinfection with other microorganisms.

Methods: This was a retrospective case-control study including patients with CF who visited the Clinical Hospital Complex of the Federal University of Paraná, in Curitiba, Brazil, between 2013 and 2022.

Cerebrospinal fluid lactate as a predictive biomarker for tuberculous meningitis diagnosis.

Objectives: The definitive diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis (TBM) is achieved by identifying (MTb) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF); however, diagnostic confirmation is difficult due to the inability of current tests for an effective diagnosis. Our objective was to retrospectively assess the characteristics of CSF lactate (CSF-LA) as an adjunct biomarker in the diagnosis of TBM.

Methods: 608 CSF laboratory reports were assessed.

Standardisation and validation of an in-house quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assay for the diagnosis of Clostridioides difficile infection.

Objectives: Clostridioides difficile is an emerging enteric pathogen that causes nosocomial diarrhoea in adults. The excessive cost of commercial molecular tests restricts the access of developing countries to its diagnosis. This study aimed to develop and validate in-house quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) targeting the C.

Emergence of Thymidine-Dependent Staphylococcus aureus Small-Colony Variants in Cystic Fibrosis Patients in Southern Brazil.

We characterized Staphylococcus aureus small-colony variant (SCV) strains isolated from cystic fibrosis (CF) patients in southern Brazil. Smaller colonies of S. aureus were isolated from respiratory samples collected consecutively from 225 CF patients from July 2013 to November 2016.

Diagnostic characteristics of Xpert MTB/RIF assay for the diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis and rifampicin resistance in Southern Brazil.

Background: The timely diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis (TBM) is challenging. Molecular diagnostic tools are necessary for TBM, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.

Objectives: We aimed to calculate the diagnostics characteristics of Xpert MTB/RIF for the detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and the frequency of rifampicin (RIF)-resistance in the CSF samples.