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.

Thymidine-auxotrophic Staphylococcus aureus small-colony variant bacteremia in a patient with cystic fibrosis.

Background: Small-colony variants (SCVs) are a morphologic subtype of Staphylococcus aureus that may occur through several mechanisms including auxotrophism for thymidine, hemin, or menadione. Auxotrophic SCV for thymidine fail to synthesize DNA specifically because of mutations in the thymidylate synthase gene. We isolated S.

Comparison of Cerebrospinal Fluid Biomarkers for Differential Diagnosis of Acute Bacterial and Viral Meningitis with Atypical Cerebrospinal Fluid Characteristics.

Objective: Several cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers are used to distinguish between acute bacterial meningitis (BM) and viral meningitis (VM). We compared the ability of lactate and glucose (GL) in CSF and the CSF/blood GL ratio to distinguish between acute BM and VM with typical and atypical CSF characteristics.

Methods: Three hundred and twenty-four CSF reports were included, which were distributed as the acute BM, VM, and normal control groups (n = 63, 139, and 122, respectively).

Diagnostic importance of eosinophilic meningitis in HIV-positive and HIV-negative patients.

The presence of eosinophils in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) should always be considered abnormal. This study aimed to evaluate the causes of eosinophils in the CSF of patients who are HIV positive and HIV negative. This is the first study of eosinophils in the CSF of patients who are HIV-positive.

Ralstonia mannitolilytica bacteremia in a neonatal intensive care unit.

Ralstonia mannitolilytica, a Gram-negative bacterium, is rarely isolated in clinical laboratories. It has been associated with outbreaks due to its ability to survive in liquid media and hospital devices. We describe three cases of bacteremia caused by R.

Is it possible to perform bacterial identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing with a positive blood culture bottle for quick diagnosis of bloodstream infections?

Introduction: Bloodstream infections can be fatal, and timely identification of the etiologic agent is important for treatment.

Methodology: An alternative method, consisting of direct identification and susceptibility testing of blood culture bottles using the automated VITEK 2® system, was assessed.

Results: All 37 of the Gram-negative bacilli (GNB) identifications and 57.

Emergence of extended-spectrum β-lactamase producing Enterobacter spp. in patients with bacteremia in a tertiary hospital in southern Brazil.

Background: Extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs) are increasingly prevalent in Enterobacter spp., posing a challenge to the treatment of infections caused by this microorganism. The purpose of this retrospective study was to evaluate the prevalence, risk factors, and clinical outcomes of inpatients with bacteremia caused by ESBL and non ESBL-producing Enterobacter spp.

Characterization of virulence genes cagA and vacA in Helicobacter Pylori and their prevalence in gastrointestinal disorders.

Prevalence of H. pylori infection was determined using cultures of gastric biopsy samples of patients attended at the academic hospital of the Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil. Molecular methods were used to characterize the cagA and vacA genes from bacterial isolates associated with different diseases presented by patients.

Quantification of cerebrospinal fluid lactic acid in the differential diagnosis between HIV chronic meningitis and opportunistic meningitis.

Background: Approximately 40% of HIV infected patients have chronic meningitis at various stages during the infection, 59% are asymptomatic. This is a diagnosis of exclusion and a confounding factor in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis, any other causes of chronic meningitis by opportunistic or co-infection must be ruled out. The aim of this study was to analyze CSF lactic acid (LA) as an adjuvant biomarker in chronic meningitis due to HIV.

Phenotypic and genotypic characterization of group B streptococcal isolates in southern Brazil.

One-hundred sixty-eight group B streptococcal (GBS) isolates from a Brazilian hospital were phenotypically and genotypically characterized. Isolates were recovered from human sources from April 2006 to May 2008 and classified as either invasive, noninvasive, or colonizing isolates. Classical methods for serotyping and antibiotic resistance profiling were employed.

Anti-Helicobacter pylori activity of plant extracts traditionally used for the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders.

The antibacterial activity of plant extracts obtained from Bixa orellana L., Chamomilla recutita L., Ilex paraguariensis A.

Occurrence of extended-spectrum beta-lactamases in Enterobacteriaceae isolated from hospitalized patients in Curitiba, southern Brazil.

Production of extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBL) by enterobacteria is an important resistance mechanism against antimicrobial beta-lactamics. We tested 498 bacterial strains isolated from two tertiary-care teaching hospitals for ESBL production, using screening breakpoints for aztreonam and third generation cephalosporins, according to CLSI recommendations. Among these isolates, 155 were positive for the ESBL screening test, and 121 (78%) were confirmed by the clavulanic acid combination disk method.

Enrichment methodology to increase the positivity of cultures from body fluids.

Isolation and identification of etiological agents found in body fluids can be of critical importance for the recovery of patients suffering from potentially-severe infections, which are often followed by serious sequels. Eighty-two samples of different body fluids were analyzed using two different methods: (1) the conventional culture method (agar plating) and (2) the enrichment culture technique, using the Bact/Alert blood culture bottle. The number of positive cultures increased on average from 9.

Isolation and identification of Clostridium perfringens in the venom and fangs of Loxosceles intermedia (brown spider): enhancement of the dermonecrotic lesion in loxoscelism.

Loxoscelism or the envenoming by the brown spiders (Loxosceles genus spiders), may produce extensive dermonecrosis and hemorrhage at the bite site and, eventually, systemic reactions that may be lethal. Isolation and identification of many different bacteria, among them Clostridium perfringens, of great medical importance due to its involvement in dermonecrotizing and systemic conditions, was carried out from the venomous apparatus (fangs and venom) of spiders obtained directly from nature, through microbiological cultures in aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Working with Loxosceles intermedia venom (alone) and with the venom conjugated with Clostridium perfringens using rabbits as experimental models for dermonecrosis, allowed for the observation that venom and anaerobic bacteria conjugated resulted in a striking increase of the dermonecrotic picture when compared to venom alone, suggesting a role for Clostridium perfringens in the severe dermonecrotic picture of these patients and opening the possibility for the association of antibiotic therapy in treating loxoscelism.