Antibiotic usage and risk of colonization and infection with antibiotic-resistant bacteria: a hospital population-based study.

Accurate assessment of risk factors for nosocomial acquisition of colonization by antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) is often confounded by scarce data on antibiotic use. A 12-month, nested, multicenter cohort study was conducted. Target ARB were methicillin (meticillin)-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), and ciprofloxacin-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (CR-PA).

Microbiological features of acute bacterial conjunctivitis in a central Italian area.

The study aims to identify bacteria causing conjunctivitis in a central Italian area and to analyze chemosusceptibility. From 2005 to 2006, 91 conjunctival swabs were collected from acute conjunctivitis cases and screened for common bacteria and fungi. Susceptibility tests were performed on isolates.

Pneumococcal disease in a paediatric population in a hospital of central Italy: a clinical and microbiological case series from 1992 to 2006.

Objectives: Streptococcus pneumoniae is frequently isolated from carrier children, but it also causes localized and invasive diseases. Increasing incidence of chemoresistance can affect the efficacy of empiric therapy and it motivates interest in primary prophylaxis. The study aims to investigate clinical and microbiological features of paediatric pneumococcal infections in an Italian province.