[Respiratory tract fluid microbiology in an intensive care unit].

Objective: to know patterns of antimicrobial resistance of bacterial isolates from tracheal aspirates in an Intensive Care Unit and to evaluate the cases of ventilator-associated pneumonia.

Methods: antibiotic sensitivity test was done. A comparison was made between patients with nosocomial pneumonia reported by infection surveillance team against those reported by the attending physician with the infectious disease consultant.

[Cosyntropin test in severe active tuberculosis].

Background: Frequency of adrenal insufficiency in patients with tuberculosis varies from 0 to 58%; however, all published series excluded severely ill patients. Our objective was to investigate adrenal insufficiency with the low-dose cosyntropin test in patients with severe active tuberculosis.

Method: From two large university affiliated hospitals, 18 patients with tuberculosis and criteria of sepsis or severe sepsis according to SCCM/ACCP criteria, defined by the present authors as severe active tuberculosis, participated in the study.