Graphene Nanolayers as a New Method for Bacterial Biofilm Prevention: Preliminary Results.

Biofilms are microbial communities of surface-attached cells embedded in a self-produced extracellular matrix. They have been found to play a role in a wide variety of infections, including catheter-related urinary tract and bloodstream infections, and, therefore remain a significant source of morbidity and mortality among the world's population. Recently, much attention has been devoted to the prevention of biofilm formation on implant surfaces.

Impact of Gut Colonization by Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria on the Outcomes of Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation: A Retrospective, Single-Center Study.

Gut colonization by antibiotic-resistant bacteria may underlie hard-to-treat systemic infections. There is also accumulating evidence on the immunomodulatory function of gut microbiota after allogeneic stem cell transplantation (alloSCT) and its impact on graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). We investigated the epidemiology and clinical impact of gut colonization after alloSCT and retrospectively analyzed data on 107 alloSCTs performed at a single transplant center.

Biodegradation of the outer silicone insulation of endocardial leads.

Background: Silicone catheter insulation, larynx prostheses undergo biodegradation. The aims of the study were to verify the conviction that outer silicone lead insulation is biostable and inert in addition to determining the role of macrophages (M) and Staphylococcus aureus (S aureus) strains in the silicone lead insulation degradation.

Methods And Results: Leads removed from 8 patients because of infective and noninfective indications were analyzed with stereomicroscope and classified according to Banacha abrasion classification, and additional analysis using scanning electron microscope was performed.

Biofilm production by clinical strains of Acinetobacter baumannii isolated from patients hospitalized in two tertiary care hospitals.

Microbial biofilms are considered as virulence factors. During the present study, 34 clinical strains of Acinetobacter baumannii, isolated from patients hospitalized in two tertiary care hospitals, were examined for biofilm formation. These strains showed high variability in biofilm formation.

Emergence and spread of carbapenem-resistant strains of Acinetobacter baumannii in a tertiary-care hospital in Poland.

This study analysed the occurrence of carbapenem resistance among Acinetobacter baumannii isolates from a tertiary-care hospital in Poland, together with the molecular epidemiology of these isolates and the risk-factors for their acquisition and possible nosocomial spread. The medical charts of 21 patients with Acinetobacter infection or colonisation revealed that A. baumannii isolates were obtained most frequently from intensive care unit and surgical patients (particularly those receiving transplantation surgery).

Multidrug-resistant bacteria isolated from patients hospitalised in Intensive Care Units.

Surveys of the prevalence and susceptibility patterns of bacterial isolates are important in determining optimum empirical therapy for infections in critically ill patients. The aim of this study was to determine possible differences in the patterns of bacterial resistance in two Intensive Care Units (ICUs) depending on the patient profile. There was a high percentage of non-fermenting Gram-negative rods (NFGNR) among the bacterial isolates from both wards.

[Frequency and susceptibility patterns of non-fermenting gram-negative rods isolated from patients hospitalised in intensive care units of a tertiary care hospital].

Unlabelled: The aim of the study was to assess frequency and susceptibility to antimicrobial agents of non-fermenting gram-negative rods isolated from clinical specimens obtained from patients requiring intensive care, with emphasis on profile of the unit. Identification of cultured isolates was done using automated VITEK and API systems (bioMerieux, France). Susceptibility to antimicrobial agents was tested by a disk-diffusion method according to the NCCLS recommendations.

[Comparison of frequency and susceptibility to antimicrobials of bacterial strains of the family Enterobacteriaceae isolated from patients hospitalised in intensive care units].

Unlabelled: The aim of the study was estimation of frequency and susceptibility to antimicrobial agents of gram-negative rods isolated from clinical specimens obtained from patients requiring intensive care, with emphasis on profile of the unit. The analysis comprised strains of gram-negative rods isolated from patients of two intensive care units (ICUs) of a tertiary care hospital (1200 beds). Identification of cultured isolates was done using automated VITEK and API systems (bioMerieux, France).

Outbreak of nosocomial meningitis caused by Acinetobacter baumannii in neurosurgical patients.

An outbreak of nosocomial meningitis caused by Acinetobacter baumannii, which developed postoperatively in seven neurosurgical patients is described. The clinical isolates of A. baumannii were typed by biochemical profiles and antibiogram patterns, and by random amplified polymorphic DNA polymerase chain reaction (RAPD-PCR) and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) fingerprinting.

Epidemiology of clinical isolates of Candida albicans and their susceptibility to triazoles.

The study comprised strains of Candida albicans isolated from patients hospitalised in a tertiary care hospital during a 2-year period. In total 851 strains were cultured, including 379 (44.5%) strains from internal medicine patients, 243 (28.

Multidrug resistance in bacterial isolates from blood cultures of haematology patients.

The bacteria most frequently isolated from blood cultures of haematology patients in Warsaw were staphylococci (58.0%), Enterobacteriaceae (18.6%), non-fermenting rods (6.