Publications by authors named "Marcia Melhem"

Airborne spp. are critical pathogens that cause nosocomial infections in hospitals. Despite their importance, little is known about the distribution of species in the indoor air of hospitals in Brazil.

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Introduction: This study standardized a semi-quantitative dot blotting assay (DB) and a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) to detect specific antibodies for and its DNA in PCM patients.

Methodology: We evaluated 42 confirmed PCM patients upon admission using a serological double agar gel immunodiffusion test (DID), DB, and molecular tests (qPCR in total blood). The control groups included 42 healthy individuals and 37 patients with other infectious diseases.

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Antifungal therapy, especially with the azoles, could promote the incidence of less susceptible isolates of and species complexes (SC), mostly in developing countries. Given that these species affect mostly the immunocompromised host, the infections are severe and difficult to treat. This review encompasses the following topics: 1.

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Data about the relationship between their molecular types, virulence factors, clinical presentation, antifungal susceptibility profile, and outcome are still limited for . This study aimed to evaluate the molecular and phenotypic characteristics of 24 . isolates from the southeast region of Brazil.

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Cryptococcosis is an infectious fungal disease widely studied for its epidemiological importance in the context of public health, given the high morbidity and mortality associated with this invasive fungal infection. Many cases of the disease present clinical resistance and progress to death, even in the presence of antifungal therapy. The prolonged use of triazole drugs to maintain the treatment of cryptococcosis in AIDS patients, can lead to selective pressure from mutant strains, among other resistance mechanisms, justifying the poor clinical evolution of some cases.

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Military women on active duty are exposed to constant physical and mental demands, which may predispose them to some infection risks, including vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC), a pathology considered a global public health problem. To monitor the prevalent and emerging pathogens in VVC, this study aimed to evaluate the distribution of yeast species and their in vitro antifungal susceptibility profile. We studied 104 vaginal yeast specimens obtained during routine clinical examinations.

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Trichosporonosis corresponds to a systemic fungal disease that leads to high mortality rates and is frequently associated with medical devices. It affects immunosuppressed patients in particular and is strongly linked to acquired human immunodeficiency, organ and tissue transplants, and malignant hematologic diseases such as leukemia and lymphomas. Trichosporon infections have been increasingly reported worldwide; however, little information is available either about their characteristics or the causative microorganism.

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Aspergillosis is an invasive fungal disease associated with high mortality. Antifungal susceptibility testing (AFST) is receiving increasing consideration for managing patients, as well as for surveilling emerging drug resistance, despite having time-consuming and technically complex reference methodologies. The Sensititre YeastOne (SYO) and Etest methods are widely utilized for yeasts but have not been extensively evaluated for Aspergillus isolates.

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Background: Cryptoccocal meningitis continues to present high incidence among AIDS patients. The treatment of choice is the synergistic combination of flucytosine (5-FC) with amphotericin B deoxycholate (AmBd) or its lipid formulations. However, 5-FC is unavailable in many countries and AmB demands hospitalization.

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Background: Cryptococcal meningitis causes high mortality in immunocompromised and immunocompetent patients. The objective of this study was to identify early predictors of clinical outcome, available at the first days of hospitalization, in patients with cryptococcal meningitis in a tertiary center in Brazil.

Methods: Ninety-six cases of cryptococcal meningitis with clinical, epidemiological and laboratory data, and identification and antifungal susceptibility of the strains were analyzed.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study investigates heteroresistance in the C. neoformans/C. gattii complex, specifically looking at resistance to fluconazole in isolates from Amazonas, Brazil, revealing varying susceptibility levels in clinical and environmental samples.
  • - A total of 45 isolates were analyzed, showing that clinical C. gattii isolates had significantly higher minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) compared to environmental strains, with all isolates exhibiting some degree of heteroresistance.
  • - The results indicated that many isolates can adapt to higher fluconazole concentrations over time, suggesting that current antifungal susceptibility tests may need reevaluation to better understand their implications for treatment and patient outcomes in cryptococcosis cases.
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BACKGROUND Mediastinitis is a serious complication after cardiac surgery; it is a deep sternal wound infection following sternotomy, with clinical evidence and/or microbiological involvement and sternal osteomyelitis. The most common pathogens are Staphylococcus spp (S. aureus), followed by gram-negative organisms.

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The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of fungi in dialysis water and dialysate, in addition to evaluating the susceptibility to antifungals and the biofilm production capacity of isolated microorganisms. The samples were collected in three hemodialysis units in Bauru (Brazil), every 15 days (July 2017-June 2018) at post-reverse osmosis, reuse, and dialysate points. The fungi were isolated by spread plate on Sabouraud dextrose agar.

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A common strategy in antifungal susceptibility testing is the utilization of the standardized protocol based on the microbroth dilution assay approach as described by the Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) (M27-A4). One major problem for laboratories in resource-limited countries with this protocol arises from the use of expensive culture media like RPMI-1640 and 3-N-morpholinopropanesulfonic acid (MOPS) buffer. One approach of circumventing this problem in cases of economic need is the evaluation of alternative culture media and buffers.

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Trichosporon spp. are widely distributed in the nature, comprising species that inhabit different ecological niches and can be found in the water, soil, and body surface of animals and humans. Such microorganisms have been classically associated with superficial infections; however, in the last decades, they have also been related to disseminated infections in immunocompromised patients, behaving as opportunistic agents, which demands rapid and accurate species identification for efficient therapy.

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Fungal infections are on the rise, since the imunocompromised population is increasing due to AIDS/HIV, organ transplant and chemotherapy. Many environmental and pathogenic fungi are able to accomplish melanin biosynthesis as a virulence factor to promote host invasion. Melanized cells are more resistant to radiation, oxidative and osmotic stresses; also melanin confers an advantage in vivo, since melanized cells are more resistant to phagocytic engulfment and oxidative stress caused by the host defense cells and by some antifungal drugs, such as fluconazole (FCZ) and amphotericin B (AmB).

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Among Cryptococcus gattii genotypes, VGII has gained pivotal relevance in epidemiological, clinical and genetic contexts due to its association with several outbreaks in temperate regions and due to the high variability of this genotype. The aim of this study was to compare 25 isolates of C. gattii from the Southeast region of Brazil with previously described isolates from other regions of the country and around the world.

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Candida parapsilosis produces biofilm, which colonizes catheters and other invasive medical devices that are manipulated by health care workers. In previous studies, C. parapsilosis in vitro biofilms have exhibited high resistance rates against conventional antifungals, but susceptibility to both echinocandins and lipid formulations of amphotericin B (lipid complex and liposomal).

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Chromoblastomycosis is a chronic subcutaneous disease caused by human contact with melanized fungi occurring mainly in tropical and subtropical zones worldwide. This study assessed 12 patients with chromoblastomycosis from Rondônia, Brazil, Amazon region. In sum, 83.

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Background: We aimed to assess susceptibility pattern of species isolated from horticulturists with onychomycosis to four antifungal drugs and to compare the effectiveness of conventional identification methods with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS).

Methods: This study was conducted in a community garden located in Teresina, State of Piauí, Brazil, in the year 2014. The samples were identified through phenotypic methods and per MALDI-TOF MS, being used PCR as definitive identification test.

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and are the main pathogenic species of invasive cryptococcosis among the species. Taxonomic studies have shown that these two taxa have different genotypes or molecular types with biological and ecoepidemiological peculiarities. Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) has been proposed as an alternative method for labor-intensive methods for and genotype differentiation.

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The use of poorly treated water in hemodialysis centers may lead to fungal contamination, which poses a serious threat to immunologically debilitated hemodialysis patients. This study aimed to isolate and identify yeast species in the water of a Brazilian hemodialysis center by using classic microbiological techniques and Raman spectroscopy. For 12 months, a total of 288 water samples were collected from different points of the hemodialysis treatment distribution center.

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Fusarium species have emerged as responsible for a broad spectrum of infections, including superficial, locally invasive and disseminated ones, especially in the hospital environment. Since there are few reports of invasive and disseminated fusariosis in children, the aim of this study was to report four cases of nosocomial infection caused by this microorganism in children with cancer hospitalized in a public children's hospital located in Brazil. Two of these patients were female and two were male.

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Ethnopharmacological Relevance: The stem bark of Stryphnodendron adstringens (Mart.) Coville is popularly used as anti-inflammatory, astringent and in the treatment of wounds and vaginal infections. Several pharmacological activities have been scientifically proven by in vitro and in vivo experimental assays for antibacterial, antiviral, antiprotozoan, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant.

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Endocarditis caused by yeasts is currently an emerging cause of infective endocarditis and, when accompanied byfever of unknown origin, is more severe since interferes with proper diagnosis and endocarditis treatment. The Rio de Janeiro Infective Endocarditis Study Group reports a case of infectious endocarditis (IE) with negative blood cultures in a 45-year-old white female resident in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, previously submitted to kidney transplantation. After diagnosis and intervention, the valve culture revealed .

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