Clostridium difficile and pediatric inflammatory bowel disease: a prospective, comparative, multicenter, ESPGHAN study.

Background: Clostridium difficile infection is associated with pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in several ways. We sought to investigate C. difficile infection in pediatric patients with IBD in comparison with a group of children with celiac disease and to evaluate IBD disease course of C.

Rapid identification of Burkholderia cepacia complex species recovered from cystic fibrosis patients using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

The aim of this study was to establish the identification ability of matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) for bacteria of Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc) and to compare these results with those obtained by a molecular method (PCR-RFLP). A total of 57 isolates was used in the study. Isolates were collected from 31 patients attending the Regional Cystic Fibrosis Unit from January 2001 to December 2005.

Persistence of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii strains in an Italian intensive care unit during a forty-six month study period.

The aims of this study were to analyze carbapenem-resistance Acinetobacter baumannii isolates (CRAB) and their molecular epidemiology in an ICU of Southern Italy. Clinical outcomes and therapeutic management of patients are also described. The study was performed from January 2007 to October 2010.

In vitro resistance to macrolides and clindamycin by Group B Streptococcus isolated from pregnant and nonpregnant women.

Background: Despite the introduction of screening bases intrapartum prophylaxis, Streptococcus agalactiae is still an important etiological agent of perinatal infections. The increasing rate of resistance and the differences in resistance pattern among countries suggest that a program of surveillance at the institutional level is important in determining optimal prophylaxis. In contrast, knowledge on GBS epidemiology in Italy is limited, and no data are available in the Southern region of the country.

Sphingobacterium respiratory tract infection in patients with cystic fibrosis.

Background: Bacteria that belong to the genus Sphingobacterium are Gram-negative, non-fermentative bacilli, ubiquitous in nature and rarely involved in human infections. The aims of this study were to evaluate the epidemiology of infection by Sphingobacterium in a cohort of patients affected by Cystic Fibrosis (CF), the antibiotic susceptibility and the DNA fingerprinting of the isolated strains and to analyze some clinical outcomes of the infected patients.

Findings: Between January 2006 and June 2008, patients (n = 332) attending the Regional CF Unit in Naples, Italy, were enrolled.

Typing of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from patients with VAP in an intensive care unit.

Aim of this study was to characterize isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa responsible for ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in patients admitted to an ICU in order to evaluate a possible strain clonality. The study was performed from October 2004 to June 2005 in one Southern Italy ICU and 29 patients suspected of having VAP were enrolled. The etiology of VAP was established by quantitative cultures of endotracheal aspirations.

Impact of Clostridium difficile infection on pediatric inflammatory bowel disease.

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of and explore possible differences in the risk for and symptoms of Clostridium difficile infection between patients with and without inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Study Design: Stool specimens from subjects with and without IBD were evaluated for the presence of C difficile toxins. Demographic information, diagnosis, anatomic location, disease activity, IBD therapy, hospitalizations, and antibiotic and proton pump inhibitor (PPI) exposures were recorded.

Chryseobacterium respiratory tract infections in patients with cystic fibrosis.

Objectives: To investigate the prevalence of infections by Chryseobacterium in a cohort of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients, to assess the antimicrobial susceptibility of these strains, to examine their DNA fingerprinting and to evaluate some clinical outcomes of patients infected by these bacteria.

Methods: Patients (300) attending a Regional Cystic Fibrosis Unit were enrolled in this study over 4 years. Natural or induced sputum samples were processed for microscopic and cultural tests.

Burkholderia cepacia complex infection in a cohort of Italian patients with cystic fibrosis.

The aims of this study were to detect Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc) strains in a cohort of Cystic Fibrosis patients (n=276) and to characterize Bcc isolates by molecular techniques. The results showed that 11.23% of patients were infected by Bcc.

Microbiology of airway disease in a cohort of patients with cystic fibrosis.

Background: Recent reports document an increasing incidence of new Gram-negative pathogens such as Stenotrophomonas maltophilia and Alcaligenes xylosoxidans isolated from patients with Cystic Fibrosis, along with an increase in common Gram-negative pathogens such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Burkholderia cepacia complex. Furthermore, the increase in multidrug-resistance of such organisms makes the therapeutic management of these patients more problematic. Therefore, careful isolation and identification, and accurate studies of susceptibility to antibiotics are critical for predicting the spread of strains, improving therapeutic measures and facilitating our understanding of the epidemiology of emerging pathogens.

Use of recombinant antigens for early postnatal diagnosis of congenital toxoplasmosis.

The main objective of this work was to improve the early serologic diagnosis of toxoplasmosis in children at risk of congenital infection by using recombinant antigens. Serum samples from 104 infants born to mothers with primary Toxoplasma gondii infection acquired during pregnancy, of which 35 were congenitally infected and 22 had clinical silent toxoplasmosis at birth, were included. Immunoglobulin M (IgM), IgG, and IgG subtype antibodies against epitopes carried by fragments of T.

Gastroduodenal lesions and Helicobacter pylori infection in dyspeptic patients with and without chronic renal failure.

Background: Patients with chronic renal failure (CRF) often have dyspeptic symptoms and may develop peptic disease or digestive disorders leading to severe gastrointestinal complications. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of peptic lesions and Helicobacter pylori infection, and the severity of dyspeptic symptoms, in dyspeptic patients with and without CRF. Our secondary aim was to investigate whether uremic status may affect the diagnostic efficiency of the [13]C-urea breath test ([13]C-UBT).

Use of an immunoglobulin G avidity assay based on recombinant antigens for diagnosis of primary Toxoplasma gondii infection during pregnancy.

The objective of this work was to develop an antibody-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) avidity assay to discriminate between acute and latent phases of Toxoplasma gondii infection by using recombinant antigens. One hundred twenty-one serum samples from women who developed IgG antibodies against Toxoplasma during pregnancy were used. The IgG avidities of antibodies directed against epitopes carried by fragments of GRA3, GRA7, MIC3, and SAG1 antigens were measured by performing parallel enzyme immunoassays.

Molecular dissection of the human B-cell response against Toxoplasma gondii infection by lambda display of cDNA libraries.

The disorders generated by Toxoplasma gondii infection are closely associated with the competence of the host immune system and both humoral and cell mediated immunity are involved in response to parasite invasion. To identify antigens implicated in human B-cell responses, we screened a phage-display library of T. gondii cDNA fragments with sera of infected individuals.