[Critical care testing: SFBC recommendations in 2018].

The SFBC Working Group on critical care testing describes in this paper the SFBC recommendations for the determination of maximal turnaround times (TAT) for laboratory medicine examination in emergency conditions. The table presented in a previous paper was updated, taken into account the clinical situations, as well as the emergency response capabilities of the medical laboratory. These new French recommendations must to be based to each local situation in a clinical-biological context between the physicians and the specialist in Lab Medicine.

Mouse model of colonization of the digestive tract with Acinetobacter baumannii and subsequent pneumonia.

Aim: Implementing a mouse model of Acinetobacter baumannii (AB) digestive colonization and studying the propensity of an intestinal reservoir of AB to be at the origin of pneumonia.

Materials & Methods: After a disruption of the digestive flora by piperacillin-tazobactam, two multidrug-resistant AB strains were intranasally inoculated to two cohorts of ten mice daily. For each strain, five mice were rendered transiently neutropenic.

Wide spread of OXA-23-producing carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii belonging to clonal complex II in different hospitals in Lebanon.

Objectives: To investigate the molecular epidemiology of Acinetobacter baumannii strains isolated from different hospitals in Lebanon.

Methods: A total of 119 non-duplicate Acinetobacter strains were identified using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) and partial rpoB gene sequencing. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed by disc diffusion method and all identified carbapenem-resistant isolates were investigated by PCR assays for the presence of the carbapenemase-encoding genes.

Antibacterial action of lipid nanocapsules containing fatty acids or monoglycerides as co-surfactants.

Lipid nanocapsules (LNCs) are a new generation of biomimetic nanocarriers obtained via a phase inversion temperature method and have an oily core of medium-chain triglycerides that is surrounded by a shelf containing a lipophilic surfactant (lecithin) and a hydrophilic surfactant macrogol 15-hydroxystearate. The aim of the present study was to produce LNCs with antibacterial activity by replacing lecithin with other lipophilic surface active compounds, namely medium-chain fatty acids and their 1-monoglycerides, which are known to have antimicrobial properties. Fatty acids and monoglycerides were found to affect the properties of LNCs, such as particle size and zeta potential.

Diversity of Acinetobacter species isolated from different environments in Lebanon: a nationwide study.

Aim: To investigate the extrahospital reservoirs of Acinetobacter spp. in Lebanon.

Materials & Methods: Two thousand three hundred and sixty-one samples from different ecological niches were analyzed by culture methods.

Stress Conditions Induced by Carvacrol and Cinnamaldehyde on Acinetobacter baumannii.

Acinetobacter baumannii has emerged as a major cause of nosocomial infections. The ability of A. baumannii to display various resistance mechanisms against antibiotics has transformed it into a successful nosocomial pathogen.

Lipid-Based Liquid Crystals As Carriers for Antimicrobial Peptides: Phase Behavior and Antimicrobial Effect.

The number of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is increasing worldwide, and the demand for novel antimicrobials is constantly growing. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) could be an important part of future treatment strategies of various bacterial infection diseases. However, AMPs have relatively low stability, because of proteolytic and chemical degradation.

[SFBC guidelines on critical care testing].

SFBC working group on critical care testing describes in this paper guideline for the management of laboratory medicine examination process in emergency conditions. After a summary on French standards and regulations, the critical care testing perimeter and definitions of stat levels are presented in different contexts. The complete examination process is described.

Reservoirs of Non-baumannii Acinetobacter Species.

Acinetobacter spp. are ubiquitous gram negative and non-fermenting coccobacilli that have the ability to occupy several ecological niches including environment, animals and human. Among the different species, Acinetobacter baumannii has evolved as global pathogen causing wide range of infection.

Using Vitek MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry to identify species belonging to the Acinetobacter calcoaceticus-Acinetobacter baumannii complex: a relevant alternative to molecular biology?

Acinetobacter baumannii belongs to the Acinetobacter calcoaceticus-baumannii complex (Acb) containing 2 other pathogenic species: Acinetobacter pittii and Acinetobacter nosocomialis. Identification of these bacteria remains problematic despite the use of matrix-assisted laser ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). Here, we enriched the SARAMIS™ database of the Vitek MS® plus mass spectrometer to improve the identification of species of the Acb complex.

Molecular epidemiology of Acinetobacter baumannii in different hospitals in Tripoli, Lebanon using bla(OXA-51-like) sequence based typing.

Background: A. baumannii has emerged as an important nosocomial pathogen with an outstanding ability to acquire multidrug resistant mechanisms. In this study, we investigate the molecular epidemiology and carbapenem resistance mechanisms of A.

Extrahuman epidemiology of Acinetobacter baumannii in Lebanon.

The presence of Acinetobacter baumannii outside hospitals is still a controversial issue. The objective of our study was to explore the extrahospital epidemiology of A. baumannii in Lebanon.

Molecular analysis of Acinetobacter baumannii strains isolated in Lebanon using four different typing methods.

This study analyzed 42 Acinetobacter baumannii strains collected between 2009-2012 from different hospitals in Beyrouth and North Lebanon to better understand the epidemiology and carbapenem resistance mechanisms in our collection and to compare the robustness of pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), multilocus sequence typing (MLST), repetitive sequence-based PCR (rep-PCR) and blaOXA-51 sequence-based typing (SBT). Among 31 carbapenem resistant strains, we have detected three carbapenem resistance genes: 28 carried the blaOXA-23 gene, 1 the blaOXA-24 gene and 2 strains the blaOXA-58 gene. This is the first detection of blaOXA-23 and blaOXA-24 in Lebanon.

Current molecular methods in epidemiological typing of Acinetobacter baumannii.

The emergence of Acinetobacter baumannii during recent decades as an important nosocomial pathogen responsible of worldwide, intensively documented, outbreaks has resulted in a need for effective epidemiological typing methods. Throughout the years, many typing methods for A. baumannii epidemiological studies have been proposed from phenotypic to molecular methods.

The impact of performing bacterial identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing on bronchoalveolar fluid cultures 24 h a day in a microbiology laboratory.

We previously demonstrated the positive impact of performing bacterial identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) after day hours (night service [NS]) for certain clinical samples on the treatment of infected patients. Our objective was to evaluate the impact of including positive bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cultures in our NS. Two major positive consequences were recorded: initiation of earlier appropriate treatment and earlier change to a reduced-spectrum but still effective regimen.

First report of endocarditis caused by a Pseudoclavibacter species.

We describe the first case of Pseudoclavibacter species endocarditis in a 44-year-old patient. This genus, rarely isolated from humans, confirms here its role as a human pathogen.

First report of blaNDM-1-producing Acinetobacter baumannii isolated in Lebanon from civilians wounded during the Syrian war.

Objectives: The emergence of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii has been observed worldwide. We describe the first detection of A. baumannii carrying the blaNDM-1 gene in Lebanon, isolated from Syrian patients wounded during the civil war.

Discordance in the minimal inhibitory concentrations of ertapenem for Enterobacter cloacae: Vitek 2 system versus Etest and agar dilution methods.

Our objective was to compare the ertapenem minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) for Enterobacter cloacae isolates categorized intermediate or resistant to ertapenem when measured with the Vitek 2 system, with the MICs for these isolates when measured by two methods performed in agar medium: the Etest and agar plate dilution method (APDM). Overall, 50 E. cloacae isolates were included in the study.

Reservoirs of Acinetobacter baumannii outside the hospital and potential involvement in emerging human community-acquired infections.

The objective of the present report was to review briefly the potentially community-acquired Acinetobacter baumannii infections, to update information on the reservoirs of A. baumannii outside the hospital, and to consider their potential interactions with human infections. Most reports on potentially community-acquired A.