Antimicrobial resistance in more than 100,000 Escherichia coli isolates according to culture site and patient age, gender, and location.

Escherichia coli and the antimicrobial pressure exerted on this microorganism can be modulated by factors dependent on the host. In this paper, we describe the distribution of antimicrobial resistance to amikacin, tobramycin, ampicillin, amoxicillin clavulanate, cefuroxime, cefoxitin, cefotaxime, imipenem, ciprofloxacin, fosfomycin, nitrofurantoin, and trimetoprim-sulfametoxazole in more than 100,000 E. coli isolates according to culture site and patient age, gender, and location.

Onychomadesis outbreak in Valencia, Spain associated with hand, foot, and mouth disease caused by enteroviruses.

This report evaluates the June 2008 onychomadesis outbreak in Valencia, Spain. The study sample consisted of 221 onychomadesis cases and 77 nonaffected individuals who lived close to those affected. We collected data on dietary variables, hygiene products, and individual pathological histories.

[Recommendations in the empiric anti-infective agents of intra-abdominal infection].

A significant number of patients with abdominal infection develop advanced stages of infection and mortality is still above 20%. Failure is multifactorial and is associated with an increase of bacterial resitance, inappropriate empirical treatment, a higher comorbidity of patients and poor source control of infection. These guidelines discuss each of these problems and propose measures to avoid the failure based on the best current scientific evidence.

In vitro activities of echinocandins against Candida krusei determined by three methods: MIC and minimal fungicidal concentration measurements and time-kill studies.

We evaluated the in vitro activities of anidulafungin, micafungin, and caspofungin against Candida krusei by determining MIC and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) measurements and by the time-kill method. The geometric mean (GM)-MIC/GM-MFC values were 0.1/0.

[Automatic detection of bacterial and fungal infections in blood].

Sepsis is one of the main causes of mortality and morbidity in hospitals. Early detection of pathogens using nucleic acid-based techniques speeds diagnosis of bacteremia and/or fungemia, aids the rapid application of appropriate antibiotics, reduces the use of unnecessary antibiotics, and lowers mortality. Two commercially available techniques that help to identify different sepsisproducing bacteria and fungi in a shorter time period are: LightCycler SeptiFast Test Mgrade (Roche Diagnostic SL) and GenoType Blood Culture (Hain Lifescience).

Comparison of posaconazole and voriconazole in vitro killing against Candida krusei.

The in vitro activity of posaconazole and voriconazole was evaluated by MIC, minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC), and time-kill methods. MFCs were determined for 15 Candida krusei and time-killing curves for 5 of these isolates. MFCs were obtained transferring 100 microL from clear MIC wells onto Sabouraud dextrose agar.

Voriconazole in the management of nosocomial invasive fungal infections.

Voriconazole is a new triazole developed for the treatment of life-threatening fungal infections. The drug is available for both oral and intravenous administration; the oral formulation has excellent bioavailability. The side-effect profile of voriconazole presents an acceptable safety and tolerability spectrum: transient visual disturbances, liver enzyme abnormalities, and skin rashes are the most frequently reported side effects but rarely lead to discontinuation.

Disseminated histoplasmosis with hemophagocytic syndrome in a patient with AIDS: description of one case and review of the Spanish literature.

We report a case of disseminated histoplasmosis in a 33-year old Ecuadorian patient with AIDS and a CD4 lymphocyte count of 39 cells/microl. He presented with prolonged fever and cough, was diagnosed with hemophagocytic syndrome and multiple organ failure and died 18 days after admission. Histoplasma capsulatum was isolated post-mortem from bone marrow biopsy and blood culture.

Fungemia due to Candida guilliermondii in a pediatric and adult population during a 12-year period.

Candida guilliermondii fungemia is usually described in adults with hematologic malignancies, but in children, only 2 episodes have been published. From 1995 to 2006, 7 episodes (5 in children) were detected in our hospital. Molecular typing excluded a common infection source.

[Native valve Aspergillus fumigatus endocarditis with blood culture positive and negative for galactomannan antigen. Case report and literature review].

Native valve endocarditis caused by Aspergillus spp. is an uncommon disease with a high mortality rate. Generally, Aspergillus is isolated from affected valve in post-mortem or biopsy specimens.

Value of semen culture in the diagnosis of chronic bacterial prostatitis: a simplified method.

Objective: To investigate the role of semen cultures versus segmented urine cultures for the diagnosis of bacterial chronic prostatitis.

Material And Methods: We retrospectively examined 895 patients (age range 17-67 years) who met the consensus criteria for clinical chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome, 50.1% of whom had dysuria and/or perineal discomfort, 37.

Food and probiotic strains from the Saccharomyces cerevisiae species as a possible origin of human systemic infections.

We report four cases of blood cultures testing positive for yeast strains belonging to the species Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Using molecular techniques, RFLP of mtDNA and delta-PCR amplification, we show the association of two of the isolates with non-clinical strains. Specifically, with two commercial bread-making strains and the therapeutic S.

Sensititre YeastOne caspofungin susceptibility testing of Candida clinical isolates: correlation with results of NCCLS M27-A2 multicenter study.

The ability of Sensititre YeastOne to discriminate isolates with reduced caspofungin susceptibility was determined against 36 Candida spp. (6 with a known FKS1 mutation). Results were compared with those of M27-A2.

Synergistic activities of fluconazole and voriconazole with terbinafine against four Candida species determined by checkerboard, time-kill, and Etest methods.

The in vitro activities of fluconazole or voriconazole plus terbinafine were evaluated against 20 Candida isolates by the checkerboard, time-kill, and Etest methods. Synergism (C. albicans, C.

[Etiology and antimicrobial susceptibility among uropathogens causing community-acquired lower urinary tract infections: a nationwide surveillance study].

Introduction: Knowledge of antimicrobial susceptibility patterns is required to prescribe empirical therapy and formulate guidelines for the treatment of community-acquired urinary tract infections. This multicenter study assesses the etiology and antimicrobial susceptibility of the main community-acquired uropathogens in Spain.

Methods: Between March and July 2002, a prospective, multicenter study was conducted in 15 microbiology laboratories located in nine autonomous regions.

[Rapid identification of Candida glabrata using a new commercial kit].

Candida glabrata is an emergent pathogen with diminished susceptibility to azoles, thus a rapid identification of this yeast could be of help to choose the appropriate treatment. GLABRATA RTT (Fumouze Diagnostics, France) is a new C. glabrata identification test.

[Value of Aspergillus galactomannan antigen detection in the diagnosis and follow-up of invasive aspergillosis in hematological patients].

Serum galactomannan detection is considered to be a useful test for early diagnosis and follow-up of invasive aspergillosis. From February to September 2002, adult patients hospitalized in our Hematology Unit for receiving intensive chemotherapy and/or hematopoietic stem cell transplant were prospectively studied. We analyzed a total of 760 samples obtained from 100 patients.

Interlaboratory comparison of results of susceptibility testing with caspofungin against Candida and Aspergillus species.

Seventeen laboratories participated in a study of interlaboratory reproducibility with caspofungin microdilution susceptibility testing against panels comprising 30 isolates of Candida spp. and 20 isolates of Aspergillus spp. The laboratories used materials supplied from a single source to determine the influence of growth medium (RPMI 1640 with or without glucose additions and antibiotic medium 3 [AM3]), the same incubation times (24 h and 48 h), and the same end point definition (partial or complete inhibition of growth) for the MIC of caspofungin.

Patterns of amphotericin B killing kinetics against seven Candida species.

In a previous study tolerance to amphotericin B (AMB) was found among Candida parapsilosis and C. dubliniensis strains by seeding the whole volumes of wells used for MIC determinations, and minimum fungicidal concentrations (MFC) for non-C. albicans Candida strains were demonstrated to be above the levels safely achievable in serum.

Genetic variability of hepatitis C virus NS3 protein in human leukocyte antigen-A2 liver transplant recipients with recurrent hepatitis C.

The association between the severity of chronic hepatitis C and the variability of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) genome remains controversial, but to our knowledge few data are available to date regarding T-cell epitope coding regions in transplant patients. In the current study, we identified 21 human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-A2-positive Spanish patients with chronic hepatitis C, 14 immunosuppressed liver transplant recipients, and 7 immunocompetent controls. Alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, viral load, and rate of fibrosis progression were determined.

[Bacteremia due to Pasteurella spp.: a rare process in our hospital over the last 8 years].

Objectives: To review and update the epidemic and clinical knowledge concerning disseminated blood disease caused by Pasteurella species in our area.

Methods: Retrospective study of Pasteurella species bacteremia (PSB) episodes occurring in patients attended from January 1994 to December 2001 in a single tertiary hospital.

Results: Among the 31 clinical samples remitted to the Microbiology Laboratory in which a species of Pasteurella was identified, 5 (16%) corresponded to positive blood cultures in 5 patients.

A positional scanning combinatorial library of peptoids as a source of biological active molecules: identification of antimicrobials.

A positional scanning library of N-alkylglycine trimers (peptoids) containing over 10 000 compounds has been synthesized on solid phase. The synthetic pathway involved the use of the submonomer strategy and a set of 22 commercially available primary amines as a chemical diversity source. The unbiased nature of the library allowed its screening against a variety of biological targets, leading to the identification of individual peptoids exhibiting remarkable biological activities (García-Martínez, C.

Survey of emm gene sequences from pharyngeal Streptococcus pyogenes isolates collected in Spain and their relationship with erythromycin susceptibility.

We conducted a nationwide survey of the variable 5' emm (M protein gene) sequences from 614 pharyngeal Streptococcus pyogenes isolates susceptible (299 isolates) and resistant (315 isolates) to erythromycin that were isolated in Spain from 1996 to 1999. Almost 98% of these isolates had emm sequences in agreement with previously recorded M antigen association. We only identified a new 5' emm sequence in 17 isolates.