Bacteriuria and phenotypic antimicrobial susceptibility testing in 45 min by point-of-care Sysmex PA-100 System: first clinical evaluation.

Purpose: This study compared the results of the new Sysmex PA-100 AST System, a point-of-care analyser, with routine microbiology for the detection of urinary tract infections (UTI) and performance of antimicrobial susceptibility tests (AST) directly from urine.

Methods: Native urine samples from 278 female patients with suspected uncomplicated UTI were tested in the Sysmex PA-100 and with reference methods of routine microbiology: urine culture for bacteriuria and disc diffusion for AST.

Results: The analyser delivered bacteriuria results in 15 min and AST results within 45 min.

In Vitro Effect of Three-Antibiotic Combinations plus Potential Antibiofilm Agents against Biofilm-Producing and Clinical Isolates.

Patients with chronic pulmonary diseases infected by complex (MAC) often develop complications and suffer from treatment failure due to biofilm formation. There is a lack of correlation between in vitro susceptibility tests and the treatment of clinical isolates producing biofilm. We performed susceptibility tests of 10 different three-drug combinations, including two recommended in the guidelines, in biofilm forms of eight MAC clinical isolates.

Activity of Antibiotics and Potential Antibiofilm Agents against Biofilm-Producing - Complex Causing Chronic Pulmonary Infections.

Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) cause lung infections in patients with underlying pulmonary diseases (PD). The - complex (MAC) is the most frequently involved NTM. The MAC-PD treatment is based on the administration of several antibiotics for long periods of time.

Multicentre study on the reproducibility of MALDI-TOF MS for nontuberculous mycobacteria identification.

The ability of MALDI-TOF for the identification of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) has improved recently thanks to updated databases and optimized protein extraction procedures. Few multicentre studies on the reproducibility of MALDI-TOF have been performed so far, none on mycobacteria. The aim of this study was to evaluate the reproducibility of MALDI-TOF for the identification of NTM in 15 laboratories in 9 European countries.

Inducible and Acquired Clarithromycin Resistance in the Mycobacterium abscessus Complex.

Purpose: Clarithromycin was considered the cornerstone for the treatment of Mycobacterium abscessus complex infections. Genetic resistance mechanisms have been described and many experts propose amikacin as an alternative. Nevertheless, clarithromycin has several advantages; therefore, it is necessary to identify the non-functional erm(41) allele to determine the most suitable treatment.

[Use of different PCR-based techniques integrated into a non-tuberculous identification algorithm].

Introduction: The aim of the present work was to demonstrate the utility of a non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) identification algorithm, which integrates different PCR-based techniques and basic phenotypic features. Moreover, the algorithm for pattern restriction analysis of hsp65 (hsp65 PRA) interpretation has been updated.

Methods: The workflow chosen consisted of the identification by a DNA hybridization probe method, followed by PCR-restriction enzyme analysis of hsp65 (hsp65 PRA) in those isolates that cannot be identified by hybridization probes.

Evaluation of the BacT/ALERT PZA kit in comparison with the BACTEC 460TB PZA for testing Mycobacterium tuberculosis susceptibility to pyrazinamide.

Objectives: To compare the performance of the BacT/ALERT PZA kit (BioMerieux, Marcy l'Etoile, France) with the radiometric BACTEC 460TB PZA test (Becton-Dickinson method) for testing Mycobacterium tuberculosis susceptibility to pyrazinamide.

Methods: A total of 50 M. tuberculosis strains were tested.

Multicenter laboratory evaluation of the MB/BacT Mycobacterium detection system and the BACTEC MGIT 960 system in comparison with the BACTEC 460TB system for susceptibility testing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

In this multicenter study, the reliability of two nonradiometric, fully automated systems, the MB/BacT and BACTEC MGIT 960 systems, for testing the susceptibilities of 82 Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains to isoniazid, rifampin, ethambutol, and streptomycin was evaluated in comparison with the radiometric BACTEC 460TB system. The arbitration of discrepant results was done by the reanalysis of the strain, the determination of the MIC, and the molecular characterization of some resistance determinants. The overall level of agreement with BACTEC 460TB results was 96% with the MB/BacT test and 97.

Rapid detection of specific gene mutations associated with isoniazid or rifampicin resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis clinical isolates using non-fluorescent low-density DNA microarrays.

Background: A new, fast 'low cost and density' DNA microarray (LCD array), designed for the detection of mutations that confer isoniazid or rifampicin resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates, has been developed and was evaluated using 46 resistant clinical isolates from Barcelona.

Methods: LCD chips are pre-structured polymer supports using a non-fluorescent detection principle based on the precipitation of a clearly visible dark substrate. One LCD chip consists of eight identical microarrays, designed to detect mutations within the 90 bp rpoB region, codon 315 in the katG gene and the mabA-inhA regulatory region.

Molecular analysis of isoniazid and rifampin resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates recovered from Barcelona.

We studied the presence of mutations in the whole katG gene and specific regions of the oxyR-ahpC and mabA-inhA regulatory region in 61 Mycobacterium tuberculosis isoniazid-resistant isolates. An 81-bp region of the rpoB gene was also sequenced in 17 rifampin-resistant strains. Alterations in the katG gene were detected in 55% of the isolates.