Adherence to Surgical Antibiotic Prophylaxis in the Field of Vascular Surgery.

Insufficient surgical antibiotic prophylaxis (SAP) can lead to prolonged hospitalization, hospital re-admissions, increased morbidity and mortality, and higher healthcare costs. Overdoing prophylaxis can result in antimicrobial resistance, infections, and acute kidney failure. To investigate the adherence to local SAP guidelines for vascular surgery, a retrospective observational single center intervention study was performed in a Dutch hospital.

Nontuberculous mycobacteria, zambia.

Clinical relevance of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) isolated from 180 chronically ill patients and 385 healthy controls in Zambia was evaluated to examine the contribution of these isolates to tuberculosis (TB)-like disease. The proportion of NTM-positive sputum samples was significantly higher in the patient group than in controls; 11% and 6%, respectively (p<0.05).

Prospects for clinical application of electronic-nose technology to early detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in culture and sputum.

Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN) staining for the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) is time-consuming and operator dependent and lacks sensitivity. A new method is urgently needed. We investigated the potential of an electronic nose (EN) (gas sensor array) comprising 14 conducting polymers to detect different Mycobacterium spp.

Isolation of nontuberculous mycobacteria in Zambia: eight case reports.

The isolation of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) raises the question of their clinical significance, especially in an African setting. We found a high percentage of NTM isolated from various specimens, including ones that are normally sterile, among 213 patients in Zambia. Because tuberculosis can affect all parts of the body, we decided to include patients who had signs and symptoms in any part of the body for more than 2 weeks.

Comparison of NaOH-N-acetyl cysteine and sulfuric acid decontamination methods for recovery of mycobacteria from clinical specimens.

We compared the NaOH-N-acetyl cysteine (NaOH-NALC) and the sulfuric acid decontamination procedure in the detection of mycobacteria using the Mycobacteria Growth Indicator Tube (MGIT). In total 219 sputum specimens were collected from 142 Zambian patients and subjected to mycobacterial culture. One half of the specimen was decontaminated with NaOH-NALC and the other half was decontaminated with sulfuric acid.