Multi-locus sequence typing of Escherichia coli isolates with acquired ampC genes and ampC promoter mutations.

Multi-locus sequence typing was used to reveal a high degree of diversity amongst the E. coli isolates with AmpC plasmid genes, and a high prevalence of the -32 mutation present.

Do English NHS Microbiology laboratories offer adequate services for the diagnosis of UTI in children? Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) Audit of Standard Operational Procedures.

The National Institute of Care Excellence (NICE) 2007 guidance CG54, on urinary tract infection (UTI) in children, states that clinicians should use urgent microscopy and culture as the preferred method for diagnosing UTI in the hospital setting for severe illness in children under 3 years old and from the GP setting in children under 3 years old with intermediate risk of severe illness. NICE also recommends that all 'infants and children with atypical UTI (including non-Escherichia coli infections) should have renal imaging after a first infection'. We surveyed all microbiology laboratories in England with Clinical Pathology Accreditation to determine standard operating procedures (SOPs) for urgent microscopy, culture and reporting of children's urine and to ascertain whether the SOPs facilitate compliance with NICE guidance.