Proposition of a safe Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex denaturation method that does not compromise the integrity of DNA for whole-genome sequencing.

Whole-genome sequencing plays now a leading role in epidemiologic studies of tuberculosis. DNA extraction of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) requires complete inactivation of the strains, to be handled for further molecular procedures. In this study we compared two chloroform-based denaturation methods (one with a step of heat killing, one without) to a traditional heat inactivation method.

Limited value of angiogenic factors in obese women.

We performed a case-control study assessing the predictive value of sVEGFR and PlGF for preeclampsia in a population with high obesity prevalence. Body mass index and circulating mean concentrations of sVEGFR and PlGF were significantly higher in preeclamptic women. However, a two variable model associating sVEGFR and PlGF dosages was not better than the model including only age and BMI.

Prolonged paradoxical response to anti-tuberculous treatment after infliximab.

A 56-year-old woman with ankylosing spondylitis, treated for 3 months with infliximab, developed miliary tuberculosis with mediastinal lymphadenopathies and brain and splenic lesions. After initial improvement under anti-tuberculous therapy, she suffered an unexpectedly prolonged paradoxical worsening with several episodes of lymphadenopathy, including life-threatening ones, over a period of more than 14 months of follow-up. The outcome was favorable as a result of corticosteroid and surgical treatments.

Temporal dynamics of interferon gamma responses in children evaluated for tuberculosis.

Background: Development of T-cells based-Interferon gamma (IFNgamma) assays has offered new possibilities for the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) and active disease in adults. Few studies have been performed in children, none in France. With reference to the published data on childhood TB epidemiology in the Paris and Ile de France Region, we considered it important to evaluate the performance of IGRA (QuantiFERON TB Gold In Tube(R), QF-TB-IT) in the diagnosis and the follow-up through treatment of LTBI and active TB in a cohort of French children.

Molecular characterization of Clostridium difficile clinical isolates in a geriatric hospital.

The discriminatory potential of a combination of various typing methods was evaluated on a set of 21 Clostridium difficile isolates obtained from symptomatic patients hospitalized in a geriatric unit and 7 non-toxigenic isolates from the same hospital. Isolates were firstly serotyped and toxinotyped. Of the 28 isolates, 19 belonged to serogroup A.

Tuberculosis in adolescents: A French retrospective study of 52 cases.

Background: The only available data about tuberculosis (TB) among adolescents date back to the 1980s, although the incidence of tuberculosis has been increasing in this age group.

Methods: Medical records were reviewed for all adolescents aged 12 to 18 years hospitalized with the diagnosis of TB in Avicenne/Jean Verdier Teaching hospital (Seine-Saint-Denis, suburb of Paris) between September 2000 and December 2004.

Results: Of the 52 patients identified, 52% were female.

Gastrointestinal tuberculosis: 17 cases collected in 4 hospitals in the northeastern suburb of Paris.

Unlabelled: Gastrointestinal tuberculosis is a rare form of extrapulmonary tuberculosis and its diagnosis can be difficult.

Aims: To analyze the diagnostic and therapeutic characteristics of gastrointestinal tuberculosis.

Methods: Retrospective study from 17 cases collected in 4 hospitals in Seine Saint-Denis between 1987 and 2002.

Utilization of 16S ribosomal DNA sequencing for diagnosis of septicemia due to Neisseria elongata subsp. glycolytica in a neutropenic patient.

Septicemia due to Neisseria elongata subsp. glycolytica occurs infrequently. We report a case of septicemia in a patient undergoing antimitotic chemotherapy.

Integron-associated antibiotic resistance in Salmonella enterica serovar typhi from Asia.

Eighteen of 25 isolates of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi were multidrug resistant and contained class 1 integrons with a single cassette, dfrVII or aadA1. The dfrVII-containing integron was likely borne on an IncHI1 plasmid. Salmonella serovar Typhi could become resistant to broad-spectrum cephalosporins by integrating cassettes, such as veb-1, a common cassette in Asia.

[Neuromeningeal tuberculosis in northeastern suburbs of Paris. Nineteen cases].

Subject: Analyze characteristics of neuromeningeal tuberculosis in the northeastern suburbs of Paris.

Material And Method: Retrospective study of 19 observations between 1988 and 1999.

Results: Thirteen cases of meningitis, 3 cases of meningitis associated with a tuberculoma and 3 cases with isolated tuberculoma were described.