Marijuana Smoking in Patients With Leukemia.

Worldwide, marijuana (cannabis) is a widely used drug. The incidence of marijuana smoking is increasing and is second only to tobacco as the most widely smoked substance in the general population. It is also the second most commonly used recreational drug after alcohol.

Primary Gangrenous Cutaneous Mold Infections in a Patient With Cancer and Neutropenia.

Background: Opportunistic fungal infections caused by Aspergillus and Candida followed by infections with Fusarium, Rhizopus, Mucor, and Alternaria species are an important cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with hematological malignancies. Cutaneous mucormycosis infections are rare, and the incidence, outcomes, and factors associated with survival in the setting of hematological malignancies are not clear.

Methods: A literature search was conducted for all cases of primary cutaneous mold infections in patients with hematological malignancy, of which 50 cases were found.

Molecular analysis of sarcoidosis lymph nodes for microorganisms: a case-control study with clinical correlates.

Introduction: Sarcoidosis is an incurable, chronic granulomatous disease primarily involving the lungs and lymph nodes of unknown aetiology, treated with non-specific anti-inflammatory/immunosuppressive drugs. Persistently symptomatic patients worsen with a disabling, potentially fatal clinical course. To determine a possible infectious cause, we correlated in a case-control study the clinical information with the presence of bacterial DNA in sarcoidosis mediastinal lymph nodes compared with control lymph nodes resected during cancer surgery.

Early identification and control of carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae, originating from contaminated endoscopic equipment.

Klebsiella producing carbapenemase is an emerging pathogen. We report transmission of this organism by contaminated endoscopic instruments. Quick identification of source, staff education, contact precautions, and emphasis on hand and environmental hygiene led to case control and prevention of outbreak.

Mucormycosis in immunochallenged patients.

Mucorales species are deadly opportunistic fungi with a rapidly invasive nature. A rare disease, mucormycosis is most commonly reported in patients with diabetes mellitus, because the favorable carbohydrate-rich environment allows the Mucorales fungi to flourish, especially in the setting of ketoacidosis. However, case reports over the past 20 years show that a growing number of cases of mucormycosis are occurring during treatment following bone marrow transplants (BMT) and hematological malignancies (HM) such as leukemia and lymphoma.

Development of daptomycin resistance in a bone marrow transplant patient with vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus durans.

Daptomycin has demonstrated antibacterial activity against several antibiotic-resistant strains, including vancomycin-resistant enterococci. A paucity of data exists concerning in vivo development of daptomycin resistance of enterococci. We describe an allogeneic bone marrow transplant patient, who was found to have vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus durans bacteremia, which subsequently developed resistance to daptomycin.