Activity of pulmonary vancomycin exposures versus planktonic and biofilm isolates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus from cystic fibrosis sputum.

Vancomycin is commonly used to treat methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) lung disease. However, there are limited data to support the in vitro activity of this agent against MRSA isolated from CF sputum. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the activity of vancomycin at pulmonary concentrations (intravenous and inhaled) against four clinical MRSA CF sputum isolates in planktonic and biofilm time-kill (TK) experiments.

Relationship between vancomycin tolerance and clinical outcomes in Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia.

Background: Previous data have demonstrated the clinical importance of vancomycin MIC values in Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia (SAB); however, the impact of vancomycin tolerance (VT) is unknown.

Objectives: To compare the frequency of clinical failure between patients with VT and non-VT isolates in SAB.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of patients with SAB, excluding treatment <48 h or polymicrobial bacteraemia.

Vancomycin 24-Hour Area under the Curve/Minimum Bactericidal Concentration Ratio as a Novel Predictor of Mortality in Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia.

While previous studies have examined the association between vancomycin (VAN) exposure and MIC with regard to outcomes in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (MRSA-B), none have explored if a relationship exists with the VAN minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC). The objective of this study was to evaluate the VAN 24-h area under the curve (AUC24)/MBC ratio as a pharmacodynamic predictor of mortality. This retrospective cohort study included patients treated with VAN for MRSA-B with the primary outcome of 30-day all-cause mortality.

Gamma Interferon Assays Used in the Diagnosis of Tuberculosis.

Tuberculosis (TB) is an ancient disease that has infected humans for thousands of years. However, despite diagnostic tests that detect the disease and effective therapy, there are still millions of people worldwide who are infected with TB. The first TB test used to detect infected patients was a skin test that identifies individuals actively infected with TB.

Ribosomal RNA sequence analysis of Brucella infection misidentified as Ochrobactrum anthropi infection.

A Brucella isolate was identified from purulent material collected during a hip surgery. Two previous blood cultures from the same patient yielded Ochrobactrum anthropi. After rRNA sequencing, all the isolates were identified as Brucella species and subsequently serotyped as Brucella suis.

Aerosolized alpha-hemolytic Streptococcus as a cause of knee sepsis after intra-articular injection: predisposing factors.

Joint sepsis from an aerosol source of any organism during knee injection has never been reported and the standard of care for joint injection does not include facial masking. This case collection suggests that simple talking or teaching during injection procedures near an open hub needle may create a significant aerosol contamination risk with viridans group alpha-hemolytic strep. In addition, it suggests that the pathogenicity of alpha-hemolytic Streptococcus may be facilitated by the combination of dextrose and methylprednisolone.

Francisella tularensis induces extensive caspase-3 activation and apoptotic cell death in the tissues of infected mice.

Although Francisella tularensis subsp. tularensis is known to cause extensive tissue necrosis, the pathogenesis of tissue injury has not been elucidated. To characterize cell death in tularemia, C57BL/6 mice were challenged by the intranasal route with type A F.

Evaluation of three analyte-specific reagents for detection and typing of herpes simplex virus in cerebrospinal fluid.

The performance of three analyte-specific reagents (ASRs); Cepheid herpes simplex virus (HSV) Typing Primer Probe set (CD), Eragen MultiCode-Rtx HSV-1/2 kit primer mix (ER), and Roche LightCycler HSV-1/2 Primer/Hybridization Probes (RD), was evaluated for detection and typing of herpes simplex virus (HSV-1 and HSV-2) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) specimens. Of 68 CSF specimens, HSV-1 was detected in 8 specimens and HSV-2 was detected in 17 specimens. ER detected all 25 HSV-positive specimens, whereas CD and RD detected 24 and 23 HSV-positive specimens, respectively.

Optochin resistance in Streptococcus pneumoniae induced by frozen storage in glycerol.

Susceptibility to optochin is frequently the only test used to differentiate Streptococcus pneumoniae from other alpha-hemolytic streptococci isolated from clinical specimens. The current study shows that storage of S. pneumoniae isolates in tryptic soy broth containing 15% glycerol at -70 degrees C can lead to optochin resistance.

Coactivating signals for the hepatic lymphocyte gamma interferon response to Francisella tularensis.

The facultative intracellular bacterium Francisella tularensis is capable of causing systemic infections in various hosts, including mice and humans. The liver is a major secondary site of F. tularensis infection, but hepatic immune responses to the pathogen remain poorly defined.

Differential activation of inflammatory pathways in A549 type II pneumocytes by Streptococcus pneumoniae strains with different adherence properties.

Background: Adherence of Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria to lung cells is a first step in the progression from asymptomatic carriage to pneumonia. Adherence abilities vary widely among S. pneumoniae patient isolates.

Nationwide antibiogram analysis using NCCLS M39-A guidelines.

Lack of standardization in antibiogram (ABGM) preparation (the overall profile of antimicrobial susceptibility results of a microbial species to a battery of antimicrobial agents) has not been addressed until recently. The objective of this study was to analyze current antibiograms using the recently published NCCLS M39-A guidelines for preparation of antibiograms to identify areas for improvement in the reporting of antibiogram susceptibility data. Antibiograms from across the United States were obtained by various methods, including direct mailings, Internet searches, and professional contacts.

Effect of duplicate isolates of methicillin-susceptible and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus on antibiogram data.

Duplicate Staphylococcus aureus isolates were analyzed to determine the impact of multiple isolates from the same patient on annual antibiogram data. During a 6-year period (1996 to 2001), 3,227 patients with 4,844 S. aureus isolates were evaluated.