A common symptom of an uncommon disease.

Cancer of the colon is the second most common visceral cancer in the United States (lung cancer is the first). It is usually diagnosed in patients older than 40 years, with a peak incidence at 70 years of age. Rarely, are cases seen in the pediatric population.

Community-associated methicillin-resistant staphylococcal infection in an inner city hospital pediatric inpatient population.

Background: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has emerged as a serious problem in the community setting, primarily as a cause of skin and soft tissue infections.

Methods: A retrospective study based on the review of pediatric inpatients admitted to Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center from March 2006 to February 2007 was performed.

Results: Eighteen (55%) of the thirty-three patients identified were infected with community associated (CA) MRSA.

Risk factors for pediatric asthma in the South Bronx.

We identified main asthma risk factors for children living in the South Bronx, where asthma rates are eight times higher than the national average. This case-control study enrolled 261 children at Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center from 2002 to 2003. We questioned the mothers on medical history and home environment.

Failure to control an outbreak of multidrug-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae in a long-term-care facility: emergence and ongoing transmission of a fluoroquinolone-resistant strain.

Objectives: To characterize risk factors associated with pneumococcal disease and asymptomatic colonization during an outbreak of multidrug-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae (MDRSP) among AIDS patients in a long-term-care facility (LTCF), evaluate the efficacy of antimicrobial prophylaxis in eliminating MDRSP colonization, and describe the emergence of fluoroquinolone resistance in the MDRSP outbreak strain.

Design: Epidemiologic investigation based on chart review and characterization of SP strains by antimicrobial susceptibility testing and PFGE and prospective MDRSP surveillance.

Setting: An 80-bed AIDS-care unit in an LTCF PARTICIPANTS: Staff and residents on the unit.

Characterization of a novel rapidly growing Mycobacterium species associated with sepsis.

A rapidly growing mycobacterium was isolated five times from blood cultures from a 6-year-old female patient with relapsed pre-B-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia. All five isolates had identical nucleotide sequences for the first 500 bp of the 16S rRNA gene, indicative of a single species. High-performance liquid chromatography analysis of mycolic acids indicated that the species was similar to Mycobacterium smegmatis.