Performance of an in-house real-time PCR assay for detecting Cytomegalovirus infection among transplant patients from a tertiary care centre.

Background: Quantitative Cytomegalovirus (CMV) polymerase chain reactions are increasingly being used for monitoring CMV DNAemia in haematopoietic stem cell transplants and solid organ transplants.

Objective: In this study, a commercial CMV viral load assay was compared with an in-house viral load assay.

Materials And Methods: A total of 176 whole-blood samples were tested for CMV DNAemia using both assays.

Quantification of live Lactobacillus acidophilus in mixed populations of live and killed by application of attenuated reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy combined with chemometrics.

Since culture-based methods are costly and time consuming, alternative methods are investigated for the quantification of probiotics in commercial products. In this work ATR- FTIR vibration spectroscopy was applied for the differentiation and quantification of live Lactobacillus (La 5) in mixed populations of live and killed La 5, in the absence and in the presence of enteric polymer Eudragit L 100-55. Suspensions of live (La 5_L) and killed in acidic environment bacillus (La 5_K) were prepared and binary mixtures of different percentages were used to grow cell cultures for colony counting and spectral analysis.

Mycobacterium chelonae causing chronic wound infection and abdominal incisional hernia.

Mycobacterium chelonae is a rapidly growing mycobacterium that is found all over the environment, including sewage and tap water. They are important species associated with chronic non-healing wounds. We report a case in a 41 year old female patient who underwent multiple surgeries for an ovarian cyst, tubo-ovarian abscesses with peritonitis and a repair of an abdominal incisional hernia.

First Report of OXA-4, an ESBL Isolated from Pseudomonas aeruginosa a South Indian Strain.

The OXA-type β-lactamases are so named because of their oxacillin-hydrolyzing abilities. In this study we characterize an extended spectrum β-lactamase, designated OXA-4, produced by a clinical isolate of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. ESBL production was detected by double disk synergy test.

Transmission of zoonoses in xenotransplantation: porcine endogenous retroviruses from an immunological and molecular point of view.

Background And Objectives: Pigs offer an unlimited source of xenografts for humans. The use of transplants from animal origin offers a potential solution to the limited supply of human organs and tissues. However, like many other mammalian species, pigs harbor porcine endogenous retrovirus (PERV), which are encoded in their genomic DNA and are assumed to have been integrated into the porcine germ line more than 7.

Incidence of laryngospasm and bronchospasm in pediatric adenotonsillectomy.

Objectives/hypothesis: To evaluate and describe airway complications in pediatric adenotonsillectomy.

Study Design: Retrospective case-control study.

Methods: A chart review of patients that underwent adenotonsillectomy between 2006 and 2010 was performed.

Acute pain management in children.

The greatest advance in pediatric pain medicine is the recognition that untreated pain is a significant cause of morbidity and even mortality after surgical trauma. Accurate assessment of pain in different age groups and the effective treatment of postoperative pain is constantly being refined; with newer drugs being used alone or in combination with other drugs continues to be explored. Several advances in developmental neurobiology and pharmacology, knowledge of new analgesics and newer applications of old analgesics in the last two decades have helped the pediatric anesthesiologist in managing pain in children more efficiently.

Geographical location and age affects the incidence of parasitic infestations in school children.

Unlabelled: Environmental factors affect the dissemination and distribution of intestinal parasites in human communities. To comprehend the prevalence of parasitic infestation and to examine whether geographical location and age also influence the prevalence of infection, fecal samples from 195 school children (rural = 95; male = 39; female = 56) (urban = 100; male = 60; female = 40) of five age groups ranging from 5 to 11 years in two different socio-economic zones (rural and urban) were screened for specific intestinal parasites using standard histological techniques. Percentage incidences of parasitic species found in fecal wet mounts and concentrates in rural children were Entamoeba coli (25.

Aggressive bronchoscopic management of plastic bronchitis.

Plastic bronchitis or "Bronchitis Plastica" is a rare disease characterized by the formation of thick, tenacious, arborizing mucofibrinous tracheobronchial casts that result in life-threatening airway obstruction and pulmonary failure. We review three children who developed recurrent plastic bronchitis after undergoing a Fontan procedure for single ventricle physiology. Case series of three patients with plastic bronchitis at a tertiary referral children's hospital.

Multidisciplinary management of expanding bilateral neck hematomas in a patient with Hemophilia A with high-titer inhibitor.

There are multiple modalities by which trauma occurs to the neck. One of these includes minor suction trauma which usually results in a superficial bruising of the skin. While this usually self-resolves, patients with hemophilia are at higher risk for the development of bleeding from such trauma.

Airway responses to desflurane during maintenance of anesthesia and recovery in children with laryngeal mask airways.

Background: We sought to characterize the airway responses to desflurane during maintenance of and emergence from anesthesia in children whose airways were supported with laryngeal mask airways (LMAs).

Methods/materials: Four hundred healthy children were randomized in a 3 : 1 ratio to either desflurane or isoflurane (reference group) during anesthetic maintenance. After induction of anesthesia, anesthesia was maintained with the designated anesthetic.

Detection of porcine rotavirus from tissue and faecal specimens.

Porcine small intestinal sub-mucosa is a cell-free collagen matrix that has demonstrated its ability as a scaffold material. Transplantation poses special hazards because grafted tissues and organs transmit pathogens efficiently, especially viruses. Rotavirus is thought to be confined to the intestine, causing acute diarrhoea.

Polymerase chain reaction in detection of porcine endogenous retrovirus (PERV) from porcine tissues.

Pigs offer an unlimited source of xenografts for humans. The use of transplants from animal origin offers a potential solution to the limited supply of human organs and tissues. However, like many other mammalian species, pigs harbor porcine endogenous retrovirus (PERV), which are encoded in their genomic DNA and are assumed to have been integrated into the porcine germline.

l-Ascorbic acid partially protects two cycles of cisplatin chemotherapy-induced testis damage and oligo-astheno-teratospermia in a mouse model.

Cisplatin (cis-diaminedichloroplatinum-II) is a widely used antineoplastic agent in the treatment of a variety of cancers. The aim of the present study was to investigate the testicular toxicity of cisplatin in mice at human therapeutic dose-levels, and to investigate any protective effects of concomitantly administered l-ascorbic acid (i.p.

Multiplex PCR for bla(CTX-M) & bla(SHV) in the extended spectrum beta lactamase (ESBL) producing gram-negative isolates.

Background & Objective: Phenotyping is commonly used for detection of extended spectrum beta lactamase (ESBL) production in gram-negative isolates. ESBLs are mainly coded for by three important genes, namely bla(TEM), bla(SHV) and bla(CTX-M). In this study we used a multiplex PCR as a rapid method to identify two common genes (bla(CTX-M) & bla(SHV)) responsible for extended spectrum beta lactamase production in members of Enterobacteriaceae family isolated from different clinical samples from a specialty hospital at Chennai.

Pharmacokinetics And Pharmacodynamics Of Fenoldopam Mesylate For Blood Pressure Control In Pediatric Patients.

Background: Fenoldopam mesylate, a selective dopamine1-receptor agonist, is used by intravenous infusion to treat hypertension in adults. Fenoldopam is not approved by the FDA for use in children; reports describing its use in pediatrics are limited. In a multi-institutional, placebo controlled, double-blind, multi-dose trial we determined the pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) characteristics and side-effect profile of fenoldopam in children.