Controlled clinical evaluation of Isolator and ESP aerobic blood culture systems for detection of bloodstream infections.

A controlled clinical evaluation comparing the Isolator system (Wampole Laboratories, Cranbury, N.J.) and the ESP 80A blood culture bottle in the automated ESP system (Difco Laboratories, Detroit, Mich.

Growth curve for Propionibacterium acnes.

We established growth curves for Propionibacterium acnes isolates recovered from eyes with chronic postoperative endophthalmitis. The growth curve plotted the average of the duplicate bacterial concentration against time. The generation time for P.

Collection, transport, and processing of blood cultures.

Variables of particular importance to the detection of bacteremia and fungemia include the collection of at least two separate blood cultures per septic episode and the inoculation of a minimum of 20 mL of blood from adults into each set of blood cultures. Switching of needles between venipuncture and inoculation of blood culture systems has been shown not to be necessary to reduce contamination and should be avoided to obviate needle stick injuries. The selection of the most appropriate blood culture system for use in the laboratory depends on numerous factors, including costs, personnel qualifications, and patient demographics.

Metabolic consequences of methotrexate therapy in tumour-bearing rats.

The metabolic response of the tumour-bearing host to methotrexate (MTX) therapy was investigated with particular attention to effects resulting from MTX-induced anorexia. Biochemical changes in female Dark Agouti rats bearing mammary adenocarcinomas and treated with MTX (0.5 mg/kg, 2 i.

Evaluation of differential inoculum disk diffusion method and Vitek GPS-SA card for detection of oxacillin-resistant staphylococci.

This study was conducted in order to compare the accuracy of detection of oxacillin-resistant staphylococci, defined by microdilution MICs, population analyses, and mec gene hybridization, with the Vitek GPS-SA Susceptibility Card with that of the standard inoculum (10(7) CFU) and high-inoculum (10(9) CFU) disk diffusion tests. By the standard inoculum disk diffusion test, 10 of 67 (15%) isolates of oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and 3 of 47 (6%) isolates of Staphylococcus epidermidis were falsely susceptible after 24 h of incubation at 35 degrees C. By the high-inoculum disk diffusion test (10(9) CFU), 4 of the 10 isolates of S.

Unusual nuclear structure of the spermatozoon in a marsupial, Sminthopsis crassicaudata.

The organization of sperm chromatin in the dasyurid marsupial, Sminthopsis crassicaudata, was investigated using various morphological techniques. Transmission electron microscopy indicates two quite distinct chromatin regions became evident late in spermiogenesis with an outer globular region containing blocks of very electron-dense chromatin. Fluorescent light microscopical studies after staining with DNA dyes and 7-amino actinomycin D of testicular, caput, and cauda epididymal spermatozoa showed that this region fluoresced less brightly than the rest of the nucleus, indicating the presence of fewer DNA binding sites.

A frameless method for stereotactic radiotherapy.

A frameless method for stereotactic multiple arc radiotherapy (SMART) is described. Three short gold wires are implanted in the scalp approximately 100 mm apart. These are localized in a computed tomographic or angiographic study along with the target.

Massive ovarian tumor complicating pregnancy. A case report.

Adnexal masses complicate approximately 1/2,000 pregnancies. Teratomas are the most common ovarian neoplasms found in pregnancy, representing up to 36% of adnexal masses. However, almost all these dermoids are less than 10 cm in diameter.

In vitro comparison of E4868, a new trifluoroquinolone, with ciprofloxacin and temafloxacin tested against 5192 recent clinical isolates from five medical centers.

The in vitro activity of E4868 was compared with that of ciprofloxacin and temafloxacin in a multicenter study. More than 90% of Enterobacteriaceae and 82% of the 651 isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, as well as > 95% of the oxacillin-susceptible staphylococci, 100% of the beta-hemolytic streptococci, and 76% of the enterococcal isolates were susceptible to E4868 (minimum inhibitory concentrations, < or = 2 micrograms/ml). E4868 was generally equivalent or slightly less active than ciprofloxacin against the Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonas and more active against staphylococci and beta-hemolytic streptococci.

Aberrant Histoplasma capsulatum. Confirmation of identity by a chemiluminescence-labeled DNA probe.

A cottony, light tan, filamentous fungus with pear-shaped microconidia and lacking tuberculated macroconidia was isolated from a bronchial lavage specimen. Subculture on several media at 37 degrees C failed to convert the fungus to a yeast form after several weeks; attempts at in vivo conversion in mice were also unsuccessful. Sera obtained several months apart showed M bands with Histoplasma capsulatum (HC) antigen by immunodiffusion and an increase in complement fixation titers with mycelial and yeast phase antigens of HC.

In vitro comparison activity of OPC-17116, a new fluoroquinolone, against more than 5,000 recent clinical isolates from five medical centers.

The in vitro activity of OPC-17116, a new fluoroquinolone, was compared with those of ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin and cefixime. A total of 5,231 fresh clinical isolates from five geographically separate US medical centers were tested. The primary results of this study are: 1.

Controlled clinical comparison of two lysis-based blood culture systems, isolator and Septi-Chek Release, for detection of bloodstream infections.

A controlled clinical comparison was made of the Isolator (Wampole Laboratories, Cranbury, N.J.) and the Septi-Chek Release bottle (Roche Diagnostics, Nutley, N.

In vitro activity of cefpodoxime compared with other oral cephalosporins tested against 5556 recent clinical isolates from five medical centers.

A multicenter study was conducted in which the in vitro activity of cefpodoxime (the active metabolite of the prodrug ester cefpodoxime proxetil) was compared with those of cefixime, cefuroxime, cefaclor, cefadroxil, and clarithromycin against 5556 recent clinical isolates. Cefpodoxime demonstrated potent activity against members of the Enterobacteriaceae, in particular against species generally resistant to the established oral cephalosporins such as Proteus vulgaris [minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC)50, 0.12 microgram/ml], Providencia rettgeri (MIC50, 0.

Multicenter comparison of in vitro activities of FK-037, cefepime, ceftriaxone, ceftazidime, and cefuroxime.

In a multicenter study, the MICs of FK-037 for 90% of the strains tested (MIC90s) were < or = 1 microgram/ml for members of the family Enterobacteriaceae other than Citrobacter freundii, Enterobacter spp., and Serratia marcescens. Activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa was variable, with a MIC50 and a MIC90 of 4 and 32 micrograms/ml, respectively.

Comparison of vidas Clostridium difficile toxin-A assay and premier C. difficile toxin-A assay to cytotoxin-B tissue culture assay for the detection of toxins of C. difficile.

Damage to the intestinal mucosa by Clostridium difficile (CD) is toxin mediated. Two enzyme immunoassays (EIAs) for toxin-A detection, the automated Vitek immunodiagnostic assay system CDA (Vidas CDA), and the Premier toxin A (Premier) were tested for their ability to detect toxin A in 301 stool samples and compared with an in-house tissue culture assay for toxin B (TCA). Of these 301 samples, 49 were TCA positive and 252 were TCA negative.

Stimulated pancreatic exocrine secretion does not require pancreatic hyperemia in rats. Potential cholinergic role.

Although blood flow and cholinergic tone influence gastric and salivary gland secretion, their role in pancreatic secretion is poorly defined. The purpose of the present study was: (1) to test the hypothesis that an increase in pancreatic blood flow accompanies stimulated pancreatic exocrine secretion, and (2) to examine the effects of cholinergic agents on basal and stimulated blood flow using hydrogen gas clearance. Stimulated pancreatic exocrine secretion (secretin 0.

Ceftazidime resistance in Hafnia alvei.

Two morphotypes of Hafnia alvei differed in their susceptibilities to beta-lactam antibiotics. Both produced an inducible Bush group 1 beta-lactamase. Hyperinducibility of this enzyme was associated with reduced susceptibility in one morphotype.

Unpredictability of commercially available exoantigen culture confirmation tests in confirming the identity of five Blastomyces dermatitidis isolates.

Colonial and microscopic features of five fungal isolates from three patients suggested Blastomyces dermatitidis. Extracts from the mold forms of all isolates were tested on several occasions with commercially available Exoantigen immunodiffusion culture-confirmation test reagents and Nolan reagents. All three isolates from patient 1 were negative on four separate attempts with Exoantigen reagents using conventional ("slant") and "broth" extraction methods, and were also negative on one attempt with the Nolan reagents.

Antagonism of L-baclofen-induced antinociception by CGP 35348 in the spinal cord of the rat.

This study examined the potency and selectivity of the GABAB receptor antagonist CGP 35348 (3-amino-propyl(diethoxy-methyl)phosphinic acid) in the spinal cord of the rat. Intrathecal (i.t.

Access behaviors of children with specific language impairment.

The verbal and nonverbal behaviors used by 5 children with specific language impairment (SLI) to attempt to gain access into established interactions were described and compared with those of chronological-age-mates and language-similar control subjects. Three of the children with SLI were unsuccessful. Two of the children with SLI achieved access but did so without using linguistic forms like those most normal-language children use.

Selective bowel decontamination with quinolones and nystatin reduces gram-negative and fungal infections in orthotopic liver transplant recipients.

Gram-negative and fungal infections are the most important cause of morbidity and mortality after liver transplantation, especially in the first postoperative month. From February 1989 to February 1990, all liver transplant recipients at The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio, were placed on a selective bowel decontamination regimen employing oral quinolones and nystatin beginning at the time they were put on the active waiting list for transplantation and continuing until the fourth postoperative week. The incidence of gram-negative and fungal infections for these patients was compared against a historical control group.

An international multicenter study of blood culture practices. The International Collaborative Blood Culture Study Group.

An international study was organized to review blood culture practices in 67 medical centers, most of which were teaching hospitals with a total of over 58,000 active hospital beds. The number of blood cultures per admission was generally greater than 0.5 in the USA and less than 0.

General guidelines for clinical bacteriology. Infectious Diseases Society of America and the Food and Drug Administration.

This guideline summarizes recommendations for (1) developing cogent procedures for diagnosis and antimicrobial susceptibility testing; (2) developing quality-control parameters for the microbiological components of clinical trials; (3) continually updating U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines; (4) reviewing microbiological recommendations from other groups, such as Microbiology Subcommittees of the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards; and (5) improving the microbiological aspects of FDA package inserts for antimicrobial drugs.

Evaluation of a chemiluminescent probe assay for identification of Histoplasma capsulatum isolates.

Fifty-three of 54 isolates of fungi were correctly identified with an acridinium ester-labelled probe for Histoplasma capsulatum (Accuprobe; Gen-Probe, San Diego, Calif.). One isolate of Aspergillus niger was incorrectly identified as H.