Performance of a New MicroScan WalkAway PC30 panel and disk diffusion method for detection of oxacillin resistance in Staphylococcus spp.

The performance of the MicroScan WalkAway PC30 panel for detection of oxacillin resistance was evaluated by use of a collection of 420 staphylococcus isolates. The addition of a cefoxitin test (4 mg/liter) to the oxacillin MIC determination increased its raw performance for Staphylococcus aureus; additional data were required for coagulase-negative staphylococci.

In vitro activity of daptomycin against Staphylococci isolated from bacteremia and community-onset skin and soft tissue infections in France: data from two nationwide studies.

Staphylococci are a leading cause of skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) and bacteremia in France, a country with a high prevalence of oxacillin resistance. We evaluated the in vitro activity of daptomycin compared with reference compounds against 445 Staphylococcus aureus and 53 coagulase-negative Staphylococci (CNS) collected during two large nationwide studies performed in 2006 and 2007. The percentage of oxacillin resistance among S.

[Hyperkalemia induced by atenolol].

We report a 53-year-old woman with hyperkaliemia secondary to treatment with atenolol. The diagnosis of atenolol induced hyperkaliemia was obtained after excluding other causes of hyperkaliemia and normalization of potassium serum level following the discontinuation of this medication without any other modification (treatment or diet). Furthermore, when atenolol was again introduced, serum potassium level increased and normalized when atenol was definitively discontinued.

Dalbavancin, a long-acting lipoglycopeptide for the treatment of multidrug-resistant Gram-positive bacteria.

Dalbavancin is a new lipoglycopeptide antibiotic in late-stage clinical development as a once-weekly treatment for serious infections including skin and skin structure infections. Its in vitro potency is greater than that of vancomycin, with a MIC(90) of 0.06 mg/l for Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococci (irrespective of oxacillin susceptibility), 0.

Clostridium symbiosum as a cause of bloodstream infection in an immunocompetent patient.

Bloodstream infection caused by Clostridium symbiosum was previously reported in only one case, from a highly immunocompromised patient with metastic colon cancer. We describe the second case of clinical bacteraemic sepsis caused by C. symbiosum from a previously healthy man, which underlines the pathogenicity of this species.

Fatal relapse of a purulent pleurisy caused by Campylobacter fetus subsp. fetus.

Campylobacter fetus is associated with invasive disease, while other Campylobacter species, such as C. coli and C. jejuni, are a common cause of bacterial diarrhea.

New real-time PCR assay using locked nucleic acid probes to assess prevalence of ParC mutations in fluoroquinolone-susceptible Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates from France.

A real-time PCR assay with locked nucleic acid probes was developed to screen mutations at codons 79 and 83 of the Streptococcus pneumoniae parC gene. Only silent mutations were detected among 236 French invasive fluoroquinolone-susceptible strains. This test could be useful for some high-risk patients or in national surveys.