Pregnancy in immigrant women.

Objective: We wanted to study how foreign women face pregnancy and childbirth in a society quite different from their own.

Methods: In 2004 we studied 328 pregnant women at the Department of Gynaecology at the "General Hospital Umberto I" in Rome. Information on patients' personal lives and experiences was collected.

Mycotic aneurysms as lethal complication of brain pseudallescheriasis in a near-drowned child: a CT demonstration.

Intracranial true mycotic aneurysms are rare and generally lethal. We report a case of a near-drowned child with brain abscesses due to Pseudallescheria boydii, a saprophytic fungus, who died after subarachnoid hemorrhage occurred. CT showed contrast-enhancing lesions indicative of aneurysms of basilar and right posterior cerebral arteries that could not be appreciated 2 days before.

Gemella morbillorum deep brain abscess successfully treated with combined stereotactic, medical, and imaging approach.

A rare case of brain abscess due to Gemella morbillorum, a normal inhabitant of the oral cavity, is presented. The aim of this report is to draw the attention of radiology literature readers to this little known pathogen, which caused a potentially life-threatening condition in an immunocompetent young man, and to emphasise the usefulness of a combined stereotactic, medical, and imaging approach to deep-located brain abscesses.

Performance assessment of two commercial amplification assays for direct detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex from respiratory and extrapulmonary specimens.

The new BDProbeTec ET Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex Direct Detection Assay (DTB) was compared with the enhanced M. tuberculosis Amplified Direct Test (AMTDII). The system is an automated walkaway system characterized by simultaneous DNA amplification (strand displacement amplification) and real-time fluorometric detection.

Comparison of MB/Bact alert 3D system with radiometric BACTEC system and Löwenstein-Jensen medium for recovery and identification of mycobacteria from clinical specimens: a multicenter study.

The MB/BacT ALERT 3D System (MB/BacT) (Organon Teknika, Boxtel, The Netherlands) is a fully automated, nonradiometric system with a revised antibiotic supplement kit designed for the recovery of mycobacteria from clinical specimens. In a multicenter study, the recovery rate of acid-fast bacilli (AFB) and the mean time to their detection from clinical specimens was determined by using the MB/BacT system. Data were compared to those assessed by the radiometric BACTEC 460 system (B460) and by culture on Löwenstein-Jensen (L-J) solid medium.

Comparative evaluation of the new gen-probe Mycobacterium tuberculosis amplified direct test and the semiautomated abbott LCx Mycobacterium tuberculosis assay for direct detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex in respiratory and extrapulmonary specimens.

Two commercial assays that detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTB) in clinical specimens by rRNA target amplification (AMTDII) and ligase chain reaction (LCx) were evaluated. The tests were applied to 457 respiratory (n = 273) and extrapulmonary (n = 184) specimens collected from 357 patients. The results were compared with those of acid-fast staining and culture.

Evaluation of a new method for rapid drug susceptibility testing of Mycobacterium avium complex isolates by using the mycobacteria growth indicator tube.

The reliability of the Mycobacteria Growth Indicator Tube (MGIT [BBL]) for rapid drug susceptibility testing of Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) isolates was evaluated. MICs of amikacin, clarithromycin, clofazimine, ethambutol, and rifabutin were determined by the MGIT system for 16 MAC strains. The results were compared with those obtained by the BACTEC broth macrodilution method.

Mycobacterium malmoense in Italy.

A case of mycobacterial lymphadenitis due to Mycobacterium malmoense was recently diagnosed in a 5-year-old girl. The organism was isolated from pus and tissue fragments obtained by surgical excision of the affected nodes. This is the first documented case of human infection due to this organism in Italy.

Bacteriostatic and bactericidal activities of paromomycin against Mycobacterium avium complex isolates.

The MICs and MBCs of paromomycin for 32 Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) strains isolated from patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome were determined by a radiometric broth dilution method. The MICs for the majority of strains were either 8 or 16 mg/L and the MBCs were four- to eight-fold higher. Paromomycin merits further evaluation as oral prophylaxis against disseminated MAC infection.

In vitro activity of the new quinolone lomefloxacin against Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin and lomefloxacin were determined for 90 Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains isolated from both AIDS and other patients. Eleven (12.2%) of these strains showed in vitro resistance to one or more first-line antituberculosis drugs.

Comparative evaluation of the MB-Check system for recovery of mycobacteria from clinical specimens.

The performance of the MB-Check system (Roche) in the recovery of mycobacteria from clinical specimens was compared with that of the Bactec radiometric system and conventional culture on Löwenstein-Jensen medium. A total of 1,582 clinical specimens were used for the study; 74 yielded mycobacteria. Organisms of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium avium complexes accounted for the majority of isolates.