Microbial contamination of "in use" bar soap in dental clinics.

Bar soap from 18 different dental clinics were investigated for microbial contamination, while it was "in-use". Of the 32 samples obtained from the bar soap, 100% yielded positive culture. A total of 8 different genera of organisms were isolated. Each bar soap was found to harbor 2-5 different genera of micro organisms. Heavily used soap had more micro organisms compared to less used soap. The microbial load of the "in-use" bar soap constituted a mixed flora of gram positive, gram negative, aerobes, anaerobes, and fungi. The results indicate that the bar soap under "in-use" condition is a reservoir of microorganisms and handwashing with such a soap may lead to spread of infection.

Antimicrobial susceptibility of Salmonella typhi to quinolones & cephalosporins.

Antimicrobial sensitivity testing was carried out for 85 isolates of S. typhi by disc diffusion and microbroth dilution for estimation of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). The drugs used included amoxycillin, chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin, gentamicin, netilmicin, cefuroxime, ceftizoxime, cefoperazone and ceftazidime. Ninety three per cent of our isolates were resistant to amoxycillin and chloramphenicol but total susceptibility was seen to quinolones and aminoglycosides. We also found that 3 per cent of our isolates were resistant to cephalosporins and 23 per cent were in the intermediate range with an MIC of 12.5 or 25 micrograms/ml to these drugs. In spite of decreased efficacy, the strains continued to be fully susceptible to ciprofloxacin as could be seen from the extended dilutions in microbroth dilution tests. The study also revealed that there was lack of correlation between the two methods of sensitivity testing for cephalosporins. We feel that the development of resistance of S. typhi to third generation cephalosporins is a finding worth consideration for further studies.

Perda sanguínea menstrual e estoques de ferro do organismo: estudo comparativo entre o DIU Multiload-375 e o anel vaginal de Levonorgestrel / Menstrual blood loss and body iron stores: comparative study with the use of a Multiload-375 IUD and a Levonorgestrel vaginal ring

Setenta e quatro usuárias do DIU Multiload-375 foram estudadas comparativamente com 107 usuárias de anel vaginal de Levonorgestrel (20 micra g/dia) no Brasil e Chile, relativamente à sua perda sanguínea menstrual (PSM) e estoques de ferro do organismo através de medidas da hemoglobina (HGB) e ferritina sérica (FS). As medidas foram feitas antes e após a inserçäo do DIU por 24 meses e do anel vaginal por 12 meses. Enquanto näo houve alteraçöes com o uso do anel vaginal nas medidas de PSM, HGB e FS, as mulheres que usaram o DIU tiveram o aumento significativo na PSM por pelo menos um ano depois da inserçäo e uma queda também significativa da FS até 24 meses depois da inserçäo. Em conclusäo, sugere-se que dos dois métodos estudados, o anel vaginal seria o mais adequado para indivíduos com baixos estoques de ferro do organismo.