Interleukin-10 level in occult hepatitis C virus infection in hemodialysis patient

Interleukin 10 is a critical immunoregulatory molecule, produced mainly by macrophage, Th2 and regulatory T cells, is a potent immunosuppressive cytokine with anti-inflammatory activity. Detection of the serum level of IL-10 in OCI in HD patients. 75 HD patients from HD units in Assiut university Hospital, were enrolled in this study, and IL-10 were measured in 8 patients with OCI, 68 HD without OCI and 10 normal subjects as a control. The level of IL-10 was highly significantly increased in HD patient with OCI than in HD patients without OCI [P< 0.001], and in HD patients than normal subject [P<0.001] There is significant increase as regarding ALT [P<0.001], AST [P< 0.001], in occult HCV infection in HD patients. Our data revealed a high serum level of IL-10 in occult HCV infection in HD patients with persistently abnormal elevated levels of liver enzymes than HD patients without OCI

Prevalence and risk factors of carbapenem-resistant gram negative bacilli in Assiut University Hospital

Carbapenem-resistant Gram negative bacilli [CRGNB] resulting from carbapenemase enzyme production have been reported to be an important cause of nosocomial infection and are a critical therapeutic problem worldwide. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of carbapenem-resistant Gram negative bacilli in Asiut University Hospital and relevant risk factors associated with its occurrence. The study was conducted over a period of 12 month from January 2011 to January 2012 on 355 specimen of 134 nosocomialy infected patients, aged two month to 82 years, admitted to the ICUs at Assiut University Hospital. Patient demographics, comorbidities, antibiotics, invasive devices were determined to identify risk factors associated with CRGNB infections. Three hundred and fifty five Gram negative bacilli isolates [47.92%] were isolated from patients. Ninety seven [27.17%] of Gram negative bacilli isolates were carbapenem-resistant. Patients aged above 40 years, male sex, prior antibiotic treatment, the presence of a urinary catheter, mechanical ventilation and central line in ICU were the most prevalent risk factors associated with the accurence of nosocomial CRGNB infections. The prevalence of CRGNB was 27.17% among GNB isolates. Patients aged above 40 years, male sex, prior antibiotic treatment, the presence of a urinary catheter, mechanical ventilation and central line in ICU were the most prevalent risk factors Interventions aimed reducing initial broad spectrum antibiotics are clearly needed to help control the spread in of these difficult to treat infections

Microbiological assay of colistin sulfate antibiotic in pharmaceutical formulations

A simple, sensitive and specific agar cup diffusion bioassay for the antibacterial Colistin sulfate was developed. Using a strain of Escherichia coli ATCC 8739 as the test organism, Colistin sulfate at concentrations ranging from 100 to 1600 micro g/ml could be measured in pharmaceuticals. A prospective validation of the method showed that the method was linear [r[2]= 0.999], precise [RSD< 2.8%] and accurate [percent recovery ranges between 98-102%]. The method shows that results confirm its precision, not differing significantly from the other method described in the literature. We conclude that microbiological assay is satisfactory using Escherichia coli ATCC 8739 for quantitation of in-vitro antibacterial activity of Colistin sulfate