ABSTRACT
Aim: To investigate the prevalence of methicillin-resistant S. aureus [MRSA] among infected /colonized foot ulcer, nasal carriage and hospital environment in diabetic foot clinic
Methods: During 3 months duration among 64 selected diabetic patients, S. aureus were identified, then Methicillin resistance detection was done by oxacillin disk diffusion tests, and confirmed by detection of PBP2a production by screen latex agglutination test. All MRSA isolates were tested for their antibiotic susceptibilities by the NCCLS agar disk diffusion method
Results: Infection/colonization rate among 64 selected diabetic patients was 41% vs. 17%. Nasal carriage of MRSA was detected among 21 patients [34%] and one isolates from 6 studied HCW[16%]. Only 4 MRSA isolates [13%] were isolated from the desk of the DFC at the end of the clinical session. Multiple resistance to non-beta-lactam antimicrobials [erythromycin, clindamycin, gentamicin and tetracycline], was also highly prevalent among the infected and nasal colonization of MRSA isolates by 30% and 5% respectively
Conclusion: This study underscores the need for hospital clinicians to be aware of the common bacterial isolates in their unit and their usual antibiotic susceptibility. This is imperative in order to make rational decisions for the prudent use of antibiotics, particularly for empirical therapy
ABSTRACT
This study evaluated the antimicrobial and cytotoxic effect of Epiphany root canal sealer versus commonly used sealers; EndoFill, Apexit, Ketac-Endo, and AH-26. The first portion of this study used four different microorganisms; Enterococcus faecalis [E.faecalis], staphylococcus aureus [S. aureus], Ecshericia coli [E.coli] and Candida albican [C. albican] to determine the antimicrobial effect using the agar-well diffusion method. Secondly, In vitro Cytotoxicity assay using human periodontal ligament cell culture was used to evaluate the cytotoxicity of Epiphany sealer compared to the other four sealers. The cell cultures were incubated for 24h with freshly mixed material and after 24 h of setting. The viability of the fibroblast cells was determined using trypan blue. The results of this comparative study indicated that Epiphany sealer exhibited a potential antibacterial activity with no anticandida effect. The cytotoxicity of Epiphany was comparable to that of EndoFill and Apexit, however it was significantly less toxic than Ketac-Endo, and AH-26
ABSTRACT
Background: the possibility that cytokines can play a role in the progressive deterioration of left ventricular [LV function has emerged in recent years. To address this issue we 1] further investigated the hypothesis of activation of TNF alpha and IL-6 in patients with congestive heart [failure [CHF], and 2] estimated the clinical and echocardiographic factors for increased of these cytokines in these patients
Methods: we determined serum levels of TNF alpha and IL-6 in 75 consecutive patients with mild and severe CHF and then correlated these data with clinical and echocardiographic variables
Results: both plasma levels of TNF alpha and IL-6 were significantly higher in patients with CHF than in control subjects. On multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analyses, LV end-diastolic diameter [LVDd] showed independent and significant positive relation [P<0.01], and body mass index [BMI] showed independent and significant negative relation [P<0.01] with plasma TNF alpha levels among 17 clinical and echocardiographic variables. Moreover, LV mass and female gender showed independent and significant positive relations [P<0.01] with the plasma IL-6 levels
Conclusions: our results do not support the hypothesis that increased production of cytokines is only related to the severity of CHF independent of other factors, and suggesting an important role for other clinical and echocardiographic factor-s in cytokine activation in CHF