ABSTRACT
Primary drug resistance to Mycobacterium tuberculosis was investigated from the Division of Tuberculosis, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University during August 1991 – July 1992. There were 100 isolations of M.tuberculosis, 70 from male patients, the other 30 from female patients. In male patients the largest age groups were 21-30 and 31-40 years. The isolates were 93 percent from sputum, the other 7 percent were from bronchial wash, pus and ascetic fluid. In female patients the largest age group were 11-20 and 21-30 years. The isolates were 83 percent from sputum, the other 17 percent were from brochial wash, pus and pleural fluid. The overall rate of resistance to antituberculosis drugs in this study was 37 percent. The isolates from sputum showed resistance to INH 22 percent and 13 percent, SM 9 percent and 8 percent, EMB 20 percent, RF 9 percent and 8 percent, the isolates from miscellaneous specimen (other than sputum) showed resistance only to INH (20% and 10%). Comparing this result with other reported data revealed that this study showed higher incidence of primary drug resistance to M. tuberculosis.
ABSTRACT
Isolates of C. neoformans were collected from clinical specimens of 15 patients (9 males, 6 females; average age 34 years) admitted to Siriraj Hospital during the period January 1990-December 1991. All suffered from crytococcal meningitis. Five patients were diagnosed as having AIDS and three, leukemia and lymphoma. Duration of hospital stay varied from one to 190 days (average 40 days). Initial latex agglutination test using cerebrospinal fluid showed titres of 1:32-1:64, except in two patients with titres of 1:128 and 1:1024, both of whom died. One patient’s latex agglutination test was negative three times, but the organism was found in the cerebrospinal fluid. The slide latex agglutination test titre decreased to 1:4(1) in an average of 64 days. C. neoformans was isolated from the blood of two AIDS patients, both of whom died. Capsular antigen study by glycine cycloheximide medium revealed that all 15 isolates of C. neoformans were serotypes A or D. This study, along with several others, revealed that cryptococcosis is a growing problem which should be watched carefully in AIDS patients.