Evaluation of antimicrobial resistance of Acinetobacter baumannii to imipenem, ciporofloxacin and ceftazidime using E test

Resistance patterns among nosocomial bacterial pathogens in hospitals may vary widely from country to country at any given point and within the same country over time. Acinetobacter baumannii is one of the most important bacterium causes hospital acquired infections. Therefore, surveillance of antibiotic resistance of A. baumannii is necessary, especially in our country which there is no have much data in this field. In a prospective study, strain comprised of a total of 191 recent clinical isolates selected consecutively from clinical infections of separate patients from three University hospitals in Tehran. Minimum inhibitory concentration [MIC] of these organisms for imipenem, ciprofloxacin and ceftazidime was determined using E test method according to CLSI guideline. Also, MIC50 and MIC90 percent was calculated for each of these antibiotics. The percentages of Acinetobacter baumannii isolates susceptible to ciprofloxacin and ceftazidime by E test were 55.5% and 44.5%, respectively. The percentage of bacterium susceptible to imipenem by E test was 72.8%. MIC50 and MIC90 of imipenem in E test were 1.5 and > 32, respectively. High antimicrobial resistance against A. baumannii species has been seen in Iran; therefore, it is necessary to implement some approaches for prevention of bacterial spread

Toxicity of trigonella foenum graecum [fenugreek] in bone marrow cell proliferation in rat

Fenugreek has a wide range of medical applications and its medicinal use has been clear in several studies, however, few studies are available on effects on haematopoietic stem cell of bone marrow. The goal of the present study was to investigate the effect of Fenugreek on fetal macroscopic diameters and microscopic bone marrow cell histological changes in its teratogenic dosages. Fenugreek decoction was dissolved in 1.5 milliliter distilled water and injected intraperitoneumly in three dosages of 0.8 g/kg, 1.6 g/kg, and 3.2 g/kg for three groups of Wistar female rats mated by Wistar male. For another group [as control group] only 1.5 milliliter distilled water was injected. Bone marrow tissue was prepared from rat fetus and was cut using a microtome and stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Sections were evaluated for changes using light microscope. LD50 for the measurement of teratogenic dosage of fenugreek was 4.1 and 3.5 g/kg in female and male rat, respectively. There was a positive relation between the injected drug dosage and fetal mortality rate. Among all fetal diameters, ear to ear diameter was decreased in groups received Fenugreek decoction. The severity of stem cell histological changes caused by 3.2 g/kg drug injection was lower than distilled water injection and in evaluation of other cells, differences in the severity of histological changes across three groups with different drug dosages and control group was detected. Fenugreek in teratogenic dosages can decrease the severity of bone marrow cell proliferation and increase fetal mortality rate

Predictive value of stress test and myocardial perfusion scan in different age groups based of angiographic reports

The most common methods for screening of patients with probable ischemic heart disease are stress test and in special conditions are perfusion scan, so that their positive results was important indication of coronary angiography. Although, predictive value of perfusion scan has been considered, with regard to the impact of technical and specialized factors and according to the spread of this technique that has wrongly replaced the stress test, it is necessary to compare predictive value of this method with stress test in our country. In a cross-sectional study, patients referred to Tehran Heart Center from all centers of country between January 2004 and January 2005 for coronary angiography was included. Demographic characteristics of patients were collected by interview and clinical tests and analyzed in two genders. Then, positive predictive value [PPV] of both techniques was calculated and compared. The total number of positive perfusion scan and stress test were 2178 and 2581, respectively. It was not significant difference between PPV of perfusion scan and stress test in men [86.9% vs 86.6%, P = 0.814]. PPV of perfusion scan was higher than stress test only in women more than 60 years old [P = 0.0002]. According to the results of this study and with regard to high cost of perfusion scan, it seems that in case the possibility of stress test, the use of perfusion scan had no advantages with the condition of our scan centers and especially in women, predictive value of these techniques were similar. However, it is necessary to consider the causes of this unusual finding according to the role of drugs, instruments, and specialists in the future