Surveillance of pediatric infections in a teaching hospital in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

Nosocomial infections (NI) result in considerably high mortality and morbidity rates, especially among pediatric patients. Considering current worldwide changes, information about the occurrence of pathogens and susceptibility tests are now seen as decisive for optimizing treatment. The purpose of this research was to determine the frequency of microorganisms, antimicrobial and genetic profiles, and risk factors associated with nosocomial infections in a teaching hospital in Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul. From January 1998 to December 1999, 108 patients were characterized as having nosocomial infection, from which 137 pathogens were isolated. Identification and antimicrobial susceptibility was determined by conventional and automated techniques. Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae strains were characterized by Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE). Pathogens were most often isolated from infants one-month old or younger, and bloodstream infections were the most frequent. The main isolated agents isolated were: coagulase-negative staphylococci (38), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (19), S. aureus (26), K. pneumoniae (18), and Candida spp. (13). The risk conditions that were most closely related to NI acquisition were: prolonged hospital stays (69.4 percent), prematurity (60.9 percent) and exposure to high-risk device procedures (95.4 percent). Ciprofloxacin and imipenem were the most effective drugs, inhibiting all or almost all of the Enterobacteriaceae, P. aeruginosa and Acinetobacter calcoaceticus isolates. Only 23 percent of the S. aureus samples were resistant to oxacillin. Genomic typing revealed 10 distinct patterns for S. aureus and 13 for K. pneumoniae, suggesting that most them did not belong to the same clone. PFGE was effective in differentiating the strains

Correlaçöes histórico-científicas entre sífilis e infecçäo pelo vírus da imunodeficiência humana / Syphilis and HIV infection: historical and cientifics correlations

A sífilis pode ser definida como doença de atualidade permanente. As conquistas nos campos diagnóstico e terapêutico vêm sendo insufucientes para o controle da doença, e o problema epidemiológico permanece atual e grave

Soroprevalência da sífilis em gestantes HIV-negativas, obtida de três testes diagnósticos: VDRL, ELISA, TPHA / Syphilis seroprevalwence in HIV-negative pregnant women, using tree diagnostic tests: VDRL, ELISA M and TPHA

A sífilis é uma infecçäo crônica com diversas manifestaçöes clínicas que ocorrem ao longo de estágios variados. Apesar do seu declínio última década, tem sido, novamente, um importante problema de saúde pública. No Brasil, a média de prevalência é de 4 por cento pelo VDRL, em gestantes atendidas em serviços públicos. Na gestaçäo constitui problema importante, pela gravidade das lesöes e pela possiblidade real da profilaxia medicamentosa. É grande a dificuldade de se proceder ao diagóstico nesta fase, e ainda sim, mesmo com tratamento apropriado, durante a gestaçäo a infecçäo fetal poderá ocorrer em mais de 14,0 por cento dos casos. O presente trabalho objetiva determinar a soroprevalência da sífilis por meio da realizaçäo de prova de VDRL confirmada por teste específico

Molecular epidemiology of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolated from newborns in a hospital in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is an organism that is frequently transmitted in hospitals and perinatal units. The MRSA is considered a public health problem in neonatology because of its strong potential for dissemination in the wards associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality. In this study we describe the bacteriological, epidemiological and molecular characteristics of MRSA isolated from anterior nares and blood cultures of newborns hospitalized in a public maternity hospital in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The frequency of MRSA isolated from nasal swabs of newborns was 47.8 percent (43/90). The genetic analysis of MRSA strains from anterior nares, showed 8 different pulsed field gel electrophoresis patterns (PFGE). Upon analysis of PFGE patterns of the 12 MRSA strains isolated from blood cultures, 8 different patterns were observed, 9 (75 percent) strains were genetic related to nasal secretion isolates patterns. In conclusion, our data demonstrate the importance of screening of newborns for the presence of MRSA in Brazilian hospitals and the usefulness of genetic typing of these pathogen during epidemiologic studies. This should lead to a better knowledge on the significancy and spreading of MRSA in the hospitals