Prevalence and antibiotic resistance among helicobacter pylori clinical isolates from main hospitals in the western region of Saudi Arabia

The aim of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns amongst H. pylori clinical strains isolated from the main hospitals in the western region of Saudi Arabia. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed for 137 clinical isolates of H. pylori recovered from 368 Saudi patients undergoing endoscopic examination. The antibiotics used were amoxicillin, tetracycline, clarithromycin and metronidazole. A high percentage of resistance were observed against metronidazole [48.2%] followed by clarithromycin [27.7%], amoxicillin [14.6%] and tetracycline [9.5%]. A total of 12 [8.8%] multidrug-resistant H. pylori isolates were observed in this study. Moreover, a warning sign of emerging resistance to amoxicillin, tetracycline and clarithromycin were noted. The clinician need to be aware about resistance pattern in their region when they select empiric antibiotics regimen for H. pylori

Relationship between helicobacter pylori VacA genotypes status and risk of peptic ulcer in Saudi patients

To determine if there is a significant correlation between different Helicobacter pylori [H. pylori] vacA genotypes strains and severe gastric clinical outcomes. A total of 1104 gastric biopsies from 368 patients who presented with symptoms suggestive of chronic gastritis or peptic ulcer were taken from the main hospitals in the western region of Saudi Arabia from July 2004 to July 2005. These samples were cultured for H. pylori, and a polymerase chain reaction [PCR] was carried out to determine vacA genotypes status. One hundred and three [28%] patients were positive for H. pylori using culture technique. The distribution of vacA genotypes was 13 for vacAs1m1, 47 for vacAs1m2 and 43 for vacAs2m2. None of the clinical isolates were vacAs2m1 positive. The study showed a significant correlation between the vacAs1m2 genotype and gastritis cases, and a significant correlation between vacAs1m1 genotype and ulcer cases. The results of this study might be used for the identification of high-risk patients who are infected by vacAs1m1 genotype H. pylori strains

Methicillin resistance among Staphylococcus aureus isolates from Saudi hospitals

To determine the prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus [MRSA] strains among clinical isolates collected from the 4 tertiary hospitals in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, and to test the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of S. aureus isolates against 9 antimicrobial agents. A total of 512 S. aureus clinical isolates were collected during a period of 1 year starting in April 2003 in AI-Noor, King Abdul-Aziz, Hera and King Faisal Hospitals, Makkah, Saudi Arabia. The sensitivity patterns of these isolates were determined using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. The prevalence of MRSA among S. aureus isolates was 38.9% [199/512]. Among 199 MRSA isolates, 78.8% showed multidrug resistance to erythromycin, gentamicin and oxytetracycline. The rate of MRSA resistance in this study was much higher than what had been reported in other areas of Saudi Arabia emphasizing the need for local or country-based surveillance to characterize and monitor MRSA and to develop strategies that will improve MRSA treatment and control

Chlamydia pneumoniae seropositivity and risk of developing coronary heart disease in Western Saudi Arabia

To estimate the seroprevalence of IgG and IgA antibodies against Chlamydia pneumoniae [C. pneumoniae] among a sample of the Saudi population, and to evaluate whether there is a relationship between seropositivity to chronic infection with C. pneumoniae and the manifestation of symptomatic coronary heart disease [CHD]. We collected 273 sera samples from CHD patients and 273 sera samples from healthy matched controls from the Western region of Saudi Arabia during the period from November 2004 to May 2005. We tested anti-chlamydial IgG and IgA antibodies using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technique. We found 239 [87.5%] patients and 213 [78%] controls positive for C. pneumoniae IgG antibodies. However, 58 [21.2%] patients and 55 [23.9%] controls were positive for C. pneumoniae IgA antibodies. These results indicate a significant correlation between the presence of IgG antibodies and the development of CHD [p=0.003]. Data of this study showed that the presence of IgG antibodies has a 2-fold increase risk in development of CHD. We found no significant correlation between the existence of IgA antibodies and CHD. Our study indicates that C. pneumoniae infection plays an important role in the development of CHD in the Saudi community, emphasizing the importance of developing strategies for prevention and control against this type of bacterial infection. However, we need further study throughout the Kingdom to approve these results in all regions