ABSTRACT
From March to September 2001, 315 specimens from "nonrepeat" patients that were submitted for ova and parasite examination were stained using the Kinyoun modified acid-fast stain to detect the intestinal coccidians. Four patients (1.3%) were infected with coccidians, 2 with Cryptosporidium parvum and 2 with Cyclospora cayetanensis. No infections with Isospora belli were detected. In comparison, 15 patients (4.8%) had infections with one or more intestinal parasites detected by routine trichrome staining: 5 had Giardia lamblia; 2, Dientamoeba fragilis; 3, Strongyloides stercoralis; 1, Iodamoeba bütschlii; 3, Endolimax nana; 6, Blastocystis hominis; and 1, Entamoeba coli. Four patients were multiply infected. Coccidians made up 29% of the clinically significant parasitic infections. The coccidians were missed in all 4 cases because no special staining was ordered. Clinicians need to be reminded that additional tests should be ordered to fully evaluate patients with chronic diarrhea in which no diagnosis is found by routine testing.
Subject(s)
Cyclosporiasis/complications , Diarrhea/parasitology , Isosporiasis/complications , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Animals , Child , Cryptosporidiosis/complications , Cryptosporidiosis/epidemiology , Cryptosporidium/isolation & purification , Cyclospora/isolation & purification , Cyclosporiasis/epidemiology , Feces/parasitology , Female , Humans , Infant , Isospora/isolation & purification , Isosporiasis/epidemiology , Male , Middle Aged , Prevalence , Sensitivity and Specificity , Staining and LabelingABSTRACT
Direct culture of rectovaginal specimens on Granada agar was compared to culture on sheep blood agar plate (SBAP) and AccuProbe detection of group B streptococcus from overnight LIM broth enhancement cultures (LIM-SBAP). Both broth-enhanced methods demonstrated excellent sensitivity (97.5% for LIM-SBAP and 93.5% for AccuProbe), while Granada agar demonstrated a sensitivity of only 40.3%.
Subject(s)
Pregnancy Complications, Infectious/microbiology , Reagent Kits, Diagnostic , Rectum/microbiology , Streptococcal Infections/microbiology , Streptococcus agalactiae/isolation & purification , Vagina/microbiology , Agar , Bacteriological Techniques , Culture Media , DNA Probes/genetics , DNA, Ribosomal/analysis , Female , Humans , Pregnancy , RNA, Ribosomal/genetics , Sensitivity and Specificity , Streptococcus agalactiae/genetics , Streptococcus agalactiae/growth & development , Time FactorsABSTRACT
In a comparison of the Directigen and VIDAS respiratory syncytial virus antigen detection assays with viral culture, the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and testing efficiency were 86, 93.1, 82.7, 94.6, and 91.2% for Directigen; 96.1, 90.8, 80.3, 98.3, and 92.3% for VIDAS; and 88.2, 100, 100, 95.7, and 96.8% for viral culture, respectively.
Subject(s)
Antigens, Viral/analysis , Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections/diagnosis , Respiratory Syncytial Viruses/isolation & purification , Animals , Cell Line , Humans , Macaca mulatta , Predictive Value of Tests , Respiratory Syncytial Viruses/growth & development , Respiratory Syncytial Viruses/immunology , Sensitivity and Specificity , Tumor Cells, Cultured , Virology/methodsABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To determine the antimicrobial susceptibility rates for key antimicrobial agents and selective bacterial pathogens in the decade of the 1990s. METHODS: Data from 1990 to 2000 from the University of Kentucky Clinical Microbiology Laboratory were analyzed by linear regression analysis to identify agents and pathogens that show a decline in susceptibility. For selected pathogens and antimicrobial agents, predictions were made for further declines in susceptibility for 2005 and 2010. RESULTS: Significant declines in susceptibility to selected antimicrobial agents were found for Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterobacter cloacae, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Streptococcus pneumoniae. Further declines were predicted for 2005 and 2010. CONCLUSIONS: Examination of susceptibility rates over time in a university hospital medical center provides useful data for future planning. In our institution, antimicrobial susceptibility rates have significantly declined during the 1990s for certain antimicrobial agents and bacterial pathogens. We are attempting to change our antimicrobial use patterns through formulary manipulation and clinician education, which may retard or prevent such declines in the future.