ABSTRACT
A higher than 350 eosinophils/mm(3) is strongly associated with Chlamydia trachomatis in term born babies coursing with respiratory distress. However, in preterm newborns infected with this pathogen, the levels of eosinophils are unknown. Forty newborn infants with clinical data of respiratory problems and/or sepsis were analyzed. DNA of leukocytes from peripheral blood was used to identify C. trachomatis. Detection of chlamydial infection was performed by amplifying the ompA gene by an in-house PCR, and eosinophil levels were evaluated in an XT-2000-hematology analyzer. Eighteen infants showed chlamydial infection and 14 of them showed pneumonia (RR = 2.6; CI95% 1.03-6.5; p =.027). Their eosinophil levels were 719 ± 614 cells/mm(3). A significant association between eosinophilia ≥1250 cells/mm(3) and gestational age of less than 29 weeks (RR = 5.8; 1.35; CI95% [1.4-24.5], p <.008) was observed. The preterm infants with chlamydial infection did not show higher eosinophil levels than uninfected infants.
Subject(s)
Chlamydia Infections/pathology , Chlamydia trachomatis , Eosinophilia/pathology , Pneumonia/pathology , Adult , Case-Control Studies , Chlamydia Infections/complications , Chlamydia Infections/microbiology , Eosinophilia/complications , Eosinophilia/microbiology , Female , Gestational Age , Humans , Infant, Newborn , Infant, Premature , Male , Pneumonia/microbiology , Polymerase Chain Reaction , Sepsis/microbiology , Sepsis/pathology , Young AdultABSTRACT
Background. Tumor necrosis factor-Ó (TNF-Ó) is a cytokine that can be found in the peritoneal fluid (PF) of patients with endometriosis and pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) as a response to inflammatory disorders and infections. The cytotoxic effect of this cytokine could be a factor participating in the pathology of various gynecological diseases, and could also be accountable for the high immunological response and demage to the tubal epithelium. The objective of this study was ato establish the presence of TNF-Ó in asymptomatic infertility and its association with various isolated bacteria. Methods. Ten milliliters of PF were collected from each of 73 patients by means of laparoscopy and cultured in synthetic medium and McCoy cells for the isolation of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria, as well as for Chlamydia trachomatis. The activity of TNF-Ó was determined by means of a bioassay using L-929 cells. Results. Forty-three parcent of the PFs showed positive TNF-Ó activity, while the laparoscopic evaluation showed that 32 patients had Fallopian tube occlusion (FTO), 7 had endometriosis, 30 had PID. and 4 had myomas and adhesions. TNF-Ó activity was found to be high in FTO patients (P<0.05). Positive cultures were found in 50.7 percent of patients; of these, 31.5 percent had PID (p< 0.05), and only 20.5 percent of positive cultures were TNF-Ó positive. Chlamydia trachomatis (16 percent) was the most frequently isolated bacteria in these patients. Conclusions. The detection of TNF-Ó could be useful in the diagnosis of active infectious and inflammatory diseases in asymptomatic infertile patients
Subject(s)
Humans , Female , Adolescent , Adult , Middle Aged , Infertility, Female/metabolism , Infertility, Female/microbiology , Ascitic Fluid/chemistry , Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/analysisABSTRACT
Se evaluó la sebsibilidad, especificidad, valor predictivo positivo y negativo y porcentaje de falsas positivas y negativas de tres reactivos de inmunofluorescencia directa para el diagnóstico de infecciones por Chlamydia trachomatis. Se estudiaron 150 muestras de raspados cervicovaginales y 50 muestras de líquido peritoneal de pacientes con enfermedad pélvica inflamatoria. Los reactivos en contra de la proteína principal de membrana externa presentaron mayor sensibilidad pero menor especifidad que el reactivo de inmunofluorescencia contra el lipopolisacárido de Chlamydia trachomatis
Subject(s)
Humans , Female , Chlamydia Infections/diagnosis , Chlamydia trachomatis/pathogenicity , Clinical Laboratory Techniques , Fluorescence , Pelvic Inflammatory Disease/microbiology , Sensitivity and Specificity , Fluorescent Antibody Technique/standards , Vaginal Diseases/microbiologyABSTRACT
Los micoplasmas revisten gran importancia clínica, por haberse reconocido su papel patógeno en entidades clínicas como neumonía atípica primaria, uretritis no gonocócica e infecciones cervicovaginales de la mujer en etapa sexual activa. En Europa durante el siglo XVIII, se presentó en el ganado una enfermedad pulmonar altamente contagiosa, a la cual se denominó pleuroneumonía. Sin embargo, fue hasta 1898 cuando Nocard y Roux lograron aislar el agente causal de esta enfermedad sin saber que se trataba de Mycoplasma mycoides. Las colonias poducidas en el medio de cultivo, se apreciaban muy pequeñas, pleomórficas y se teñían débilmente con los colorantes habituales. Con el paso del tiempo se siguieron observando algunos gérmenes, cuya morfología y propiedades de cultivo eran semejantes. Las fuentes de estos aislamientos fueron muy diversas. Al principio y de manera abreviada se les denominó PPLO (Pleuropneumoniae like organisms) por su similitud con agentes productores de pleuroneumonía bovina
