ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To study the relationship between nasal carriage and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) infection in hospitalized children. METHODS: Fifty-six hospitalized children infected with S. aureus were recruited in this study. Nasal swabs were collected and cultured, and the nasal carriage rate of S. aureus was examined. PVL virulence gene and mecA resistance gene were both detected in clinical strains and nasal carriage strains by PCR. RESULTS: Twenty-two (39%) of the 56 children had nasal carriage of S. aureus, and most of them (18 cases) were younger than one year. Among these 22 children, 11 (50%) had previous hospitalization over the past year. In the infected strains, the rate of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) was 29% (16/56), while it was 32% (7/22) in carriage strains. The mecA positive results in clinical strains were consistent with the results in nasal carriage strains. Among 5 PVL-positive nasal carriage strains, 4 (90%) could be matched with their clinical strains, all of which were MRSA. CONCLUSIONS: Nasal carriage is a potential risk factor for S. aureus infection. Nosocomial transmission may lead to nasal carriage, which can cause S. aureus infection. The isolation rate of MRSA is high in hospitalized children infected with S. aureus, which implies that more attention is needed for this situation. The isolates from noses may be clonally identical to the isolates from clinical secretions, and the homology between them needs to be confirmed by multi-locus sequence typing.
Subject(s)
Carrier State/microbiology , Nose/microbiology , Staphylococcal Infections/microbiology , Staphylococcus aureus/isolation & purification , Bacterial Proteins/genetics , Child , Child, Hospitalized , Child, Preschool , Female , Humans , Infant , Infant, Newborn , Male , Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus/isolation & purification , Penicillin-Binding ProteinsABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical value of mycobacterial DNA microarray technology for diagnosis of childhood tuberculosis. METHODS: 120 clinical specimens were collected from hospitalized child patients. Acid-fast staining, mycobacterial culture and DNA microarray assays were performed using these clinical specimens. The results of DNA microarray assays were compared with the results of acid-fast staining and mycobacterial culture. RESULTS: The sensitivity of DNA microarray assays for specimens from children with tuberculosis was 24.3% (17/70), of acid-fast staining 17.1% (12/70), of mycobacterial culture 20.0% (14/70), and the specificity of the three methods was all 100.0% (50/50). The difference between results of DNA microarray assays and that of acid-fast staining or mycobacterial culture was not significant. CONCLUSION: DNA microarray assay has reference value for the diagnosis of childhood tuberculosis. It provides a new way for the diagnosis of childhood tuberculosis.
Subject(s)
Mycobacterium tuberculosis/isolation & purification , Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis , Tuberculosis/diagnosis , Tuberculosis/microbiology , Child , Culture Techniques/methods , DNA, Bacterial/analysis , Female , Humans , Male , Mycobacterium tuberculosis/genetics , Staining and LabelingABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To learn about the clinical distribution and drug resistance of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) isolated from inpatients and provide evidence for clinically reasonable use of antibiotics. METHODS: Data including clinical features and drug sensitivity of S. aureus isolated from hospitalized patients in the last two years were analyzed. RESULTS: 248 S. aureus strains were isolated from inpatients of our hospital in the last 2 years. The most common disease caused by S. aureus was pneumonia with a total of 163 patients. The second was skin and soft tissue infection with 21 patients in total. Sepsis occurred in 11 patients. The most commonly used antibiotics included oxacillin, nafcillin, cefathiamidine and vancomycin. The average course of antibiotic was 12.48 days. Treatment course of pneumonia and sepsis was 13.71 and 15.11 respectively. 96.31% (235/244) of S. aureus were resistant to penicillin. Vancomycin-resistant S. aureus has not been isolated. CONCLUSION: S. aureus pneumonia is the leading cause of hospitalization of children with S. aureus infection. S. aureus is highly resistant to commonly used antibiotics and related infections need longer therapy. Clinicians should pay more attention to S. aureus infection.
