Ticarcillin/clavulanic acid: determination of minimal inhibitory concentrations against bacterial strains isolated from patients in intensive care units. Comparison with other agents.

A total of 303 bacterial strains isolated from bronchoaspirates of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients, collected through June and December 1993, were tested for susceptibility to ticarcillin/clavulanic acid, imipenem, amikacin, ceftazidime, ciprofloxacin and piperacillin. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) for each antibiotic was determined according to the NCCLS, by means of serial dilution on microplates. The isolates, 80.8% of which were beta-lactamase producing strains, belonged to Pseudomonas aeruginosa (79 strains), Pseudomonas fluorescens (8 strains), Xanthomonas maltophila (25 strains), Escherichia coli (16 strains), Klebsiella-Enterobacter-Serratia (KES) (62 strains), Proteus spp. (15 strains), Acinetobacter spp. (22 strains), Moraxella spp. (15 strains), Bacteroides catarrhalis (8 strains), Haemophilus spp. (11 strains), Staphylococcus aureus (32 strains), Enterococcus faecalis (10 strains). The highest rate of susceptibility to ticarcillin/clavulanic acid (100%) was detected among E. faecalis (MIC 2-16 micrograms/ml), B. catarrhalis (MIC 1-4 micrograms/ml) and Haemophilus spp. (MIC 1-4 micrograms/ml). Among the non-fermenting microorganisms ticarcillin/-clavulanic acid showed good activity toward P. aeruginosa and P. fluorescens (86% and 75% respectively). It was also very active against X. maltophilia with a susceptibility of 96%. Susceptibility to the other antibiotics tested was within the range of 16% and 28%.

[Detection of Chlamydia trachomatis in urine samples. Possibility of a non-invasive screening]. / Ricerca di Chlamydia trachomatis in campioni di urine. Possibilità di uno screening non invasivo.

In clinic practice urethral specimens from a big proportion of patients are inadequate or swabbing if not undertaken at all because for the discomfort experienced. Moreover, such an experience sometimes discourages patients for reattending. It is clear that having a urine sample from patients is incomparably preferable to having an inadequate urethral swab or none. 250 women attending our gynecology clinic had a urinary sample (20 ml first-voided urine minimum 4-hours from prior menstruation) analysed with an enzyme immunoassay (IDEIA-Dako) for the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis. They also had sample taken from cervix, and urethra for testing with IDEIA. The urinary samples, compared with urethral samples, showed a optimal correspondence to final results. It is concluded that the urinary samples could be used for screening programs to detect Chlamydia trachomatis.

[Evaluation of a screening method for the rapid detection of bacteriuria]. / Valutazione di un apparato per lo screening rapido delle batteriurie.

A screening method for the rapid detection of bacteriuria through a combination of filtration and staining has been evaluated. 307 urine samples have been tested with both the regular colony enumeration on culture media and the rapid method. Taking 10(5) CFU/ml as a cut-off, the agreement was reached for 279 (90.9%) samples, 65 (21.2%) of which positive and 214 (69.7%) negative. Only 4 (1.3%) false negative and 24 (7.8%) false positive were obtained; false positive (whose real significance is further discussed) anyhow can be corrected after cultural confirmation. If the cut-off is lowered to 10(4) CFU/ml the frequency of agreements is slightly less (88.6%). From the operational side, the method is unsensitive to the antimicrobial content of the urines, and appears easy to apply and quite rapid: a sample needs not longer than 2 minutes to be processed.

[Recent trends in the serologic diagnosis of pertussis]. / Recenti indirizzi nella diagnostica sierologica della pertosse.

Anti-whooping cough agglutinin titrations were performed in various groups of children by employing a special antigen and a microtechnique. Moderate agglutinating titers were detected in the first trimester of life and were interpreted as transmitted from the mother. Rare and moderate titers were observed in a group of children of school age, randomly selected and non institutionalized, while, on the contrary, an analogous institutionalized group showed more frequent and higher rate of antibodies. In clinically diagnosed whooping cough titers resulted high when the disease turned out to have set in more than three week earlier. Anti-whooping cough vaccination determined agglutinating titers mainly moderate and not long-lasting.

[Systematic study of pharyngeal and nasal bacteria in children affected by relapsing diseases of respiratory organs (author's transl)]. / Studio sistematico dello spettro batterico faringeo e nasale in bambini affetti da flogosi delle vie respiratorie

The research was conducted on 191 nasal and pharyngeal swabs from children aged between two and ten years, affected by relapsing diseases of their respiratory organs. The aim has been that of isolating those bacteria whose action cause the most frequent respiratory diseases. They are: Haemophilus influenzae, Staphylococcus C+, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas and other Gram-negative bacteria. The isolated bacteria were submitted to sensitivity tests and to the normally used antibiotics. From this research follow the necessity to know which bacteria play the pathogenous role from patient's serological alterations.

[IgE levels in children affected by respiratory allergies (author's transl)]. / Il comportamento delle IgE nelle affezioni delle vie respiratorie nell'infanzia

Radioimmunological technique has been used in order to measure IgE seric levels on 100 children affected by respiratory allergies, on 46 children with non allergic respiratory diseases and on 54 healthy children distributed in different classes of age. In the 58% of cases, allergic subjects presented IgE levels remarkably increased compared with non allergic ones, in the 28% of cases IgE levels had an insignificant increase, and in the remaining 14% the values were comparable with those of the non allergic subjects.