Keratomycosis in and around Chandigarh: a five-year study from a north Indian tertiary care hospital.

To find out the prevalence and epidemiological features of keratomycosis in Chandigarh, the present study was carried out jointly by the Departments of Microbiology and Ophthalmology, Government Medical College Hospital, Chandigarh, over a period of 5 years from January 1999 to December 2003. Corneal scrapings were collected from a total of 154 suspected patients of keratomycosis and were processed and identified by standard laboratory techniques. The study revealed that a total of 64 cases (41.55%) were positive for fungal agents. Direct microscopy was positive in 52 cases (76.47%) and culture in 34 cases (53.12%). Most common fungal isolates were Aspergillus species 14 (41.18%), Fusarium species 8 (23.53%), Candida species 3 (8.82%), Curvularia species 2 (5.88%) and Bipolaris species 2 (5.88%). Thus, hyaline filamentous fungi were the most common etiological agents and mechanical trauma with vegetative matter was the most common predisposing factor. Males in age group of 21-50 years were more commonly affected.

Characterization of a radiation-induced stress response communicated in vivo between zebrafish.

Radiation-induced communication of stress signals between rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss W) have recently been described by this group and linked to the bystander effect. This paper addresses the question of whether another totally unrelated fish species (Danio rerio L) can demonstrate the effect and also looks at attenuation of both the bystander signal, from irradiated fish, and the bystander effect, in naive fish. The data show that zebrafish produce bystander signals, and that, as with rainbow trout these can affect naïve (i.e., non-irradiated) fish placed in water with X-rayed fish or in water previously occupied by X-rayed fish. Skin explants from directly X-rayed fish still reduce HPV-G reporter cell growth 6 h after X-ray, but the bystander signal to naïve fish is lost. Twelve h after X-ray the signal is lost in X-rayed fish. The bystander effect is also attenuated if induction was by placing naïve fish in water which previously held the X-rayed fish. However, the effect is retained if induction was by placing X-rayed and naïve fish together. This suggests the signal is not retained by water for long periods of time. Individual fish data reveal unique responses by bystander fish which could indicate varying levels of sensitivity to signal strength among individuals.

Comparative in vitro activities of seven new beta-lactams, alone and in combination with beta-lactamase inhibitors, against clinical isolates resistant to third generation cephalosporins.

We examined the drug susceptibility pattern of Gram-negative bacilli to seven new beta-lactams. A total of 277 non-duplicate gramnegative bacilli strains belonging to the Enterobacteriaceae family, Pseudomonas and Acinetobacter species, isolated from various clinical samples were tested for susceptibility to imipenem, piperacillin/tazobactam, cefoperazone/sulbactam, ticarcillin/clavulanate, cefdinir, cefepime and cefpirome with the disk diffusion technique. The percentage resistance was low for imipenem (7.2%), piperacillin/tazobactam (2.8%), cefoperazone/sulbactam (5.4%). However, a high frequency of resistance was observed to ticarcillin/clavulanate (83.9%), cefdinir (70.6%), cefepime (45.5%) and cefpirome (84.4%). We conclude that imipenem, piperacillin/tazobactam and cefoperazone/sulbactam are effective antibiotics in our environment, whereas ticarcillin/clavulanate, cefdinir, cefepime and cefpirome are relatively uneffective.

Comparative in vitro activities of seven new beta-lactams, alone and in combination with beta-lactamase inhibitors, against clinical isolates resistant to third generation cephalosporins

We examined the drug susceptibility pattern of Gram-negative bacilli to seven new beta-lactams. A total of 277 non-duplicate gramnegative bacilli strains belonging to the Enterobacteriaceae family, Pseudomonas and Acinetobacter species, isolated from various clinical samples were tested for susceptibility to imipenem, piperacillin/tazobactam, cefoperazone/sulbactam, ticarcillin/clavulanate, cefdinir, cefepime and cefpirome with the disk diffusion technique. The percentage resistance was low for imipenem (7.2 percent), piperacillin/tazobactam (2.8 percent), cefoperazone/sulbactam (5.4 percent). However, a high frequency of resistance was observed to ticarcillin/clavulanate (83.9 percent), cefdinir (70.6 percent), cefepime (45.5 percent) and cefpirome (84.4 percent). We conclude that imipenem, piperacillin/tazobactam and cefoperazone/sulbactam are effective antibiotics in our environment, whereas ticarcillin/clavulanate, cefdinir, cefepime and cefpirome are relatively uneffective.

Salmonella typhi septic arthritis of hip--a case report.

A case of rarely encountered Salmonella Typhi septic arthritis of the hip in a child with no preexisting disease is reported. Salmonella etiology was not suspected in this case, and the diagnosis was made only after bacterial isolation. Arthrotomy was done as an initial mode of management, followed by intravenous ciprofloxacin therapy to which the child responded favorably.

Antimicrobial susceptibility of isolates from neonatal septicemia.

A retrospective study of bacterial isolates from cases of neonatal septicemia was undertaken over a period of 5 years (July 1998 - June 2003) at the Government Medical College Hospital, Chandigarh, India. The study was carried out to determine the bacterial profile, the antimicrobial susceptibility of the isolates, and the change in trends over the study period. A total of 3,064 blood samples for blood culture were obtained, out of which 588 were positive for bacterial isolates. Most of the cases detected by blood culture occurred in the first week of life (64.4%). Gram-negative bacilli (58.5%) predominated over Gram-positive cocci (41.5%). Staphylococcus aureus was found to be the most common isolate (35.0%). The incidence of Gram-positive and Gram-negative organisms changed little over the 5 year span. However, a constant and significant rise in the incidence of Acinetobacter spp. was observed between the first to fifth year of the study period. Amikacin was found to be the most effective drug against Gram-negative bacteria. For S. aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, overall resistance percentages of 5 years show that netilmicin and ciprofloxacin, respectively, were the most effective drugs.