Endogenous methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus as a source of post-operative surgical site infections.

OBJECTIVE: To determine frequency of Endogenous Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in pre-operative patients and its frequency in Surgical Site Infections (SSIs) post operatively. METHODS: It was a descriptive cross sectional conducted at Department of Microbiology, Fauji Foundation Hospital Rawalpindi (FFH), Pakistan. Samples were collected from 1st November-31st May 2018. Total 75 samples were collected during the period. Consecutive non-probability sampling technique was utilized. Specimens were collected from nose, axilla and groin of preoperative patients. Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus was identified if only isolated from these sites. Patients were followed till his/her discharge from the hospital and if they developed infection post operatively, pus specimen from infected site was also collected and identified. RESULTS: Out of 75 specimen preoperatively, 11(14.7%) were identified as endogenous MRSA. From these, 33(44%) developed Surgical site infections (SSIs), among them 19(57%) were MRSA (09 endogenous, 10 exogenous), 7(21.2%) were Escherichia coli, 3(9.1%) were Klebsiella pneumoniae, 3(9.1%) were Enterococcus faecalis and 1(3%) was Methicillin Sensitive Staphylococcus aureus. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study determined that Endogenous Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) could be isolated from patients going for surgery if microbiological screening was done at the time of admission. This could prevent patients from Surgical Site Infection Post operatively by these endogenous MRSA. This search and wipe out strategy is able to curtail the events of outbreak, reduce hospital stay and decrease budget of the hospital by providing guidance in choice of empirical therapy for infection.

Frequency of Cryptosporidiosis in Children having Persistent Diarrhea.

OBJECTIVE: Globally childhood diarrheal diseases continue to be the second leading cause of death. Cryptosporidium spp are important intestinal parasites that cause diarrhea in humans and animals particularly in developing countries. This investigation was carried out to find out the frequency of cryptosporidiosis in children presenting with persistent diarrhea. METHODS: Two hundred stool samples were collected in this descriptive cross-sectional study conducted at Microbiology Department, Combined Military Hospital, Lahore Pakistan between the months of July to Dec 2014. Children aged five years to 12 years who presented with persistent diarrhea were included in the study. Stool specimens were processed using the modified acid-fast staining method, and microscopically examined for Cryptosporidium infection. RESULTS: The average age of study participants was 7.95 with a standard deviation of 2.21 years. Among the participants 66% were males whereas 34% were females. Twenty eight percent had presence of oocysts in stool samples. CONCLUSIONS: The frequency of Cryptosporidiosis among children with persistent diarrhea was 28%. This high frequency indicates that this population is uniquely susceptible to infection. It also highlights the need for education about hygiene, accurate diagnosis, and treatment of Cryptosporidiosis. There is also a need for additional studies regarding the occurrence of this pathogen.