Bacteremia after supragingival scaling and dental extraction: Culture and molecular analyses.

OBJECTIVE: To study the incidence and magnitude of bacteremia after dental extraction and supragingival scaling. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Blood samples were taken before and 5 and 30 min after dental extraction and supragingival scaling from individuals at high (n = 44) or negligible risk (n = 51) for infective endocarditis. The former received prophylactic antibiotic therapy. Samples were subjected to aerobic and anaerobic culture and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction to determine the incidence of bacteremia and total bacterial levels. RESULTS: Patients who did not receive prophylactic antibiotic therapy had a higher incidence of positive blood cultures (30% 5 min after extraction) than patients who received prophylactic antibiotic therapy (0% 5 min after extraction; p < .01). Molecular analysis did not reveal significant differences in the incidence or magnitude of bacteremia between the two patient groups either 5 or 30 min after each of the procedures evaluated. Extraction was associated with higher incidence of bacteremia than supragingival scaling by blood culture (p = .03) and molecular analysis (p = .05). CONCLUSIONS: Molecular methods revealed that dental extraction and supragingival scaling were associated with similar incidence of bacteremia in groups receiving or not prophylactic antibiotic therapy. However, blood culture revealed that antibiotic therapy reduced viable cultivable bacteria in the bloodstream in the extraction group.

Evaluation of Frozen and Paraffin Sections Using the Maryland Aggregate Pathology Index Score in Donor Kidney Biopsy Specimens of a Brazilian Cohort.

The Maryland aggregate pathology index (MAPI) score is an important tool developed to help pathologists in evaluating potential organs for transplantation. It is based on analysis of five variables (present or absent): arteriolar hyalinosis (4 points), periglomerular fibrosis (2 points), arterial wall-lumen ratio superior to 0.5 (2 points), global glomerulosclerosis in more than 15% of glomeruli (2 points), and interstitial scar (3 points). Kidneys with a MAPI score >7 points are considered inadequate for donation. This study aimed to evaluate pathology agreement between frozen sections (FS) and paraffin sections (PS) using the MAPI score in a cohort of 262 biopsy specimens obtained at the General Hospital of Fortaleza, Brazil. We performed a retrospective review of pathological reports of FS (signed out by an on-call pathologist) and their corresponding PS (authorized by a specialist in renal pathology). Agreement was calculated using the Kappa test. Kappa values ranging from 0.29 to 0.51 were obtained when MAPI parameters were separately evaluated. When the score was used, the coefficient was 0.59. Fourteen of 262 kidneys were classified as inadequate for donation using PS and 8 cases were diagnosed using FS. There were no differences between wedge-shaped and filiform samples, apart from the mean number of glomeruli. Discordant cases had no statistical difference from concordant ones when clinical and macroscopic pathological parameters were analyzed. The MAPI score can be useful to minimize disagreements between FS and PS, but more effort should be made to standardize criteria and enable pathologists to recognize chronic lesions in FS samples.