Transmission of toxigenic Corynebacterium ulcerans infection with airway obstruction from cats to a human.

BACKGROUND: Infections caused by Corynebacterium ulcerans, a zoonotic pathogen, have been reported worldwide. This microorganism is known to produce the diphtheria toxin and cause diphtheria-like illness. CASE PRESENTATION: A 63-year-old woman with a history of diabetes and hypertension developed cold and flu-like symptoms, which gradually progressed into respiratory distress. Therefore, the patient was intubated for dyspnea with pseudomembrane formation. A toxin-producing strain of C. ulcerans was identified, also detected in the patient's domestic cats. Multilocus sequence typing confirmed all strains, including the patient's isolate, as ST337. CONCLUSION: Multilocus sequence typing revealed zoonotic transmission of C. ulcerans from domestic cats to a human.

Vitamin E-deficiency did not exacerbate partial skin reactions in mice locally irradiated with X-rays.

We previously showed that free radicals and oxidative stress are involved in radiation-induced skin reactions. Since vitamin E (VE) is a particularly important lipophilic antioxidant, VE-deficient mice were used to examine its effects on radiation-induced skin damage. The VE content of the skin was reduced to one fourth of levels of normal mice. Neither the time of onset nor the extent of the reactions quantified with a scoring system differed between normal and VE-deficient mice after local X-irradiation (50 Gy). Similarly, there was no difference in the levels of the ascorbyl radical between the groups, although they were higher in irradiated skin than non-irradiated skin. X-irradiation increased the amount of Bax protein in the skin of normal mice both in the latent and acute inflammatory stages, time- and dose-dependently. The increase was associated with an increase in cytochrome c in the cytosolic fraction, indicating that apoptosis was also promoted by the irradiation. The increase in Bax protein correlated well with the thickness of the skin. Although a deficiency in VE should lower resistance to free radicals in the mitochondrial membrane and thus enhance radiation-induced Bax expression and apoptosis, it actually attenuated the increase in Bax protein caused by irradiation.

[The efficacy of video intubating laryngoscope for novice residents].

BACKGROUND: The visibility and quality of the tracheal intubation may be improved by the video intubating laryngoscope (VIL). However, the efficacy using VIL among novice residents has not been reported. METHODS: Total of 154 cases of tracheal intubation experienced by 5 novice residents in 8 weeks were divided into VIL (X-Lite: Rüsch, Germany) group (n = 59) and ordinary laryngoscope group (OL: n = 95), retrospectively. Number of attempts, success and failure were recorded in both groups. In VIL group, video image of the entire procedure was recorded. Success rates were compared between OL and VIL. In VIL group, elapsed time for intubation and findings during laryngoscopic procedure were examined retrospectively. RESULTS: In the first attempt, the success rate was significantly higher in VIL (83%) than OL (68%). Including secondary attempt, the rate increased to 85% in OL and 97% in VIL, and the difference was also significant. In VIL group, elapsed time for entire intubation was 42 +/- 18 seconds (mean +/- SD). It was significantly decreased in 4, 6 and 7th week compared in the first week. Residents showed different pattern of findings during their laryngoscopic procedure. CONCLUSIONS: The use of VIL improved success rate of tracheal intubation compared with OL. Retrospective analysis of video image revealed their progress and characteristics features in their laryngoscopic procedure. VIL was efficient in the education of the novice residents.