Gram-negative bacilli causing infections in an intensive care unit of a tertiary care hospital in Istanbul, Turkey.

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to demonstrate the changing epidemiology of infecting microorganisms and their long-term resistance profiles and to describe the microbiological point of view in anti-infective management of intensive care unit (ICU) patients. METHODOLOGY: A total of 5,690 isolates of Gram-negative bacilli were included in this study. Antibiotic susceptibility was tested using the disk diffusion method and Vitek 2 system. Chi-square tests were used for hypothesis testing. RESULTS: The most frequently isolated organisms were A. baumannii (37.3%), P. aeruginosa (30.3%), Enterobacter spp. (10.4%), E. coli (10.4%), and Klebsiella spp. (8.9%). A. baumannii was the most frequently isolated organism from the respiratory tract (43.4%); the susceptibility rates for imipenem and meropenem decreased to 7% and 6% (p < 0.0001), respectively. The percentage of multidrug-resistant (MDR) A. baumannii isolates continuously increased from 18.7% in 2004 to 69% in 2011 (p < 0.0001), whereas MDR P. aeruginosa isolates increased from 1.5% to 22% (p < 0.0001). Carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella isolates emerged in 2010 and increased to 20% in the next year. The rates of ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae in the ICU was very high in 2011 - 50% for E. coli and 80% for Klebsiella strains. CONCLUSION: The most common isolated Gram-negative bacillus in our study was A. baumannii and that the prevalence of MDR isolates has increased markedly over. Accordingly, the comparison of antibiotic resistance of other pathogens in 2004 and 2011 displayed an increasing trend. These data imply the urgent need for new and effective strategies in our hospital and in the region.

Unusual central nervous system involvement of rheumatoid arthritis: successful treatment with steroid and azathioprine.

Central nervous system involvement of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) frequently develops in patients who had a long-term history of RA, irrespective of the disease activity of systemic arthritis, and it has a high mortality rate despite treatment. Since clinical symptoms and radiologic signs are rather nonspecific, in short of doing biopsy, the diagnosis of rheumatoid meningitis is one of exclusion. However, the strongly positive rheumatoid factor in the cerebrospinal fluid is quite specific. We here report a 70-year-old man who had not been diagnosed as RA before he was admitted with neurological findings, who was diagnosed as RA later and successfully treated with prednisolone and azathioprine.

Neurobrucellosis with transient ischemic attack, vasculopathic changes, intracerebral granulomas and basal ganglia infarction: a case report.

INTRODUCTION: Central nervous system involvement is a rare but serious manifestation of brucellosis. We present an unusual case of neurobrucellosis with transient ischemic attack, intracerebral vasculopathy granulomas, seizures, and paralysis of sixth and seventh cranial nerves. CASE PRESENTATION: A 17-year-old Caucasian man presented with nausea and vomiting, headache, double vision and he gave a history of weakness in the left arm, speech disturbance and imbalance. Physical examination revealed fever, doubtful neck stiffness and left abducens nerve paralysis. An analysis of his cerebrospinal fluid showed a pleocytosis (lymphocytes, 90%), high protein and low glucose levels. He developed generalized tonic-clonic seizures, facial paralysis and left hemiparesis. Cranial magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated intracerebral vasculitis, basal ganglia infarction and granulomas, mimicking the central nervous system involvement of tuberculosis. On the 31st day of his admission, neurobrucellosis was diagnosed with immunoglobulin M and immunoglobulin G positivity by standard tube agglutination test and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in both serum and cerebrospinal fluid samples (the tests had been negative until that day). He was treated successfully with trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole, doxycyline and rifampicin for six months. CONCLUSIONS: Our patient illustrates the importance of suspecting brucellosis as a cause of meningoencephalitis, even if cultures and serological tests are negative at the beginning of the disease. As a result, in patients who have a history of residence or travel to endemic areas, neurobrucellosis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of any neurologic symptoms. If initial tests fail, repetition of these tests at appropriate intervals along with complementary investigations are indicated.

[Malaria: an evaluation of 40 cases]. / Sitma: 40 olgunun degerlendirilmesi.

In this study, the epidemiological, clinical, laboratory and therapeutic features of forty adult malaria patients referred our clinic between February 1996-September 2009, were assessed retrospectively. Diagnosis was established by Giemsa-stained thick and/or thin blood smears in all cases. Thirty-four patients were male and 6 patients were female and mean age was 31.1 years. All patients had a history of travel to endemic areas (24 cases to Africa, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Arabian Peninsula, 16 cases to Southestern Anatolia Region), and none of them had chemoprophylaxis. Plasmodium vivax was detected in 20 patients, and P.falciparum in 18 and mixed (P. vivax and P. falciparum) in two. Parasitemia ranged from 0.5%- 25%. Fever (100%), periodic fever (62.5%), splenomegaly (72.5%), hepatomegaly (45.0%), anemia (67.5%), leukopenia (32.5%), thrombocytopenia (75.0%), a rise in erytrocyte sedimentation rate (65.0%), abnormalities in hepatic enzymes (62.5%), hyponatremia (32.5%), hypoglisemia (25%) and an elevated serum creatinine level (27.5%) were determined in the patients. Two patients with P. falciparum developed acute renal failure and cerebral involvement died soon after admission. Acute renal failure, acute respiratory distress syndrome, cerebral involvement and dissemine intravasculer coagulation were observed in one patient with falciparum malaria who recovered completely. In conclusion, every febril patients with a history of travel to the endemic regions should raise the suspicion of malaria. Effective pre-exposure chemoprophylaxis and personal protection measures should be provided to travellers visiting endemic regions.

A randomized comparative study of single-dose fosfomycin and 5-day ciprofloxacin in female patients with uncomplicated lower urinary tract infections.

Uncomplicated lower urinary tract infections (UTIs) are the most frequent infections in females. Increased resistance rates against commonly used antibiotics have led to the use of novel antimicrobials. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the bacteriological and clinical effects of single-dose fosfomycin trometamol (FMT) and 5-day ciprofloxacin in females with uncomplicated UTIs. In this randomized comparative study, 260 female patients between 18 and 65 years of age enrolled, of whom 142 completed the study. The most frequently isolated bacterial pathogen in the urine cultures of patients were Escherichia coli (82.3%) and Enterobacter spp. (8.4%). FMT sensitivity was 94% and ciprofloxacin sensitivity was 59% in Escherichia coli; in comparison, FMT sensitivity was 75% and ciprofloxacin sensitivity was 50% in Enterobacter spp. The MIC90 for FMT was 4 µg/ml. Of the 142 patients, 77 were treated with FMT and 65 were treated with ciprofloxacin. The clinical remission rate was 83% in the FMT group and 81% in the ciprofloxacin group; the bacterial eradication rate was 83% in the FMT group and 78% in the ciprofloxacin group, and there was no significant difference between the two study groups. In conclusion, a single dose of FMT (at 3 g) was as effective as ciprofloxacin, at 500 mg twice a day for 5 days, in the treatment of uncomplicated lower UTIs. It was concluded that the use of FMT as a first-line treatment in the empirical treatment of uncomplicated UTIs might have a positive impact on the problem of resistance to other antibiotics.