Cervical Lactobacillus and leukocyte infiltration in preterm premature rupture of membranes.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the possible association between microorganisms present in the cervical secretions and amniotic fluid of pregnant women with preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM), and histologic chorioamnionitis. METHODS: Thirty-seven pregnant women with PPROM and 21 healthy pregnant women were studied. Secretions from the cervical canal and amniotic fluid were collected to isolate microorganisms present in the genital tract. Cervical smears were Gram stained and evaluated microscopically. At delivery, chorioamniotic membranes were collected for histopathologic analysis. RESULTS: Microscopic examination of the cervical secretion smears obtained from the PPROM group showed a low rate of Lactobacillus species, large numbers of leukocytes, and a wide diversity of microorganisms compared with the control group. The PPROM group presented an 80% rate of chorioamnionitis. Staphylococcus aureus isolation in cervical secretion was associated with intense inflammatory infiltrate in the membranes and might play a role in the pathogenesis of PPROM. CONCLUSIONS: The low colonization of cervical flora by Lactobacillus species associated with an intense leukocyte infiltrate detected in Gram-stained cervical smears can be considered a rapid method of detecting chorioamnionitis in pregnant women with PPROM.

The diagnostic value of Gram stain for initial identification of the etiologic agent of peritonitis in CAPD patients.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of the Gram stain in the initial diagnosis of the etiologic agent of peritonitis in continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). DESIGN: Retrospective study analyzing the sensitivity (S), specificity (SS), positive predictive value (+PV), and negative predictive value (-PV) of the Gram stain relating to the results of cultures in 149 episodes of peritonitis in CAPD. The data were analyzed in two studies. In the first, only the cases with detection of a single agent by Gram stain were taken (Study 1). In the second, only the cases with two agents in Gram stain were evaluated (Study 2). SETTING: Dialysis Unit and Laboratory of Microbiology of a tertiary medical center. PATIENTS: Sixty-three patients on regular CAPD who presented one or more episodes of peritonitis from May 1992 to May 1995. RESULTS: The positivity of Gram stain was 93.2% and the sensitivity was 95.7%. The values of S, SS, +PV, and -PV were respectively: 94.9%, 53.5%, 68.3%, and 90.9% for gram-positive cocci and 83.3%, 98.8%, 95.2%, and 95.6% for gram-negative bacilli. The association of gram-positive cocci plus gram-negative bacilli were predictive of growth of both in 6.8%, growth of gram-positive cocci in 13.7%, and growth of gram-negative bacilli in 72.5%. CONCLUSIONS: The Gram stain is a method of great value in the initial diagnosis of the etiologic agent of peritonitis in CAPD, especially for gram-negative bacilli.

[Sodium diclofenac effect, after interruption of the stercoraceous peritonitis, on the rat colon. Study of mechanical resistance and collagen concentration]. / Ação do diclofenaco de sódio, após a interrupção da peritonite estercorácea, no cólon de ratos. Estudo da resistência mecânica e do colágeno tecidual.

UNLABELLED: The objective of the present study was to investigate changes in colon wall in rats with fecal peritonitis (Per) associated with sodium diclofenac (SD) by studying breaking strength and tissue collagen concentration. The rats were divided into the following experimental groups: GROUP 1-SD: 60 animals injected intramuscularly with sodium diclofenac at the dose of 2 mg/kg body weight; GROUP 2-Per: 60 animals injected intraperitoneally with a suspension of human feces. Peritonitis was interrupted after six hours of evolution; GROUP 3-Per+SD: 60 animals injected intraperitoneally with a suspension of human feces and receiving SD according to the schedule used for Groups 1 and 2; CONTROL GROUP: 12 animals injected intramuscularly with physiological saline. The animals of Group 1, 2 and 3 were successively sacrificed 2, 4, 7, 14 and 21 days after interruption of peritonitis an/or the beginning of treatment. Under conditions of the experimental model and of the methods used, we conclude that sodium diclofenac, peritonitis and the peritonitis-sodium diclofenac association decrease the breaking strength and the concentration of tissue collagen in the colon segment.

[Isolation of enterococci from clinical materials and their susceptibility to antibiotics (author's transl)].

Three hundred and fifty-one strains of enterococci were isolated from 2,337 clinical materials including urine, blood, pus and other during 6 months of spring and summer in 1977. Urine was the most frequent source of the organism among them. As for species, S. liquefaciens was isolated most frequently (45.5%), being followed by S. zymogenes (26.5%) and S. faecalis (21.5%) in order. The susceptibility of the isolates was tested with 10 antibiotics. In general, the majority of the strains were resistant to several antibiotics, but almost all the strains were susceptible to ampicillin and benzylpenicillin. The susceptibility of S. liquefaciens, S. zymogenes and S. faecalis to 10 antibiotics was similar with each other in pattern, while that of S. faecium and S. durans was considerably lower.

[Contribution to the study of the haemolytic streptococci isolated from dogs (author's transl)]. / Contribuição ao estudo de estreptococos beta hemolíticos isolados de cães.

The authors studied bacteriologically 740 specimens from dogs maintained at the central kennel of the Faculdade de Ciências Médicas e Biológicas de Botucatu, being the main subject the isolation of streptococci strains from the tonsilar, vaginal conjuctival and preputial secretions. Strains with the same serological properties showed a different biochemical properties, which allowed us to appoint different biochemical types inside a same serological group. On the other hand, it was also possible to detect through the precipitation capillary tube technique, the serological groups G, C, A, D and B, being the G group (73%) the most frequent one. Biochemical properties of the human G group streptococci compared with the canine G group streptococci showed a statistically significant difference in the reactions of fibrinolysis of human plasma, glicerol, sorbitol, esculin, mannitol, inulin, raffinose, salicin, trehalos, hydrolysis of the sodium hypurate, growth on 20% bile broth, and growth at 45 degrees C. The authors stress the utility of the fibrinolysis of human plasma test for the characterization of canine origin streptococci.