Early Prediction of Bloodstream Infection with Complete Blood Count Parameters: an Ex-Vivo Human Whole Blood Model.

BACKGROUND: Despite the advanced laboratory technologies available today, blood culture is the gold standard method in the diagnosis of bloodstream infections. Automated blood culture devices give blood culture results for laboratories approximately in 2 - 3 days up to 7 days. Moreover, some microorganisms like nonreproducible bacteria, fungi or viruses cannot be produced in culture. Among all samples taken for blood culture on suspicion of infection approximately 10% are determined as positive whereas the false positive rate due to contamination is 5%. Especially in life-threatening severe conditions such as sepsis early diagnosis and prompt treatment are crucial. Based on this the aim of this study is to investigate complete blood count parameters as potential early markers in Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans bloodstream infections using an ex vivo whole blood model. METHODS: Blood samples collected from healthy donors (n = 10) were treated with suspensions containing a certain concentration of microorganisms (107 CFU/mL for both E. coli ATCC 25922 and S. aureus ATCC 29213, 106 CFU/mL for C. albicans ATCC 14053). After bacteremia and candidemia were induced, complete blood count parameters were analyzed hourly in the samples until the end of the 4th hour with a Mindray BC-6800 hematology analyzer. Statistical analysis was performed by Tukey-Kramer post-hoc multiple comparison test and statistical significance was accepted as p < 0.05. RESULTS: When platelet derived parameter baseline values were compared to hourly values in E. coli and S. aureus induced whole blood samples, it was found that the decrease in PLT, P-LCC and the increase in IPF% was significant from the first hour whereas the increase in IMG% was found to be significant only from the 3rd hour onward. In the experiments with C. albicans, it was observed that the increase in IPF% and IMG% was significant from the 2nd and 3rd hour onward, respectively. There was no relationship between MPV, P-LCR, and NLR baseline and hourly results in any microorganism induced model. CONCLUSIONS: IPF% can guide clinicians in the early diagnosis and management of treatment of infections caused by S. aureus, E. coli, and C. albicans.

Presepsin Levels in Experimental Sepsis and Massive Bowel Resection Models in Rats.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Presepsin is a useful biomarker for diagnosing sepsis. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between oxidative stress and presepsin levels in animal models. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sprague-Dawley rats were used for cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) and to generate massive bowel resection (MBR) models. Trunk blood was collected for analysis of presepsin. Liver and intestinal tissue samples were taken to determine oxidative stress parameters. RESULTS: Presepsin levels in MBR and CLP sepsis models were higher than those in control groups. Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) and malondialdehyde levels were increased in the liver and small intestine of rats in both models, whereas glutathione levels were decreased. CONCLUSION: Presepsin levels and RONS may be released by the same mechanism which is closely associated with the progression of sepsis and inflammation in both CLP and MBR models.

Immature Platelet Count Levels as a Novel Quality Marker in Plateletpheresis.

The efficiency of plateletpheresis was improved owing to new developments in automated cell separators in the past decades. Nowadays multiple units of plateletpheresis products can be taken per collection from single donor and new parameters such as immature platelet fraction (IPF), immature platelet count (IPC) can be detected practically by automated hematology analyzers. Our aim is to find out a new quality parameter for evaluation of plateletpheresis by analyzing the platelet indices of donor and also to predict platelet recovery in recipients thereby preventing unnecessary platelet transfusion. In this study 104 platelet apheresis procedures were performed on the Trima Accel cell separator. Complete blood counts of donors and recipients were analyzed by Sysmex XN-1000 automated blood cell counter by means of quality parameters such as platelet count, IPF, IPC, mean platelet volume, platelet distribution width. We analyzed these parameters in the follow up after the transfusion of plateletpheresis and evaluated them as quality markers in the assessment of plateletpheresis effectiveness. For recipients of both single and double unit apheresis platelet transfusions, the pre-apheresis donor IPC correlated significantly with 1st and 24th hour recipient IPC values (p values < 0.05 for all comparisons). A-IPC as well as % change in IPF can be used to determine the quality of plateletpheresis in conjunction with platelet number in terms of evaluation of donors and also in the follow up of recipients undergoing platelet transfusion.

Shewanella algae in a chronic suppurative otitis media patient with cholesteatoma.

We present Shewanella algea infection in a chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM) patient with cholesteatoma in terms of clinical course and treatment. This is the first time S. algea is found as solely pathogen in a CSOM patient without history of contact with seawater in Turkey. The patient admitted to the hospital several times with complaints of otorrhoea, was diagnosed as otitis media and treated. He was hospitalized to the otorhinolaryngology department for further evaluation of recurrent infections. The patient was diagnosed as cholesteatoma according to computed tomography scan findings and was operated for cholesteatoma. As a result of surgical and medical treatment he was discharged with full recovery. Physicians must be aware of rarely seen pathogens and their unexpected ways of transmission and underlying causes such as cholesteatoma when treating patients for CSOM.

Intrahepatic Cholestasis of Pregnancy: Spontaneous vs in vitro Fertilization.

AIM: Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) is the most common liver disease in pregnancy. Although it was shown that multiple pregnancy and hormone therapies increase the risk of ICP, there is limited information that compared spontaneous fertilization and in vitro fertilization (IVF) from the aspect of developing ICP. In our study, we investigated the potential relationship between ICP and IVF/ spontaneous pregnancy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We reviewed the records (between June 2007 and December 2014) of pregnancies with ICP who were referred to gastroenterology clinics in three different hospitals. Fifty-nine pregnancies (43 spontaneous fertilization, 16 IVF) with ICP were analyzed from the aspect of age, fertilization type, multiple/singleton pregnancy, delivery week, and biochemical results. RESULTS: We found that serum bile acid levels were higher in the IVF group than the spontaneous fertilization group (32.8 ± 20 vs 19.6 ± 19 µmol/L; p < 0.05). There was a significant inverse correlation between serum bile acid levels and gestational age (r = -0.42, p < 0.01) in the whole group. There was no difference between IVF and spontaneous fertilization groups in term of age, onset time of symptoms, serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), total and direct bilirubin levels, prothrombin time (PT), international normalized ratio (INR), and platelet count. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that the serum bile acid levels are higher in IVF than in spontaneous pregnancies with ICP, but its clinical implications are not clear. Further prospective studies with large number of ICP cases are needed to clarify the effect of IVF on ICP.How to cite this article: Bolukbas FF, Bolukbas C, Balaban HY, Aygun C, Ignak S, Ergul E, Yazicioglu M, Ersahin SS. Intrahepatic Cholestasis of Pregnancy: Spontaneous vs in vitro Fertilization. Euroasian J Hepato-Gastroenterol 2017;7(2):126-129.

Frequency of antiseptic resistance genes in clinical staphycocci and enterococci isolates in Turkey.

BACKGROUND: Disinfectants and antiseptics are biocides widely used in hospitals to prevent spread of pathogens. It has been reported that antiseptic resistance genes, qac's, caused tolerance to a variety of biocidal agents, such as benzalkonium chloride (BAC) and chlorhexidine digluconate (CHDG) in Staphylococcus spp. isolates. We aimed to search the frequency of antiseptic resistance genes in clinical Staphylococcus spp. and Enterococcus spp. isolates to investigate the possible association with antiseptic tolerance and antibiotic resistance. METHODS: Antiseptic resistance genes (qacA/B, smr, qacG, qacH, and qacJ) isolated from Gram-positive cocci (69 Staphylococcus spp. and 69 Enterococcus spp.) were analyzed by PCR method. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of BAC and CHDG were determined by agar dilution method, whereas antibiotic susceptibility was analyzed by disk diffusion method according to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) criteria. RESULTS: The frequency of antiseptic resistance genes was found to be high (49/69; 71.0%) in our clinical staphylococci isolates but absent (0/69; 0%) in enterococci isolates. The frequency of qacA/B and smr genes was higher (25/40; 62.5% and 7/40; 17.5%, respectively) in coagulase negative staphylococci (CNS) when compared to Staphylococcus aureus strains (3/29; 10.3%, and 4/29; 13.8%, respectively). In contrast, the frequency of qacG and qacJ genes was higher (11/29; 37.9% and 8/29; 27.5%, respectively) in S. aureus than those of CNS (5/40; 12.5%, 10/40; 25.0%) strains. qacH was not identified in none of the strains. We found an association between presence of antiseptic resistance genes and increased MIC values of BAC (>4 µg/mL) in staphylococci and it was found to be statistically statistically significant (p < 0.01). We also showed that MICs of BAC and CHDG of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) isolates were significantly higher than those of vancomycin-susceptible enterococci (VSE) isolates (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: For our knowledge, our study is the first to investigate antiseptic resistance genes in enterococci and also qacG, qacH, and qacJ genes in staphylococci isolates in Turkey. Further studies are needed to revise the biocide policy and to support infection control programs to avoid the development of new resistance mechanisms.

Chryseobacterium indolegenes infection in a patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Chryseobacterium indolegenes is a rare pathogen that causes a variety of infections in inviduals who are mostly hospitalized with severe underlying diseases. Here we present a case of C. indolegenes in a 69-year-old male with chronic obstructive pulonary disease (COPD) who was admitted to the chest disease outpatient clinic with symptoms like cough, fever and sputum production and followed up on a suspicion of pneumonia. Despite the fact that our patient did not have any history of hospitalization for at least one year, pneumonia cause was due to C. indolegenes. Clinicians should pay attention to the rare pathogens such as C. indologenes while managing COPD patients without prior hospitalization history.

[The prevalence of antiseptic resistance genes (qacA/B and smr) and antibiotic resistance in clinical Staphylococcus aureus strains]. / Klinik Staphylococcus aureus Suslarinda Antiseptik Direnç Genlerinin (qacA/B ve smr) ve Antibiyotik Maddelere Direnç Prevalansinin Arastirilmasi

Staphylococcus aureus is an organism of major medical importance, leading to skin and soft tissue infections, bacteremia, and endocarditis. S.aureus isolates are becoming increasingly resistant to numerous antimicrobial agents including antiseptics and disinfectants. Quaternary ammonium compounds are disinfectants that play an important role in the control of nosocomial infections. Presence of genes conferring resistance to quaternary ammonium compounds is widely distributed among clinical staphylococci isolated from certain areas of the world. In this present study, we aimed to study the prevalence of antiseptic resistance genes (qac A/B, smr) and antibiotic resistance in clinical S.aureus strains, and also to detect the possible relationship between antiseptic and antibiotic resistance. For this purpose, the presence of qac A/B and smr genes in 50 methicillin-susceptible S.aureus (MSSA) and 50 methicillin-resistant S.aureus (MRSA) clinical isolates (78 abscess, 13 blood, 3 sputum, 3 tracheal aspirate, 2 nostril swab, 1 urine) was detected by using multiplex polymerase chain reaction. The susceptibility of S.aureus strains to different antibiotics (cefoxitin, erythromycin, clindamycin, rifampin, tetracycline, ciprofloxacin, gentamicin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, vancomycin, teicoplanin) was determined by disk diffusion method according to the recommendation of Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI). smr genes were found in 18 (36%) of 50 MRSA and qacA/B genes in 2 (4%) of 50 MSSA strains. Presence of smr gene only in MRSA strains in comparison to MSSA strains was found to be statistically significant (p< 0.001). The rates of antibiotic resistance in S.aureus strains were as follows; gentamicin 89%, tetracycline 57%, rifampin and ciprofloxacin 46%, and macrolides (erythromycin and clindamycin) 32%. No resistance was detected against trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, vancomycin and teicoplanin. On the other hand, presence of inducible macrolid-lincosamide-streptogramin B (iMLSB) resistance phenotype in 8 (44.5%) out of 18 smr positive strains compared to 2 (6.25%) out of 32 smr negative strains was statistically significant (p< 0.001). We concluded that smr genes were detected to be more prevalent than qacA/B genes in our clinical S.aureus isolates. smr genes were found only in MRSA strains whereas low number of qacA/B genes were found only in MSSA strains. Presence of smr genes concomitantly with iMLSB type resistance in MRSA strains was recorded to be interesting. We believe that data of this preliminary study about antiseptic and antibiotic cross resistance would be useful for the future related studies.