Nasopharyngeal carriage of Streptococcus pneumoniae in healthy Turkish children after the addition of PCV7 to the national vaccine schedule.

UNLABELLED: The aim of this study was to determine serotype distribution and investigate antimicrobial resistance patterns of Streptococcus pneumoniae in healthy Turkish children in the era of community-wide pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7). The study was conducted on 1,101 healthy children less than 18 years of age. Specimens were collected with nasopharyngeal swabs between April 2011 and June 2011. Penicillin and ceftriaxone susceptibilities were determined by E-test according to the 2008 Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute, and serotypes of the isolates were determined by Quellung reaction. The nasopharyngeal pneumococcal carriage rate was 21.9 % (241/1,101). Using the meningitis criteria of minimum inhibitory concentration values, 73 % of the isolates were resistant to penicillin and 47.7 % of them were resistant to ceftriaxone. Half of all pneumococcal isolates were serotyped as 19F (15.2 %), 6A (15.2 %), 23F (10.3 %), and 6B (9.3 %) and surprisingly, no serotype 19A was isolated. Serotype coverage rates of PCV7 and non-PCV7 were 46.2 and 53.8 %, respectively. The most common penicillin- and ceftriaxone-resistant serotypes were 6A, 6B, 14, 19F, and 23F. Penicillin- and ceftriaxone-resistant isolates were more prevalent in serotypes covered by PCV7 than the non-PCV7 serotypes. CONCLUSION: After the community-wide PCV7 vaccination, more non-PCV7 serotypes were isolated from the carriers compared to the time before PCV7 was used especially the serotype 6A, and the antimicrobial resistance of pneumococci was significantly increased.

[Characterization of Shigella strains isolated in ankara, Turkey by antimicrobial resistance models, plasmid profile analysis and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis]. / Ankara'da Izole Edilen Shigella Kökenlerinin Antibiyotik Direnç Modelleri, Plazmid Profil Analizi ve Degisken Alanli Jel Elektroforezi ile Incelenmesi.

Shigella is one of the most important causative agents of diarrhea especially in childhood. Since man is the main reservoir of Shigella and human to human transmission is possible, Shigella can easily spread in public and cause outbreaks. In this study, a total of 60 Shigella strains isolated in Ankara, Turkey by years 2001, 2008 and 2009 were investigated by their antimicrobial susceptibility profiles, plasmid profile analysis (PPA) and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). For epidemiological investigation, the results obtained by antibiotic resistance typing (ART) which was the phenotyping method, was compared to the results of the genotyping methods which were PPA and PFGE. Of the isolates 49 (81.6%) were S.sonnei, 10 (16.6%) were S.flexneri and one was (1.6%) S.dysenteriae. Antimicrobial susceptibilities were evaluated by disc diffusion method and the highest resistance rates were found against trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (91.6%), followed by tetracycline (68.3%) and ampicillin (26.6%). Resistance against ampicillin, chloramphenicol and amoxycillin/clavulanic acid were found higher in S.flexneri isolates than S.sonnei (p< 0.001). All isolates were found to be susceptible to ciprofloxacin, gentamicin and ceftazidime. S.sonnei demonstrated 12 and S.flexneri demonstrated 4 antibiotic resistance models. All isolates were carrying plasmids with varying sizes and varying numbers between 1 to 7. S.sonnei isolates demonstrated 27 and S.flexneri isolates demonstrated 8 plasmid profiles. S.sonnei isolates were clustered in 4 patterns and S.flexneri were clustered in 5 patterns by PFGE. This method demonstrated obvious clonal similarity among S.sonnei strains isolated in Ankara and discriminative power (DP) was calculated as 0.26. PPA and ART demonstrated higher DP among S.sonnei strains (0.97 and 0.75, respectively). In this study gain or loss of instable genetic mobile elements were thought to be responsible for higher discriminative powers of PPA and ART methods. These typing methods were found to be appropriate for the epidemiological investigation of strains collected in a short time period. PFGE was found to be convenient for the evaluation of clonal relatedness of the strains, however, in such geographical areas where the same clone was in circulation, use of ART and/or PPA together with PFGE would be useful for precise discrimination of Shigella strains.

Is antibiotic lock therapy effective for the implantable longterm catheter-related bloodstream infections in children?

Tural Kara T, Özdemir H, Erat T, Yahsi A, Aysev AD, Taçyildiz N, Ünal E, Ileri T, Ince E, Haskologlu S, Çiftçi E, Ince E. Is antibiotic lock therapy effective for the implantable long-term catheter-related bloodstream infections in children? Turk J Pediatr 2019; 61: 895-904. Catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSIs) are an important problem in pediatric patients with central venous catheters. This study aimed to determine the incidence of CRBSIs, responsible pathogens and outcomes of antibiotic lock treatment (ALT) in pediatric patients. Between January 2010 and November 2015 all hospitalized pediatric hematology, oncology and immunology patients diagnosed with CRBSIs were retrospectively analyzed. Seventy-eight CRBSI episodes were detected in 60 pediatric patients. The incidence of CRBSIs was 4.20/1000 catheter days. The most frequently detected pathogen was methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative Staphylococcus. Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella spp., and Escherichia coli were other commonly isolated microorganisms. ALT was administered in 42 patients. The success rate of ALT was 81% (34/42). Catheter was removed without ALT in 36 episodes. Common reasons for catheter removal were sepsis and causative microorganisms which had high probability of biofilm formation. CRBSIs are an important cause of morbidity and mortality in pediatric patients. ALT is safe and effective. It is possible to obtain satisfactory results when ALT is used with intravenous systemic antibiotics for CRBSIs, though in some cases catheter removal is necessary. ALT helps to prevent unnecessary catheter removal in pediatric patients.

Mupirocin vs terbinafine in impetigo.

OBJECTIVE: Terbinafine is an antifungal drug known to have also antibacterial activity against certain Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. It seems that antibacterial and antifungal activity of terbinafine may have an advantage in the treatment of mixed fungal and bacterial superficial skin infections. Nevertheless, clinical relevance of the antibacterial part of its action has not been investigated efficiently. To compare the efficacy and safety of terbinafine with those of mupirocin, which has already proven antibacterial action, in the treatment of impetigo. METHODS: Children clinically diagnosed as having impetigo were treated with topical mupirocin or topical terbinafine in a randomized fashion. Patients' lesions were examined clinically on days 0, 4, 7, 10 and bacteriologic cultures were obtained on days 0 and 10. RESULTS: A total of 62 patients were included in the study. Forty-eight of these patients were eligible for the efficacy and safety analysis. Twenty-five and 23 patients were treated with mupirocin and terbinafine, respectively. The clinical cure rates were 100% for the mupirocin group and 70% for the terbinafine group (p < 0.05). The bacteriological eradication rate for mupirocin-treated children was 100% and that for terbinafine-treated children was 78% (p < 0.05). Presence of bullous lesions appeared to be a factor for poor clinical outcome in the terbinafine group. Mild local adverse effects were noted in a small percentage of patients in each group. CONCLUSION: Antibacterial activity of terbinafine is not strong enough to be an alternative in the treatment of impertigo. It is advisable that terbinafine could be used in combination with an antibacterial drug for superficial skin infections caused by both fungi and bacteria.

[Penicillin tolerance in group A beta-hemolytic streptococci isolated from throat cultures of children with tonsillopharyngitis]. / Tonsillofarenjitli çocuklarin bogaz kültürlerinden izole edilen A grubu beta hemolitik streptokoklarda penisilin toleransinin arastirilmasi.

The most common bacterial cause of tonsillopharyngitis is group A beta-hemolytic streptococci (GABHS) and penicillin is the drug of choice for the treatment of these infections. However, a disturbing trend toward penicillin failure has developed in some communities. It has been proposed that penicillin tolerance is a possible explanation for this failure. In this study, penicillin tolerance of GABHS strains isolated from 263 children with tonsillopharyngitis, was investigated between December 2000-March 2001. As a result, none of the isolated strains was found to be penicillin resistant or penicillin tolerant according to minimal inhibitory concentration and minimal bactericidal concentration values for penicillin G, determined by microdilution method.

[Salmonella enterica serotypes and Salmonella infections: a multicenter study covering ten provinces in Turkey]. / Salmonella enterica serotipleri ve Salmonella enfeksiyonlari: Türkiye'de on ili kapsayan çok merkezli bir çalisma.

In order to find the distinctive features of Salmonellae and Salmonella infections in Turkey, 620 Salmonellae strains, isolated from various clinical samples (481 stool, 108 blood, 12 urine, 3 bone marrow, 3 cerebrospinal fluid, 9 pus, and one from each of the bile, pleural fluid, wound, catheter samples) in 13 clinical microbiology laboratories of 10 provinces in Turkey (Ankara, Antalya, Bursa, Edirne, Eskisehir, Istanbul, Izmir, Kayseri, Konya and Trabzon) between July 1, 2000 and June 30, 2002, were serotyped. Among the patients 43% were female, 57% were male, 63.2% were from outpatient clinics and 36.8% were hospitalized patients. Seventy eight percent of the patients had gastroenteritis, 10.7% had septicemia/local infection, 9.8% had typhoid/paratyphoid fever and 1.5% were carriers. Incidence of gastroenteritis was higher in 0-5 years age group (p<0.001). Of the 620 Salmonella enterica isolates, 47.7% were S. Enteritidis, 34.7% S. Typhimurium, 6% S. Paratyphi B, 2.9% S. Typhi, 0.2% S. paratyphi A, 6.1% serogroup C1, and 2.4% serogroup C2. S. Enteritidis was the most common serotype in all provinces except for Kayseri, where S. Typhimurium was found to be the most common serotype (68.2%). Overall, the most frequently isolated serotype was S. Enteritidis, also being the most common serotype in stool and blood cultures. During the surveillance period two outbreaks have occurred, the first one by S. Enteritidis strains in Edirne, and the second one by S. Typhimurium strains in Kayseri. As a result, Salmonella infections are still a common health problem in Turkey, and active surveillance of Salmonella infections has vital importance.

The use of colistin in critically ill children in a pediatric intensive care unit.

BACKGROUND: Colistin is active against most multidrug-resistant, aerobic Gram-negative bacteria. Because of the reported nephrotoxicity during the first years of use of colistin, there were concerns of its use in pediatrics where there was limited experience The aim of this study is to document the clinical characteristics and outcomes of use of colistin in pediatric patients at a pediatric intensive care unit in Turkey. METHODS: We reviewed the medical and laboratory records of 29 critically ill children who were treated with colistin for 38 courses between January 2011 and December 2011 at the Department of Pediatric Intensive Care Unit in Ankara University Medical School, Turkey. RESULTS: The median age was 17 months (range 3-217 months). Male-to-female ratio was 1:1.37. Ventilator-associated pneumonia (21 courses) was the leading diagnosis followed by catheter-related blood stream infection (6 courses), bacteremia (4 courses), ventriculoperitoneal shunt infection, peritonitis and pneumonia (1 course). The most commonly isolated microorganisms were Acinetobacter baumanni, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Serratia marcescens, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, and Enterobacter cloacae. Two colistin formulations were used. Colimycin (Kocak Farma) was used in 21 colistin treatment episodes. The median dosage of colistin in this group was 5.0 mg/kg/d (2.3-5.6 mg/kg/d). Colomycin (Forest Laboratories) was used in 17 colistin treatment episodes. The median dosage of colistin in the second group was 75,000 International Unit/kg/d (50,000-80,000 International Unit/kg/d). Thirty colistin treatment episodes (79%) had a good or partial clinical response and 8 (21%) had a poor clinical response. Of the 8 colistin treatment episodes with poor clinical response, 3 were in the Colimycin group and 5 were in the Colomycin group. Ten patients died. There was no evidence of neurotoxicity in this study. Nephrotoxicity was observed in 1 patient but was not attributed to colistin because the patient had multiorgan failure at the same time. CONCLUSIONS: This study in a small cohort of patients suggests that the use of colistin in severe nosocomial infections caused by multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria is well-tolerated and efficacious.

Risk factors for nasopharyngeal carriage of Streptococcus pneumoniae in healthy Turkish children after the addition of heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) to the national vaccine schedule.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) on nasopharyngeal (NP) carriage rates of Streptococcus pneumoniae in healthy Turkish children. The study was conducted on 1101 healthy Turkish children between 1 month and 18 years of age. The median and mean ages of the children were 25 months (1 month-18 years) and 45.7±49.6 months, respectively. S. pneumoniae was isolated in 241/1101 (21.9%) children included in the study. According to multivariate analysis, being <5 years of age, presence of a child attending a daycare center, recovery from respiratory infection within the last month, low income level of the family, and presence of more children in the family were found to be the risk factors for the NP pneumococcal carriage. The carriage rate of NP pneumococci in healthy children was not influenced by PCV7 in Turkey.