Performance characteristics of current-generation Immulite 2000 TORCH Assays.

The performances of seven Immulite 2000 (Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics) TORCH (Toxoplasma gondii, other microorganisms, rubella virus, cytomegalovirus, and herpes simplex virus) assays were evaluated in comparison with the performances of the ETI-MAX 3000 (DiaSorin) TORCH assays. The two systems demonstrated good agreement, and given their sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value, they can be used with confidence for TORCH prenatal screening.

[Diagnosis and surveillance of leptospirosis in the Venetia Region]. / Diagnostica e sorveglianza delle leptospirosi nella Regione Veneto.

The Microbiological Laboratory of Verona Hospital is the leptospirosis reference Centre since 1980. It uses routinely the lysis/agglutination test with leptospires strains in order to confirm the clinical diagnosis and to define the typing of strains. Although this Centre is not yet officially recognized, it is in fact, at the service of the Veneto region and greater part of the Trentino Alto Adige. It examines 600 samples a year (about 3000 determinations) from these two regions, therefore it can construct a biregional epidemiology although the data is neither referred to superior Committees nor, perhaps, utilized in the requesting territory. The aspects of this service to be improved are the incompleteness of data with samples and their not perfect condition on arrival for testing. The most interesting point is that the epidemiology in the Veneto region has not changed since 1980: the prevailing leptospira is the icterohaemorrhagiae and then the canicola and pomona.

Burkholderia (Pseudomonas) cepacia epidemiology in a cystic fibrosis population: a genome finger-printing study.

In patients with cystic fibrosis, infection with Pseudomonas cepacia is associated with poor outcomes. However, the epidemiology of Burkholderia cepacia is still unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the epidemiology of Burkholderia (Pseudomonas) cepacia colonization among cystic fibrosis patients attending the Verona CF Centre, a large specialized unit to which patients from different parts of Italy are admitted. We used a genome finger-printing system to analyse the nucleotidic structure of B. cepacia isolates from 60 colonized cystic fibrosis patients. Forty-two different finger-printing patterns were identified. Thirty-two patients were colonized by individual B. cepacia strains (53.3%). The remaining 28 subjects were divided into 10 different subgroups, each exhibiting a distinct strain of B. cepacia (46.7%). Nevertheless, direct, person-to-person transmission was evident in only 10 cases (16.7%). The stability up to 12 months, of the B. cepacia colonizing strain was documented in 36 individuals. Consistent with other reports, risk of B. cepacia transmission between cystic fibrosis patients through intimacy or nosocomial contact was found in our study. However, besides low contagiousness, our data suggest that the environmental reservoir of B. cepacia outside the hospital seems to play an important role in B. cepacia infection of our cystic fibrosis population.

NADPH-diaphorase in antral gastritis of childhood.

BACKGROUND: Nitric oxide has an important role in the pathophysiology of the gastric mucosa. However, to date, it is not clear if nitric oxide plays a cytoprotective or cytotoxic role in the pathogenesis of mucosal lesion. METHODS: We have used the NADPH-diaphorase histochemistry that selectively stains cells containing nitric oxide synthase, the enzyme that catalyzes the production of nitric oxide on the antral gastric mucosa of children with antral gastritis. RESULTS: In the lamina propria of the mucosa, the presence of the enzymatic activity was found in perivascular round cells and nerve fibers. In the epithelium, focal positivity to NADPH-diaphorase was found in superficial cells, mainly located in the extrusive zones. The epithelial cells in the pits and glands were negative, in the mucous layer, Helicobacter pylori were also stained by NADPH-diaphorase. A single H. pylori-infected child who was also examined after eradication of the H. pylori showed during the control examination absence of microorganisms and reduction of the NADPH-diaphorase-positive cells in the mucosa. CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrate that, in gastric mucosa, endogenous and exogenous structures express a NADPH-diaphorase activity.

Field inversion gel electrophoresis on Pseudomonas cepacia strains isolated from cystic fibrosis patients.

Genome fingerprinting by field inversion gel electrophoresis (FIGE) was utilized to typify 129 isolates of Pseudomonas cepacia (Pc) from 59 patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) and from environmental cultures in the CF ward. The aim of this study was to assess whether a segregation policy avoided colonization of CF patients by nosocomial strains and contamination of the environment by colonized individuals, whether or not an 'epidemic strain' was present in the ward and whether cross-colonization occurred in CF individuals subjected to prolonged close contact. The Pc strains of each patient remained unchanged over time; 78% of the genome finger printings (GFP) were individual, whereas the others gave rise to 9 GFP groups. A spirometer was probably contaminated by a newly colonized patient. Adequate sanitary measures and avoidance of excessive promiscuity are helpful for limiting but are unable to eliminate Pc transmission in the CF ward. Direct or indirect transmission, however seems, more frequent in CF patients in contacts outside the hospital.

Cord blood cholesterol, triglycerides and lipoprotein electrophoresis in 124 Italian infants.

Total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), and lipoproteins (by electrophoresis on agarose gel) were determined in the cord blood of 124 Italian infants (Verona area). The mean TC and TG values, when compared with the values reported in other studies, turned out to be remarkably uniform, suggesting common genetic determinants in the modulation of blood lipids; no sex differences were observed. The TG distribution curve was skewed, overlapping the adult pattern. Cord blood TC and TG were not modified by the presence of perinatal factors. Both beta and alpha bands (on agarose gel electrophoresis) were present in all the cases. The pre-beta band was clearly detectable in 90% of the cases; it was barely visible for TG values below 20 mg/100 ml; occasionally a discrepancy between the intensity of the pre-beta band and the cord blood TG was observed, indicating a variable lipid composition of very low density lipoproteins (VLDL). In 4% of the cases a small band at the origin of the electrophoretic run was observed, consistent with the presence of chylomicrons. In the serum of both a newborn infant and its mother we detected a double band migrating in the pre-beta region. This finding confirms the hypothesis of a familial transmission of this abnormality.