Phenotype and Genotype Study of Novel C480F Maribavir-Ganciclovir Cross-Resistance Mutation Detected in Hematopoietic Stem Cell and Solid Organ Transplant Recipients.

Two transplant recipients (1 kidney and 1 hematopoietic stem cell) received maribavir (MBV) after cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection clinically resistant to standard therapy. Both patients achieved CMV DNA clearance within 30 and 18 days; however, the UL97 C480F variant emerged, causing recurrent CMV infection after a cumulative 2 months of MBV and 15 or 4 weeks of ganciclovir treatment, respectively. C480F was not detected under ganciclovir before MBV treatment. Recombinant phenotyping showed that C480F conferred the highest level of MBV resistance and ganciclovir cross-resistance, with impaired viral growth. Clinical follow-up and genotypic and phenotypic studies are essential for the assessment and optimization of patients with suspected MBV resistance.

[Molecular diagnostic methods of respiratory infections. Has the scheme diagnosis changed?]. / Métodos moleculares de diagnóstico de infecciones respiratorias. ¿Ha cambiado el esquema diagnóstico?

Lower respiratory tract infections remain one of the most common causes of mortality worldwide, which is why early diagnosis is crucial. Traditionally the microbiological diagnosis of these infections has been based on conventional methods including culture on artificial media for isolation of bacteria and fungi and cell cultures for virus and antibody or antigen detection using antigen-antibody reactions. The main drawback of the above mentioned methods is the time needed for an etiological diagnosis of the infection. The techniques based on molecular biology have drawn much attention in recent decades as tools for rapid diagnosis of infections. Some techniques are very expensive, especially those that can detect various microorganisms in the same reaction, therefore the question that arises is whether the cost of such testing is justified by the information obtained and by the clinical impact that its implementation will determine. In this article we make a review of the various techniques of molecular biology applied to the diagnosis of pneumonia and focus primarily on analysing the impact they may have on the management of patients with acute respiratory tract infections.

GI flexible endoscope disinfection: "in use" test comparative study.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: There is some confusion as to the effectiveness of the available disinfectants for achieving "high level" disinfection, and the microbiologic method to assess the efficacy of the selected disinfectant regime. The "in use" method is adequate for control and for establishing comparisons between different disinfectants. METHODOLOGY: This study compares the efficacy of the different disinfectants and disinfection regimes available, including automatic systems to the 20-minute immersion in 20 degrees C 2%-alkaline-glutaraldehyde (AG). After cleaning and disinfection the effluent obtained from each channel was collected under sterile conditions. A total of 0.1 mL of the effluent was introduced in liquid thioglycolate, an additional 0.1 mL was seeded in solid blood agar and in MacConkey agar medium, and maintained for 48 hours at 37 degrees C. Thioglycolate media turbidity after a 48-hour culture indicates bacterial growth. RESULTS: The disinfectants used were 2% AG, 0.125% and 0.27% glutaraldehyde, glutaraldehydephenol-phenate, peracetic acid, N-duopropenida, 13%-H2O2-27%-lactic acid and ortho-phtalaldehyde using manual and automated methods. Most of the disinfectants available obtain similar or better results compared with 20' 2% AG. The best results (bacterial reduction greater than 3 log10), were those obtained using 20-minute 1/4 or 1/2 glutaraldehydephenol-phenate, 10-minute peracetic acid, or hydrogen-peroxide compounds, 5-minute 0.125% and 0.27% AG at high temperature and 5-minute 0.5% ortho-phtalaldehyde. CONCLUSIONS: A sensitive microbiologic method described may be useful in the control of disinfection and allowed: 1) knowledge of the limits of the efficacy of the disinfection methods usually used, 2) effective comparison of the different disinfectants and disinfection regimes and 3) awareness of the need for microbiologic regulations in assessing "high level" disinfection.