Promotion of legume intake-Israeli dietitians' knowledge, beliefs and practices.

BACKGROUND: The health and environmental benefits of legume consumption are reflected in dietary guidelines worldwide. However, legume intake fails to meet recommendations. Dietitians' legume counseling practices can impact consumption patterns. This cross-sectional study assessed Israeli dietitians' knowledge, attitudes, perceptions and practices regarding legume counseling and identified pertinent barriers and facilitators. METHODS: An electronic survey among Israeli dietitians (n = 309) was performed. Multivariable logistic regression assessed associations between recommending legumes with participants' socio-demographic and professional characteristics, knowledge, perceptions, attitudes toward legume counseling and personal legume intake. RESULTS: Almost half (47.4%) of the participants recommended that 76% or more of their patients increase legume intake. Factors that were associated with recommending legumes were perceptions of fewer barriers to consumption [adjusted OR (aOR) 1.92 (95% CI 1.24-2.96)] and positive attitudes toward legume counseling pertaining to its importance [aOR 1.95 (95% CI 1.12-3.4)]. Negatively associated factors were a low level of personal legume consumption [aOR 0.38 (95% CI 0.15-0.94)] and working in hospitals [aOR 0.43 (95% CI 0.19-0.98)]. CONCLUSIONS: Israeli dietitians' recommendations for legume consumption were well below current guidelines. These findings indicate the need for a tailored intervention for nutrition professionals to increase the frequency of legume counseling and overall consumption.

Association between abdominal obesity and fragility fractures among elderly Israeli women.

BACKGROUND: Obesity has been traditionally viewed as a protective factor for fractures. Recent studies have challenged this concept, particularly regarding abdominal obesity. We aimed to investigate the association between abdominal obesity, body mass index (BMI) and fragility fractures prevalence in a sample of community-dwelling elderly Israeli women. METHODS: The data in this cross-sectional study were based on 'Mabat Zahav'-a survey of a nationally representative sample of elderly Israelis. The study population included 669 women. Data on fragility fractures site and circumstances were self-reported, and height, weight, waist and calf circumferences were measured. Waist circumference (WC) variable was divided into tertiles: < 88 cm, 88-99 cm and > 99 cm. RESULTS: Sixty-five women reported fragility fractures (14 hip fractures, 18 vertebral fractures and 39 wrist fractures). Mean age was 73.9 ± 5.9 years, mean BMI was 29.9 ± 5 kg/m2 and mean WC was 93.9 ± 12 cm. While BMI was not associated with osteoporotic fractures, abdominal obesity (WC > 88 cm) was positively associated with fragility fractures, independently of age, smoking, physical activity [middle and high WC tertiles {3.15 (95% CI 1.41-7.02), 2.78 (95% CI 1.05-7.31), respectively}]. CONCLUSIONS: Among this sample of elderly women, abdominal obesity was positively associated with fragility fractures, independently of age, smoking, physical activity and BMI. Waist circumference, an easily measured anthropometric indicator, may be useful for assessing the risk of fragility fractures in elderly women, particularly among those with normal or high BMI-a vast population which has been traditionally considered as having lower fracture risk.

Inducible clindamycin resistance among methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus infections in pediatric patients.

BACKGROUND: Staphylococcus aureus infections are a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Clindamycin is widely used in the treatment of staphylococcal infections; however, it is our impression that in the last few years, inducible clindamycin resistance (ICR) has become more prevalent. OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of ICR in methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) infections among pediatric patients in Israel. METHODS: We reviewed the files of children diagnosed with MSSA infections during the period January 2006 to June 2007 forfull antibiogram (includingthe D-test for ICR), phage typing and randomly amplified polymorphic DNA. RESULTS: Altogether, 240 MSSA isolates were recovered, mainly from wounds and abscesses. ICR was detected in 62 of 68 erythromycin-resistant/clindamycin-sensitive strains (91%); the ICR rate for the total number of isolates was 26% (62/240). Phage type analysis demonstrated that 38 of 61 ICR isolates (62%) were sensitive to group 2, compared to 42 of 172 isolates (24%) that did not express ICR (P < 0.01). On randomly amplified polymorphic DNA, phage type 2 isolates expressing ICR belonged to the same clone, which was different from ICR isolates sensitive to other phages and from isolates not expressing ICR. CONCLUSIONS: Inducible clindamycin resistance is common among methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus in Israeli children. The D-test should be performed routinely in all MSSA isolates.

Outbreak of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae producing KPC-3 in a tertiary medical centre in Israel.

This report describes an outbreak of carbapenem-resistant KPC-3-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae outside the USA. Ninety patients from different departments of a tertiary medical centre were diagnosed with carbapenem-resistant, extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-negative Klebsiella pneumoniae infection by standard methods over a 10-month period in 2006. Fifteen randomly selected outbreak isolates were subjected to randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) as well as PCR amplification and sequencing of the KPC genes, and the findings were compared with two carbapenem-susceptible K. pneumoniae isolates (one ESBL-positive and one ESBL-negative). All the outbreak isolates were resistant to all fluoroquinolones and beta-lactam antibiotics tested, including carbapenems, and were sensitive only to colistin, gentamicin and most of them also to tigecycline. On RAPD-PCR, all 15 outbreak isolates were identical to each other and clearly distinguishable from control strains, indicating clonality. The KPC-3 enzyme was identified by nucleotide sequencing analysis in all outbreak isolates but not in the control strains. These findings should alert government and medical authorities to institute stringent control measures and to initiate research into therapeutic and preventive strategies.

Antibacterial susceptibility of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing organisms and their antimicrobial resistance patterns may vary between geographic areas. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the prevalence and susceptibility of ESBL-producing organisms among Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli isolated from adult and pediatric patients in two Israeli hospitals. METHODS: ESBL production was tested according to recommendations of the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute, using ceftazidime (30 microg) and a combination of ceftazidime/clavulanate (30/ 10 microg) disks with a > or =5 mm difference indicating positivity. Antibiotic susceptibilities were determined by the disk diffusion method according to CLSI standards. Minimal inhibitory concentrations were determined by the E-test. RESULTS: The prevalence of ESBL-producing organisms was significantly higher among K. pneumoniae than E. coli isolates - 32% (241/765) vs. 10% (57/547) respectively (P < 0.001), and more frequently isolated from adults than children (odds ratio 2.27 for K. pneumoniae and 12.94 for E. coli). Resistance rates for amoxicillin/ clavulanate, piperacillin-tazobactam, amikacin, and ciprofloxacin among the ESBL-producing K. pneumoniae and E. coli isolates were 95%, 82%, 49% and 77% for K. pneumoniae, and 77%, 35%, 25% and 100% for E coli. Two (0.8%) ESBL-producing and 4 (0.7%) ESBL-negative K. pneumoniae isolates showed intermediate susceptibility (MIC 6 microg/ml) to meropenem. All isolates were sensitive to ertapenem and colistin. CONCLUSION: ESBL production among K. pneumoniae and E. coli is more prevalent in the adult population than the pediatric population and is associated with multidrug resistance.

Optimal detection of Staphylococcus aureus from clinical specimens using a new chromogenic medium.

The new chromogenic medium CHROMagar Staph aureus (CASA) was evaluated for its ability to detect and presumptively identify Staphylococcus aureus. Nine hundred forty-two clinical specimens (742 wound, 200 sputum and bronchoalveolar lavage) were cultured on CASA, tryptic soy blood agar (TSBA), and mannitol salt agar (MSA). Of the 153 S. aureus isolates from wounds on any media, 151 grew on CASA and TSBA and 146 on MSA. Sensitivity after 24 hours was 93.5%, 94%, and 77%, respectively, and increased after 48 hours to 99% for CASA and TSBA and to 95% for MSA. Of the 41 isolates recovered from sputum and lavage, all grew on CASA, 27 on TSBA, and 36 on MSA. Sensitivity after 24 hours was 93%, 66%, and 81%, respectively, and 100%, 66%, and 88% after 48 hours. All specimens revealed 99% sensitivity for CASA, 92% for TSBA, and 94% for MSA. Specificity for CASA was 100%. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests showed full agreement between isolates from CASA and from reference media. In conclusion, CASA has a high sensitivity and can identify isolates undetected on conventional media (p value for CASA vs. TSBA was 0.001 and vs. MSA, 0.006). This difference is particularly notable when mixed flora are present. The simplicity of the colony recognition increased the medium specificity, allowing a reliable and rapid method for the detection of S. aureus on the primary plate.