ABSTRACT
Abstract Our aim in this study is to compare the standard culture method with the multiplex PCR and the Speed-Oligo® Bacterial Meningitis Test (SO-BMT) – a hybridization-based molecular test method – during the CSF examination of the patients with the pre-diagnosis of acute bacterial meningitis. For the purposes of this study, patients with acute bacterial meningitis treated at the Dicle University Medical Faculty Hospital, Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology Clinic between December 2009 and April 2012 were retrospectively evaluated. The diagnosis of bacterial meningitis was made based on the clinical findings, laboratory test anomalies, CSF analysis results, and the radiological images. Growth was observed in the CSF cultures of 10 out of the 57 patients included in the study (17.5%) and Streptococcus pneumoniae was isolated in all of them. The CSF samples of 34 patients (59.6%) were positive according to the SO-BMT and S. pneumoniae was detected in 33 of the samples (97.05%), while Neisseria meningitidis was found in 1 sample (2.95%). In a total of 10 patients, S. pneumoniae was both isolated in the CSF culture and detected in the SO-BMT. The culture and the SO-BMT were negative in 23 of the CSF samples. There was no sample in which the CSF culture was positive although the SO-BMT was negative. While SO-BMT seems to be a more efficient method than bacterial culturing to determine the pathogens that most commonly cause bacterial meningitis in adults, further studies conducted on larger populations are needed in order to assess its efficiency and uses.
Subject(s)
Streptococcus pneumoniae/isolation & purification , Polymerase Chain Reaction/methods , Bacteriological Techniques/methods , Meningitis, Bacterial/diagnosis , Molecular Diagnostic Techniques/methods , Diagnostic Tests, Routine/methods , Neisseria meningitidis/isolation & purification , Streptococcus pneumoniae/classification , Streptococcus pneumoniae/growth & development , Streptococcus pneumoniae/genetics , Cerebrospinal Fluid/microbiology , Retrospective Studies , Sensitivity and Specificity , Neisseria meningitidis/classification , Neisseria meningitidis/growth & development , Neisseria meningitidis/geneticsABSTRACT
Purpose: Migraine headache is one of the oldest diseases known to mankind, affecting thousands of people throughout the world. The objective of this study is to compare the frequency of migraines in the patient group previously diagnosed with chronic hepatitis-B to the migraine frequency in the healthy control group. Materials and Methods: Patients who presented to Dicle University Hospital and who were diagnosed with chronic hepatitis-B were enrolled in the study. The viral hepatitis markers, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), hepatitis-b virus DNA (HBV DNA), and their levels were included in the evaluation. The control group consisted of healthy individuals with no hepatitis-B detected in the previous screenings. Chronic fatigue observed in the patient group was recorded, and the degree of fatigue was assessed according to the Visual Analogue Scale to Evaluate Fatigue Severity (VAS-F). Approval of the local ethics committee was obtained for this study. Results: The frequency of migraines in patients who tested positive for HBV DNA was significantly higher than in those who tested negative for HBV DNA (p<0.05). Chronic fatigue was also significantly higher in the study group compared to the control group (p=0.01), and their HBV DNA levels were correlated with the VAS-F score (r=0.532; p<0.001). Conclusion: Migraine was found to be correlated with fatigue and the HBV DNA ratio in chronic hepatitis B patients.
ABSTRACT
Staphylococcus species are one of the major causes of bacterial bloodstream infections. Multi-resistant staphylococci infections are major therapeutic problems. This study was aimed to detect methicillin, linezolid and vancomycin susceptibilities of Staphylococcus isolates. A total of 870 Staphylococcus strains isolated from blood cultures of hospitalized patients with BSI. Antimicrobial susceptibilities of methicillin, linezolid and vancomycin were detected according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI). A total of 771 (88.6%) isolates were coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS). 700 (80.5%) isolates were methicillin-resistant (MR) and 170 (19.5%) were methicillin-susceptible (MS). All the MS isolates were also susceptible to linezolid. However 15 (1.7%) of MR strains were resistant to linezolid. The minimum inhibitory concentration range for the linezolid-resistant isolates by Etest was 6-32 µg/mL. The difference between linezolid susceptibilities for MS and MR staphylococci was not quite statistically significant (p = 0.052). There was no statistically significant difference between S. aureus and CoNS isolates for linezolid susceptibility. All of the isolates were susceptible to vancomycin. In conclusion, linezolid is currently an efficient option for the treatment of methicillin-resistant staphylococci infections.