[Quantitative determination of urine bacteria in the diagnosis of urinary tract infections in children]. / La batterioscopia urinaria quantitativa nella diagnosi di infezione delle vie urinarie in età pediatrica.

Bacteria counts in fresh, unstained, uncentrifuged urine specimens, using a phase-contrast microscope, magnification X 400, and a hemocytometer chamber, proved to be a very useful method not only of excluding (specificity 0.92) but also identifying urinary tract infection (sensitivity 0.90) in children. The presence of greater than 5/0.1 ml bacteria in the urine was taken as the threshold value. The evaluation of leukocyturia alone did not alter the sensitivity of the method, even when it was associated with bacteriuria. When Proteus was isolated from urine cultures, the bacteria count proved negative in 60% of cases; otherwise when different bacteria were isolated in urine cultures, they were then identified during the bacteria count. The method is simple, inexpensive and rapid (it requires only a few minutes) and it may be used in a pediatric outpatient or hospital setting.

[Vaginal infections in a population of diabetic children and adolescents]. / Infezioni vaginali in una popolazione di bambine e adolescenti diabetiche.

The prevalence of vaginal infections has been evaluated in 51 patient affected by insulin-dependent diabetes (IDDM) and in a control group of girls matched for age. Most frequent infectious agents were Candida Albicans (42.8%) and Streptococcus B (28.5%). No statistical significant relationship was observed between infection and duration of diabetes nor metabolic control, while the relationship was positive between infection and puberty. The peculiarity of this infection during IDDM is stressed and the difficulties in the infection when caused by Streptococcus B are discussed.

[Isolation of menincococci in Palermo during a course of seasonable recrudescence]. / Isolamento di meningococchi a Palermo in corso di una recrudescenza stagionale

Three strains of Neisseria meningitidis were isolated from young patients during an outbreak of cerebrospinal fever in Palermo, fourteen from their family contacts. All strains from patients and ten of the strains from contacts fell into group C, two of the others into group B; two were untypable strains. All the strains belonging to group C exhibited sensitivity to sulphonamides and to other antibiotics tested. Strains of group B appeared resistant to sulphonamides and to combined trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole; they were also slightly resistant to streptomycin and tetracyclines.

[Antibody response in subjects with meningococal disease and in healthy carriers of Neisseria meningitidis]. / Risposta anticorpale in soggetti con malattia meningococcica ed in portatori sani di Neisseria meningitidis

Antibodies against Neisseria meningitidis in sera of childrens suffering from cerebrospinal fever and in sera of their family contacts were assayed by serum bactericidal test, indirect immunofluorescence and passive hemagglutination. Changes in antibody titers were showed in the course of the observations in many patients but only in few contacts. The immune response during meningococcal disease and the sensitivity of different serological methods were discussed.

[Morphologic characteristics of lysogenic phages with conversion activity in Shigella flexneri]. / Caratteristiche morfologiche di fagi di lisogenia con attivita' convertitrice in Shigella flexneri

The morphology of three lysogenic bacteriophages which induce antigenic conversion in various Shigella flexneri serotypes (II and V type antigen and 7.8 group antigen) has been investigated. A quite different morphology appeared with respect to that of Salmonella.