Penicillin-resistant pneumococci-implications for management of community-acquired pneumonia and meningitis.

Penicillin-nonsusceptible Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates have become increasingly prevalent worldwide. They are well-known agents of community-acquired infections such as otitis media, pneumonia and bacterial meningitis. Therapy of pneumococcal infections is made difficult by the emergence and spread of bacterial resistance to penicillin and other beta-lactams, as well as other antimicrobials such as macrolides. This article reviews current concepts of epidemiology and the implications of penicillin-nonsusceptible pneumococci for management of community-acquired pneumonia and meningitis.

Consultation on the Libyan health systems: towards patient-centred services.

The extra demand imposed upon the Libyan health services during and after the Libyan revolution in 2011 led the ailing health systems to collapse. To start the planning process to re-engineer the health sector, the Libyan Ministry of Health in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and other international experts in the field sponsored the National Health Systems Conference in Tripoli, Libya, between the 26th and the 30th of August 2012. The aim of this conference was to study how health systems function at the international arena and to facilitate a consultative process between 500 Libyan health experts in order to identify the problems within the Libyan health system and propose potential solutions. The scientific programme adopted the WHO health care system framework and used its six system building blocks: i) Health Governance; ii) Health Care Finance; iii) Health Service Delivery; iv) Human Resources for Health; v) Pharmaceuticals and Health Technology; and vi) Health Information System. The experts used a structured approach starting with clarifying the concepts, evaluating the current status of that health system block in Libya, thereby identifying the strengths, weaknesses, and major deficiencies. This article summarises the 500 health expert recommendations that seized the opportunity to map a modern health systems to take the Libyan health sector into the 21st century.

Rifampicin concentrations in bronchial mucosa, epithelial lining fluid, alveolar macrophages and serum following a single 600 mg oral dose in patients undergoing fibre-optic bronchoscopy.

The concentrations of rifampicin in epithelial lining fluid (ELF), human alveolar macrophages (AM), bronchial mucosal biopsies and serum were measured after a single oral dose of 600 mg rifampicin from 15 patients undergoing fibre-optic bronchoscopy. The samples of ELF, AM, the bronchial mucosal biopsies and serum were obtained approximately 2-5 h after dosing. The mean concentrations (mean +/- standard error) were 5.25 mg/L (+/-0.67) in ELF, 7.93 mg/kg (+/-1.61) in bronchial biopsies, 15.48 mg/L (+/-1.41) in serum and 251.8 mg/L (+/-65.92) in alveolar macrophages. These site concentrations exceeded the MIC90 for common respiratory pathogens including Mycobacterium tuberculosis and support the observed clinical efficacy of rifampicin in the treatment of a wide range of respiratory tract infections.