Molecular epidemiology of Staphylococcus aureus nasal colonization among patients and their parents /guardian in an Iranian referral hospital.

INTRODUCTION: Carriage of Staphylococcus aureus in the nose appears to play a key role in the epidemiology and pathogenesis of infection. It is important to investigate the genetic relatedness of S. aureus and MRSA clones in different geographic regions. The aim of this study was to assess the nasal carriage rate of S. aureus, including MRSA strains in both hospitalized children and general adult population (parents/guardian). In addition, antibiotic susceptibility pattern and molecular diversity of S. aureus in both population was evaluated in an Iranian referral pediatrics Hospital. MATERIAL AND METHODS: All samples were obtained through nasal screening of patients and general adult population at admission and discharge day. The prevalence, resistance, and molecular diversity of all S. aureus isolates were examined. RESULTS: In the current study, nasal carriage of S. aureus and Staphylococcus non aureus was identified in 384 (26%) and 1004 (68%) of the study population. The prevalence of MRSA nasal carriage in children and adults was 6.6% (29 out of 438) and 2.8% (29 out of 1046), respectively. Among S. aureus strains isolated obtained from patients and general adult population at admission day, high sensitivity to most of the antibiotics such as vancomycin (100%), rifampin (95%), linezolid (94%), quinupristin/dalfopristin (94%), minocycline (94%), chloramphenicol (89%), gentamycin (87%), amikacin (87%), clindamycin (86%) and moxifloxacin (83%) was seen. The most resistance antibiotics were penicillin (96-98%) and methicillin (44-47%). The susceptibility patterns of nasal S. aureus strains isolated at discharge day was not statistically different from S. aureus isolates obtained at admission day. Admission S. aureus isolated strains of 77 patients (64%) were similar to the isolated S. aureus strains of discharge, while S. aureus isolated strains of 43 patients (36%) was not similar to the strain of discharge (had similarity of less than 70%). CONCLUSION: High prevalence of nasal carriage of S. aureus and MRSA indicates the urgent need to improve strategies for management of S. aureus infections. Our findings are useful for understanding of S. aureus nasal colonization dynamics within the patients and general population. Surveillance for S. aureus in community settings can provide data on circulating strains and might help developing control measures for reducing of infection spread in hospitals.

Epidemiology of children with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (stage 3): A referral hospital-based study in Iran.

Lack of recognition of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection especially in children and delayed implementation of effective control programs makes HIV infection as a major cause for concern. Information on HIV epidemiology in Iran as well as other Islamic countries is limited. The aim of our study was to describe the clinical manifestation and laboratory finding of HIV infected children who were admitted to a referral Children Medical Center (CMC) in Tehran, Iran, during 11 years from January 2002 to January 2013. This was a retrospective study carried out over a period of 11 years. The records of all patients attending to the CMC with confirmed acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) were screened. The patients were evaluated for social circumstance, family history, age, gender, clinical, and laboratory features. Clinical data including fever, respiratory distress, diarrhea, rash, etc. as well as laboratory tests including complete blood count, serum glucose level, electrolytes, liver function test, cultures, CD4 lymphocyte count were evaluated. During the study period, 32 HIV positive children were enrolled. The majority of patients were presented with weight loss, prolonged fever, respiratory infection and chronic diarrhea. In this study, salmonella infections as well as streptococcal pneumonia and candida infections followed by, tuberculosis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections were the predominant opportunistic infections. Since the number of HIV-positive children has been alarmingly increasing in recent years and perinatal transmission is the most common route of HIV infection in children, essential recommendations for prenatal HIV testing as well as appropriate antiretroviral therapy by HIV infected mothers are needed.

An orbital hydatid cyst involving inferior rectus muscle: A case report.

The orbital hydatid cyst is a rare entity and although most of them are located in superolateral and superomedial angles of orbits, involvement of inferior sites is uncommon. We report a 12-year-old case of primary hydatid cyst situated in inferior rectus muscle which was undergone surgical removal. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used for differential diagnosis of hydatid cyst. Moreover, histological analysis was performed, after the cyst removal, to confirm the diagnosis. Early clinical and radiological evaluations and subsequent surgical excision is the mainstay of treatment and should be performed to prevent severe complications caused by the advanced and ruptured cysts.

Spectrum of bone marrow failures of myeloid series: new report of neutropenic patients from a referral pediatric center in Iran.

Neutropenia is a reduction of the absolute neutrophil count (ANC), which could be seen in different conditions, while its association with a number of primary immunodeficiency diseases has been reported. This study was performed in all neutropenic patients who were admitted in a referral pediatric hospital during a 6-year period (2006-2011). One hundred and forty patients with ANC of below 1500/mm(3) were investigated in this study. The most common causes of neutropenia were severe congenital neutropenia (41%), aplastic anemia (19%), cyclic neutropenia (11%), hyperimmunoglobulin M syndrome (9%), and fanconi anemia (7%). The patients experienced their first manifestation at a median age of 1 year, while the median diagnostic age was 21 months. Parental consanguinity was present in about half of the cases. The most common clinical manifestations of the patients were sinusitis (62 cases), periodontitis (51 cases), acute diarrhea (39 cases), pneumonia (38 cases), abscess (36 cases), skin rashes (35 cases), and otitis media (31 cases). Twenty two patients (16%) died during the study period. Considering the differential diagnosis of neutropenia, making the diagnosis and appropriate treatments are the keys in management of patients with neutropenia to avoid further complications.

Increase resistant rates and ESBL production between E. coli isolates causing urinary tract infection in young patients from Iran.

Emerging antimicrobial resistance rates and Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase producing Escherichia coli recovered from urinary tract infections (UTI) is an increasing problem in specific regions, limiting therapeutic options. One hundred E. coli isolates causing UTI in patients with age from 2 months to 12 years admitted at CMC in the period of April 2009 to March 2010 were tested for antibiotic susceptibility using the disk diffusion method. Surprisingly high resistance rates were recorded for E. coli against TMP/SMX (84%), cefalotin (66%), cefuroxime (50%), cefixime (50%) and ceftriaxone (45%). Antimicrobial susceptibility of E. coli isolates was followed by meropenem (98%), amikacin (95%), nitrofurantoin (91%) and gentamicin (68%). Extended spectrum beta-lactamase production, was observed in 32% of community and 42% of nosocomial isolates. The results of this study and numerous observations regarding the increasing resistance to these antibiotics, in several countries, emphasize the need for local population-specific surveillance for guiding empirical therapy for UTI in children.

Adverse reactions to Mycobacterium bovis bacille Calmette-Guérin vaccination against tuberculosis in Iranian children.

PURPOSE: There are considerable variations in the number of adverse reaction reports related to vaccine from different countries. The aim of this study was to review the development of adverse reactions to bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination among hospitalized patients in an Iranian referral hospital. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We identified hospitalized patients with BCG complications in Pediatric Infectious Disease Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran during January 2007-April 2009. Data on demographics, clinical features, laboratory findings, personal history (including vaccination history), family history, and outcomes were retrieved from medical records. RESULTS: There were 46 cases with BCG complication during the 2 years period. All of the children received vaccination at birth. Twenty-eight patients (61%) were male. The mean age of the patients was 13.5 ±11.3 months (range, 1 to 52 months; median, 10 months). The majority of children (57%) with BCG complication were less than 1 year old. Among hospitalized patients due to BCG complications, suppurative lymphadenitis was occurred in 28 children (61%) and lymphadenopathy was seen in 9 children (20%). Disseminated BCG was detected in 8 patients (17%) and only 1 child (2%) was presented with abscess. In 7% (n = 3) of children, the family history of BCG complications were positive. CONCLUSION: The most common side effect of the BCG vaccine in our study was suppurative lymphadenitis. Disseminated BCG infection in complications leading to hospitalization in our study was 17%. With regard to the difficulty in implementing such a guideline in settings where BCG is given to all newborns, registration of Iranian primary immunodeficiency disorders (PID) patients would be helpful to increase the awareness of medical community of Iran to investigate underlying disease. In addition, BCG vaccination should postpone in each newborn with a family history of PID until the definite condition has been ruled out.

Posterior mediastinal mass: an unusual presentation of pediatric tuberculosis.

Mediastinal mass is a rare presentation of tuberculosis in children. The sources of posterior mediastinal mass are usually neurogenic tumors, infections or vascular lesions. Herein, a 12-year-old girl is presented who manifested with a posterior mediastinal mass extending to the right paravertebral space from T3 to T8 with extension to retrocardiac and subcarinal spaces. She suffered from chronic cough, prolonged fever, and weight loss. The results of the tuberculin skin test and biopsy were compatible with tuberculosis. Mediastinal tuberculosis was confirmed histologically and by polymerase chain reaction. The patient was treated with anti-tuberculosis drugs and surgical intervention.

A neonate with indurate dermal papules and nodules and pneumonia: a case report.

We presents an infant with several indurated plaques and nodules scattered on her body. She was brought to the hospital because of fever, runny nose and cough from one month ago. During the examination and investigation the plaques and nodules grabbed the attention of the clinicians and the skin biopsy and other lab works revealed the diagnosis of congenital leukemia.

Periodic Fever, Aphthous Stomatitis, Pharyngitis and Cervical Adenitis (PFAPA) Syndrome in Iranian Children First Report of Iranian Periodic Fever and Autoinflammatory Registry (IPFAIR).

OBJECTIVE: The periodic fever, aphthous stomatitis, pharyngitis and cervical adenitis (PFAPA) syndrome is a nonhereditary idiopathic febrile syndrome belonging to the group of autoinflammatory diseases. No longtime sequel was reported in this disease. Early diagnosis can lead physicians to treatment of this disorder with a short course steroid application and provide satisfaction of the patient's family. METHODS: This study is a prospective review of patients diagnosed with PFAPA syndrome who were registered in Iranian Periodic Fever and Autoinflammatory Registry (IPFAIR) through periodic fever clinic in the Children's Medical Center, Pediatric Center of Excellence in Tehran, Iran from January 2013 to March 2014. FINDINGS: One hundred thirty patients were registered in our databases. Twenty-one (16.1%) patients including 15 males and 6 females had PFAPA. Normal growth was seen in all patients. The median age at onset was 18 months. The mean duration of fever was 4 days and the mean duration of intervals between fever episodes 21 days. Along with fever, all patients had characteristic symptoms. All patients were asymptomatic between fever episodes. Steroid was used in all patients and causing immediate reduction by 84.61%. Two patients received both steroid and colchicine because of their clinical feature and positive laboratory tests for PFAPA and familial Mediterranean fever. No patient received biological therapy or a tonsillectomy. CONCLUSION: The long diagnostic delay of PFAPA gives cause to concern indicating a need for greater awareness of the disease so that the diagnosis may be made timely.

Virulence Factors of Staphylococcus aureus Isolates in an Iranian Referral Children's Hospital.

OBJECTIVES: The clinical importance of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is attributed to notable virulence factors, surface proteins, toxins, and enzymes as well as the rapid development of drug resistance. The aim of this study was to compare the occurrence of virulence factors produced by S. aureus strains isolated from children in an Iranian referral children's hospital. METHODS: The presence of genes encoding for the enterotoxins A (sea), B (seb), C (sec), D (sed), TSST-1 (tsst), exfoliative toxin A (eta), and exfoliative toxin B (etb) were detected by Multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using specific primers. In addition, the standardized Kirby-Bauer disc-diffusion method was performed on Mueller-Hinton agar. RESULTS: In total, 133 S. aureus isolates were obtained from different patients. Of these S. aureus isolates, 64 (48%) were methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), and all of these tested positive for the mecA gene. Regarding the classical enterotoxin genes, sea gene (40.6%) was the most prevalent followed by seb (19.6%), tsst (12.8%), eta (11.3%), etb (9%), sed (4.5%), and sec (3%). Among methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) isolates, seb and tsst were the more prevalent toxins in comparison with MRSA isolates (p < 0.05), while the frequency of sea, sed, eta, and etb genes were higher among MRSA isolates (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: In our study enterotoxin A was produced by 40.6% of the isolates (48% from MRSA and 33% from MSSA isolates) which was higher than in previous reports. According to our results, strict hygiene and preventative measures during food processing are highly recommended.

Autoimmunity in X-linked agammaglobulinemia: Kawasaki disease and review of the literature.

Although autoimmunity phenotype is surprisingly common in patients with different types of primary antibody deficiency, it is much less frequent in X-linked agammaglobulinemia (XLA). Herein, we report on a 15-month-old boy with XLA who also suffered from Kawasaki disease. The current case presentation is the first report of an association between Kawasaki disease and XLA. XLA could be considered as a special opportunity to understand autoimmunity in the near absence of immunoglobulins.

High frequency of vancomycin-resistant enterococcus faecalis in an Iranian referral children medical hospital.

BACKGROUND: Enterococci have emerged in recent years as important nosocomial pathogens. Although most enterococcal human infections are caused by Enterococcus faecalis, studies on vancomycin resistance are usually limited to Enterococcus faecium isolates and a little is known about E. faecalis. Therefore we undertook this study to obtain information about the prevalence of vancomycin -resistant E. faecalis (VREF) and genes responsible for resistance. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Ninety-one E. faecalis isolates of different patients admitted at Children's Medical Center from August 2009 to June 2010 were included in this cross-sectional study. Antimicrobial testing was performed by Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method according to Clinical Laboratories Standards Institute (CLSI). RESULTS: Among all isolates, 15 (16%) were identified as VR E. faecalis. PCR analysis revealed that all VREF isolates were positive for the vanA gene. CONCLUSION: The present study reports the highest range of VREF in Iran. The increased frequency of VREF, as seen with rapid rise in the number of VanA isolates should be considered in infection control practices.

Increase resistant rates and ESBL production between E. coli isolates causing urinary tract infection in young patients from Iran

Emerging antimicrobial resistance rates and Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase producing Escherichia coli recovered from urinary tract infections (UTI) is an increasing problem in specific regions, limiting therapeutic options. One hundred E. coli isolates causing UTI in patients with age from 2 months to 12 years admitted at CMC in the period of April 2009 to March 2010 were tested for antibiotic susceptibility using the disk diffusion method. Surprisingly high resistance rates were recorded for E. coli against TMP/SMX (84%), cefalotin (66%), cefuroxime (50%), cefixime (50%) and ceftriaxone (45%). Antimicrobial susceptibility of E. coli isolates was followed by meropenem (98%), amikacin (95%), nitrofurantoin (91%) and gentamicin (68%). Extended spectrum beta-lactamase production, was observed in 32% of community and 42% of nosocomial isolates. The results of this study and numerous observations regarding the increasing resistance to these antibiotics, in several countries, emphasize the need for local population-specific surveillance for guiding empirical therapy for UTI in children.