ABSTRACT
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is associated with several human infections, mainly related to healthcare services. In the hospital, it is associated with resistance to several antibiotics, which poses a great challenge to therapy. However, one of the biggest challenges in treating P. aeruginosa infections is that related to biofilms. The complex structure of the P. aeruginosa biofilm contributes an additional factor to the pathogenicity of this microorganism, leading to therapeutic failure, in addition to escape from the immune system, and generating chronic infections that are difficult to eradicate. In this review, we address several molecular aspects of the pathogenicity of P. aeruginosa biofilms.
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) is a complication of diabetes mellitus (DM) with established recurrence risk factors evaluating patients from United States or Europe. There are scarce studies in developing countries about these risks. The aim of this study was to evaluate risk factors associated with DFU recurrence in a Brazilian prospective cohort. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective cohort of patients with healed DFU followed from January 2014 to June 2017 in Curitiba, Brazil. Periodic home visits from a specialist nurse in DFU were performed during the period of the study to evaluate recurrence of ulcer. The presence of risk factors in the group of patients that developed an ulcer in the follow-up period was compared with the presence of these factors in the group of patients without recurrence. At enrollment, 35 subjects presented a previous ulcer distal with complete healing to follow-up. RESULTS: From 35 patients, 15 were male (43%) and the mean age was of 65.8 ± 10.9 years (48-85 year). Most patients were married with a low income (Subject(s)
Foot Ulcer/physiopathology
, Recurrence
, Aged
, Aged, 80 and over
, Brazil
, Female
, Foot Ulcer/etiology
, Humans
, Male
, Middle Aged
, Pilot Projects
, Prospective Studies
, Risk Factors
, Wound Healing/physiology
ABSTRACT
Real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) using 16S rDNA is an alternative to conventional culture-based tests. The aim of this study was to compare the conventional culture method with qPCR using 16S rDNA in a model of cardiac tissue contamination. Samples of cardiac tissue for artificial contamination with Escherichia coli and control samples were submitted for DNA extraction, which was conducted by selective and alkaline lysis and purification steps. A standard curve for 16S rDNA was constructed to determine the efficiency and analytical sensitivity of the assay in concentrations from 106 to 102 c.f.u. ml-1 using TaqMan Master Mix. 16S rDNA was detected in all contaminated samples; however, it was not detected in the the final washing step solution of the sample with a bioburden of 102 c.f.u. ml-1. Using qPCR is a potential alternative to conventional culture for microbiological safety testing of allograft tissues for biobanking, reducing the time and labour input required.
