Inflammatory bowel disease. The case for an infectious etiology.

The infectious hypothesis for IBD is certainly not new. The evidence for an infectious agent is tantalizing but not yet convincing. A failure to demonstrate a specific agent in the inflammatory process could mean that many different organisms are involved, or several organisms that, by themselves, do not cause disease interact. All candidate organisms proposed thus far are compatible with either hypothesis. Nevertheless, interaction between an agent(s) in a host modified by immunologic and genetic factors is still an attractive hypothesis for the cause of these illnesses.

Perinephric abscess due to a coagulase-negative Staphylococcus: case report and review of the literature.

Perinephric abscess is an uncommon urinary tract infection that usually is caused by Staphylococcus aureus as a single pathogen or gram-negative bacilli as part of a polymicrobial process. We describe a man who presented with a right perinephric abscess due to coagulase-negative Staphylococcus as the only pathogen. The patient had bilateral nephrolithiasis, and he was treated successfully with percutaneous drainage of the abscess and parenteral antibiotics. Coagulase-negative staphylococci are increasingly reported to cause serious infections. This organism can no longer be routinely dismissed as a contaminant or colonizer. Repeated isolation of coagulase-negative Staphylococcus in the absence of other pathogens must be considered a high risk situation.