Assessment of mycobacteremia detection as a complementary method for the diagnosis of tuberculosis in HIV-infected patients.

The purpose of this investigation was to assess the usefulness of mycobacteremia detection in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients with suspected tuberculosis. The study included 47 patients with suspected tuberculosis and confirmed HIV infection. A first blood sample was incubated in a BACTEC 9050 MB system, while white blood cells isolation was performed on a second blood specimen before incubation in a BACTEC MGIT 960 system. The third specimen was taken from the affected organs of each patient according to their clinical profile. Twelve (25.5%) patients were positive for mycobacterial infection identified by any of the methods used. Ten (21.2%) were positive for Mycobacterium tuberculosis and 2 (4.3%) for M. avium. Six patients were diagnosed by the culture of specimen from affected organs only, whilst three other patients were positive exclusively for blood cultures. Three additional patients were diagnosed by both methods. Four patients with negative cultures were ultimately diagnosed with tuberculosis by measuring the adenosine deaminase levels. Mycobacteremia detection can be used to increase the sensitivity of the diagnosis of tuberculosis and other mycobacteria in patients with HIV. However, it cannot be used as the sole diagnostic method. Clinical specimen cultures do not provide 100% diagnostic accuracy and it is, therefore, critical to further improve the mycobacteria detection sensitivity.

Rapid detection of rifampicin and isoniazid resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis by the direct thin-layer agar method.

We evaluated thin-layer agar (TLA) for the detection of resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to rifampicin (RMP) and isoniazid (INH) as a direct method in patients at risk of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). Quadrant TLA plates contain 7H10 Middlebrook growth control, para-nitrobenzoic acid, INH and RMP. Detection of RMP and INH resistance by TLA was compared to that in indirect conventional drug susceptibility testing (DST) and conventional culture media. Median time for growth was respectively 22, 10 and 7.6 days for Löwenstein-Jensen, TLA and the Mycobacterial Growth Indicator Tube. TLA sensitivity, specificity and predictive values for RMP and INH resistance were 100%. Time to resistance detection was respectively 11 and 11.5 days for RMP and INH. TLA showed a rapid turnaround time and performance comparable to conventional DST methods.

Evaluation of a rapid culture method for tuberculosis diagnosis: a Latin American multi-center study.

SETTINGS: Tuberculosis (TB) diagnostic laboratories in Latin America. OBJECTIVES: Evaluation of thin-layer agar (TLA) compared to Löwenstein-Jensen (LJ) culture for the diagnosis of TB. DESIGN: Phase II prospective study in six laboratories. Samples included sputum and extra-pulmonary specimens from patients with a clinical diagnosis of TB. Respiratory samples were decontaminated using NaOH/ NALC; all samples were centrifuged, stained with Ziehl-Neelsen for acid-fast bacilli (AFB), cultured on LJ and TLA and identified according to recommended procedures. Sensitivity and likelihood ratios (LR), growth detection time and contamination rate were calculated for both media. RESULTS: A total of 1118 clinical specimens were studied. Cultures detected Mycobacterium tuberculosis in all AFB-positive samples, whereas for AFB-negative specimens LJ detected 3.2% and TLA 4.4%. Sensitivity was 92.6% (95%CI 87.9-95.9) and 84.7% (95%CI 78.8-89.0) for TLA and LJ, respectively. Positive and negative LRs were similar. Contamination was 5.1% for TLA and 3.0% for LJ. Median time to detection of a positive culture was 11.5 days (95%CI 9.3-15.0) for TLA and 30.5 days (95%CI 26.9-39.0) for LJ (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: Difference in the characteristics of the participating laboratories, the disease prevalence and the number and type of specimens processed did not affect the overall performance of TLA as compared to LJ, supporting the robustness of the method and its feasibility in different laboratory settings.

Bacteriology of middle ear fluid specimens obtained by tympanocentesis from 111 Colombian children with acute otitis media.

We cultured middle ear fluid specimens obtained by tympanocentesis from 111 Colombian infants and children, ages 11 days to 11 years, with acute otitis media. Bacteria were isolated in 82 patients (74%). Haemophilus influenzae, the most common isolate, was present in 40 cases (36%); 32 were nontypable strains and 8 were type b. Streptococcus pneumoniae, identified in 26 cases (22%), was the second most common pathogen. All H. influenzae and S. pneumoniae strains were susceptible to ampicillin and penicillin, respectively. We conclude that amoxicillin remains the drug of choice for treatment of acute otitis media in our country.

Distribution of capsular types and antimicrobial susceptibility of invasive isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae in Colombian children. Pneumococcal Study Group in Colombia.

Streptococcus pneumoniae is the leading bacterial cause of childhood pneumonia in the developing world. This study describes the type distribution and antimicrobial susceptibility of invasive pneumococcal isolates from Colombian children and is part of the Sistema Regional de Vacunas (SIREVA), a PAHO regional initiative designed to determine the ideal serotype composition of a protein polysaccharide pneumococcal conjugate vaccine for use in children less than 5 years old in Latin America. In Colombia, during the study period, centres in Bogota, Medellin, and Cali collected 324 S. pneumoniae isolates from invasive diseases, 238 (73.5%) from children under the age of 2. Pneumonia was the clinical diagnosis in 41.3% cases, meningitis in 41%, and sepsis in 11.2%. The seven most frequent types included 14(21.9%), 5(10.5%), 23F(9.6%), 1(9%), 6B(9%), 19F(7.1%), and 6A(6.2%). The frequency of diminished susceptibility to penicillin (DSP) was 12%, with 8.9% of isolates showing intermediate level resistance and 3.1% showing high level resistance. Among DSP isolates, 23% were also resistant to cefotaxime, 33.3% to erythromycin, 48.7% to chloramphenicol, and 74.3% to trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole. Multiple resistance was detected in 59% of the isolates that have DSP. Penicillin resistance was associated with types 23F (53.8%) and 14 (25.6%). These data provides information on capsular types prevalent in Colombia that will not only allow the formulation of an ideal vaccine for the region but also reinforce the need for ongoing regional surveillance.

In vitro evaluation of lomefloxacin activity in Colombia.

As part of the worldwide in vitro program to determine the antimicrobial activity of lomefloxacin, our study tested susceptibility of bacterial isolates from hospitals in Medellin, Colombia. A total of 504 bacterial isolates were obtained from patients at three different centers. For Enterobacteriaceae, 0.5 micrograms/ml inhibited 100% of the indole-positive Proteus and Salmonella spp.; 1 microgram/ml inhibited 100% of Shigella and Citrobacter, 2 microgram/ml inhibited 100% of Enterobacter spp., E. coli, Proteus mirabilis, and Serratia marcescens isolates tested. The MIC90 for Klebsiella spp. and Pseudomonas spp. was 4 micrograms/ml. The MIC90 was 4 micrograms/ml for S. aureus and 2 micrograms/ml for S. epidermidis and S. saprophyticus. The MIC90 of Streptococcus spp. were less than or equal to 4 micrograms/ml for all isolates tested. Considering that 97.8% were susceptible to concentrations of less than or equal to 4 micrograms/ml of lomefloxacin, this new quinolone offers potential in the therapy of a variety of systemic infections, especially in patients with multiply resistant pathogens.

Microcolony detection in 7H11 thin layer culture is an alternative for rapid diagnosis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection.

SETTING: Radiometric technology and molecular biology are used in rapid diagnosis of tuberculosis in laboratories around the world. However, these technologies increase costs and are not available in laboratories where economic resources are limited. OBJECTIVE: To compare sensitivity and time for detection of positive cultures in a microcolony method, Middlebrook 7H11 thin layer agar plate (TL7H11), and a conventional culture, Lowenstein-Jensen (L-J). DESIGN: A total of 761 clinical samples were processed using acid-fast smear and culture on TL7H11 plates and L-J tubes. TL7H11 plates were checked microscopically for microcolony growth twice weekly for 4 weeks, and L-J tubes were checked once a week for 8 weeks. RESULTS: Overall positivity was 11.0%. More than 60% of the positive samples were detected within the first 10 days on TL7H11, and none on L-J. After 2 weeks, more than 80% were positive on TL7H11 compared to 10% on L-J. In paucibacillary samples, TL7H11 detected 2.18% and L-J 4.57% (P < 0.001). Microcolony morphology was 100% distinctive for Mycobacterium tuberculosis on TL7H11. The calculated cost of TL7H11 prepared in the laboratory was US$2.90 per unit. CONCLUSION: The TL7H11 method is an inexpensive, rapid and reliable alternative for diagnosing M. tuberculosis infection. It is therefore a valuable option for laboratories in low income countries.

The structural modeling of the interaction between levofloxacin and the Mycobacterium tuberculosis gyrase catalytic site sheds light on the mechanisms of fluoroquinolones resistant tuberculosis in Colombian clinical isolates.

We compared the prevalence of levofloxacin (LVX) resistance with that of ofloxacin (OFX) and moxifloxacin (MFX) among multidrug resistant (MDR) MTB clinical isolates collected in Medellin, Colombia, between 2004 and 2009 and aimed at unraveling the underlying molecular mechanisms that explain the correlation between QRDR-A mutations and LVX resistance phenotype. We tested 104 MDR isolates for their susceptibility to OFX, MFX, and LVX. Resistance to OFX was encountered in 10 (9.6%) of the isolates among which 8 (7.7%) were also resistant to LVX and 6 (5.7%) to MFX. Four isolates resistant to the 3 FQ were harboring the Asp94Gly substitution, whilst 2 other isolates resistant to OFX and LVX presented the Ala90Val mutation. No mutations were found in the QRDR-B region. The molecular modeling of the interaction between LVX and the DNA-DNA gyrase complex indicates that the loss of an acetyl group in the Asp94Gly mutation removes the acid base interaction with LVX necessary for the quinolone activity. The Ala90Val mutation that substitutes a methyl for an isopropyl group induces a steric modification that blocks the LVX access to the gyrase catalytic site.

Aztreonam in the treatment of aerobic, gram-negative bacillary infections in pediatric patients.

Aztreonam was administered to 20 children diagnosed as having any of the following infections: urinary tract infection, pneumonia, meningitis, and abscess of the appendix. Haemophilus influenzae, Escherichia coli, and Klebsiella pneumoniae were isolated. The minimum inhibitory concentrations of aztreonam for these bacteria ranged from 0.03 to 0.5 micrograms/ml. All patients were clinically and bacteriologically cured within 5-16 days of treatment. Six months after completion of therapy, patients who had had meningitis appeared to be free of any neurologic sequelae. The antibiotic was well tolerated by all patients.