Clinical, microbiologic, and epidemiologic characteristics of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections in a University Hospital, Malatya, Turkey

BACKGROUND: Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains are generally resistant to many antibiotics, and nosocomial infections because of this species are one of the major problems in many hospitals. Molecular typing provides very useful information about origin and transmission of the strains. The aims of the present study were to investigate clinical and microbiologic characteristics of the nosocomial infections caused by P aeruginosa strains in a medical center and to bring up the cross-transmission level of this opportunistic pathogen in a university hospital by analyzing the clonal relationship among the isolates. METHODS: A total of 105 P aeruginosa strains had been identified among the 80 inpatients in a 1-year period from August 2003 to August 2004. Demographic, clinical, and epidemiologic data of the patients were prospectively recorded. The standardized disk-diffusion method was used to determine resistance of the strains to imipenem, ceftazidime, aztreonam, amikacin, gentamicin, mezlocillin, cefepime, tobramycin, meropenem, ceftriaxone, and ciprofloxacin. Clonal relatedness of the strains was investigated by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). RESULTS: Of the 105 P aeruginosa strains identified, 45 (43%) were isolated from the patients hospitalized in intensive care units. Thirteen patients had repeated pseudomonas infection (total 38 infections/13 patients); 26 of these repeated infections in 9 patients showed the same localization. Half of the patients had at least 1 underlying disease such as burn (48%), chronic illness (32%), and malignancy (20%). Fifty-seven patients (71%) had urinary and/or other catheterization. Urinary tract infection (35%) was the most frequent infection encountered, followed by respiratory tract infection (34%) and sepsis (13%). Resistance to the antibiotics tested was in the 12% to 88% range; amikacin was the most effective and ceftriaxone was the least effective antibiotic. The PFGE typing method showed that 28 of the 80 patients' isolates were clonally related, including 23 indistinguishable or closely related strains (29%), and 5 possibly related strains (6%). Epidemiologic data of the 16 patients (20% of the patients) confirmed a clonal relationship among the strains. Of the 26 isolates of the 9 patients having repeated infection in the same location, 18 (69%) were in the clonally related groups, whereas 11 of the 12 strains isolated from repeated infections on different body sites were clonally different. CONCLUSION: Our results indicated that P aeruginosa infections in our hospital mainly affected the patients hospitalized in intensive care units and those having catheterization, burn, and/or chronic illness. Amikacin was the best antibiotic as far as bacterial resistance was considered. Although lack of major PFGE type confirmed no P aeruginosa outbreak, typing results showed that cross transmission and treatment failure are the 2 main problems, which should be consider together to prevent this bacterial infection in medical centers.     

Immunity against tetanus and effect of vaccination in Turkey

The immune status against tetanus in relation to vaccination was investigated among healthy populations in 3 selected provinces in Turkey (n=2094). In-house ELISA supplemented with the particle agglutination test was performed for this purpose. An exact correlation was found between vaccination status and immunity against tetanus. The immunity was high among children and sharply decreased with age among adults. The primary vaccination for children increased the immunity, reaching a geometric mean titer (GMT) of 6.2 IU/ml at the fourth dose. There was a reduction of immunity during the next y, followed by an increase with a booster injection at primary school age. Among adolescents and adults, the GMTs after the last vaccination fell off exponentially with a slope of -0.068 log10 IU/ml per y. Extrapolation of the regression line predicted that the minimum protective level (> or =0.01 IU/ml) would be maintained for approximately 30 y on average after the last vaccination. Diyarbakir, 1 of the selected provinces, had lower immunity than the other 2 provinces with poor immunization. Adult females tended to show slightly higher GMTs than males, probably due to the neonatal tetanus elimination program. Reinforcement of immunization against tetanus for adults is recommended.     

Evaluation of PAX5 gene in the early stages of leukemic B cells in the childhood B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia

B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) is a common subtype of acute leukemia in children. PAX5 plays a central role in B-cell development and differentiation. In this study, we analyzed PAX5 expression levels, transactivation domain mutations/deletions in B-ALL patients (n = 115) and healthy controls (n = 10). Relative PAX5 mRNA levels were significantly increased in B-ALL patients (p < 0.0001). PAX5 expression was also evaluated in three different B-ALL subgroups (pro B, Common B and Pre B ALL) and showed stage specific expression levels. Pro B (p = 0.04) and pre B (p = 0.04) patients showed significantly high PAX5 mRNA levels compared to stage specific controls. At least one deletion of exons 7-8 or 9 has been identified in the 41% of the patients. CD34 positivity in patients and presence of large deletions (Δ7/8/9) showed a significant correlation (p = 0.05). None of our patients showed PAX5 point mutations, but two previously identified SNPs (rs3780135 and rs35469494) were detected. Our results support that PAX5 is a critical factor in B-ALL development and aberrant PAX5 expression especially at early stages may leads to leukemic transformation.     

Evaluation of success in the reattachment of coronal fractures

Abstract –  The aim of this study was to evaluate clinically and radiographically the restored teeth using reattachment technique of fractured fragment to the remaining tooth. This study was conducted on 11 children (six girls and five boys; age range: 8–13 years). Before the treatment, the teeth were evaluated clinically and radiographically. The broken incisal part was directly reattached to the remaining tooth part with flowable resin composite. Thereafter, with the purpose of obtaining optimal esthetics and function, along the fracture line an external 'double chamfer' in the shape of a V was created and then covered with resin composite. During the follow-up (1–24 months) after the treatment, the teeth were evaluated clinically and/or radiographically with regard to periodontal, pulpal, coronal, color harmony of the fragments, and occlusion. In addition, the restored teeth were assessed in terms of parental–patient ratings of satisfaction. Both clinically and radiographically, no pathology was reported and all the restorations were successful. Moreover, the mean scores of parental–patient satisfaction were reported as 'satisfied, very-satisfied.'     

Adolescent obsessive compulsive disorder heralding chorea‐acanthocytosis

We describe one male and one female patient who each developed childhood/adolescent obsessive‐compulsive disorder as a prelude to the development of a typical picture of chorea‐acanthocytosis (ChAc). In each patient, the caudate nucleus showed dramatic atrophy. The role of the caudate in compulsive phenomena, and the predilection for neurological disorders with onset in adolescence to present as major mental illness, is discussed. On the basis of the current evidence and previous findings, we suggest that ChAc can be understood as a disorder whose clinical presentation reflects an interaction between the disease process and the individual's neurodevelopmental stage with both initial interrupted neurodevelopment, and supervening neurodegeneration. © 2007 Movement Disorder Society     

Hepatic subcapsular steatosis as a complication associated with intraperitoneal insulin treatment in diabetic peritoneal dialysis patients.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate hepatic subcapsular steatosis (HSS) and its association with clinical parameters in nondiabetic continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients and in diabetic CAPD patients receiving intraperitoneal (IP) or subcutaneous (SC) insulin. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: A tertiary-care university hospital. PATIENTS: 28 CAPD patients (17 males and 11 females; mean age 53.5 +/- 14 years; mean CAPD duration 22.8 +/- 9 months) were included in the study. 14 patients had type II diabetes mellitus and 14 were nondiabetics. In the diabetic group, 8 patients were receiving IP insulin and 6 were receiving SC insulin. OUTCOME MEASURES: HSS was diagnosed on computed tomography without contrast administration. Other data collected were body mass index (BMI), weekly Kt/V, peritoneal equilibration test (PET) results, daily insulin dosage, duration of diabetes mellitus, duration of insulin treatment, dialysate glucose load, and serum findings for alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, albumin, and lipid profiles. RESULTS: HSS was detected in 5 of the 8 diabetics who were receiving IP insulin. None of the diabetics receiving SC insulin and none of the nondiabetic patients exhibited HSS. Daily insulin dosage [108 (95 - 108.5) vs 54 (36 - 72) U/day, p = 0.02], BMI [31 (30.5 - 36) vs 26.6 (26 - 30) kg/m2, p = 0.02], serum triglyceride level [194 (184 - 505) vs 69 (61 - 82) mg/dL, p = 0.04], and PET creatinine levels [D/P2 creat: 0.67 (0.54 - 0.74) vs 0.50 (0.50 - 0.56), p = 0.05; D/P4 creat: 0.75 (0.64 - 0.86) vs 0.60 (0.59 - 0.62), p = 0.02] were higher in diabetic patients receiving IP insulin who had HSS than in those who did not have HSS. PET glucose levels [D0/D2 glu: 0.40 (0.37 - 0.45) vs 0.50 (0.48 - 0.51), p = 0.03; D0/D4 glu: 0.36 (0.26 - 0.38) vs 0.44 (0.38 - 0.48), p = 0.04] were lower in diabetic patients receiving IP insulin who had HSS than in those who did not have HSS. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that IP insulin plays a more important role in the pathogenesis of HSS than glucose levels in diabetic CAPD patients. They also indicate that HSS is associated with higher daily insulin requirement, obesity, hypertriglyceridemia, and high peritoneal transport rate in diabetic CAPD patients receiving IP insulin.