Infektionen an Finger- und Zehennägeln durch Pilze und Bakterien

Infections of the finger and the toe nails are most frequently caused by fungi, primarily dermatophytes. Causative agents of tinea unguium are mostly anthropophilic dermatophytes. Both in Germany, and worldwide, Trichophyton rubrum represents the main important causative agent of onychomycoses. Yeasts are isolated from fungal nail infections, both paronychia and onychomycosis far more often than generally expected. This can represent either saprophytic colonization as well as acute or chronic infection of the nail organ. The main yeasts causing nail infections are Candida parapsilosis, and Candida guilliermondii; Candida albicans is only in third place. Onychomycosis due to molds, or so called non-dermatophyte molds (NDM), are being increasingly detected. Molds as cause of an onychomycosis are considered as emerging pathogens. Fusarium species are the most common cause of NDM onychomycosis; however, rare molds like Onychocola canadensis may be found. Bacterial infections of the nails are caused by gram negative bacteria, usually Pseudomonas aeruginosa (recognizable because of green or black coloration of the nails) but also Klebsiella spp. and gram positive bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus. Treatment of onychomycosis includes application of topical antifungal agents (amorolfine, ciclopirox). If more than 50?% of the nail plate is affected or if more than three out of ten nails are affected by the fungal infection, oral treatment using terbinafine (in case of dermatophyte infection), fluconazole (for yeast infections), or alternatively itraconazole are recommended. Bacterial infections are treated topically with antiseptic agents (octenidine), and in some cases with topical antibiotics (nadifloxacin, gentamicin). Pseudomonas infections of the nail organ are treated by ciprofloxacin; other bacteria are treated according to the results of culture and sensitivity testing.     

Recommended Immunological Strategies to Screen for Botulinum Neurotoxin-Containing Samples

Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) cause the life-threatening neurological illness botulism in humans and animals and are divided into seven serotypes (BoNT/A–G), of which serotypes A, B, E, and F cause the disease in humans. BoNTs are classified as “category A” bioterrorism threat agents and are relevant in the context of the Biological Weapons Convention. An international proficiency test (PT) was conducted to evaluate detection, quantification and discrimination capabilities of 23 expert laboratories from the health, food and security areas. Here we describe three immunological strategies that proved to be successful for the detection and quantification of BoNT/A, B, and E considering the restricted sample volume (1 mL) distributed. To analyze the samples qualitatively and quantitatively, the first strategy was based on sensitive immunoenzymatic and immunochromatographic assays for fast qualitative and quantitative analyses. In the second approach, a bead-based suspension array was used for screening followed by conventional ELISA for quantification. In the third approach, an ELISA plate format assay was used for serotype specific immunodetection of BoNT-cleaved substrates, detecting the activity of the light chain, rather than the toxin protein. The results provide guidance for further steps in quality assurance and highlight problems to address in the future.     

Therapeutic Alliance: What Can be Learned from Case Studies?

Two different video-taped short-term psychotherapies were rated on therapeutic alliance for 27 sessions. The ratings were based on two methods: the Penn Helping Alliance Scales (Penn-HAS) and the Therapeutic Alliance Rating Scale (TARS). Both scales provide separate scores for the therapist and the patient. After checking the reliabilities of the ratings, the strength and course of the alliance formation are compared within and across therapies. Furthermore it was hypothesized that the alliance is structured differently in the two therapies. This hypothesis is tested by making content-specific item comparisons across the therapies for the Penn-HAS and by a comparison of the factor structure over time (factor analytic P-technique) for the TARS.     

Einladung zur Versammlung des FVDZ-Landesverbandes

Der Freie Zahnarzt -