Racial differences in preventive practices of African-American and Hispanic women

OBJECTIVES: To compare the use of preventive practices of Hispanic- and African-American women aged 50 and older. DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey. SETTING: Inpatient and outpatient units of a teaching hospital located in South Central Los Angeles. PARTICIPANTS: Convenience sample of 337 women aged 50 and older. MEASUREMENTS: Demographic and lifestyle characteristics and selected preventive practices. Preventive practices reported were self-breast examination, mammography, Papanicolaou (Pap) smear, digital rectal examination and stool occult blood examination, sigmoidoscopy, chemoprophylaxis, and immunization. Information was obtained in a face-to-face interview. RESULTS: African-American women were more likely to have had a Pap smear ever and to have used aspirin prophylaxis than Hispanic women. CONCLUSION: There were no major differences in the use of preventive services by the two ethnic groups except for Pap smear and aspirin use. Immunization and colorectal cancer screening rates were low in African-American and Hispanic women.     

Prevalence and molecular characterization of Enterobacteriaceae producing NDM-1 carbapenemase at a military hospital in Pakistan and evaluation of two chromogenic media

The aim of this study was to assess the frequency and genotypic diversity of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) in stool samples from patients attending a military hospital in Pakistan. Further aims included the identification of factors that might predispose to faecal carriage and evaluation of 2 chromogenic culture media: Brilliance CRE and chromID CARBA. Of 175 patients, 32 (18.3%) had faecal carriage of CPE and all produced NDM-1 carbapenemase. All of these 32 patients were detected using chromID CARBA compared with 20 patients (62.5%) detected using Brilliance CRE (P = 0.0015). Duration of hospitalization and treatment with co-amoxyclav were statistically associated with a higher likelihood of carriage of CPE (P ≤ 0.05). The majority of NDM-1–producing Enterobacteriaceae co-produced CTX-M-1 group extended spectrum β-lactamase, and one third produced armA-type methylase. NDM-1 carbapenemase was most commonly found amongst commensal types of Escherichia coli, especially phylogenetic group B1.