Nosocomial Stenotrophomonas maltophilia cross-infection: three cases in newborns

BACKGROUND: Increased nosocomial Stenotrophomonas maltophilia infection rates in newborns, especially in recent years, are a significant cause for concern. These cases are the second case group in the literature to have been identified as nosocomial cross-infection with S. maltophilia in neonates. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical, microbiological, and epidemiologic features of the outbreak caused by S. maltophilia in the neonatal intensive care unit within a period of 7 days. METHODS: Three cases with nosocomial S. maltophilia infection considered to be the result of cross-transmission were prospectively analyzed. Arbitrarily primed polymerase chain reaction (AP-PCR) performed with M13 primer and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) of genomic DNA after digestion with XbaI were used to determine clonal relationship among the isolates. Results S. maltophilia was isolated from the blood cultures of all 3 patients. Molecular typing confirmed that the 3 cases were epidemiologically linked. CONCLUSIONS: Opportunistic pathogens such as S. maltophilia can lead to major problems in neonates. Molecular typing is helpful to improve effective control programs for preventing the spread of the infection.     

Comparison of composite indices with global synovitis score on ultrasound for detecting remission

Clinical Rheumatology - We aimed to compare composite indices with Ultrasound Global Synovitis Score (GLOESS) for remission in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). RA patients in remission according to the...     

Bilateral ocular ischemic syndrome as an initial manifestation of Takayasu’s arteritis associated with carotid steal syndrome

Bilateral anterior ischemic optic neuropathy and bilateral ocular ischemic syndrome have been rarely reported as initial manifestations of Takayasu’s arteritis (TA). Appearance of ocular symptoms in TA is closely related to extension and severity of involvement of the aorta and its major branches. Here we reported a case of ‘carotid steal syndrome’ secondary to TA in a 45 year old Turkish man, who had severe ocular and brain ischemia, presented initially with symptoms of ocular ischemic syndrome.