Burkholderia gladioli: five year experience in a cystic fibrosis and lung transplantation center.

BACKGROUND: The impact of infection with Burkholderia gladioli in cystic fibrosis, other chronic airway diseases and immunosuppressed patients is unknown. METHODS: A six-year retrospective review of all patients with B. gladioli infection was performed in a tertiary referral center with cystic fibrosis and lung transplantation programs. In addition, a targeted survey of all 251 lung transplant recipients was performed. Available B. gladioli isolates were analyzed via pulsed field gel electrophoresis. RESULTS: Thirty-five patients were culture positive for B. gladioli, including 33 CF patients. No bacteremia was identified. Isolates were available in 18 patients and all were genetically distinct. Two-thirds of these isolates were susceptible to usual anti-pseudomonal antibiotics. After acquisition, only 40% of CF patients were chronically infected (> or =2 positive cultures separated by at least 6 months). Chronic infection was associated with resistance to > or =2 antibiotic groups on initial culture and failure of eradication after antibiotic therapy. The impact of acquisition of B. gladioli infection in chronic infection was variable. Three CF patients with chronic infection underwent lung transplantation. One post-transplant patient developed a B. gladioli mediastinal abscess, which was treated successfully. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of patients' culture positive for B. gladioli at our center have CF. B. gladioli infection is often transient and is compatible with satisfactory post-lung transplantation outcomes.     

Conchotome and needle percutaneous biopsy of skeletal muscle.

Percutaneous muscle biopsy is an important and acceptable technique in the study of conditions involving human skeletal muscle. A review of 436 conchotome and needle muscle biopsies obtained over 18 months in this centre is presented.     

Effect of growth hormone on human alveolar macrophage oxidative metabolism

BACKGROUND: Growth hormone (GH) has diverse immunological actions and has been shown to augment oxidative metabolism in rat peritoneal and porcine alveolar macrophages and both human and animal neutrophils. A study was performed to determine the effects of GH on human alveolar macrophages in vitro. METHODS: Macrophages were harvested from 10 patients undergoing bronchoalveolar lavage and incubated with 0, 10 and 100 nmol/ml GH for four hours. Oxidative metabolism was assessed by means of a fluorescent assay using FMLP and E coli as stimulants. Fluorescence was measured using flow cytometry. RESULTS: No difference in basal or stimulated oxidative metabolism was found between the GH and control groups. CONCLUSIONS: GH does not have a direct stimulatory action on human alveolar macrophages in vitro. However, this does not exclude an indirect effect in vivo. The results contrast with previous studies on animal alveolar macrophages.




     

荧光原位杂交技术分析人结肠菌群方法研究

建立荧光原位杂交技术分析人体内结肠菌群的方法。取受试者新鲜粪便 ,选用 5种特异性的 16SrRNA寡核苷酸探针 ,检测粪便样本收集后的保存时间、温度 ,离心条件及样本固定液存放时间对杂交计数结果的影响。结果建立最佳实验条件为 :粪便样本收集后应尽快在 4℃下保存 ,放置时间不要超过 12小时即作处理 ;样本的适宜离心条件为 70 0g 2分钟 ;样本用多聚甲醛固定后在 - 80℃下存放时间不要超过 5个月。该方法具有较好的稳定性 ,可以有效地检出个体之间结肠菌群的差异。     

Oesophageal dissection after thrombolytic treatment for myocardial infarction.

A 62 year old woman admitted with a history suggesting acute myocardial infarction had thrombolytic treatment with anisoylated plasminogen-streptokinase activator complex, which resulted in submucosal haemorrhage in the oesophagus; this caused dissection of the wall of the oesophagus and complete dysphagia. The haematoma resolved spontaneously, leaving behind a diverticulum, with reduced peristalsis and delayed emptying but no obstruction.