European journal of clinical microbiology (Eur J Clin Microbiol)

Publications in this journal

• Article: LY146032 treatment of Clostridium difficile colitis in hamsters.

  C E Nord, A Lindmark, I Persson
  European journal of clinical microbiology 01/1988; 6(6):686.
• Article: Comparative in vitro activity of the new peptolide antibiotic LY146032 against staphylococci.

  G Peters, F Schumacher-Perdreau, G Pulverer
  European journal of clinical microbiology 01/1988; 6(6):685.
• Article: Pharmacokinetics of aztreonam in very low birthweight neonates.

  M R Millar, P Gorham, H Baxter, K Flannigan, P Congdon
  European journal of clinical microbiology 01/1988; 6(6):691-2.
• Article: Selection and counting of aerobic gram-negative bacilli in saliva by the spiral system.

  E Yourassowsky, M P Van der Linden, Y Pardaens, F Crokaert, Y Glupczynski
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  ABSTRACT: A four-month pilot study involving 100 volunteers, 100 hospitalised patients not on antibiotics and 100 patients on antibiotics was performed using a non labor-intensive system involving inoculator, laser colony counter and 14-cm petri dishes containing MacConkey medium to determine the number of aerobic gram-negative bacilli present in saliva. All colonies greater than or equal to 0.75 mm in diameter were found to be aerobic gram-negative bacteria. This was also valid for Pseudomonas aeruginosa, but only after incubation for 48 h. This study showed that the novel and practical technique used can be applied to a large number of saliva specimens, and antibiotics have limited impact on the buccal microflora (intensive care unit excluded).
  European journal of clinical microbiology 01/1988; 6(6):634-6.
• Article: Recovery of Moraxella urethralis from clinical material.

  C Bizet, A Buré
  European journal of clinical microbiology 01/1988; 6(6):692-3.
• Article: Efficacy of oral fluoroquinolones versus conventional intravenous antipseudomonal chemotherapy in treatment of cystic fibrosis.

  T Jensen, S S Pedersen, N Høiby, C Koch
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  ABSTRACT: The clinical efficacy of the conventional aminoglycoside plus beta-lactam treatment was compared to that of monotherapy with oral quinolones in 26 adult cystic fibrosis patients in an open prospective clinical trial in which six two-week courses of antipseudomonas treatment were administered with an interval of approximately three months between treatments. In each patient two courses of conventional treatment were followed by two courses of quinolone treatment and then by another two courses of conventional treatment. The observed improvements in pulmonary function were somewhat higher when the patients received conventional treatments, and in the most seriously affected patients conventional treatment was significantly better than quinolone treatment. On the basis of these findings it is suggested that quinolone monotherapy cannot replace conventional antipseudomonal chemotherapy in patients with severe pulmonary involvement.
  European journal of clinical microbiology 01/1988; 6(6):618-22.
• Article: Transient fungemia and Candida arthritis due to Candida zeylanoides.

  J Bisbe, J Vilardell, M Valls, A Moreno, M Brancos, J Andreu
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  ABSTRACT: A 37 year old man developed transient fungemia caused by Candida zeylanoides following a kidney and pancreas transplant. For the next seven months the patient had signs and symptoms of right knee arthritis. Candida zeylanoides was finally identified as the aetiological agent. Treatment with intravenous amphotericin B was successful. To our knowledge this is the first report of Candida zeylanoides arthritis.
  European journal of clinical microbiology 01/1988; 6(6):668-9.
• Article: Analysis of dimycocerosates of glycosylphenolphthiocerols in the identification of some clinically significant mycobacteria.

  D E Minnikin, G Dobson, J H Parlett, M Goodfellow, M Magnusson
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  ABSTRACT: Extracts of representative mycobacteria were examined by thin-layer chromatography for glycosylphenolphthiocerol dimycocerosates. The glycolipid typical of Mycobacterium bovis was also found in Mycobacterium africanum and Mycobacterium microti, but it was absent in Mycobacterium bovis AN 5. Mycobacterium gastri strains contained a glycolipid which was chromatographically similar to that in Mycobacterium kansasii. Representatives of Mycobacterium marinum produced a distinct glycolipid type, and one strain had major amounts of a more polar variant. The sugar moieties of purified lipids, including that from Mycobacterium leprae, were identified by thin-layer chromatography of methyl glycosides in acid methanolysates.
  European journal of clinical microbiology 01/1988; 6(6):703-7.
• Article: Epidemiology and prevention of Clostridium difficile infections in a leukemia unit.

  M Delmée, B Vandercam, V Avesani, J L Michaux
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  ABSTRACT: A 29-month prospective study was carried out in a leukemia unit with the aim of investigating the epidemiology of Clostridium difficile infections and limiting their spread. Systematic cultures of stools and assays for cytotoxin were performed on patient admission and at weekly intervals, yielding 1,355 cultures and assays. The study period was divided in period A, before total unit renovation, and period B, afterwards. During period B all patient carriers of Clostridium difficile received vancomycin. A comparison of the two periods showed that the percentage of positive cultures fell from 16.6% to 3.6% and the positive toxin assays from 9.9% to 1.2%. It was concluded that colonization by Clostridium difficile can be prevented in hospital wards with generally high rates of infection by a combination of decontamination of the environment, introduction of preventive measures and treatment of Clostridium difficile carriage with vancomycin.
  European journal of clinical microbiology 01/1988; 6(6):623-7.
• Article: Two-hour miniaturized system for detection of enteropathogenic bacteria in stool cultures.

  A von Graevenitz, J Zollinger-Iten, D Monget
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  ABSTRACT: A miniaturized 2-h system for detection of lactose-negative potentially enteropathogenic bacteria on the basis of nine enzymatic tests was evaluated. The system was challenged with 210 strains of lactose-negative and lactose-positive species grown on MacConkey agar. Specific and constant patterns were found for Salmonella, Shigella A-C, Yersinia enterocolitica, Aeromonas spp. and Vibrio cholerae. Shigella sonnei and Hafnia alvei had an identical pattern, likewise Plesiomonas shigelloides, halophilic vibrios and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
  European journal of clinical microbiology 01/1988; 6(6):661-4.
• Article: Pneumonia--1987: new developments.

  F M LaForce
  European journal of clinical microbiology 01/1988; 6(6):613-7.
• Article: Modulation of human neutrophil and monocyte oxidative burst by Legionella pneumophila sonic extract.

  C Rechnitzer, A Kharazmi, H Nielsen, L Baek
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  ABSTRACT: The effect of Legionella pneumophila sonic extract on human neutrophil and monocyte oxidative burst was studied by superoxide anion release and luminol-enhanced chemiluminescence assays. Legionella pneumophila sonic extract by itself did not stimulate neutrophils and monocytes. The sonic extract at 8-2000 micrograms/ml primed neutrophils for enhanced superoxide release and, at 8-62.5 micrograms/ml, for enhanced chemiluminescence. Monocytes were only primed for enhanced chemiluminescence at very low extract concentrations (below 16 micrograms/ml). Monocyte superoxide release was suppressed by extract concentrations higher than 2000 micrograms/ml and the chemiluminescence response of neutrophils and monocytes by concentrations higher than 250 and 125 micrograms/ml, respectively. The priming activity was heat stable and present in fractions below 5 kDa. On the basis of these findings it is suggested that enhanced production of oxygen metabolites by neutrophils in contact with legionella components at low concentrations could contribute to the lung tissue damage seen in Legionnaires' disease, whereas the suppression of phagocyte oxidative burst by higher extract concentrations may be one of the mechanisms by which Legionella pneumophila survives intracellularly.
  European journal of clinical microbiology 01/1988; 6(6):646-52.
• Article: Enzyme immunoassay and enzyme-linked fluoroimmunoassay for detection of Chlamydia trachomatis antigen.

  M Leinonen, P Saikku, M Nurminen, A Lassus
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  ABSTRACT: An enzyme immunoassay (EIA) and an enzyme-linked fluoroimmunoassay (ELFIA) utilizing monoclonal antibody to major outer membrane protein of Chlamydia trachomatis L2 were developed for rapid detection of chlamydial antigen in clinical samples. The EIA and ELFIA could detect levels of purified chlamydial outer membrane protein as low as 1.0 and 0.2 ng/ml respectively. However, when EIA and ELFIA were compared to chlamydial isolation using 160 patient samples, the sensitivity rate was 68% and 85% respectively. The sensitivity of the antigen detection method might be increased by simply using less diluted samples than in the present study. Chlamydial antigen was also demonstrated by EIA and ELFIA in 15% and 23% of culture-negative samples. The reason for these false-positive findings remains undetermined.
  European journal of clinical microbiology 01/1988; 6(6):659-61.
• Article: Carbohydrate profiling of bacteria by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry: chemical derivatization and analytical pyrolysis.

  J Gilbart, A Fox, S L Morgan
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  ABSTRACT: Carbohydrate profiling by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry is a powerful tool for the identification and detection of bacteria. Its increasing applicability in the microbiology laboratory is illustrated by three examples. In the first, differentiation of legionellae by their sugar composition was determined with alditol acetate derivatization followed by selected- ion monitoring. In the second example, a carbohydrate pyrolysis product from Streptococcus agalactiae was used to differentiate group B streptococci from other Lancefield groups after direct sampling from culture plates. The third example employed the carbohydrates rhamnose and muramic acid as chemical markers for the direct detection of bacterial cell wall degradation products in mammalian tissues. The analysis of carbohydrate markers for bacteria by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry has great potential for use in clinical identification of isolated bacteria as well as in the rapid diagnosis of bacterial infections without prior culture.
  European journal of clinical microbiology 01/1988; 6(6):715-23.
• Article: Aerococcus bacteremia associated with granulocytopenia.

  W Kern, E Vanek
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  ABSTRACT: Two cases of bacteremic infection due to aerococci in granulocytopenic patients with acute leukemia and oral mucositis are described. Strains isolated from blood cultures of both patients were resistant to the antibiotics given orally for prophylaxis. One patient died in septic shock; surveillance cultures from oral washings in the other repeatedly showed high concentrations of aerococci. Aerococci were also isolated from surveillance cultures taken from 5 of 17 other patients with acute leukemia; however, their viable counts were lower than in the surviving patient.
  European journal of clinical microbiology 01/1988; 6(6):670-3.
• Article: Role of individual serum pentitol concentrations in the diagnosis of disseminated visceral candidiasis.

  J Roboz, D C Kappatos, J F Holland
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  ABSTRACT: A technique was developed for separating total serum pentitols into individual arabinitol, adonitol and xylitol and determining their relevance for the diagnosis of disseminated candidiasis. Pentitols were separated as trimethylsilyl derivatives on two 25 m long, bonded methyl silicone columns with a 0.32 mm i.d., and quantified by selected ion monitoring of their protonated molecular ions obtained in chemical ionization. The 173 samples studied were divided into culture-positive, culture-negative, and no-culture groups. Twelve percent of all samples were false positives by the total pentitols method due to increased adonitol and/or xylitol. The continued use of the total pentitols method is, nevertheless, recommended because of its convenience; however, samples with increased total pentitols (and normal creatinine) should be reanalyzed for individual pentitols. Increased arabinitol and normal creatinine are indicative of candidiasis even when blood cultures are negative.
  European journal of clinical microbiology 01/1988; 6(6):708-14.
• Article: Predictive value of surveillance cultures for systemic infection due to Candida species.

  M Pfaller, I Cabezudo, F Koontz, M Bale, R Gingrich
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  ABSTRACT: Weekly fungal surveillance cultures (1,542 cultures) of urine (475), stool (520) and oropharyngeal (547) specimens from 111 patients on the bone marrow transplant and hematologic malignancy services were analyzed. Forty-three percent of the patients were colonized by Candida albicans and 10.8% by Candida tropicalis. There were 22 proven systemic fungal infections, ten due to Candida albicans, eight to Candida tropicalis, one each to Candida pseudotropicalis and Torulopsis glabrata, and two to Aspergillus species. Positive surveillance cultures for Candida tropicalis were highly predictive of systemic infection. The finding of two or more positive cultures yielded high positive predictive values (100%) as a function of body site. Positive surveillance cultures for Candida albicans were not predictive of disease but negative cultures for Candida albicans and Candida tropicalis had a high negative predictive value (95-99%). Surveillance culture data for specific Candida species may aid in diagnostic and therapeutic decision making.
  European journal of clinical microbiology 01/1988; 6(6):628-33.
• Article: Serogroups and biotypes of human strains of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli isolated in France.

  F Mégraud, A M Gavinet, C Camou-Junca
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  ABSTRACT: The Lior schemes were used for biotyping and serogrouping campylobacter strains isolated during a three year period in Bordeaux, France. Of the 226 strains tested, 176 were Campylobacter jejuni and 50 Campylobacter coli. Campylobacter jejuni biotype I was the most prevalent (48.2%). Biotypes III and IV of Campylobacter jejuni were rare (3.9% and 1.3% respectively). Serogroup 4 (17.7%) was the most common serogroup followed by serogroups 46 (11.0%), 29 (10.1%), 9 and 36 (7.9%). Eight serogroups constituted 73% of the strains. The distribution was similar from year to year and an association between a particular biotype and serogroup was not observed. During the study period four family outbreaks and seven recurrences of infection were observed.
  European journal of clinical microbiology 01/1988; 6(6):641-5.
• Article: Comparative in vitro activity of cefetamet and fleroxacin against anaerobic bacteria.

  J Wüst, U Hardegger
  European journal of clinical microbiology 01/1988; 6(6):688-90.
• Article: Activity of new antimicrobial agents against Listeria monocytogenes.

  K V Rolston, G P Bodey
  European journal of clinical microbiology 01/1988; 6(6):686-8.