Jewelry and Artificial Fingernails in the Health Care Environment: Infection Risk or Urban Legend?
Abstract:
Jewelry and artificial nail use by health care workers has been linked to the development of health care-acquired infections, although evidence remains weak. As a result, restrictions on their use are not uniform and are often presented as suggestions rather than strict rules. Currently, there is no scientific evidence that has clearly demonstrated a patient infection caused by a microorganism acquired from a health care worker associated with jewelry or artificial nails. However, a number of small, non-randomized studies have tried to indirectly prove this association by quantifying and classifying the numb...
Source: Clinical Microbiology Newsletter - April 11, 2013 Category: Microbiology Authors: Joshua White Source Type: news
Call for submissions
The editors would like to receive interesting case reports from our readers for possible publication in the Newsletter. Submitted case reports should contain (i) a brief clinical history summarizing the symptoms and course of the illness, (ii) a description of how the organism(s) was cultured and differentiated from closely associated organisms, and (iii) the results of susceptibility tests for the isolate(s). (Source: Clinical Microbiology Newsletter)
Source: Clinical Microbiology Newsletter - February 19, 2013 Category: Microbiology Source Type: news
A special invitation to authors
The editors of Clinical Microbiology Newsletter extend an invitation to authors who may wish to contribute an article or editorial for publication in CMN. Of special interest are timely topics of interest to clinical microbiologists and infectious disease physicians. Persons with suggestions for articles or editorials should contact the Editor listed to the right to discuss the details of their potential submission. (Source: Clinical Microbiology Newsletter)
Source: Clinical Microbiology Newsletter - February 19, 2013 Category: Microbiology Source Type: news
Best laboratory practices for respiratory cultures
This article discusses the evaluation and reporting of results on respiratory samples beginning with the direct specimen Gram stain through culture. It describes a clinically relevant interpretation and reporting scheme for direct specimen Gram stains, reviews the use of the direct Gram stain to guide respiratory culture workup, and provides several logical and easy-to-follow strategies that can be employed in the laboratory to ensure that results are clinically relevant and culture examination and work up are consistent among technologists. (Source: Clinical Microbiology Newsletter)
Source: Clinical Microbiology Newsletter - February 19, 2013 Category: Microbiology Authors: Yvette S. McCarter, Susan E. Sharp Source Type: news
Concomitant Actinomycosis and Mycobacterium Infection in an Immunosuppressed Patient
Concomitant infections caused by Actinomyces spp. and mycobacteria are rare, with both microorganisms known to cause infections mimicking carcinoma or appendicitis. Actinomycetes play an important role in the co-pathogenesis of disease, because they are normal inhabitants of the human buccal cavity and gastrointestinal tract, whereas most mycobacteria are not (). (Source: Clinical Microbiology Newsletter)
Source: Clinical Microbiology Newsletter - February 6, 2013 Category: Microbiology Authors: Matilde María Palanca Giménez, Carmen Gómez García, Yolanda Pardo Galan, Esther López Pérez, Elena Abarca Cidón Source Type: news
Sniff the Plates? Laboratory Exposure to Burkholderia pseudomallei
We report a case of melioidosis in a 27-year-old male who presented with localized neck swelling and later developed complications due to the patient's non-compliance with his antibiotic therapy. (Source: Clinical Microbiology Newsletter)
Source: Clinical Microbiology Newsletter - February 6, 2013 Category: Microbiology Authors: S. Knost, M.C. Marroum, T. Nozar, L. Tagle, J. Horton, L.W. Raymond, J. Kase, S. Kilpatrick, W. Boehringer, A.Y. Peng, R.L. Sautter Source Type: news
The Evolving Challenges of Helicobacter pylori Disease, Diagnostics, and Treatment, Part II
Abstract:
Helicobacter pylori infects half of the world's population; is associated with several severe gastric illnesses, including peptic ulcer disease and gastric cancer; and causes significant morbidity in its host. Several trends in the field of H. pylori have evolved recently, drastically changing the way that these infections are managed. Part I of this article was published in the February 1, 2013 issue of Clinical Microbiology Newsletter (Vol. 35, No. 3) and provided a concise overview of the pathogenesis and epidemiology of the disease, as well as a review of recommendations for the use of laboratory tests f...
Source: Clinical Microbiology Newsletter - February 6, 2013 Category: Microbiology Authors: Marc Roger Couturier Source Type: news
Candida tropicalis Recovered from a Bone Marrow Aspirate in a Diabetic Patient
In recent years, Candida species other than Candida albicans have emerged as more common causes of human disease, particularly in HIV-infected and other immunocompromised individuals (). Hematogenous dissemination of Candida spp. can produce infection in virtually any organ (). Normal bone is highly resistant to infection, needing exposure to a large microbial inoculum, trauma, or the presence of a foreign body for initiation of an infection (). Factors that predispose patients to systemic Candida infection include immunosuppression during the course of anti-cancer therapy, organ transplantation, parenteral hyperalimentati...
Source: Clinical Microbiology Newsletter - January 22, 2013 Category: Microbiology Authors: Chowdappa Aruna, Jayanthi Savio, Soham Gupta, Sethumadhavan Muralidharan Source Type: news
The Evolving Challenges of Helicobacter pylori Disease, Diagnostics, and Treatment, Part I
Abstract:
Helicobacter pylori infects half of the world's population; is associated with several severe gastric illnesses, including peptic ulcer disease and gastric cancer; and causes significant morbidity in its host. Several trends in the field of H. pylori have evolved recently, drastically changing the way that these infections are managed. Part I of this article reviews the current challenges facing H. pylori disease management and provides both clinicians and laboratorians with a concise overview of its pathogenesis, epidemiology, and testing strategies. Part II of this article will be published in the next iss...
Source: Clinical Microbiology Newsletter - January 22, 2013 Category: Microbiology Authors: Marc Roger Couturier Source Type: news
Principles of Capillary-Based Sequencing for Clinical Microbiologists
Abstract:
Chain termination cycle sequencing, or “first-generation” DNA sequencing, was developed 3 decades ago but remains one of the most commonly used procedures for diagnostic analyses. Automated capillary-gel electrophoresis genetic analyzers greatly improved the efficiency of sequencing DNA templates between 100 and approximately 1,300 nucleotides long. Cycle sequencing may be completed the same day by using fast protocols for the initial amplification and cycle-sequencing reactions and by utilization of commercial sequence interpretation and analysis software. These changes allowed sequencing to become a ro...
Source: Clinical Microbiology Newsletter - January 2, 2013 Category: Microbiology Authors: Deirdre L. Church Source Type: news
