Springer protocols feed by Microbiology 
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This is an RSS file. You can use it to subscribe to this data in your favourite RSS reader or to display this data on your own website or blog.Identification of Bacterial and Fungal Pathogens from Positive Blood Culture Bottles: A Microarray-Based Approach
Rapid identification and characterization of bacterial and fungal pathogens present in the bloodstream are essential for optimal patient management and are associated with improved patient outcomes, improved antimicrobial stewardship, improved infection control, and reduced healthcare costs. Microarrays serve as reliable platforms for the identification of these bloodstream pathogens and their associated antimicrobial resistance genes, if present. Nanosphere’s (Nanosphere, Inc., Northbrook, IL, USA) Verigene Gram-Positive Blood Culture Nucleic-Acid Test (BC-GP) is one such microarray-based approach for the detection ...
Source: Springer protocols feed by Microbiology - October 17, 2014 Category: Microbiology Source Type: news
Broad-Range PCR in the Identification of Bacterial and Fungal Pathogens from Positive Blood Culture Bottles: A Sequencing Approach
Rapid identification of causative bacteria in patients with sepsis can contribute to appropriate selection of antibiotics and improvement of patients’ prognosis. Genotypic identification is an emerging technology that may provide an alternative method to, or complement, established phenotypic identification procedures. (Source: Springer protocols feed by Microbiology)
Source: Springer protocols feed by Microbiology - October 17, 2014 Category: Microbiology Source Type: news
Bacterial and Fungal DNA Extraction from Positive Blood Culture Bottles: A Manual and an Automated Protocol
When adapting a gene amplification-based method in a routine sepsis diagnostics using a blood culture sample as a specimen type, a prerequisite for a successful and sensitive downstream analysis is the efficient DNA extraction step. In recent years, a number of in-house and commercial DNA extraction solutions have become available. Careful evaluation in respect to cell wall disruption of various microbes and subsequent recovery of microbial DNA without putative gene amplification inhibitors should be conducted prior selecting the most feasible DNA extraction solution for the downstream analysis used. Since gene amplificati...
Source: Springer protocols feed by Microbiology - October 17, 2014 Category: Microbiology Source Type: news
Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF/MS)-Based Identification of Pathogens from Positive Blood Culture Bottles
Since the expansion of commercial use of MALDI-TOF/MS instruments for the identification of bacteria from culture which has occurred over the past 5–8 years, techniques for the identification of bacteria directly from positive blood cultures have been developed (Lagace-Wiens et al., J Clin Microbiol 50:3324–3328, 2012; Martiny et al., Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 31:2269–2281, 2012; Moussaoui et al., Clin Microbiol Infect 16:1631–1638, 2010). These techniques have the potential to provide definitive identification of pathogens causing sepsis 18–48 h earlier than conventional methodologies, ...
Source: Springer protocols feed by Microbiology - October 17, 2014 Category: Microbiology Source Type: news
Technical Improvements in Culturing Blood
Blood culture is a laboratory test where a blood specimen, taken from a patient, is inoculated into bottles containing culture media to determine if infection-causing microorganisms (bacteria or fungi) have invaded the patient’s bloodstream. This test is an important investigation with major implications for the diagnosis and treatment of patients with bloodstream infections and possible sepsis. Moreover, blood culture will also provide the etiologic agent for antimicrobial susceptibility testing, enabling optimization of antibiotic therapy with significant impact on the outcome of the disease. Even if the potential ...
Source: Springer protocols feed by Microbiology - October 17, 2014 Category: Microbiology Source Type: news
Clinical Aspects of Sepsis: An Overview
Sepsis is one of the oldest and most elusive syndromes in medicine. With the confirmation of germ theory by Semmelweis, Pasteur, and others, sepsis was considered as a systemic infection by a pathogenic organism. Although the germ is probably the beginning of the syndrome and one of the major enemies to be identified and fought, sepsis is something wider and more elusive. In this chapter clinically relevant themes of sepsis will be approached to provide an insight of everyday clinical practice for healthcare workers often not directly involved in the patient’s management. (Source: Springer protocols feed by Microbiology)
Source: Springer protocols feed by Microbiology - October 17, 2014 Category: Microbiology Source Type: news
Pathophysiological Aspects of Sepsis: An Overview
Sepsis is defined as severe systemic inflammation in response to invading pathogens, or an uncontrolled hyperinflammatory response, as mediated by the release of various proinflammatory mediators. Although some patients may die rapidly from septic shock accompanied by an overwhelming systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) triggered by a highly virulent pathogen, most patients survive the initial phase of sepsis, showing multiple organ damage days or weeks later. These patients often demonstrate signs of immune suppression accompanied by enhanced inflammation. Sepsis is a result of a complex process; there is intera...
Source: Springer protocols feed by Microbiology - October 17, 2014 Category: Microbiology Source Type: news
Microbiological Diagnosis of Sepsis: The Confounding Effects of a “Gold Standard”
The need of rapid and sensitive diagnostic techniques for sepsis is every day more compelling. Its morbidity and mortality loads are dramatically high, with one quarter of patients eventually dying. Several diagnostic progresses have been made in the last years using both molecular- and nonmolecular-based approaches, and they have to be broadly shared in the scientific community also under the technical point of view. The initial chapters of this book give a thorough overlook of the state of the art in the actual diagnosis of sepsis. The other chapters provide a broad range of protocols describing both already used and fut...
Source: Springer protocols feed by Microbiology - October 17, 2014 Category: Microbiology Source Type: news
Clinical Diagnosis of Sepsis and the Combined Use of Biomarkers and Culture- and Non-Culture-Based Assays
Sepsis is among the most common causes of death in hospitalized patients, and early recognition followed by immediate initiation of therapy is an important concept to improve survival in these patients. According to the definition of sepsis, diagnosis of sepsis requires the recognition of the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) caused by infection as well as recognition of possible infection-related organ dysfunctions for diagnosis of severe sepsis or septic shock. Both SIRS and organ dysfunctions may occur frequently in hospitalized patients for various reasons. However, the fast recognition of acute infection ...
Source: Springer protocols feed by Microbiology - October 17, 2014 Category: Microbiology Source Type: news
Host Response Biomarker in Sepsis: suPAR Detection
Recent studies of our group have shown that suPAR may complement APACHE II score for risk assessment in sepsis. suPAR may be measured in serum of patients by an enzyme immunosorbent assay developed by Virogates (suPARnostic™). Production of suPAR from circulating neutrophils and monocytes may be assessed after isolation of neutrophils and monocytes and ex vivo culture. This is followed by measurement of suPAR in culture supernatants. (Source: Springer protocols feed by Microbiology)
Source: Springer protocols feed by Microbiology - October 17, 2014 Category: Microbiology Source Type: news
Host Response Biomarkers in Sepsis: Overview on sTREM-1 Detection
The diagnosis of sepsis, and especially its differentiation from sterile inflammation, may be challenging. TREM-1, the triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1, is an amplifier of the innate immune response. Its soluble form acts as a decoy for the natural TREM-1 ligand and dampens its activation. In this chapter, we review the numerous studies that have evaluated the usefulness of sTREM-1 concentration determination for the diagnosis and the prognosis evaluation of sepsis or localized infection. Nowadays, sandwich ELISA kits are available and the assay is described. (Source: Springer protocols feed by Microbiology)
Source: Springer protocols feed by Microbiology - October 17, 2014 Category: Microbiology Source Type: news
Host Response Biomarkers in Sepsis: The Role of Procalcitonin
Procalcitonin is the prohormone of calcitonin and present in minute quantities in health. However, during infection, its levels rise considerably and are correlated with the severity of the infection. Several assays have been developed for measurement of procalcitonin levels; in this article, we will briefly present the PCT-sensitive Kryptor® test (Brahms, Hennigsdorf, Germany), one of the most widely used assays for procalcitonin in recent studies. Many studies have demonstrated the value of procalcitonin levels for diagnosing sepsis and assessing disease severity. Procalcitonin levels have also been successfully used...
Source: Springer protocols feed by Microbiology - October 17, 2014 Category: Microbiology Source Type: news
Host Response Biomarkers in the Diagnosis of Sepsis: A General Overview
Critically ill patients who display a systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) are prone to develop nosocomial infections. The challenge remains to distinguish as early as possible among SIRS patients those who are developing sepsis. Following a sterile insult, damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) released by damaged tissues and necrotic cells initiate an inflammatory response close to that observed during sepsis. During sepsis, pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) trigger the release of host mediators involved in innate immunity and inflammation through identical receptors as DAMPs. In both clinica...
Source: Springer protocols feed by Microbiology - October 17, 2014 Category: Microbiology Source Type: news
Real-Time PCR-Based Identification of Bacterial and Fungal Pathogens from Blood Samples
Latest major contributions in the field of sepsis diagnostics result from advances in PCR technologies permitting new standards in speed and quality, given the fact that a timely diagnosis is the decisive factor to the survival of patients with bloodstream infections. (Source: Springer protocols feed by Microbiology)
Source: Springer protocols feed by Microbiology - October 17, 2014 Category: Microbiology Source Type: news
Broad-Range PCR for the Identification of Bacterial and Fungal Pathogens from Blood: A Sequencing Approach
Broad-range PCR has become a valuable tool for the identification of microorganisms in the clinical laboratory over the last years. It was primarily used to identify slow-growing and fastidious microorganisms with poor biochemical activity. Nowadays, it is also used to identify microorganisms directly from clinical samples such as blood or punctuates from primarily sterile body sites. In these specimens, the usage of broad-range PCR is challenging regarding contamination and standardization. To overcome these problems, a new test system, the SepsiTest™, was introduced recently employing broad-range PCR for the identi...
Source: Springer protocols feed by Microbiology - October 17, 2014 Category: Microbiology Source Type: news
