Frequent respiratory pathogens of respiratory tract infections in children attending daycare centers

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Seasonality of viral respiratory infections in Southeast of Brazil: the influence of temperature and air humidity

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Phenotypical characterization and adhesin identification in Escherichia coli strains isolated from dogs with urinary tract infections

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Isolation of Staphylococcus epidermidis from inflamed upper respiratory tract of an orange-spined hairy dwarf porcupine (Sphiggurus villosus)

The orange-spined hairy dwarf porcupine (Sphiggurus villosus) is a rodent species common in most parts of South America, and little is known about the pathologies that can afflict it. A specimen was delivered at the Wildlife Research and Medical Center (CEMPAS), School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Husbandry, UNESP, Botucatu, SP, Brazil. The animal showed intense apathy, with purulent secretion in the nasal cavity and fracture of the lumbar spine. Due to the unfavorable prognosis, the porcupine was euthanized and microbiological culture of nasal discharge showed Staphylococcus epidermidis. The antimicrobial resistance test revealed sensitivity to all tested antimicrobials (ampicillin, oxacillin, tetracycline, penicillin G, neomycin, cephalexin, gentamicin, enrofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, cotrimoxazol, cefoxitin and cephalothin). This bacterium is part of the nasal flora of humans and other animals, and may cause infection under certain conditions. In the present study, the infection and colonization by S. epidermidis was the probable cause of the inflammatory process. The sensitivity to all tested antimicrobials suggests that this strain has not been previously exposed to such drugs.

Viral etiology among the elderly presenting acute respiratory infection during the influenza season

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Accuracy of simple urine tests for diagnosis of urinary tract infections in low-risk pregnant women

Alterações anatômicas e fisiológicas da gravidez predispõem gestantes a infecções do trato urinário (ITU). O objetivo deste estudo foi identificar a acurácia do exame de urina simples para diagnóstico de ITU em gestantes de baixo risco. Fez-se uso do estudo de desempenho de teste diagnóstico realizado em Botucatu, SP, com 230 gestantes, entre 2006 e 2008. Os resultados mostram que a prevalência de ITU foi de 10%. A sensibilidade foi 95,6%, especificidade 63,3% e acurácia 66,5% do exame de urina simples, em relação ao diagnóstico de ITU. A análise dos valores preditivos positivo e negativo (VPP e VPN) mostrou que, na vigência de exame de urina simples normal, a chance de haver ITU foi pequena (VPN 99,2%). Frente ao resultado alterado desse exame, a probabilidade de haver ITU foi baixa (VPP 22,4%). Conclui-se que a acurácia do exame de urina simples como meio diagnóstico de ITU foi baixa, sendo indispensável a realização de urocultura para o diagnóstico.

Recurrent urinary tract infections: Evaluation of the prophylactic efficacy of urinary antiseptics methenamine and methylthioninium chloride

Introduction: Urinary tract infection (UTI) is a very common condition in clinical practice, affecting an estimated 50% of all adult women during a lifetime. The most common causative agent is E. coli; UTI may also be caused by S. saprophyticus, Enterobacteria (Klebsiella sp and Serratia sp.), Enterococcus sp., and P aeruginosa. Recurrent UTIs occur at least twice per semester or three times a year. Prophylactic measures to prevent recurrent UTIs include changes in contraception methods, cranberry products, increased fluid intake, urination after intercourse, vaginal estrogen therapy for post-menopausal women, antibiotics, and urinary tract antiseptic agents. Objectives: To evaluate the use of a combination of methenamine and methyl-thioninium chloride in the prophylaxis of recurrent uncomplicated lower UTIs, with respect to: • Signs and symptoms of UTI • Etiologic agent(s) • Recurrence rates • Need for antibiotic therapy in case of recurrence • Incidence of adverse events associated with the treatment, including any reported alterations of laboratory tests Materials & methods: A descriptive, analytic, restrospective study was performed at Hospital Universitário Constantino Otaviano - UNIFESO. Medical charts from patients presenting recurrent uncomplicated lower UTI attended from 2001-present were analyzed, including the following information: Demographic data (age, gender, weight, ethnicity, living conditions): medical history/signs and symptoms of UTI; identification of treatment and dosing regimens; treatment duration; recurrence rates and need for antibiotic therapy in case of recurrence; other medications prescribed; and records of adverse events. Results: E. coli was identified as etiologic agent in 80% of the patients. Following antibiotic therapy, all patients received prophylactic treatment with the combination of methenamine and methylthioninium chloride. Treatment duration ranged from three to six months. Adverse events were observed in 13/60 patients (21.7%). At the end of the respective treatment periods, a statistically significant (p<0.0001) number of patients showed no UTI recurrence. Conclusion: Based on the results from the collected data, we conclude that an orally administered combination of methenamine and methylthioninium chloride is safe and effective in the prophylactic treatment of recurrent uncomplicated lower urinary tract infection. © Copyright Morelra Jr. Editora.

Positive selection results in frequent reversible amino acid replacements in the G protein gene of human respiratory syncytial virus

Human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) is the major cause of lower respiratory tract infections in children under 5 years of age and the elderly, causing annual disease outbreaks during the fall and winter. Multiple lineages of the HRSVA and HRSVB serotypes co-circulate within a single outbreak and display a strongly temporal pattern of genetic variation, with a replacement of dominant genotypes occurring during consecutive years. In the present study we utilized phylogenetic methods to detect and map sites subject to adaptive evolution in the G protein of HRSVA and HRSVB. A total of 29 and 23 amino acid sites were found to be putatively positively selected in HRSVA and HRSVB, respectively. Several of these sites defined genotypes and lineages within genotypes in both groups, and correlated well with epitopes previously described in group A. Remarkably, 18 of these positively selected tended to revert in time to a previous codon state, producing a flipflop phylogenetic pattern. Such frequent evolutionary reversals in HRSV are indicative of a combination of frequent positive selection, reflecting the changing immune status of the human population, and a limited repertoire of functionally viable amino acids at specific amino acid sites.

Inflammatory and Cell-Mediated Immune Responses in the Respiratory Tract of Chickens to Infection with Avian Infectious Bronchitis Virus

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Prevalência de vírus respiratórios em crianças de creche com sintomas de infecções respiratórias agudas

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Análise químico-farmacêutica de preparações injetáveis contendo ceftazidima

Pós-graduação em Ciências Farmacêuticas - FCFAR

Análise qualitativa e quantitativa de cefoxitina sódica em injetáveis: desenvolvimento e validação de métodos analíticos e estudo de estabilidade

Pós-graduação em Ciências Farmacêuticas - FCFAR

Diversity and Adaptation of Human Respiratory Syncytial Virus Genotypes Circulating in Two Distinct Communities: Public Hospital and Day Care Center

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Epidemiology of healthcare-associated infections among patients from a hemodialysis unit in southeastern Brazil

Patients submitted to hemodialysis are at a high risk for healthcare-associated infections (HAI). Presently there are scarce data to allow benchmarking of HAI rates in developing countries. Also, most studies focus only on bloodstream infections (BSI) or local access infections (LAI). Our study aimed to provide a wide overview of HAT epidemiology in a hemodialysis unit in southeastern Brazil. We present data from prospective surveillance carried out from March 2010 through May 2012. Rates were compared (mid-p exact test) and temporally analyzed in Shewhart control charts for Poisson distributions. The overall incidence of BSI was 1.12 per 1000 access-days. The rate was higher for patients performing dialysis through central venous catheters (CVC), either temporary (RR = 13.35, 95% CI = 6.68-26.95) or permanent (RR = 2.10,95% CI = 1.09-4.13), as compared to those with arteriovenous fistula. Control charts identified a BSI outbreak caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa in April 2010. LAI incidence was 3.80 per 1000 access-days. Incidence rates for other HAI (per 1000 patients-day) were as follows: upper respiratory infections, 1.72; pneumonia, 1.35; urinary tract infections, 1.25; skin/soft tissues infections, 0.93. The data point out to the usefulness of applying methods commonly used in hospital-based surveillance for hemodialysis units. (C) 2013 Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.