Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Invasive Group (invasive + group)
Selected AbstractsInvasive group A, B, C and G streptococcal infections in Denmark 1999,2002: epidemiological and clinical aspectsCLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY AND INFECTION, Issue 7 2005K. Ekelund Abstract Group A streptococci (GAS) have been described frequently as an emerging cause of severe invasive infections in population-based surveillance studies, whereas the descriptions of group B, C and G streptococci (GBS, GCS and GGS) have been less frequent. Enhanced surveillance for invasive GAS, GBS, GCS and GGS was performed in Denmark in 1999,2002. A detailed questionnaire was completed for 1237 (98%) of 1260 invasive infections. GAS infections dominated (40%), followed by GGS (32%), GBS (23%) and GCS (6%). Most (74%) patients had predisposing factors, and there were no significant differences between the four serogroups when comparing the prevalence of cancer, diabetes mellitus, chronic heart or lung diseases, immunodeficiency or alcohol abuse. The overall case fatality rate at day 30 was 21%, increasing significantly to 59% for patients with streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS). STSS was significantly more frequent in GAS patients (10%) than in GCS (4%), GBS (2%) and GGS (2%) patients. Regression analyses showed that, despite a younger median age among GAS patients, the probability of developing septic shock and mortality was significantly higher among GAS patients than among GBS and GGS patients. These analyses showed no significant differences between GAS and GCS infections. Invasive infections caused by GAS, GBS, GCS and GGS are still a major challenge for clinicians. Continued epidemiological and microbiological surveillance is important to assess the development of these infections and to improve preventative strategies. [source] Extent of mesorectal invasion is a prognostic indicator in T3 rectal carcinomaANZ JOURNAL OF SURGERY, Issue 7 2002Malcolm C. A. Steel Background: The aim of this study was to determine if local recurrence (LR) rates in patients with minimally invasive and advanced T3 rectal cancer are different. This may influence the use of adjuvant therapy. Methods: Consecutive patients with T3 rectal cancer undergoing curative surgery were classified into minimally invasive or advanced groups. Minimally invasive T3 was defined as a tumour that had invaded beyond the muscularis propria on microscopic examination only, whereas advanced T3 tumours had invasion beyond the muscularis propria that was obvious on macroscopic examination and confirmed histologically. Local recurrence rates of the two groups were compared by construction of Kaplan,Meier curves. The log-rank test was used to determine equivalence, and Cox regression to estimate the hazard ratio. The Grambsch, Therneau test and graphical comparison of predicted and observed Kaplan,Meier curves was used to test the proportional hazards assumption. Results: There were 222 patients in total, 74 in the minimally invasive group and 148 in the advanced. The overall LR rate was 11.2%. The LR rates in the minimally invasive and advanced groups were 5.4% and 14.2%, respectively. The log-rank test gives a P value of 0.042 for equivalence, with the minimally invasive patients doing significantly better. The hazard ratio estimated by Cox regression was 0.35 (early relative to advanced), 95% confidence intervals (0.12, 1.0). There was no evidence of confounding by age at surgery, pathology type, gender or postoperative adjuvant therapy. Conclusions: The extent of invasion into the mesorectum appears to be an independent prognostic variable. If oncologically sound surgical techniques are employed, the LR rate of patients with minimal invasion is low. Adjuvant therapy may not confer additional benefit in this group. [source] Long-term surveillance of invasive group A streptococcal disease in The Netherlands, 1994,2003CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY AND INFECTION, Issue 3 2005B. J. M. Vlaminckx Abstract A nationwide laboratory-based surveillance study of invasive group A streptococcal (GAS) infections was conducted in The Netherlands from May 1994 until December 2003 (average population during this period was 15 729 704). Microbiologically invasive isolates were obtained from 1504 patients, with most (70%) isolates cultured from blood. There was a clear seasonal pattern in invasive streptococcal infections, with an estimated annual incidence that peaked in 1996 (4.0 cases/100 000 individuals/year) and was at its lowest in 1999 (2.0 cases/100 000 individuals/year). Twenty-eight different M-types were identified, of which the most frequent were M1 (339/1504, 23%), M3 (187/1504, 12%), M89 (174/1504, 12%), M28 (164/1504, 11%), M12 (109/1504, 7%) and M6 (55/1504, 4%). There was a high degree of variation in the relative annual contributions of the predominant M-types, but variations in M1 and M3 combined correlated with overall changes in the annual incidence. The contribution of the patient group aged ,,56 years to all cases of invasive GAS disease increased during the study period, whereas that of the group aged 0,20 years decreased. A peak in the incidence of invasive GAS disease among the patient group aged 30,34 years did not vary during the study period, indicating that the high incidence of invasive GAS disease in this age group was age-specific rather than cohort-related. [source] Group A streptococcal osteomyelitis: severe presentation and courseACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 1 2003D Turner Aim: To evaluate the course of group A streptococcal osteomyelitis associated with severe disease nowadays. Methods: Three consecutive cases of severe group A streptococcal disease with osteomyelitis in children that were documented in Beer Sheva, Israel are described in detail. Results: Two of the three cases were postvaricella. Early in the course of the disease, the presentation resembled that of severe cellulitis. All three patients had severe osteomyelitis and required surgery, and one patient developed chronic osteomyelitis. Sepsis was diagnosed in two cases. Conclusion: Our cases are distinguishable from typical haematogenous staphylococcal osteomyelitis by the severe course and the extensive involvement of bone and soft tissues. The increase in severity of invasive group A streptococcal infections documented throughout the world could account for the difference between our complex cases and the previous reports. [source] | ||||||||||