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Mycology Laboratory (mycology + laboratory)
Selected AbstractsEvaluation of extracts of Jatropha curcas and Moringa oleifera in culture media for selective inhibition of saprophytic fungal contaminantsJOURNAL OF CLINICAL LABORATORY ANALYSIS, Issue 3 2009Grace Mebi Ayanbimpe Abstract Most fungi occur in nature and utilize simple sources of carbohydrates and nitrogen for growth. Sabouraud's dextrose agar has been an ideal medium for primary isolation of fungi from clinical specimens, but for specimens from nonsterile sites or heavily contaminated ones, it has been necessary to include inhibitory substances such as antibiotics like chloramphenicol (antibacterial) and cycloheximide (antifungal). The problems we have in the our laboratory owing to frequent contamination of cultures and the delays in the procurement of cycloheximide have stimulated a search for alternatives in our local environment to enhance effective laboratory diagnoses of fungal infections. Purified extracts of the leaves and bark of Jatropha curcas and Moringa oleifera (common plants in our locality) were tested against clinical isolates of fungi at various concentrations to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration at which common fungal contaminants are inhibited, without affecting the growth of the pathogenic fungi sought for. At a concentration of 0.75,mg,ml,1 contaminants were totally inhibited by the leaf extracts. The bark extracts did not inhibit any fungus even at higher concentrations. From the results it was evident that the leaf extracts of both plants have potentials for use as inhibitory substances in culture media against contaminant fungi including Aspergillus spp., Penicillium spp., etc. J. curcas and M. oleifera are very common plants in our locality. They can be obtained at almost no cost and at any time needed. The benefits of these findings to mycology laboratories in a developing country are enormous. J. Clin. Lab. Anal. 23:161,164, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Current diagnostic approaches to invasive candidiasis in critical care settingsMYCOSES, Issue 5 2010Javier Pemán Summary For the specialist, the management of invasive candidiasis infections, from diagnosis to selection of the therapeutic protocol, is often a challenge. Although early diagnosis and treatment are associated with a better prognosis, apart from cases with positive blood cultures or fluid/tissue biopsy, diagnosis is neither sensitive nor specific, relying on many different factors, clinical and laboratory findings but there is certainly a need for the specific markers in this disease. Recently, new serodiagnostic assays as Candida albicans germ-tube antibodies or (1,3)-,- d -glucan detection and molecular techniques for the detection of fungal-specific DNA have been developed with controversial results in critical care setting. One of the main features in diagnosis is the evaluation of risk factor for infection, which will identify patients in need of preemptive or empirical treatment. Clinical scores were built from those risk factors. For these reasons, an approach to the new diagnosis tools in the clinical mycology laboratory and an analysis of the new prediction rules and its application situations has been made. Currently, the combination of prediction rules and non-culture microbiological tools could be the clue for improving the diagnosis and prognosis of invasive fungal infections in critically ill patients. [source] Identification of Candida fabianii as a cause of lethal septicaemiaMYCOSES, Issue 4 2006Giuseppe Valenza Summary Infections caused by rare fungal species of low pathogenic potential become increasingly common in hospital settings. The identification of these species presents a major challenge for the clinical mycology laboratory. We describe a case of fatal septicaemia caused by Candida fabianii. The use of common biochemical approaches led to misidentification of the isolate as Candida utilis. Sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer regions (ITS1 and ITS2) allowed unequivocal species identification. [source] Isolation of Fungi by Standard Laboratory Methods in Patients With Chronic Rhinosinusitis,THE LARYNGOSCOPE, Issue 12 2002Richard A. Lebowitz MD Abstract Objectives/Hypothesis Allergic fungal sinusitis and the role of fungi in the pathogenesis of chronic rhinosinusitis are topics of interest and controversy in rhinology. The classification of chronic rhinosinusitis as either a bacterial infection or an allergic (eosinophilic) reaction to fungi has significant implications for treatment of this disease process. We designed a study to determine whether standard isolation techniques, as employed in a university hospital mycology laboratory, could isolate and identify fungi in the intraoperative specimens from patients undergoing functional endoscopic sinus surgery for chronic rhinosinusitis. Study Design Forty-five random patients with a diagnosis of chronic rhinosinusitis by clinical and computed tomography criteria underwent endoscopic sinus surgery during 2001, performed by two senior surgeons (j.b.j., r.a.l.). Specimens of mucin, sinus secretions, and/or tissue were obtained intraoperatively and sent to the New York University Medical Center (New York, NY) mycology laboratory for isolation and identification of fungi. Methods Specimens were treated with Sputolysin and chloramphenicol; plated on Sabouraud, ChromAgar/Candida, Mycosel, and Niger seed agar plates; and incubated at 30°C (or 37°C) for up to 1 month. Results We were able to demonstrate the presence of fungi in 56% of intraoperative specimens obtained from patients undergoing surgery for chronic rhinosinusitis. Conclusions Using a standard hospital mycology laboratory protocol, which is relatively inexpensive and readily available, fungus can be isolated from a majority of patients undergoing functional endoscopic sinus surgery for chronic rhinosinusitis. Educational statement: Discuss the possible role of fungus in chronic rhinosinusitis and evaluate the efficacy of documenting the presence of fungus in a routine fashion to encourage clinically relevant directed treatments.) [source] | ||||||||||