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Bacterial Swabs (bacterial + swab)

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Medical Sciences100%

Selected Abstracts

Differential expression of antimicrobial peptides in margins of chronic wounds

EXPERIMENTAL DERMATOLOGY, Issue 7 2010
Stefanie Dressel
Please cite this paper as: Differential expression of antimicrobial peptides in margins of chronic wounds. Experimental Dermatology 2010; 19: 628,632. Abstract:, Skin wounds usually heal without major infections, although the loss of the mechanical epithelial barrier exposes the tissue to various bacteria. One reason may be the expression of antimicrobial peptides (AMP) of which some [human ,-defensins (hBD) and LL-37] were recently shown to support additionally certain steps of wound healing. There are no studies which have compared expression patterns of different classes of AMP in chronic wounds. The aim of our study was therefore to analyse the expression profile of hBD-2, hBD-3, LL-37, psoriasin and RNase 7 by immunohistochemistry from defined wound margins of chronic venous ulcers. We detected a strong induction of psoriasin and hBD-2 in chronic wounds in comparison with healthy skin. Except for stratum corneum, no expression of RNase 7 and LL-37 was detected in the epidermis while expression of hBD-3 was heterogeneous. Bacterial swabs identified Staphylococcus aureus and additional bacterial populations, but no association between colonization and AMP expression was found. The differential expression of AMP is noteworthy considering the high bacterial load of chronic ulcers. Clinically, supplementation of AMP with the capability to enhance wound healing besides restricting bacterial overgrowth could present a physiological support for treatment of disturbed wound healing. [source]

Staphylococcus aureus and hand eczema severity

BRITISH JOURNAL OF DERMATOLOGY, Issue 4 2009
P. Haslund
Summary Background, The role of bacterial infections in hand eczema (HE) remains to be assessed. Objectives, To determine the prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus in patients with HE compared with controls, and to relate presence of S. aureus, subtypes and toxin production to severity of HE. Methods, Bacterial swabs were taken at three different visits from the hand and nose in 50 patients with HE and 50 controls. Staphylococcus aureus was subtyped by spa typing and assigned to clonal complexes (CCs), and isolates were tested for exotoxin-producing S. aureus strains. The Hand Eczema Severity Index was used for severity assessment. Results,Staphylococcus aureus was found on the hands in 24 patients with HE and four controls (P < 0·001), and presence of S. aureus was found to be related to increased severity of the eczema (P < 0·001). Patients carried identical S. aureus types on the hands and in the nose in all cases, and between visits in 90% of cases. Ten different CC types were identified, no association with severity was found, and toxin-producing strains were not found more frequently in patients with HE than in controls. Conclusions,Staphylococcus aureus was present on hands in almost half of all patients with HE, and was significantly related to severity of the disease. This association indicates that S. aureus could be an important cofactor for persistence of HE. [source]

Meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in a veterinary orthopaedic referral hospital: staff nasal colonisation and incidence of clinical cases

JOURNAL OF SMALL ANIMAL PRACTICE, Issue 4 2008
C. L. McLean
Objectives: To evaluate staff nasal colonisation with meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in a veterinary orthopaedic referral hospital, and its effect on the occurrence of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus -associated postoperative wound complications in orthopaedic and spinal surgical patients. Methods: Nasal bacterial swabs were collected from veterinary staff and environmental surfaces swabbed at six monthly intervals for meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus monitoring over an 18 month period. The incidence of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus -associated postoperative wound complications of two veterinary orthopaedic surgeons was reviewed for a period when one was positive for nasal meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Results: Meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus was isolated from a maximum of two out of 10 staff on each occasion. The persistently infected clinician was primary surgeon in 180 cases, of which four developed meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus -associated wound complications. None of 141 operations led by the other surgeon developed meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus -associated complications. This difference is not statistically significant (P=0·0974). The 95 per cent confidence interval for this odds ratio was 0·83 to 44·0. Meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus resistance patterns of the human nasal isolates and three of four wound-associated isolates were similar. Clinical Significance: Veterinary workers are at increased risk for meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus colonisation, so it is likely that many veterinary patients are treated by meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus -positive staff. Nasal colonisation of veterinary surgeons with meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus appears to present only a small risk to their patients when appropriate infection control procedures are followed. [source]

Ultrasonography and Cystic Hyperplasia,Pyometra Complex in the Bitch

REPRODUCTION IN DOMESTIC ANIMALS, Issue 3 2004
E Bigliardi
Contents Cystic endometrial hyperplasia,pyometra complex is the most frequent and important endometrial disorder encountered in bitches. The pathogenesis of the disease is related to the activity of progesterone [Feldman and Nelson, Canine and Feline Endocrinology and Reproduction (1996) W.B. Saunders, Philadelphia]. Cystic endometrial hyperplasia (CEH) is an abnormal response of the bitch's uterus to ovarian hormones [De Bosschere et al. Theriogenology (2001) 55, 1509]. CEH is considered by many authors to be an exaggerated response of the uterus to chronic progestational stimulation during the luteal phase of the oestrous cycle, causing an abnormal accumulation of fluid within the endometrial glands and uterine lumen (De Bosschere et al. 2001). The resulting lesions of pyometra are due to the interaction between bacteria and hormones. The aim of this study was to evaluate if transabdominal uterine ultrasonography can be a useful and reliable diagnostic method to confirm Dow's [Veterinary Record (1958) 70, 1102] and De Bosschere's histopathological classification of CEH,pyometra complex. The study was carried out on 45 bitches with pyometra, 10 purebreeds and 35 crossbreeds, 1,15 years old, 20% of which had whelped at least once. None of these animals had received exogenous oestrogen or progesterone treatment. On admission the 45 animals were in the luteal phase of the oestrus cycle. Clinical signs, blood parameters, uterine ultrasonography, bacterial swabs and uterine histopalogical results were recorded. Results suggest that ultrasonographic examination is a useful and reliable tool for the diagnosis of cystic endometrial hyperplasia. [source]