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Biomedical subjects

E Stobberingh

Publications and source records attributed to E Stobberingh.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

A review of diagnostic techniques for Helicobacter pylori infection.

The description of Helicobacter pylori and an understanding of its pathogenetic significance has been one of the major breakthroughs in gastroenterology in the past decade. Because of the possible implications, a correct diagnosis of the infection is mandatory. Diagnostic techniques can be divided into invasive and non-invasive methods. The first require upper gastrointestinal endoscopy with a biopsy taken from the stomach. These biopsy specimens can be studied for the presence of H. pylori using several histological staining techniques, or culture. In addition, urease tests are possible. The non-invasive techniques do not require endoscopy. They comprise testing for the presence of antibodies against H. pylori in the patient's serum, or breath tests with 13C- or 14C-labelled urea. In experienced hands every test has good sensitivity and specificity, and the test to be applied depends on local preference and experience.

Biopsy↗

The prevalence of Helicobacter pylori serum antibodies in children with recurrent abdominal pain.

As part of a large, prospective study we investigated the prevalence Helicobacter pylori serum antibodies in children with recurrent abdominal pain (RAP). All patients suffered from recurrent bouts of abdominal pain for at least 6 months and ranged in age from 6 to 12 years. H. pylori antibodies were detected using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The prevalence of H. pylori antibodies in the RAP group was compared to that of a control group which consisted predominantly of pre-operative children. None of the control group suffered or had suffered from RAP. Antibodies to H. pylori were found in 7 of 82 (8.5%) RAP patients and in 2 of 39 (5.1%) control children. The latter difference is not significant and suggests that RAP is only rarely caused in children by H. pylori infection.

Abdominal Pain↗

Helicobacter pylori in gastric biopsy specimens. Comparison of culture, modified giemsa stain, and immunohistochemistry. A retrospective study.

Antral biopsy specimens of 302 different endoscopic investigations of 200 patients with non-ulcer dyspepsia were studied for the presence of Helicobacter pylori in order to determine the most sensitive detection method. Part of the biopsy was cultured, and part stained using a modification of the Giemsa stain, and with an immunoperoxidase technique using a polyclonal rabbit anti-H. pylori antiserum. Cross-reactivity of this antiserum with other Campylobacter species was minimal. Material from 244 investigations was studied using all three detection methods. Culture was positive in 44 per cent, Giemsa in 78 per cent, and immunoperoxidase in 89 per cent of these biopsy specimens. Only five positive Giemsa stains with negative immunoperoxidase stain were found, whereas in 32 cases a negative Giemsa stain with a positive immunoperoxidase stain was seen. In the latter cases, the bacterial load was very low. The specimens revealed bacteria only sporadically, always confined to the deep layers of the gastric pits. Culture results correlated significantly with the bacterial load observed in the Giemsa stain. It is concluded that culture of H. pylori is the least sensitive detection method, whereas immunoperoxidase staining is the most sensitive. For daily practice the modified Giemsa stain, however, appears to be sufficient to diagnose the presence of the micro-organism.

Adolescent↗

Helicobacter pylori and ABO blood groups.

A serological study was carried out to assess the prevalence of antibodies to Helicobacter pylori and compare it with the distribution of ABO blood groups. Serum samples from 402 healthy blood donors were tested with an IgG enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. There was no difference in blood groups between those who were seropositive and those who were seronegative, which suggests that blood group O is not a risk factor for acquiring H pylori infection.

ABO Blood-Group System↗

Prevalence of Helicobacter pylori antibodies in patients on chronic intermittent haemodialysis.

The presence of IgG antibodies against Helicobacter pylori in haemodialysis patients was studied. Furthermore the presence of antibodies in different age cohorts was compared with a population of patients suffering from non-ulcer dyspepsia and healthy blood donors. Antibodies were present in 43% of the haemodialysis patients. In the younger age groups the presence was low compared with the control populations; this difference was not present in the older age cohorts. There was an increasing prevalence of antibodies with rising age. We did not find a correlation between the height of the blood urea levels, before and after haemodialysis, and the presence of antibodies against H. pylori. In conclusion, a high blood urea level does not seem to be a risk factor, per se, for acquiring H. pylori, and the presence of the microorganism probably does not contribute, to a large extent, to the frequent dyspeptic complaints in haemodialysis patients.

Adult↗

High prevalence of antibiotic resistant Escherichia coli in faecal samples of students in the south-east of The Netherlands.

From December 1988 to March 1989 172 faecal samples from first and second year students at the University of Limburg, Maastricht, The Netherlands, were collected and analysed for the presence of Escherichia coli strains resistant to ampicillin, sulphamethoxazole, tetracycline, trimethoprim and nitrofurantoin. In addition, the antibiotic susceptibility (MIC) to these agents and six other compounds (i.e. aminoglycosides, nitrofurantoin, nalidixic acid and cephalothin) was determined. The prevalence of resistance of the samples analysed ranged from 86% (i.e. 148 out of 172) for sulphamethoxazole to 25% for trimethoprim. The prevalence figures for ampicillin, tetracycline and nitrofurantoin resistance were 76%, 47% and 29%, respectively. The percentages of the faecal samples with a high proportion of E. coli (greater than 50% of the total number of E. coli) resistant to ampicillin, tetracycline and sulphamethoxazole were 8%, 11% and 37%, respectively. For nitrofurantoin and trimethoprim the figures were 3% and 1%, respectively. Of the isolated E. coli (n = 797), 84% was resistant to ampicillin, 82% resistant to sulphamethoxazole. The lowest percentages (9%) were observed for both nalidixic acid and nitrofurantoin.

Ampicillin↗

The prevalence of anti-Helicobacter (Campylobacter) pylori antibodies in patients and healthy blood donors.

An enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with a sonicated suspension of Helicobacter (Campylobacter) pylori as antigen was used to detect anti-H. pylori antibodies in 517 patients without dyspepsia or peptic ulcer symptoms and 401 healthy blood donors. The criterion of seropositivity was determined from a receiver operating curve computed with the values of optical densities of 48 sera from dyspeptic patients with proven helicobacter-associated gastritis and 16 sera from dyspeptic patients with normal antral mucosa and no microbiological or histological evidence of H. pylori infection. The 227 (44%) seropositive persons amongst the patient group appeared to be significantly higher than the 142 (35%) sera with antibodies in the blood donors tested (p less than 0.03), even when adjustment was made for increasing age. We conclude that the prevalence of antibodies against H. pylori increases with age and that although antibodies are more prevalent in patients attending a hospital than in healthy blood donors, seropositivity suggestive of current or past infection can be found in one third of a randomly chosen population of blood donors.

Adolescent↗

Presence of Helicobacter pylori in patients with non-ulcer dyspepsia revealing normal antral histological characteristics.

Two hundred consecutive patients suffering from non-ulcer dyspepsia were studied for the presence of Helicobacter pylori in antral gastritis and normal antral mucosa, using the combination of culture, modified Giemsa stain and a sensitive immunoperoxidase stain as means of detection. H. pylori gastritis was present in 56% of the cases. The bacterium was present in 75% of cases of normal antral mucosa, however, in low numbers. It is concluded that 87% of patients with non-ulcer dyspepsia are H. polory-positive implying a larger role for the micro-organism as initially thought.

Biopsy↗

Diagnostic value of an immunoassay to detect anti Campylobacter pylori antibodies in non-ulcer dyspepsia.

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for detection of IgG antibodies against Campylobacter pylori was used to examine sera from 70 patients with non-ulcer dyspepsia. 48 patients had C pylori associated gastritis according to culture or histology; mean optical density (OD) of the ELISA was significantly higher than that for the 22 patients with normal antral mucosa and absence of C pylori. Positive and negative predictive values for campylobacter-associated gastritis were 100% above OD 2.10 and below OD 1.00, respectively. Serology might replace endoscopy in the diagnosis of campylobacter-associated gastritis.

Adolescent↗

Campylobacter associated gastritis in patients with non-ulcer dyspepsia: a double blind placebo controlled trial with colloidal bismuth subcitrate.

Fifty consecutive patients with non-ulcer dyspepsia and a Campylobacter associated gastritis (CAG) were randomly assigned to treatment with colloidal bismuth subcitrate (CBS) 240 mg twice daily or placebo, according to a double blind study design. After the blind treatment an 'open' treatment with CBS was started in both groups. Twenty six patients treated with CBS showed a significant reduction in colonisation with Campylobacter pylori and a significant improvement in the Whitehead gastritis score. No significant changes were recorded in twenty four patients treated with placebo. After an additional course of CBS no further improvement in gastritis score was noted but there was a further reduction in Campylobacter colonisation. CBS did not greatly alter subjective complaints. Subjective complaints were improved in both treatment groups except for nausea and meteorism that improved more in the CBS treated patients. This finding again questions the clinical significance of gastritis and also casts doubt on the clinical relevance of therapeutical measures aimed at eradication of C pylori.

Adolescent↗

Campylobacter associated gastritis in patients with non-ulcer dyspepsia.

Gastric biopsy specimens from 109 patients with non-ulcer dyspepsia were retrospectively examined. Sixty one patients had gastritis and there was a strong correlation with the presence of Campylobacter pyloridis. Ninety eight per cent were positive in large numbers for C pyloridis by histological examination or by culture, or both. Of 48 patients with normal histological results, 21 had evidence of C pyloridis by histological examination or culture, or both, but in small numbers. It is concluded that there is a quantitative rather than a qualitative association between C pyloridis and gastritis.

Adolescent↗

Evidence of lectin-mediated adherence of Moraxella catarrhalis.

Clinical isolates of Moraxella catarrhalis (n = 86) were evaluated for their haemagglutinating activity with different types of erythrocytes. Of all the isolates tested, 12 did not agglutinate with any of the erythrocytes, whereas 65 reacted with human erythrocytes of type A, B, and 0, and 26 with erythrocytes from rabbit, guinea pig, dog, or rat. None of the isolates agglutinated with sheep and goat erythrocytes. The agglutination titres ranged from 0 to 64. Among these isolates, 13 different agglutination patterns could be distinguished. The agglutinating activity was Ca(2+)-dependent and was inhibited by proteases, by temperatures exceeding 50 degrees C and by the addition of D-glucosamine or D-galactosamine. The adherence capacity of the M. catarrhalis isolates to tracheal epithelium correlated with their agglutination titre and could be inhibited by the same treatments. These data provide strong evidence that adherence of M. catarrhalis is mediated by lectins located on the bacterial surface.

Adhesins, Bacterial↗

Antibiotic resistance of Escherichia coli in fecal samples of healthy people in two different areas in an industrialized country.

Fecal samples of 310 healthy persons, from two populations from different areas in the Netherlands, were examined for the presence of Escherichia coli resistant to ampicillin, tetracycline, sulfamethoxazole, trimethoprim and nitrofurantoin. High prevalences of resistance were found in both populations, ranging from 28% for trimethoprim to 89% for ampicillin. The percentages of the fecal samples with a dominantly resistant E. coli flora (> 50% resistance) were distinctly lower, ranging from 1% for nitrofurantoin to 21% for tetracycline. No significant differences in the level of resistance were observed between these two comparable populations in two different areas. The susceptibilities to 11 antimicrobial agents of 456 at random isolated E. coli were determined. The percentages of resistance varied widely: from 80% for chloramphenicol to 9% for nitrofurantoin. Only 19% of the isolates were susceptible to all antibiotics tested and 14% were resistant to more than four of the agents tested. Great differences in resistance rates between the two populations examined were seen for chloramphenicol (80% to 41%) and trimethoprim (16% to 36%). The results of this study underscore the presence of a human reservoir of antibiotic resistant microorganisms.

Adolescent↗

Carriage of antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli by healthy volunteers during a 15-week period.

Escherichia coli strains (n = 678 and n = 670) isolated from faecal samples from 90 and 93 healthy volunteers of two cities, Weert and Roermond respectively, were analysed for their susceptibility to 12 antimicrobial agents during a 15-week period. Significant differences between both cities in the distribution of the MIC values were observed for apramycin, chloramphenicol, kanamycin, neomycin, nitrofurantoin, sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim. For Weert (n = 678) the antibiotic resistance percentages varied from 0.4% for nalidixic acid to 26.7% for sulfamethoxazole. For Roermond (n = 670) the figures varied from 0.6% for nitrofurantoin to 37.5% for sulfamethoxazole. Resistance to amoxicillin/clavulanate was not found in either city. The most frequent pattern was resistance to sulfamethoxazole only, followed by resistance to oxytetracycline, streptomycin and sulfamethoxazole. In each individual there was only a small variation in resistance patterns of the isolates, i.e. the majority had one (n = 51) or two (n = 63) patterns with a maximum of five during the 15-week period. A fully susceptible pattern was found in the strains from 38 individuals.

Carrier State↗