Biomedical subjects

J Flynn

Publications and source records attributed to J Flynn.

129 records · Page 8Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

In-vitro activity of piperacillin/tazobactam relative to other antibiotics against blood culture isolates.

Resistance of bacteria to antibiotics is an increasing problem in many countries. Accurate locally relevant information is essential for detection and control of emerging resistance and to facilitate choice of empirical antibiotic therapy in the immediate management of seriously ill patients. We have determined the minimum inhibitory concentration of piperacillin/tazobactam for 97 strains of bacteria (55 Enterobacteriaceae, 13 non-fermentative Gram-negative bacilli, 22 Staphylococcus aureus, 6 Enterococcus faecalis and 1 Bacillus cereus) isolated from blood cultures and compared its activity to that of amoxycillin, co-amoxiclav, cephalothin, cefotaxime, ceftazidime, ciprofloxacin, gentamicin, piperacillin, cefotaxime. The strains were consecutive non-fastidious isolates with the following qualifications: coagulase negative staphylococci and diphtheroids were excluded and the number of Staphylococcus aureus isolates was limited to 12 methicillin-resistant and 10 methicillin-sensitive strains. Multiple isolates of the same species from individual patients were not included. The minimum inhibition concentrations of methicillin, penicillin, teichoplanin and vancomycin were also determined for specific groups of organisms. MICs were determined by the Etest method (AB Biodisk, Solna, Sweden) on Mueller Hinton agar. The MICs of appropriate American Type Culture Collection control strains were determined. Based on the interpretative criteria of the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (USA), 87 per cent of Gram-negative bacilli were susceptible to piperacillin/tazobactam compared with amoxycillin 26 per cent, cephalothin 35 per cent, co-amoxiclav 54 per cent, piperacillin 56 per cent, cefotaxime 69 per cent, ceftazidime 84 per cent, gentamicin 85 per cent and ciprofloxacin 91 per cent. Of all isolates 75 per cent were sensitive to piperacillin/tazobactam, compared with amoxycillin 22 per cent, cephalothin 35 per cent, piperacillin 41 per cent, co-amoxiclav 52 per cent, cefotaxime 59 per cent, ceftazidime 60 per cent, gentamicin 74 per cent and ciprofloxacin 77 per cent. Two isolates (1 E. coli and 1 Klebsiella pneumoniae) with antibiograms consistent with the relatively new resistance phenomenon of extended spectrum beta-lactamase production were identified. The spectrum of activity of piperacillin-tazobactam for empirical antibiotic therapy is significantly greater than that of piperacillin alone and is similar to that of ciprofloxacin and gentamicin.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Transport of digested decontaminated sputum specimens to a central laboratory for testing for M. tuberculosis by Amplicor MTB test.

Rapid diagnosis of tuberculosis may improve management of infected patients and facilitate infection control procedures. The relatively slow growth rate of M. tuberculosis and the limited sensitivity and specificity of microscopy make rapid diagnosis difficult. Nucleic acid amplification techniques have been extensively studied for the detection of M. tuberculosis DNA and a number of commercial products for detection of M. tuberculosis nucleic acid in clinical specimens are now available. As performance of diagnostic PCR at central reference laboratories may be desirable, the impact of specimen transport on the performance of the Amplicor MTB PCR assay is of practical importance. We have assessed the performance of the Amplicor MTB PCR on specimens submitted and initially processed in laboratories in 3 cities and then transported to a single laboratory for PCR assay. The overall sensitivity of the PCR test was 97 per cent and the corrected specificity was 100 per cent. All of 23 culture positive specimens collected locally were PCR positive compared with 10 of 11 culture positive specimens transported from elsewhere. In this study transportation of digested decontaminated specimens to a central laboratory either frozen at -20 degrees, or overnight at room temperature had no apparent effect on the performance characteristic of the Amplicor MTB PCR assay.

Decontamination↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Effectiveness of TLSO bracing in the conservative treatment of idiopathic scoliosis.

A clear understanding of the effectiveness of the thoracolumbosacral orthosis (TLSO) as a conservative treatment for idiopathic scoliosis is still necessary. In the past few years, the review of pertinent literature has emphasized the lack of properly matched control studies and erroneous interpretations of results due to the use of univariate analysis. Also, in a previous controlled study evaluating the bracing of idiopathic scoliosis, the researchers mixed different types of braces and patients. Therefore, their findings were not specific to any kind of orthosis. In our study, we responded to these criticisms by providing a homogeneous group of patients with a control group and by conducting a multivariate analysis to assess the effectiveness of the TLSO. All the patients at the University Pediatric Hospital Scoliosis Clinic aged 8 through 15 with initial Cobb's angle between 20 and 40 degrees and evidence of progression were assessed. All the patients who used the TLSO and showed full compliance with treatment (n = 54) were compared with a control group. The control group consisted of the patients who needed the treatment with the brace but did not use it for several reasons (n = 47). Neither group showed significant differences in sex, initial age, initial Cobb's angle, menarche, Risser sign, or curve pattern. The mean follow-up period was 3.3 years after skeletal maturity. The results were analyzed using a multivariate analysis because the natural history of scoliosis is determined by multiple factors.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗