Bacterial Profile and Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Isolates Recovered from Lower Respiratory Tract Infection for Patients in Rizgary Hospital, Erbil

Recognition of etiologies of lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) may help in delivering effective treatment options and circumvent emergence of antibiotic resistance. This study was carried out to uncover bacterial profile and antibiotic sensitivity patterns among 310 LRTI patients attended Rizagary Hospital between January 2014 to December 2016. Standard laboratory techniques were applied in collecting, processing, and culturing sputum and bronchial wash specimens. VITEK® 2 compact systems were used to identify bacteria and their antibiotic sensitivity patterns. Results showed that Streptococcus parasanguinis and Acinetobacter baumannii were the most abundant gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria (GPB & GNB), respectively, isolated from sputum specimens. From bronchial wash specimens, only GNB were detected and Serratia marcescens was the most abundant one. Antibiotic sensitivity tests revealed that Streptococcus parasanguinis was the most resistant GPB and Acinetobacter baumannii was the most resistant GNB. Sputum recovered GPB were highly resistant to Ampicillin, Erythromycin, Levofloxacin, Trimethoprim/Sulfamethoxazole, and Tetracycline. Bronchial wash recovered GNB were highly resistant to Ampicillin, Minocycline, Pefloxacin, Piperacillin, and Ticarcillin. In conclusion, LRTIs are mainly associated with GNB rather than GPB. The recovered Streptococcus parasanguinis and Acinetobacter baumannii were found to be multidrug-resistant pathogens. Ampicillin was ineffective against any of recovered pathogenic bacteria

Estimation of Leptin and Leptin Receptor Concentrations in Seminal Plasma of Primary Infertile Men

Background: There are many sources for Leptin secretion, and it is activated by binding with its receptor known as leptin receptor, that play a role in male infertility. Objective: To assess the levels of leptin and leptin receptors in seminal plasma among primary infertile men and its impact on semen parameters. Patients and Methods: A case control study of 75 primary infertile males and 40 healthy individuals who were enrolled in this study during March 2013 to May 2013. Estimation of age, body mass index (BMI), semen analysis, seminal plasma leptin, leptin receptor and testosterone hormone concentration were done for all study subjects. Results: Highly significant difference found in mean of semen parameters of infertile male compared with healthy controls. Mean concentration of seminal plasma leptin and leptin receptor of infertile men were significantly were elevated, while serum testosterone concentration significantly decreased compared with healthy control. Conclusion: There is emerging evidence that the leptin concentration negatively impacts fertility through its correlation with age, BMI, testosterone hormone and semen parameters

Role of Laser Produced Silver Nanoparticles in Reversing Antibiotic Resistance in Some MultidrugResistant Pathogenic Bacteria

Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) were produced through nanosecond laser in deionized water. These nanoparticles were characterized by UV–VIS spectrometer and transmission electron microscopy. VITEK®2 compact system was used to identify Escherichia coli (ESBL strain) and Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA strain) as multidrug-resistance (MDR) bacteria. The antibacterial activity of Ag NPs, ampicillin (AMP), and their combinations was tested against both bacterial isolates through standard microbiological culturing techniques. Our data show that both of E. coli and S. aureus were highly resistant to AMP. Ag NPs alone reduced growth in both bacterial isolates considerably. Growth declined drastically in both bacteria when AMP was used in combination with Ag NPs. The minimal inhibitory concentration of combined agents for E. coli was 20 µg/ml Ag NPs + 1 mg AMP/ml and for S. aureus was 10 µg/ml Ag NPs + 1 mg AMP/ml. The results show that the Ag NPs have great potentials in enhancing the antimicrobial activities of drugs that used to be ineffective against MDR bacteria. Administering combinations of antibiotic(s) with AgNPs may help in treating patients suffering from infections caused by MDR bacteria. Further in vivo and in vitro investigations are required to evaluate the side effects of these combinations

Categorization of Bacterial Pathogens Present in Infected Wounds and their Antibiotic Resistance Profile Recovered from Patients Attending Rizgary Hospital-Erbil

Wound infection with antibiotic-resistant bacteria can extend a patients’ debility and increase the expense of treatment in the long term; therefore, careful management of patients with wound infections is necessary to avoid complications. The usage of antimicrobial agent is a major factor in resistance development. This study aims to understand the causes of wound infections, as well as the criteria for diagnosing them for more sensible antibiotic prescribing. Samples from 269 wound patients were collected, and cultured for bacterial growth. Gram stain technique, bacterial identification via VITEK 2 compact system were investigated in this study. Gram negative bacteria accounted for 59.15% of the total isolates, while pathogenic gram positive bacteria accounted for 40.85% of total isolates. Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa are the dominant pathogenic gram negative bacteria in wounds, while Staphylococcus aureus, and Staphylococcus epidermidis are the dominant pathogenic gram positive bacteria. Pseudomonas aeruginosa showed 100% resistance to the majority of antibiotic tested, including Ampicillin, Amoxicillin/Clavulanic Acid, Aztreona, Ceftriaxone, and others. Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis are 100% resistant to Ampicillin, Ceftriaxone, and Cefotaxime. For more efficient antibiotic prescriptions, the causative microorganisms, and their current susceptibility patterns need to be mandated for testing before prescribing any antibiotics to patients. Prescriptions are frequently based solely on general information about the antibiotic's function, rather than on individual response variation to the pathogen and the antibiotic. Particularly when the common pathogens in this study show multidrug resistance in wounds

Interleukin-1 Receptor Antagonist (IL-1RN) Gene Variable Number Tandem Repeats (VNTR) Polymorphism Association in men Infertility in Erbil City /Kurdistan Iraq

عائلة الحريك الخلوي -1 لها أدوار متعددة في الجهاز التناسلي الذكري، ومن بينها مضادات مستقبلات الحريك الخلوي -1 (IL-1RN) الموجودة في الغدد التناسلية الذكرية، حيث تزداد نشاطها عند الاصابات بالعدوى والالتهاب. تهدف الدراسة الحالية إلى التحقق من وجود صلة محتملة لتعدد الأشكال المترادفة المترادفة (VNTR) للجين IL-1RN مع العقم عند الذكور. شملت مجموعات الدراسة المسجلين 100 من الرجال المصابين بالعقم و 100 من الرجال الأصحاء. حيث تم تحليل السوائل المنوية للمجموعات المشاركة. تم جمع عينات الدم المحيطي لتقييم أو الكشف عن تعدد الأشكال المترادفة المترادفة (VNTR) لجين مضادات مستقبلات الحريك الخلوي -1 (IL-1RN) لنمطين من الاليلاتأليل IL-1RN1 يتوافق مع 410 زوج قاعديIL-11RN2 يتوافق مع 240وج قاعدي كعلامة على العقم عند الذكور، باستخدام تقنية PCR حددت النتائج ارتفاع وتيرة التغاير الاليلي IL-1RN2   (26٪) ، واثنين من التغاير الاليلي VNTR ناقلات IL-1RN1 و IL-1RN2  (16٪) من الرجال المصابين بالعقم مع تأثيرات كبيرة على حركة الحيوانات المنوية واشكالها (P<0.000-0.002) على التوالي. هذه الدراسة التى تم تقييمها في إقليم كردستان (أربيل – العراق) والتى حددت تأثيراً كبيراً لتعدد الأشكال المترادفة المتعاقبة VNTR لجين IL-1RN في مسببات العقم عند الذكور خاصة على حركية الحيوانات المنوية واشكالها، ولا سيما ناقلات أليلية البديل IL-1RN2.The interleukin-1 family has multifaceted roles in men٫s reproductive syste. Out  of these is interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RN) which exists in men gonads, and in case of infection and inflammatory process, its activity is increased.  The current study aims to verify a possible linkage of Variable Number Tandem Repeat (VNTR) polymorphism of the IL-1RN gene with human men infertility. The study groups enrolled included 100 infertile men and 100 fertile and healthy men. Their seminal fluids were subjected to analysis. Also peripheral blood samples were collected for the assessment or detection of polymorphic Variable Number  Tandem Repeats (VNTR) polymorphism of interleukin-1 receptor antagonist gene (IL-1RN). Two alleles, namely IL-1RN1 allele corresponding to 410bp fragment and IL-11RN2 that corresponding to 240bp fragments,  are a marker for human men infertility, detected by PCR technique. The results delineated a high frequency of IL-1RN2 allelic gene variants (26%), and two VNTR allelic gene variants carriers IL-1RN1 and IL-1RN2 (16%) among  infertile men with significant impacts on sperm motility and morphology (P< 0.000-0.002) respectively. This prospective study inKurdistan region (Erbil –Iraq)  defined a significant impact of VNTR polymorphism of IL-1RN gene in the etiology of men infertility especially on sperm motility and morphology; particularly carriers of IL-1RN2 allelic variant

Prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility of bacterial pathogens isolated from urine specimens received in rizgary hospital — Erbil

Background: Urinary tract infection (UTI) is a common health-associated problem worldwide. Like other medical conditions, UTI patients may suffer from poor treatment outcomes due to the emergence of antimicrobial resistance. Determining patterns of antimicrobial susceptibility in uropathogens will guide physicians to choose the best antibiotics for treating affected patients. In this project we aimed to evaluate the frequencies of pathogens associated with UTI and their antimicrobial susceptibility patterns. Methods: This study was conducted on 2692 urine samples of patients visited Rizgary Teaching Hospital in Erbil city. Aerobic bacterial growth identification and antimicrobial susceptibility tests were performed using VITEK®2 compact system. Results: Our data show that more than 20% of all studied samples were negative for bacterial growth; only 16.72% of them were pathogenic bacteria in which 82.44% of them were Gram negative bacteria (GNB) and the rest were Gram positive bacteria (GPB). Escherichia coli was the most frequent, and Acinetobacter baumannii was the most resistant GNB. Staphylococcus haemolyticus was the most frequent, and Enterococcus faecalis was the most resistant GPB. In general GNB were highly resistant to Ticarcillin and Cefepime, and GPB were also resistant to Ticarcillin, and Tigecycline antibiotics. Conclusions: The amount of negative culture growth indicates that symptoms only based diagnosis for UTI detection is unreliable. E. coli is the most UTI related pathogen, E. faecalis and A. baumannii were among highly antibiotic resistant bacteria. Finally, since many of GNG and GPB isolates were resistant to several antibiotics, there might be a high possibility for multi drug resistant among local population in Erbil. Keywords: Antimicrobial susceptibility, Bacterial profile, E. coli, Multi drug resistant, Urinary Tract Infection (UTI