Investigation of biofilm formation among methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolated from children

Background: The aim of the present study was to investigate biofilm formation among Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolated from children referring to a pediatric hospital in Tehran. Methods: In total, 98 MRSA isolates were collected from children referring to a pediatric hospital during 2014 - 2015. All the isolates were confirmed to be MRSA using PCR amplification of the mecA gene. The antibiotic susceptibility patterns of the isolates were determined using the Kirby-Bauer disk-diffusion and E-test methods. In order to assess the ability of biofilm formation among the isolates, Congo red agar (CRA) and Microtiter Plate (Mtp) methods were used. Results: All the isolates were found to be susceptible to linezolid and vancomycin and, likewise, the majority was susceptible to minocycline and rifampicin. CRA and Mtp methods showed that 81.6 and 63.3 of the MRSA isolates, respectively, were biofilm producers. Conclusions: The early identification of S. aureus and detection of biofilm formation by the Mtp method are essential steps towards the prevention of the most serious nosocomial infections. © 2017, Archives of Pediatric Infectious Diseases

Investigation of biofilm formation among methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolated from children

Background: The aim of the present study was to investigate biofilm formation among Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolated from children referring to a pediatric hospital in Tehran. Methods: In total, 98 MRSA isolates were collected from children referring to a pediatric hospital during 2014 - 2015. All the isolates were confirmed to be MRSA using PCR amplification of the mecA gene. The antibiotic susceptibility patterns of the isolates were determined using the Kirby-Bauer disk-diffusion and E-test methods. In order to assess the ability of biofilm formation among the isolates, Congo red agar (CRA) and Microtiter Plate (Mtp) methods were used. Results: All the isolates were found to be susceptible to linezolid and vancomycin and, likewise, the majority was susceptible to minocycline and rifampicin. CRA and Mtp methods showed that 81.6 and 63.3 of the MRSA isolates, respectively, were biofilm producers. Conclusions: The early identification of S. aureus and detection of biofilm formation by the Mtp method are essential steps towards the prevention of the most serious nosocomial infections. © 2017, Archives of Pediatric Infectious Diseases

Candida africana and Candida dubliniensis as causes of pediatric candiduria: A study using HWP1 gene size polymorphism

Background: Candida species cause a wide spectrum of disease entities. Candida africana and Candida dubliniensis-members of Candida albicans complex-are currently gaining both clinical and epidemiologic significance. Materials and methods: Totally, 150 pediatric isolates that had previously been identified as C. albicans species complex based on a positive germ tube test were included. The isolates were cultured on CHROMagar Candida medium to ensure their purity and the results of germ tube test. For definitive speciation, PCR amplification and size polymorphism of the hyphal wall protein 1 (HWP1) gene was used. The results of HWP1-PCR were confirmed by sequencing the amplified fragments for randomly selected isolates of C. africana and C. dubliniensis. Results: All 150 isolates included in this study were reconfirmed as C. albicans complex on chromogenic media. Based on the HWP1 gene size polymorphism, 141 (94) isolates were identified as C. albicans, 2 (1.33) as C. africana, and 1 (0.67) as C. dubliniensis. The remaining 6 (4) C. albicans complex isolates were a mix of C. albicans and C. africana. All isolates of C. africana and C. dubliniensis have been recovered from cases of candiduria. Conclusion: C. africana, either alone or mixed with C. albicans, could be a cause of candiduria among pediatric patients and should not be ignored

Serum IL-17, IL-23, and TGF-β levels in type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients and age-matched healthy controls

Type 1 diabetes is recognized as an autoimmune inflammatory disease and low grade inflammation is also observed in type 2 diabetic patients. Interleukin 17 (IL-17) is a new player in inflammation. Th17 cells, as the main source of IL-17, require transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) and interleukin 23 (IL-23). The aim of this study was to investigate serum IL-17, IL-23 and TGF-β levels in diabetic patients and controls. In this case-control study, serum levels of IL-17, IL-23, and TGF-β were measured in 24 type 1 diabetic patients and 30 healthy controls using the ELISA method. Simultaneously, the same methodology was used to compare serum concentration of these three cytokines in 38 type 2 diabetic patients and 40 healthy controls. There was no significant difference between serum levels of IL-17 and IL-23 cytokines between cases and controls. However, TGF-β was significantly lower in type 1 diabetic patients (P<0.001). Serum IL-17 and IL-23 levels demonstrate no association with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, but, in line with previous studies, TGF-β levels were lower in type 1 diabetic patients. © 2014 Azam Roohi et al

Opium use, cigarette smoking, and alcohol consumption in relation to pancreatic cancer

Background and Aims: Although several studies have suggested opium as a risk factor for cancers of the esophagus, stomach, larynx, lung, and bladder, no previous study has examined the association of opium with pancreatic cancer. We aimed to study the association between opium use and risk of pancreatic cancer in Iran, using a case-control design. We also studied the association of cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption with pancreatic cancer, for which little information was available from this population. Methods: Cases and controls were selected from patients who were referred to 4 endoscopic ultrasound centers in Tehran, Iran. We recruited 316 histopathologically (all adenocarcinoma) and 41 clinically diagnosed incident cases of pancreatic cancer, as well as 328 controls from those with a normal pancreas in enodosonography from January 2011 to January 2015. We used logistic regression models to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95 confidence intervals (CIs). Results: After adjustment for potential confounders, opium use (OR 1.91; 95 CI 1.06-3.43) and alcohol consumption (OR 4.16; 95 CI 1.86-9.31) were significantly associated with an increased risk of pancreatic cancer. We did not find an association between ever tobacco smoking and pancreatic cancer risk (OR 0.93; 95 CI 0.62-1.39). Conclusion: In our study, opium use and alcohol consumption were associated with an increased risk of pancreatic cancer, whereas cigarette smoking was not. Copyright © 2016 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved

Molecular and phenotypic characteristics of staphylococcus hominis isolates from pediatric infections

Background: Staphylococcus hominis has been recently emerged as an opportunistic hospitalassociated pathogen. The aim of this study was to characterize the antimicrobial susceptibility pattern, biofilm formation, and staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) types among clinical isolates of S. hominis obtained from pediatric infections. Methods: Totally, twenty-two clinically significant S. hominis isolates, mostly from blood samples, were examined for antibiotic resistance, SCCmec typing, and biofilm formation. Results: Multiresistance was observed in 86 of isolates. Among mecA positive isolates (77), SCCmec type I (28), III (22), IV (22), and non-typeable ones (28) were detected. More than half of the isolates (54.5) did not produce biofilm. No significant associationwas found between biofilm formation and the presence of ica operon. Conclusion: As S. hominis isolates were not strong biofilm producers, biofilm formation cannot be considered as much as important multidrug resistance.in the pathogenesis of isolates. © 2020, Kerman University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved

Evaluation of Enrichment, Selective and Differential Media in Isolation and Identification of Salmonella Among Children With Diarrhea

Background and Aim: Salmonellosis is a gastroenteritis caused by different serotypes of Salmonella and is the most common type of food poisoning in the world. The purpose of this research study is to optimize the conventional method for the isolation of Salmonella SPP from the diarrheic specimens of children. Materials and Methods: Stool specimens were obtained from one hundred patients admitted to Childrens Medical Center for diarrhea. The enrichment media were prepared by 3 methods: Rappaport Vassiliadis broth (RV), Tetrathionate broth (TT), and Selenite Cystine broth (SC). Then, for the isolation of Salmonella SPP, the enrichment methods RV and TT were used and incubated at 42° C, and SC at 37° C. After 24 hours of incubation, the enrichment samples were inoculated into the following 6 different media: Hektone Enteric agar (HE), Rambach agar (RA), CHROMagar Salmnella (CHROMagar Salmonella), Brilliant Green agar (BG), Salmonella-Shigella agar (SS), and Xylose-Lysine-Deoxycholate agar (XLD). Results: In total, 13 out of one hundred samples were identified as Salmonella SPP. All of these 13 Salmonella SPP samples (i. e., 100%) were positive on RV broth; the figures were 8 (61.5%) and 3 (23%) on SC and TT broths, respectively. The highest amount of isolation was found by the combination of RV broth and RA agar (100%). The lowest rate, however, was obtained by the combination of TT agar and BG broth (15.4%).Conclusion: The comparison results of 3 enrichment media and 6 selective media showed that the mixture of RV broth and RA agar would be very fine for the isolation of Salmonella SPP

Frequency of Candida species isolated from patients in children’s medical center, Tehran, Iran

Background: Candida species originating from either endogenous or exogenous sources are one of the main causes of opportunistic infections. Colonization is an important independent risk factor for invasive candidiasis, and many patients admitted to neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) are colonized with Candida species that may result in invasive candidiasis. Awareness among clinicians about various aspects of colonization is critical to optimal management. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency and species distribution of Candida strains isolated from predisposed patients hospitalized at Children’s Medical Center (CMC), Tehran, Iran. Methods: From June 2014 to June 2016, 347 Candida isolates were collected from 341 patients either hospitalized in different wards or referred as outpatients. The yeasts were identified by colony color characteristics using CHROMagar Candidamediumand by amplification of the ITS1-5.8S rDNA-ITS2 region in DNA extracted from each isolate followed by analysis of species specific electrophoretic patterns of PCR products digested with the restriction enzyme MspI. Results: Of the 341 patients, 213 were males and 128 were females. Most samples were obtained from the 1 – 12-month age group, and the majority of samples represented urine (n = 182), throat swabs (n = 57), and stool samples (n = 53), respectively. The samples were mostly from patients in general wards. The most commonly isolated species was C. albicans (77%), followed by C. tropicalis (8.4%), C. parapsilosis (7.5%), C. glabrata (2.3%), C. kefyr (1.7%), C. krusei (1.1%), C. lusitaniae (0.6%), C. guilliermondii (0.3%), C. albicans + C. parapsilosis (1.4%), and C. albicans + C. glabrata (0.3%). Conclusions: C. albicans is the most common species isolated from children in Iran, followed by C. tropicalis and C. parapsilosis, a prevalence pattern that is relatively different from studies in other countries. Neonates and infants 1 - 12 months of age hospitalized in ICU, were more colonized by Candida species than other group