Interview with Marjorie Harkins Buchanan Kiewit

In this interview with Julia Stringfellow, Marjorie Harkins Buchanan Kiewit, LU class of 1943, discusses her time as a student as well as her time on the Board of Trustees.https://lux.lawrence.edu/oralhistories/1036/thumbnail.jp

A case of brucellosis complicated with acute pyelonephritis

Brucellosis, is an endemic disease in our country, may lead to bacteremia and cause different clinic manifestations.A 44-year-old male patient admitted to our policlinic with high fever, shivering, chilling, pollacuria, and left costovertebral pain, and interned with diagnosis of acute pyelonephritis. Subsequently, acute pyelonephritis due to acute brucellosis was detected in the clinical and laboratoryexamination. Antibiotic treatment for brucellosis was given to patient for eight week and after treatment full recoverywas seen. Patients with brucellosis may refer with symptoms of acute pyelonephritis in endemic areas for brucellosis.By using brucellos serologies to patients who have the symptoms of acute pyelonephritis may available in the diagnosis of this rare complication in areas where brucellosisis endemic

Inhaled Colistin Usage in the Treatment of Health-Care Associated Pneumoniae Due to Multi-Drug Resistant Gram-Negative Microorganism

Hospital-acquired pneumoniae and ventilatory-associated pneumoniae (VAP) were the most common health-care associated infections leading to high mortality rates. Intravenous colistin which is used for infections due to multi-drug resistant microorganisms has poor penetration into the lung. Inhaled colistin usage seems promising in the treatment of the VAP causing high mortality. The results of the studies regarding clinical efficacy of colistin were controversial. Inhaled colistin usage in the treatment of VAP was reviewed according to the literature

Investigation of Seroprevalence of Brucellosis among Occupational High Risk Groups in Elazig Region

Introduction: Brucellosis is one of the most important zoonotic diseases worldwide and continues to be a public health problem in many countries. The major transmission route of infection in endemic areas, including Turkey, is consumption of unpasteurized milk or dairy products. However due to the transmission of disease from animals to humans by direct/indirect contact, it can also be an occupational risk for some individuals. This study was conducted to investigate the seroprevalence of brucellosis among risk occupational groups in the Elazig region. Materials and Methods: Blood samples obtained from a total of 370 individuals particularly at risk of Brucella infection and from 50 individuals not at risk who served controls. All sera were evaluated by both the Rose-Bengal Plate and Standard Tube Agglutination (STA) tests. For determining seropositivity with STA test, a cut-off titer of ≥ 1/80 was adopted. Results: Seropositivity of brucellosis in the risk groups was 4% with RB test and 2.2% with STA test, while no positivity detected in control group. Seropositivity of brucellosis with STA was as follows: 4.2% (3/72) in animal husbandry workers, 1.9% in dairy farmers (1/53), 2.5% in butchers (1/40), 0% in abottoir workers (0/49), 2.6% in veterinarians (2/78) and 1.3% in laboratory personnel (1/78). Risk groups were compared with the control group, but there was no statistically significant differences between them. Seropositivity titer was ≥ 1/160 with STA in 3 of 370 serum samples, which were obtained from persons at risk of brucellosis. These three person were diagnosed brucellosis and treated for Brucella infection. Conclusion: High rate of brucellosis seropositivity in risk groups indicates the need for education and occupational preventions

Evaluation of Risk Factors in Nosocomial Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci Colonization and Infection

Introduction: Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) have recently been observed as an increasingly responsible agent among nosocomial infections. In our study, we aimed to investigate the possible risk factors for VRE colonization and infection. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted prospectively in the hematology, oncology and bone marrow transplantation departments between September 2004 and April 2005. Rectal swab culture was obtained on admission day and once a week from patients who had been hospitalized in these departments. A follow-up form was completed for each patient. Stata version 8.0 was used for statistical analysis. Results: A total of 462 rectal swab samples were obtained in the seven-month period. VRE was isolated in 13 patients. All these patients were from the hematology department. Female gender, long duration of hospitalization, prolonged neutropenia, total parenteral nutrition, sucralfate usage, central venous catheterization, and duration of antibiotic usage (third- and fourth- generation cephalosporins, metronidazole, amikacin, glycopeptides, macrolides, carbapenems, quinolones) were found as risk factors with univariate analysis. In multivariate analysis, long duration of hospitalization was found as an independent risk factor. Conclusion: Establishing the risk factors for colonization and infection with VRE can contribute to the implementation of effective infection control measures

Listeria Meningoencephalitis in Immunocompetent Person Complicated with Hydrocephalus

Listeria monocytogenes is a common cause of central nervous system infection, especially in immunosuppressed patients, infants, and the elderly and in pregnancy; it is uncommon in individuals with immunocompetent status. In this case report, we aimed to present the case of an immunocompetent 45-year-old patient who presented with meningoencephalitis due to Listeria, which was complicated with hydrocephalus

Not para-, not peri-, but centric inversion of chromosome 12.

A 39 year old male with primary infertility was diagnosed as having Klinefelter syndrome by conventional cytogenetic analysis, which also showed an abnormal chromosome 12. Fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) analysis of the aberrant chromosome using a 12 specific centromeric probe showed a break in the alphoid repeats followed by an inversion within the short arm, resulting in a pseudodicentric chromosome. Further FISH analyses using telomeric and subtelomeric probes showed that the other breakpoint was in the subtelomeric region of the short arm. The karyotype is designated 47,XXY,inv(12)(p10p13.3). To our knowledge this is the first report of a case of "centric inversion"

Laboratory Acquired Brucellosis in Turkey

Background Laboratory healthcare workers (HCWs) are at risk of laboratory-acquired brucellosis (LAB). Aim To describe the risk factors of LAB among HCWs. Methods A multicentre survey study was conducted by face-to-face interview in 38 hospitals from 17 provinces of Turkey. A structured survey was administered to the HCWs, working in infectious diseases clinics and microbiology departments, who were at risk of brucella infection. Findings The survey response rate was 100%. Of the 667 laboratory workers, 38 (5.8%) had a history of LAB. In multivariate analysis, factors independently associated with an increased risk of LAB included working with the brucella bacteria (odds ratio: 5.12; 95% confidence interval: 2.28&ndash;11.52; P&nbsp;&lt;&nbsp;0.001) and male gender (2.14; 1.02&ndash;4.45; P&nbsp;=&nbsp;0.042). Using a biosafety cabinet level 2 (0.13; 0.03&ndash;0.60; P&nbsp;=&nbsp;0.009), full adherence to glove use (0.27; 0.11&ndash;0.65; P&nbsp;=&nbsp;0.004) and longer duration of professional life (0.86; 0.80&ndash;0.92; P&nbsp;&lt;&nbsp;0.001) were found to be protective. Conclusions Working with the brucella bacteria, being male, a lack of compliance with personal protective equipment and biosafety cabinets were the independent risk factors for the development of LAB in our series. Increased adherence to personal protective equipment and use of biosafety cabinets should be priority targets to prevent LAB.</p

Sharp Instrument Injuries and Exposure to Blood and Bodily Fluids of Health Care Workers in a Tertiary Care Facility#

Introduction: Exposure of health-care workers (HCWs) to blood and bodily fluids of the patients due to needle sticks or sharp instrument injuries is a potential risk in daily practice. In this study,the epidemiological aspects of these injuries in a tertiary referral hospital were aimed to be determined. Materials and Methods: The needle stick and sharp instrument injuriesHCWs were exposed to were evaluated retrospectively between January 2011 and July 2013 in Ankara Ataturk Training and Research Hospital. Data were obtained from records of the department of HCW. Results: A total of two hundred and seventy HCWs (172 female, 98 male) were included in the study. Considering their occupations, the HCWs who were exposed to injury or blood/bodily fluidswere as follows: nurses (54.8%), cleaning staff (28.8%) and physicians (16.4%). The most common exposure was detected in surgical departments and operation room (23.7% and 11.5%), followed by medical departments (21.8%) and intensive care units (21.4%) The most common devicescausing exposure were needle sticks (73.8%) and intravascular catheters (6.7%). Eighty percent of HCWs reported wearing protective equipment at the time of exposure. The most common reasons of exposure were reported as carelessness (64.8%), haste (14.4%) and full needle stick/sharp device box (8.1%). The vaccination program for Hepatitis B had been completed for 87.8 % of HCWs. Conclusion: The HCWs working in surgical departments and operation rooms possess a high risk for injury, possibly due to higher work load and high rate of urgent interventions. Although the HBV vaccination rate was quiet respectable, one sixth of the HCWs had no immunization against HBV. It seems that the need for more training in respect to the requirement of vaccination program is clear