Study on Bacteria Associated with White Coats of Healthcare Workers in Two Tertiary Hospitals, Mashhad, Iran

Background: Health care-associated infections are an important cause of morbidity and mortality in hospitals. Reports have shown that nurses’ uniforms are sources of health care-associated infection transmission. The present study assessed the rate of bacterial contamination of healthcare worker’s white coats in two tertiary hospitals in Mashhad, Iran. Methods: 300 healthcare workers participated in the study from July to October 2011. Samples were obtained with a sterile swab from the outer surfaces of three sites of the white coat including the cuff, pocket mouth of the dominant hand and abdominal region. The samples were examined according to standard procedures. Results: Overall, 1220 microorganisms belonging to 13 different genera were isolated from a total of 900 samples. All 300 white coats were contaminated by bacteria of which 282 (94%) were pathogenic. The abdominal region had significantly higher number of isolates than the pocket and sleeve (p = 0.02). The white coats of “cardiac surgery ICU” and “surgery ward” had the mean highest number  of  isolates.  Gram-positive  Bacilli  (36.1%)  were  the  most  common isolates followed by Staphylococcus aureus (28%) and coagulase-negative Staphylococci (24.8%). Conclusion: Health care workers’ white coats are contaminated with a variety of bacteria. In order to reduce cross contamination from white coats to patients, re- educational programs and stricter rules of laundering and changing white coats are suggested

Association between Interleukin-1 Receptor Antagonist (IL1RN) Variable Number of Tandem Repeats (VNTR) Polymorphism and Pulmonary Tuberculosis

Macrophages and T-lymphocytes are involved in immune response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Macrophage produces interleukin (IL)-1 as an inflammatory mediator. IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL1-Ra) is a natural antagonist of IL-1 receptors. In this study we aimed to examine the possible association between the variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) of the IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL1RN) gene and pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) in a sample of Iranian population. Our study is a case-control study and we examined the VNTR of the IL1RN gene in 265 PTB and 250 healthy subjects by PCR. Neither the overall chi-square comparison of PTB and control subjects nor the logistic regression analysis indicated any association between VNTR IL1RN polymorphism and PTB. Our data suggest that VNTR IL1RN polymorphism may not be associated with the risk of PTB in a sample of Iranian population. Larger studies with different ethnicities are needed to find out the impact of IL1RN VNTR polymorphism on risk of developing TB

The Frequency of VIM 2, 3, 9, 11 and VIM all among Metallo-beta-Lactamase Producing Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Introduction: Antibiotic resistance crisis has always been a serious problem for human health and many hospitalized patients are affected worldwide. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a gram-negative pathogen and one of the most common causes of nosocomial infections. The main mechanism of resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics is the presence of metallo-beta-lactamase (MBL) enzymes. Most of the MBL genes are found in plasmids. The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of MBL-producing P. aeruginosa isolates caused by VIM-all and VIM 2, 3, 9, 11and16 genes.   Materials & Methods: Antimicrobial susceptibility of 127 clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa was determined using the standard Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method according to Clinical and Laboratory Standard Institute (CLSI). Combined-disk test was used for phenotypic determination of MBLs-producing isolates. After DNA extraction, VIM-all and in specific, VIM 2, 3, 9, 11 and 16 genes were amplified using PCR method.   Findings: A total Of 127 clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa, 62 isolates (49%) were resistant to imipenem and 31 isolates (24.5%) showed phenotypic evidences of MBL production. Moreover, among imipenem resistant strains VIM-all genes were found in 12.5% of cases, but the VIM 2-3-9-11 and 16 genes were not detected in samples.   Discussion & Conclusions: The results obtained in this study suggest that in P. aeruginosa, the highest antibiotic resistance observed was to cefazolin (98%) followed by nalidixic acid (91%) and the least resistance were to ciprofloxacin (31%). One of the reasons for this trend is the growth of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and the known mechanisms of bacterial resistance