14 research outputs found
PREVALENCE OF VIRULENCE FACTORS AMONG CLINICAL ISOLATES OF ENTEROCOCCUS SPP.
ABSTRACTObjective: To identify some of the virulence factors such as hemolysin, gelatinase, and biofilm production among the clinical isolates of enterococci.Methods: Hemolysin detection using sheep blood agar. Gelatine agar was used for gelatinase production, and tube adherence method was used fordetecting biofilm production.Results: Hemolysin production observed in 49% of isolates, gelatinase production in 41% of isolates, and 46% of isolates were produced biofilm.Conclusion: Virulence factors production was noticed more in Enterococcus faecalis than Enterococcus faecium. It is necessary to find theproduction of important virulence factors among the clinical isolates as they are always associated with virulence of the organism including drugresistance.Keywords: Hemolysin, Gelatinase, Biofilm, Enterococcus
Multi-drug resistant Acinetobacter species from various clinical samples in a tertiary care hospital from South India
BackgroundAcinetobacter species are gram-negative coccobacilli belonging to the group of Non-Fermenting Gram-Negative Bacilli, which are ubiquitous in nature. They cause outbreaks in intensive care units and healthcare settings, and are becoming increasingly drug resistant.AimsTo determine the prevalence of multi-drug resistant Acinetobacter species from various clinical samples.Method Clinical samples were processed as per standard microbiological techniques. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was carried out on all the Acinetobacter isolates by Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method as per CLSI guidelines.ResultsA total of 122 Acinetobacter spp. were isolated. 110 (90.16 per cent) were from in-patients, and 12 (9.83 per cent) were from out-patients. Out of 122 isolates, 44 (36.06 per cent) were from ICU. The majority of the isolates, 47 (38.52 per cent), were from pus samples followed by 25 (20.49 per cent) from endotracheal tube aspirate. Out of 122 isolates, 87 (71.31 per cent) were multi-drug resistant of which 15 (12.29 per cent) were resistant to all drugs tested.ConclusionAcinetobacter infections associated with multi-drug resistant and pan-resistant strains have emerged as important nosocomial pathogens in our setting
Opportunistic infections in relation to antiretroviral status among AIDS patients from south India
Background: There is a need to generate data from India on relative
frequencies of specific opportunistic infections (OIs) in different
regions and their relation to the choice of commonly used generic
highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) regimens. Objectives: To
document the prevailing prevalence pattern of OIs both before and after
HAART, to look for reduction in OIs following HAART, to assess the risk
of developing new OIs within 6 months of HAART initiation and to see if
there is any difference in the risk of developing a new OI within 6
months of HAART initiation, for those on Efavirenz (EFV)-based regimens
and Nevirapine (NVP)-based regimens. Materials and Methods: In a
prospective observational cohort study conducted in South India
involving 108 ART-naive AIDS patients, different pathogens were
isolated and identified using standard laboratory techniques. Data
analysis was done using SPSS software (version 16.0). Risk of
developing an OI after HAART initiation was assessed using the
likelihood ratio test from Cox regression models. Results: Tuberculosis
(53.4%), oral Candidiasis (27.2%) and Herpes Zoster (14.7%) were the
common infections seen. There was a drastic reduction of 96.59% in OI
events after 6 months of HAART. The risk of developing an OI within 6
months of HAART initiation was 5.56%. Time to development of an OI in
the first 6 months of HAART was shorter for the NVP-based regimens than
with EFV-based regimens, but this difference was not statistically
significant (HR=0.891, 95% CI: 0.179-4.429; P=0.888). Conclusion:
Tuberculosis is the most important OI before initiation of HAART. Both
EFV and NVP-based regimens are equally efficacious in controlling OIs