Antimicrobial Efficacy and Synergy of Metal Ions against Enterococcus faecium, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Acinetobacter baumannii in Planktonic and Biofilm Phenotypes

The effects of metal ion solutions (silver, copper, platinum, gold and palladium) were determined individually and in combination against Enterococcus faecium, Acinetobacter baumannii and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Platinum, gold and palladium showed the greatest antimicrobial efficacy in zone of inhibition (ZoI) assays. When tested in combinations using ZoI assays, gold/platinum, gold/palladium and platinum/palladium were indicative of synergy. Microbial inhibitory concentration demonstrated platinum and gold against Enterococcus faecium, platinum against Klebsiella pneumoniae and platinum and silver against Acinetobacter baumannii were optimal. Minimal bactericidal concentrations determined the greatest bactericidal activity was again platinum gold and palladium against all three bacteria. Fractional Inhibitory Concentration (FIC) studies demonstrated that the silver/platinum combination against Enterococcus faecium, and silver/copper combination against Acinetobacter baumannii demonstrated antimicrobial synergy. Following crystal violet biofilm assays for single metal ion solutions, antimicrobial efficacies were demonstrated for all the metals against all the bacteria Synergistic assays against biofilms demonstrated gold/palladium, gold/platinumand platinum/palladium resulted in the greatest antimicrobial efficacy. Overall, platinum, palladium and gold metal ion solutions in individual use or combination demonstrated the greatest antimicrobial efficacies against planktonic or biofilm bacteria. This work demonstrates the potential for using a range of metal ions, as biocidal formulations against both planktonic or biofilm bacteria

Gold and gold-palladium coated polypropylene grafts in a S-epidermidis wound infection model

WOS: 000235771200010PubMed: 16139304Background. The use of non-absorbable mesh grafts in both abdominal wall defects and inguinal hernias are impossible in the presence of contamination. This study was conducted for evaluation of the efficiencies of polypropylene mesh grafts coated with gold and palladium-gold. Materials and methods. Ten piece of 1 x 2 cm. of polypropylene mesh grafts were used in each group of naive, gold-coated, and palladium-gold-coated. The grafts were incubated in physiological saline buffered and 0.5 McFarland slime positive Staphylococcus epidermidis for 24 h. At intervals of 6,12,24,48, 72 h grafts were washed with saline and vortexed for 2 min in 2 ml of physiological saline. There were 100 mu l of samples of vortexed material incubated in blood agar and 24 h later, colony numbers were assessed. In the second part of study, the grafts were implanted below the musculoaponeurotic layer at inguinal. region of rats following the same procedure of incubation and washing. On the 8th day, the rats were examined for infection rate and their wound cultures were obtained. Results. The least amount of bacterial growth was detected in the samples obtained from gold-palladium coated grafts; whereas the highest rate of growth was found in samples of naive grafts. The superficial surgical site infection rate was 0% in gold-palladium coated, 30% in gold-coated and 100% in naive polypropylene group. The bacterial growth rate from wound cultures confirmed the superficial surgical site infection rates in all groups. Conclusion. Prosthetic graft infection with S. epidermidis can be prevented by coating the graft with gold-palladium or gold. (c) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Kırıkkale il merkezi’nde bulunan sağlık kuruluşları girişlerindeki engelli rampalarının standartlara uygunluğunun değerlendirmesi

Aim: Disability is not just a health issue, It is a complex phenomenon that affects deeply the lives of people with disabilities in terms of health, social and psychological. Over 1 billion people globally experience disability at any level. According to data from TÜİK (2002) Turkey’s 12,29% of the population is disabled. Physical barriers to accessing health services is a significant problem. In this study, Handicapped ramps in health care facilities in kırıkkale province, were examined for legal compliance with regulations and standards. Materials and Methods: The study is of descriptive nature. All handicapped ramps in the entrances of all the health institutions were enrolled the study. 37 ramps have been investigated in 26 Health Organization. Evaluations were made on the basis of the Institute of Turkish standards (TS12576 and TS9111 standards). The ramps were evaluated for the following properties: presence and type of the ramps, the suitability of the surface, slope angle, length and height of the ramp, the handrail, the width, the platform presence/absence and suitability of the input and the output of the ramp platform, guide signs, and the warning signs, the stimulant surface. The slopes of the ramps were calculated as the percentage using the ramp’s heights and lengths. Results: In this study, there was no any ramps that conforming to standarts in terms of their all properties and measurements. Three of health institutions did not have any handicapped ramps, although they were necessary. There were no any input and output guide signs and warning signs for the visually impaired person and stimulant surface in any of the ramps. %94 of the ramps did not have drainnage channel. © GATA

Five annual observations of respiratory findings in gun factory workers exposed to solvents

PubMed: 17693789OBJECTIVE: We investigated whether long-term, low-level exposures to solvents had adverse longitudinal effects on pulmonary functions. METHODS: The study was performed on 1091 workers 5 years ago and then on 697 workers 5 years later. Chronic respiratory symptoms were recorded using a questionnaire on respiratory symptoms. RESULTS: The annual decrease in forced expiratory volume in 1 second in the workers exposed to solvents was not significantly different from that of the unexposed workers (69.7 ± 89.9 vs 75.8 ± 87.6 mL/yr, P = 0.5, respectively). In 453 workers who were exposed to solvents 5 years ago, the prevalence rate of asthma was 1.1%. Five years later, it was 3.6% in 193 workers from the same group. The difference was statistically significant (P = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Longitudinally, the chronic exposure to low doses of solvents does not adversely affect the pulmonary functions, whereas it increases the asthma prevalence. ©2007The American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine

Seroprevalence of tetanus immunity among noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus patients

WOS: 000188952300005PubMed: 12954154Tetanus is a preventable disease that continues to affect people in both developing and developed countries. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the immunity profile to tetanus in patients with Type II diabetes mellitus (DM) and to compare them with healthy controls. The tetanus antitoxin levels in 310 diabetic patients (104 males and 206 females) and in 200 healthy controls (72 males and 128 females) were measured by ELISA (Virotech, Germany). The mean antitoxin concentration in patient and control groups were 0.8238+/-1.61 and 0.9978+/-1.49 IU/ml, respectively. There was a statistically significant difference between the two groups (z = -3.520, P = .0001 and odds ratio was 2.367). There was a definitive inverse correlation between the duration of diabetes and tetanus antibody titers (Spearman's correlation analysis, r = -.155, P = .006). A gender-dependent difference in the susceptibility to tetanus was present in the diabetic group with antibody titers being significantly higher in males compared with females (z = -2.267, P = .023). For both of control (chi(2) = 20.207, P = .003) and patient (chi(2) = 43.532, P = .0001) groups, there was a significant inverse correlation between the tetanus immunity levels and age. Statistically, a significant drop in antibody titers of both groups was found as the period past from the last immunization increased (Pearson correlation analysis: for patient group r = -.364, P = .0001; for control group r = -.143, P = .044). The tetanus antitoxin levels were significantly increased in individuals who had primary immunization during childhood (for patient group chi(2) = 17.191, P = .0001; for control group chi(2) = 9.911, P = .007). A significant reduction in the level of antitoxin immunity to tetanus in association with an increased susceptibility to infections in patients with diabetes may implicate the need for improving vaccination rates in this patient group. (C) 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Investigation of OH-proline contents of hernia sacs in children and comparison with adults

WOS: 000231963500005PubMed: 16163591Purpose: One of the factors suggested to be causative in hernia formation is defective collagen metabolism. In this study, we investigated whether there is any relationship between the collagen contents of indirect hernial sacs and certain demographic and anatomic parameters. Methods: Hernial sac hydroxyproline levels were measured in 100 pediatric and 23 adult indirect inguinal hernia cases as indicators of collagen concentrations. Hydroxyproline levels were compared between boys and girls, right and left sided hernias, unilateral and bilateral cases, children and adults. Whether there was any relationship between patient age and hydroxyproline level was also investigated. Results: No difference was found between males and females (p > 0.05), right and left sided hernias (p > 0.05) or unilateral and bilateral cases (p > 0.05). Hydroxyproline levels of adults were found to be significantly higher than those of children (p = 0.000). There was also a positive correlation between age and hydroxyproline levels of boys (r = 0.285, p = 0.023). Conclusion: Although a relationship between direct inguinal hernia and collagen structure has been shown by some investigators, we were unable to point to any significant findings which would indicate such a relationship in indirect inguinal hernia cases. Further studies on hydroxyproline levels in peritoneal samples will be necessary to understand the role of peritoneal hydroxyproline levels in hernia formation