Vancomycin versus Linezolid in the Treatment of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Meningitis

Abstract Background: Vancomycin is the mainstay of treatment for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) meningitis. However, successful outcomes with linezolid have not been reported in a large series of patients. We conducted a single-center retrospective cohort study to compare vancomycin with linezolid in the treatment of MRSA meningitis. Methods: We extracted data and outcomes for all adult patients (age > 18 years) with culture-proved MRSA meningitis who received vancomycin or linezolid between January 2006 and June 2011. A definite diagnosis of meningitis was based on the isolation of MRSA in at least one cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) culture and findings in CSF that are typical of the infection. Linezolid was given intravenously (IV) at a dosage of 600 mg q12h and vancomycin IV at 500 mg q6h. Results: A total of 8 patients with MRSA meningitis (5 male, 3 female; age [mean -SD] 61.6 -13.2 years) received vancomycin and 9 patients (7 male, 2 female; age 59.1 -15.6 years) received linezolid. All isolated strains of MRSA were susceptible to both vancomycin and linezolid. The rates of microbiologic success with linezolid or vancomycin, in terms of clearance of MRSA from CSF on day 5, were 7/9 and 2/8 (p = 0.044, Fisher exact test). No severe adverse events occurred in either treatment arm of the study. One-month survival of the patients in whom treatment was successful microbiologically was 2/2 in the vancomycin-treated group and 4/7 in the linezolidtreated group. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) data for vancomycin were available for 5/6 treatment failures with vancomycin, and vancomycin MIC values of these five strains were 2 mg/L. Conclusion: Analysis of the findings in the limited cohorts in our study suggests that linezolid is superior to vancomycin for treating MRSA meningitis, especially in cases in which there is a high MIC (2 mg/L) for vancomycin. A clinical study involving larger cohorts may increase the evidence available in relation to this question

Comparison of a competitive ELISA with an HPLC method for the determination of aflatoxin M1 in Turkish White, Kasar and Tulum cheeses

AFM1 is a hydroxylated metabolite produced when ruminants ingest contaminated feed with AFB1 and transferred to dairy products such as cheese, which represents an important risk factor for consumers. Turkish White, Kashar and Tulum cheeses are traditional cheese types in Turkey. This study was planned to compare the performance of a competitive ELISA for the determination of AFM1 in Turkish White, Kasar and Tulum cheeses against a new HPLC method. For this purpose, different AFM1 concentrations (50-400 ng/kg) were added to the cheese samples and the toxin levels were determined by ELISA and HPLC. Also, both methods were performed in 24 real samples obtained from different markets. In conclusion, the results obtained by ELISA in this study were related to those by HPLC for AFM1

Presence of Listeria monocytogenes in Turkish style fermented sausage (sucuk)

Turkish style fermented sausage (sucuk) is a well-known and very popular meat product produced in Turkey. The growth of Listeria monocytogenes in fermented sausage and other meat products may cause serious health problems for consumers. The aim of this study is to assess the presence of L. monocytogenes in sucuk sold in Istanbul. During the period of February 2004-January 2005, a total of 300 sucuk samples were obtained from various markets located in Istanbul and the presence of L. monocytogenes was analyzed according to "Food and Drug Administration" (FDA) method. The results were found to be positive for Listeria spp. and L. monocytogenes as 63 (21%) and 35 (11.6%) respectively. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Prevalence of L-monocytogenes and Salmonella spp. in Tulum cheese

Tulum cheese, which is produced from raw milk, is one of the most popular semi-hard cheeses in Turkey. The growth of some food pathogens such as Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella spp. in cheese and other dairy products may cause serious health problems for consumers. The aim of this study was to assess the presence of L. monocytogenes and Salmonella spp. in Tulum cheese sold in Istanbul. During the period March 2004-March 2005, a total of 250 Tulum cheese samples were obtained from various markets located in Istanbul and the presence of L. monocytogenes and Salmonella spp. was analyzed according to "The US Food and Drug Administration" (FDA) methods. The results were positive for L. monocytogenes and Salmonella spp. in 12 (4.8%) and 6 (2.4%) samples respectively. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Citation Analysis of National Medical Journals Published in Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology Field

In this study our aim was to perform citation analysis of journals published in infectious diseases and clinical microbiology field in Turkey. Selected journals were Turkish Journal of Infection, KL‹M‹K Journal, ANKEM Journal, Viral Hepatitis Journal, Turkish Journal of Hospital Infections, Turkish Microbiology Association Journal, Microbiology Bulletin and Flora Journal. Citation data was retrieved by searching Science Citation Index Expanded. When we analysed overall citation data between January 1994 and May 2004, the most cited three journals were Microbiology Bulletin (191), Turkish Journal of Infection (121) and Turkish Microbiology Association Journal (44). In 2003, journals with an impact factor greater than 0 were Turkish Journal of Infection (0.011), ANKEM Journal (0.008) and Viral Hepatitis Journal (0.007). None of the journals had an immediacy index greater than 0 in 2003. As a result, total number of citations, impact factors and immediacy index of analysed journals were not high but the progress in recent years gives hope for the future