Leptospirosis Prevalence in Patients with Initial Diagnosis of Dengue

Objective. To determine the prevalence of leptospirosis in patients from Veracruz with initial diagnosis of dengue and its association with risk factors. Materials and Methods. Transversal study in patients who sought medical attention under the suspicion of dengue. Backgrounds were researched and blood samples were drawn to determine dengue (NS1, RT-PCR) and leptospirosis (IFI). Simple frequencies, central tendency and dispersion measures, and prevalence and trust intervals at 95% (IC95%) were obtained. Prevalence reasons (RP) and IC95% were obtained and a multivariate logistic model was applied, using SPSS V15. Results. 171 patients were included, 56% women (32 ± 14 years) and 44% men (32 ± 17 years). 48% of the cases (IC95% 40.5–55.4) was positive to dengue, with a cut point of 1 : 80, seroprevalence for leptospirosis was of 6% (IC95% 2.7–10); 12% (IC95% 7–16.5) was positive to both pathologies and 34% was negative to both tests. Although the largest number of isolations corresponded to serotype 2, the four dengue virus serotypes were identified. In the bivariate analysis, overcrowding RP = 1.33, (IC = 0.46–3.5), bathing in rivers (RP = 1.31, IC = 0.13–7.4), and walking barefoot (RP = 1.39, IC = 0.58–3.3) were the variables associated with leptospirosis, although the relation was not statistically significant. Conclusions. Leptospirosis prevalence in subjects under suspicion of dengue fever is high, as well as the coincidence of both infections. The results show the coexistence of overlapped outbreaks of several diseases sharing the side of transmission. It is necessary the intentional search of other pathologies, such as influenza, rickettsiosis, and brucella, among others

Comparative Study of One-Step Cross-Linked Electrospun Chitosan-Based Membranes

Chitosan membranes are widely applied for tissue engineering; however, a major drawback is their low resistance in aqueous phases and therefore the structure collapses impeding their long-term use. Although there is extensive research, because of chitosan’s importance as a biomaterial, studies involving chitosan-based membranes are still needed. Herein, a detailed investigation of diverse chemical routes to cross-link fibers in situ by electrospinning process is described. In case of using genipin as cross-linker, a close relationship with the content and the mean diameter values is reported, suggesting a crucial effect over the design of nanostructures. Also, the physical resistance is enhanced for the combination of two types of methods, such as chemical and physical methods. Cross-linked fibers upon exposure to long wave ultraviolet A (UVA light) change their morphology, but not their chemical composition. When they are incubated in aqueous phase for 70 days, they show an extensive improvement of their macrostructural integrity which makes them attractive candidates for tissue engineering application. As a result, the thermal properties of these materials reveal less crystallinity and higher temperature of degradation

Discrimination Improvement of a Gas Sensors’ Array Using High-Frequency Quartz Crystal Microbalance Coated with Polymeric Films

The discrimination improvement of an array of four highly sensitive 30 MHz gas quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) sensors was performed and compared to a similar system based on a 12-MHz QCM. The sensing polymeric films were ethyl cellulose (EC), poly-methyl methacrylate (PMMA), Apiezon L (ApL), and Apiezon T (ApT) and they were coated over the AT-cut QCM devices by the drop casting technique. All the sensors had almost the same film thickness (0.2 μm). The fabricated QCM sensor arrays were exposed to three different concentrations, corresponding to 5, 10, and 15 μL, of ethanol, ethyl acetate, and heptane vapors. The steady state sensor responses were measured in a static system at a temperature of 20 °C and relative humidity of 22%. Our results showed that the 30-MHz sensors have a higher sensitivity than 12-MHz ones (around 5.73 times), independently of the sensing film and measured sample. On the other hand, principal component analysis and discriminant analysis were performed using the raw data of the responses. An improvement of the classification percentage between 12 MHz and 30 MHz sensors was found. However, it was not sufficient, especially for low concentrations. Furthermore, using partition coefficient and discriminant analysis (DA), an improvement of 100% classification of the three samples was achieved for the case of the 30-MHz sensor array

Reduction of the Measurement Time by the Prediction of the Steady-State Response for Quartz Crystal Microbalance Gas Sensors

This paper presents a new approach to reduce the measurement time by the prediction of the steady-state using the transient response to ethanol for quartz crystal microbalance gas sensors coated with ethyl cellulose. The experimentally measured response curves were successively fitted using a mathematical model based on the sum of two exponentials with different time constants. The parameters of the model were determined, and the time constants and the magnitude of the steady-state response were analyzed. Even though the time constants did not stabilize well, the parameter corresponding to the magnitude of the steady-state response quickly converged and stabilized after 37 s. Moreover, this calculated parameter was highly correlated with the measured values of the steady-state response, which was measured at five times the longest time constant (83 s) of the model. Therefore, the steady-state response could be predicted with a 55% reduction in the measurement (detection) time

International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium report, data summary of 50 countries for 2010-2015: Device-associated module

•We report INICC device-associated module data of 50 countries from 2010-2015.•We collected prospective data from 861,284 patients in 703 ICUs for 3,506,562 days.•DA-HAI rates and bacterial resistance were higher in the INICC ICUs than in CDC-NHSN's.•Device utilization ratio in the INICC ICUs was similar to CDC-NHSN's. Background: We report the results of International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC) surveillance study from January 2010-December 2015 in 703 intensive care units (ICUs) in Latin America, Europe, Eastern Mediterranean, Southeast Asia, and Western Pacific. Methods: During the 6-year study period, using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Healthcare Safety Network (CDC-NHSN) definitions for device-associated health care-associated infection (DA-HAI), we collected prospective data from 861,284 patients hospitalized in INICC hospital ICUs for an aggregate of 3,506,562 days. Results: Although device use in INICC ICUs was similar to that reported from CDC-NHSN ICUs, DA-HAI rates were higher in the INICC ICUs: in the INICC medical-surgical ICUs, the pooled rate of central line-associated bloodstream infection, 4.1 per 1,000 central line-days, was nearly 5-fold higher than the 0.8 per 1,000 central line-days reported from comparable US ICUs, the overall rate of ventilator-associated pneumonia was also higher, 13.1 versus 0.9 per 1,000 ventilator-days, as was the rate of catheter-associated urinary tract infection, 5.07 versus 1.7 per 1,000 catheter-days. From blood cultures samples, frequencies of resistance of Pseudomonas isolates to amikacin (29.87% vs 10%) and to imipenem (44.3% vs 26.1%), and of Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates to ceftazidime (73.2% vs 28.8%) and to imipenem (43.27% vs 12.8%) were also higher in the INICC ICUs compared with CDC-NHSN ICUs. Conclusions: Although DA-HAIs in INICC ICU patients continue to be higher than the rates reported in CDC-NSHN ICUs representing the developed world, we have observed a significant trend toward the reduction of DA-HAI rates in INICC ICUs as shown in each international report. It is INICC's main goal to continue facilitating education, training, and basic and cost-effective tools and resources, such as standardized forms and an online platform, to tackle this problem effectively and systematically