Bacterial Infections and Mycoses Commons^™

The Case For Using Composition Tomography To Evaluate Perirectal Necrotizing Fasciitis: Is It Really Necessary?, Tyler Bayliss, David Denning

Marshall Journal of Medicine

Clinical reviews of Fournier’s Gangrene state that diagnostic protocol includes interpreting CT, MRI, or Ultrasound imaging along with clinical symptoms and lab findings. We think that the use of imaging techniques as a diagnostic tool is no longer needed as Fournier’s Gangrene is specific enough of a disease that clinicians can diagnose using labs and physical examination alone.

Cases of perirectal necrotizing soft tissue infection recorded at St. Marys Medical Center were reviewed. Results of physical exams and imaging were compared along with measurements of severity upon admittance and length of stay. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we investigated if …

Analyzing Pseudomonas Aeruginosa With Bacteriophage Tags Using Photoacoustic Flow Cytometry, Jennifer C. Schinke

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The number of daily bacterial infections is climbing and the CDC explains that this is due to the antibiotic-resistant threat in the United States. Finding a faster way of bacterial identification is necessary as it currently takes 1-4 days for a medical lab to culture and identify bacteria. Photoacoustic flow cytometry (PAFC) can be used as an alternative method resulting in swift identification within an hour (Edgar, 2019). Pseudomonas aeruginosa, cell line PA01, will be coated in up to a few hundred red dyed phages making it detectible by the photoacoustic flow cytometry system. Bacteriophages (phages) are viruses that …

Performance Of A Sars-Cov-2 Rt-Pcr Assay With Non-Traditional Specimen Types, Subathra Marimuthu, Holly Aliesky, Heather Ness, Daniya Sheikh, Sathya Rashmit, Dawn Balcom, Leslie A. Wolf

The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections

During the first two years of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, nasopharyngeal (NP) specimens were the gold standard for clinical diagnostic testing. As information about the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causing the pandemic continued to be shared, it was clear that the virus could be detected in other specimen types during an active infection. The University of Louisville Infectious Diseases Laboratory accepted non-traditional specimen types, most without a paired, positive NP result, for research purposes only to support local epidemiology efforts. A real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay originally validated for NP specimens was used …

Clinical Utility Of Neutrophil To Lymphocyte Ratio In Sickle Cell Disease With Vaso-Occlusive Crisis, Satish Maharaj, Simone Chang

Hematology/Oncology and Stem Cell Therapy

Background and objectives: The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio represents a universally accessible value that correlates with inflammation and prognosis in several disease states; however, the role of this biomarker in sickle cell disease remains poorly explored. Hence, the objective of the present study was to determine its potential clinical utility in patients with sickle cell disease.

Patients: Herein, we retrospectively reviewed 143 patients with sickle cell disease who presented to the emergency department with fever and painful vaso-occlusive crisis.

Results: The examined cohort had a prevalence of 11% confirmed bacterial infection, with approximately two-thirds reporting the use of hydroxyurea. The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio …

Effect Of Different Irrigation Regimens On Enterococcus Faecalis Elimination From Infected Root Canals (An In-Vitro Comparative Study), Fadl Khaled, Roula Abiad, Khaled Abd El Galil, Essam Osman

BAU Journal - Health and Wellbeing

Microorganisms harbored in the complexities of root canal systems might lead to endodontic failures and development of apical periodontitis. Enterococcus faecalis is the most common isolated bacteria in these cases. Aim: This study was conducted to compare the efficiency of four irrigation regimens on the elimination of an inoculated strain of E. faecalis. Materials and Methods: Forty single rooted extracted premolars were inoculated with a standard strain of Enterococcus faecalis (ATCC 29212) and incubated at 37˚C for two weeks to allow infection of the dentinal tubules. The bacterial suspension was replaced with a new one every 48 hours. The teeth …

Cyclic Peptide [R4w4] In Improving The Ability Of First-Line Antibiotics To Inhibit Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Inside In Vitro Human Granulomas, Joshua Hernandez, David Ashley, Ruoqiong Cao, Rachel Abrahem, Timothy Nguyen, Kimberly To, Aram Yegiazaryan, Ajayi Akinwale David, Rakesh Kumar Tiwari, Vishwanath Venketaraman

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Tuberculosis (TB) is currently one of the leading causes of global mortality. Medical non-compliance due to the length of the treatment and antibiotic side effects has led to the emergence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb) that are difficult to treat. A current therapeutic strategy attempting to circumvent this issue aims to enhance drug delivery to reduce the duration of the antibiotic regimen or dosage of first-line antibiotics. One such agent that may help is cyclic peptide [R₄W₄], as it has been shown to have antibacterial properties (in combination with tetracycline) …

Use Of Urine Antigen Testing For Blastomyces In An Integrated Health System, Dennis J. Baumgardner

Dennis J. Baumgardner, MD

Purpose: Blastomycosis, an endemic fungal infection, mimics many other diseases. We explored the use of Blastomyces urine antigen (BuAg), reportedly the most sensitive noninvasive test, in clinical practice and compared it to other noninvasive tests.

Methods: A total of 836 BuAg tests performed on unique patients (first test only) at one large integrated health system from June 2013 to May 2016 were retrospectively reviewed to examine test characteristics and demographic features. Of these, 100 cases from 2015, a year containing a large local blastomycosis outbreak, were randomly selected for detailed analysis.

Results: Demographics for the BuAg-tested population: mean age 54.9 …

Use Of Urine Antigen Testing For Blastomyces In An Integrated Health System, Dennis J. Baumgardner

Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews

Purpose: Blastomycosis, an endemic fungal infection, mimics many other diseases. We explored the use of Blastomyces urine antigen (BuAg), reportedly the most sensitive noninvasive test, in clinical practice and compared it to other noninvasive tests.

Methods: A total of 836 BuAg tests performed on unique patients (first test only) at one large integrated health system from June 2013 to May 2016 were retrospectively reviewed to examine test characteristics and demographic features. Of these, 100 cases from 2015, a year containing a large local blastomycosis outbreak, were randomly selected for detailed analysis.

Results: Demographics for the BuAg-tested population: mean age 54.9 …

Rehabilitation Of An Injured Golden Eagle (Aquila Chrysaetos): A Case Study, Fida Muhammad Khan, Fakhar-I- Abbas, Abu Ul Hassan Faiz

Journal of Bioresource Management

Habitat destruction and anthropogenic activities cause wild birds to migrate towards urban areas in search of food and sometimes nesting in high-roof buildings, where they are caught by local people using different techniques and are further used for hunting or recreational purposes. An injured Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) was found entangled in bushes near the vicinity of Balkasar Research Complex, Chakwal, Pakistan. After complete physical examination, a wound on the right wing and closed leg fracture was diagnosed. The successful treatment was done by anti-parasitic and anti-bacterial drugs with careful monitoring. Splint was adjusted after aligning the fractured …

Changing Diagnostic Methods And Increased Detection Of Verotoxigenic Escherichia Coli, Ireland, Thomas Rice, Noreen Quinn, Roy D. Sleator, Brigid Lucey

Department of Biological Sciences Publications

The recent paradigm shift in infectious disease diagnosis from culture-based to molecular-based approaches is exemplified in the findings of a national study assessing the detection of verotoxigenic Escherichia coli infections in Ireland. The methodologic changes have been accompanied by a dramatic increase in detections of non-O157 verotoxigenic E. coli serotypes.

Calcium Phosphate As A Key Material For Socially Responsible Tissue Engineering, Vuk Uskoković, Victoria M. Wu

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Socially responsible technologies are designed while taking into consideration the socioeconomic, geopolitical and environmental limitations of regions in which they will be implemented. In the medical context, this involves making therapeutic platforms more accessible and affordable to patients in poor regions of the world wherein a given disease is endemic. This often necessitates going against the reigning trend of making therapeutic nanoparticles ever more structurally complex and expensive. However, studies aimed at simplifying materials and formulations while maintaining the functionality and therapeutic response of their more complex counterparts seldom provoke a significant interest in the scientific community. In this review …

A Community Hospital Antimicrobial Stewardship Program’S Assessment Of Prolonged Infusion Piperacillin-Tazobactam For Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Pneumonia, Lee Nguyen, Paul Gavaza, Amy Y. Kang, An Nguyen, Liem Hoang, Nguyen Ta

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Background: The study aim was to determine and compare the length of hospitalization, mortality, clinical stability, and time to clinical stability of a standard infusion (SI) and prolonged infusion (PI) piperacillin-tazobactam (TZP) in Pseudomonas aeruginosa ( PA) pneumonia patients.

Methods: This retrospective study evaluated length of hospitalization, mortality, clinical stability, and time to clinical stability with either SI-TZP or PI-TZP therapy in hospitalized patients diagnosed with PA pneumonia between January 01, 2008 and June 30, 2014. Patients were included in the study if they received ≥2 days of TZP, were diagnosed with PA pneumonia, and had TZP therapy …

Characterizing The Response Of Multidrug-Resistant Klebsiella Pneumoniae Species To The Application Of A Phage Cocktail, Steven Liu

Symposium

Project Summary: The application of bacteriophages to treat bacterial infections is known as phage therapy, which takes advantage of bacteriophage’s natural ability to infect and lyse bacterial hosts. Phages have been shaped by billions of years of evolution to be highly specialized deliverers of bactericidal agents to the cytoplasm of their target bacteria. Ever since discovery of bacteriophages in 1915, phage therapy was recognized as a potentially powerful tool for eliminating bacterial infections. The effectiveness of phage therapy can be increased by creating a mixture of multiple phages to target a wider variety of bacterial strains. Furthermore, phage therapy has …