The Asia Pacific Association of Medical Journal Editors (APAME) held its annual convention on August 31 to September 3, 2012 at the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. One hundred thirty seven delegates from 21 countries attended the congress. The Philippines had the most delegates from a foreign country (13 delegates) and the PIDSP Journal was represented by Professor Cecilia Maramba Lazarte and Xenia Jaramillo Fabay. The 2012 Board of Directors of APAME are as follows: President: Professor John Arokiasamy (Malaysia); Executive Vice President: Professor Wilfred CG Peh (Singapore); Vice President for Internal Affairs; Professor Chang-Ok Suh (Republic of Korea); Vice President for External Affairs: Professor Kiyoshi Kitamura (Japan); Secretary-General: Professor Jose Florencio Lapena, Jr (Philippines). A new set of officers were elected during the congress with Professor Kitamura as President and Ms. Merlita Opena as a new board member.

Human ; Male ; Female ; Young Adult ; Adolescent ; Child ; Child Preschool ; Infant ; Infant Newborn ; ANTI-BACTERIAL AGENTS

Background: The global burden of multi-drug resistant gram-negative bacterial (MDR-GNB) infections has been increasing. Neonates are at a particularly high-risk and there is limited treatment option. The use of colistin has been re-introduced for this population. However, data on its use in neonates is scarce. Objectives: To determine the effectiveness and adverse effects of intravenous colistin in neonates with multidrug-resistant gram-negative infections. Design: This is a retrospective cohort study of the clinical profile and outcome of neonates with MDR-GNB infections given colistin for a minimum of 3 days conducted from April 2015 to April 2019. Results: A total of 175 pediatric patients had MDR-GNB infections. 75 (43%) neonates met the inclusion criteri a and received intravenous colistin. Of the 75 patients with MDRGNB infections- that included sepsis, pneumonia, urinary tract infection and abscess, 37 (49.3%) were alive and 38 (50.7%) patients died. Nephrotoxicity was seen in 4% if patients and 2.6% patients had hypersensitivity reaction. MDROs isolated were Acinetobacter baumanii, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Conclusions Intravenous colistin is 50% effective and is relatively safe to use in neonates.
Colistin ; Infant, Newborn

Skin mycoses have been a major problem affecting millions around the globe. The threat of resistance to synthetic antifungal agents however is a major obstacle in its management. As an alternative to these, a thorough investigation of natural products is being performed to develop medicines that are effective and safe. In this review, we described three antifungal herbal plants that are available in the Philippines, namely Senna alata (Linn.) Roxb. (akapulko), Allium sativum (Linn.) (garlic) and Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf (lemongrass). In vitro studies showed promising results that can be used as a basis for drug formulation for community use as well as commercial products. So far, there have been no reported toxic effects from these plants. The common ground for these plants’ mechanism of action was the effect of their phytochemicals in the cell membrane and cell wall organelles, inhibition of major biosynthetic pathways, and prevention of biofilm formation. Formulation and clinical studies also revealed promising results comparable to the synthetic ones.
Tinea ; Garlic

Herbal Medicine

Background: Environmental surfaces harbor pathogens that transmit them and there is a need for environmental cleaning and disinfection to prevent the spread of infection. Objective: This study aimed to determine if the use of fluorescent marking (FM) technique in high touch areas can be used as an index of cleanliness and disinfection as determined by aerobic colony count. Methods: This was an experimental study done at the University of the Philippines Philippine General Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). A total of 40 surfaces were swabbed for cultures with aerobic colony count (ACC) then adjacent areas are marked with fluorescent gel. After cleaning and disinfection, checking for residual fluorescent markings with congruent environmental culture with an aerobic colony count of the same surface was done. The rate of removal and colony count were then compared to assess the specificity and sensitivity of the fluorescent marking technique as a gauge of cleanliness of high touch surface areas. Any residual fluorescence of the marked areas was considered unclean and an aerobic colony count of < 2.5 – 5CFU/ml 2 were considered an acceptable level of cleanliness. Result: A total of 40 high contact surfaces were sampled from 5 areas were collected. Prior to cleaning, 60% (24) of the surfaces (60%) did not contain microorganisms. After cleaning, the (FM) had 38% and in the ACC 83% were assessed to be clean. The sensitivity of FM is 85.71% and specificity of 42.42%. The positive predictive value (PPV) is 24% with the positive likelihood ratio (positive LR) of 1.49 and the negative predictive value (NPP) is 93.33%. Conclusion The use of Fluorescent Marking technique in high touch areas as an index of cleanliness and disinfection is a good marker for cleanliness and disinfection. Furthermore, it is a simple, rapid, inexpensive and has potential to increase awareness of the environment that can be utilized as an objective parameter to assess cleanliness and disinfection.
Cross Infection

The Philippine General Hospital (PGH) has the most number of high-risk infant admissions locally. Neonatal bacteremia and sepsis are the perennial problems encountered. Previous researches may not be reflective of the current situation in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of PGH, thus an updated study on neonatal bacteremia becomes important. Objectives: This study was performed to describe the clinical profile of neonates born with positive blood cultures together with the new criteria for sepsis as defined by the 2001 International Pediatric Consensus Conference at PGH from July to December 2006. Methods: A prospective chart review of all neonates born with positive blood cultures at UP-PGH from July 1 to December 31, 2006 was performed. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory data were then analyzed. Results: Out of 3,870 live births, 103 (2.6%) patients with positive blood cultures fulfilled the criteria of sepsis. Mothers were around 20 to 25 years of age comprising 35 (34%), less than half had prenatal check-ups and more than 2/3 had not maternal immunizations. Fifty-eight (56%) of the neonates were males, 68 were premature (66%), 76 were appropriate for gestational age (74%), and 37 were of low birth weight (36%). Most patients (62 or 60%) developed sepsis within the first 3 days of admission, while 65 (63%) patients had pneumonia. The most common organisms isolated were Pseudomonas putida (50 or 49%), Burkholderia mallei (15 or 15%) and Burkholderia cepacia (8 or 8%). The organisms were sensitive Ceftazidime, Cefepime and Piperacillin-Tazobactam. Of 103 subjects, 58 or 56% fulfilled the criteria for systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) for sepsis. Multivariate analysis showed that those with SIRS were 4.89 times more likely to die than those without SIRS. Conclusion: Sepsis usually develops among neonates in less than 72 hours after their delivery at PGH. The neonates who were prone to develop sepsis were those who are male, premature, appropriate for gestational age, and of low birth weight. The organisms that predominate in PGH are usually gram-negative pathogens. The number of hospital-acquired infection is significant. SIRS could be an important prognostic factor in affecting outcome and may aid significantly in the proper diagnosis of sepsis in newborns.
Human ; Male ; Female ; Infant Newborn ; BACTEREMIA ; SEPSIS

Background: Surgical site infection (SSI) poses a serious threat in Neurosurgery. The mere presence of SSI would warrant a prompt medical and/ or surgical intervention for the outcome is very poor. This study aims to establish whether a pre-operative hospital stay of >7 days & other risk factors predisposes to surgical site infections. Methods: Retrospective, cross-sectional study of all pediatric patients who underwent clean neurosurgical procedures for the first time from January 1, 2011- June 30, 2014, in the Philippine General Hospital. The primary outcome was the development of a surgical site infection within 30 days from spine surgery or 90 days from intracranial surgery. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to show the association of demographic and clinical factors with the development of SSI. Results: 279 medical charts were available for review. Median age was 1 year(5 days to 18 years old). The overall prevalence rate of SSI was 11.26%. Patients with >7 days pre-operative hospital stay had an incidence rate for SSI of 76.47% compared to 23.53% in patients with <7 days pre-operative hospital stay (OR 1.61, CI 0.68-3.84, p=0.280). Conclusions The incidence of SSI is high compared to other centers. There was no association of preoperative hospital stay with SSI. The association was significant only for the history of nosocomial infection. Early pre-operative clearance and surgery are recommended. Further prospective studies and surveillance are warranted
Surgical Wound Infection ; Cross Infection