PURPOSE: To report a case of chronic dacryocystitis caused by Achromobacter xylosoxidans. CASE SUMMARY: A 73-year-old female was referred to our clinic for management of chronic dacryosyctitis from which she did not to recover despite empirical therapy. A. xylosoxidans was isolated from purulent discharge. Based on the results of susceptibility testing, therapy was changed to fortified ceftazidime eye-drop 6 times a day and intravenous tazocin 4.5 g/20 ml (piperacillin 2 g/tazobactam 0.25 g) 3 times a day. All symptoms were resolved after treatment with sensitive antibiotics and external dacryocystorhinostomy. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this is the first report of A. xylosoxidans dacryocystitis. A. xylosoxidans are rare but potential pathogens which cause dacryocystitis. The cultures and sensitivity test were collected and processed to detect the presence of unusual pathogens in a case with persistent infection despite conventional treatment.
Achromobacter ; Achromobacter denitrificans ; Aged ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Ceftazidime ; Dacryocystitis ; Female ; Humans ; Penicillanic Acid ; Piperacillin

OBJECTIVETo observe the release of DNA from Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) induced by different concentrations of piperacillin/tazobactam (Piper) in vitro.

METHODSThe minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) of Piper against 1244 strain (ATCC 27317) of P. aeruginosa were determined, respectively. This strain of P. aeruginosa was separately cultured with Piper in different concentrations at 37 degrees C for 4 h and 24 h. The samples of cultural supernatant were filtered and electrophoresis was conducted in 1.8% agarose with SYBR Gold stain. Then the images of the gel sheets were photographed.

RESULTSThis strain of P. aeruginosa was sensitive to Piper. The bacterial DNA was not detected in 4-h cultured P. aeruginosa either with or without Piper by this method. The bacterial DNA molecules could be detected in 24 h samples in cultures without Piper, and they were displayed in two zones of molecular weight over 2000 base pairs (bp) and lower than 100 bp. Similar results were observed when the MIC of piper (0.002, 0.004 g/L) were under the MIC measured at the 3rd time (0.008 g/L), but there was much more bacterial DNA with molecular weight lower than 100 bp. When Piper concentration was higher than its MIC, only smaller quantities of bacterial DNA in the area with molecular weight lower than 400 bp could be detected in 24-h culture samples.

CONCLUSIONA certain amount of bacterial DNA was released from P. aeruginosa under its natural growth circumstance. Different concentrations of Piper showed different effects on DNA release, in regard to its quantity and molecular weight, from P. aeruginosa cultures.

Anti-Bacterial Agents ; pharmacology ; DNA, Bacterial ; metabolism ; Penicillanic Acid ; analogs & derivatives ; pharmacology ; Piperacillin ; pharmacology ; Pseudomonas aeruginosa ; drug effects ; metabolism

PURPOSE: This study aimed to investigate early and mid-term outcomes of carotid artery stenting (CAS). METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 111 patients who were treated for carotid stenosis between October 2004 and December 2009 (42 CASs and 69 carotid endarterectomies [CEAs]). RESULTS: CAS group was older than CEA group (70 years vs. 67 years, P = 0.001). Coronary artery disease and high lesion above the 2nd cervical vertebral body were more common in CAS group (29% vs. 13%, P = 0.002; 4% vs. 24%, P = 0.004). The 30-days stroke rate was higher in CAS group (10% vs. 1% in CEA group, P = 0.067, Fisher's exact test). New brain lesions on diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging were more common in CAS group (48% vs. 20% in CEA group, P = 0.002, chi-square test). The 1-, 3-year freedom from stroke were 91%, 84% in CAS group and 99%, 99% in CEA group (P = 0.007, log-rank test). Univariate analysis showed that female gender and age > 70 years were related with postprocedural neurological complications (P = 0.046 and P = 0.007, log-rank test). However, none were independent risk factors on multivariate analysis. CONCLUSION: In our series, the rates of peri-procedural neurological complications in CAS group were significantly high. These results suggest that more experience and restricted patient selection will be needed for CAS.
Brain ; Carotid Arteries ; Carotid Stenosis ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Endarterectomy ; Endarterectomy, Carotid ; Female ; Freedom ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Patient Selection ; Penicillanic Acid ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Stents ; Stroke

OBJECTIVE: To determine the drug resistance of Comamonas testosteroni (C. testosteroni) by the Kirby-Bauer (K-B) method without Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) explanation or the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) method with the standard CLSI explanation to evaluate the sensitivity of K-B method in detection of C. testosteroni.
 METHODS: K-B method and MIC method was used to determine the sensitivity of C. testosteroni to Piperacillin, Cefepime, Piperacillin/tazobactam, Imipenem, Meropenem, Amikacin, Gentamicin, Tobramycin, Ceftazidime and Ciprofloxacin. The interpretation standard for Pseudomonas aeruginosa was temporary used for the K-B method. The coincident rate was compared between the two methods.
 RESULTS: The complete or partial coincident rate for K-B method and MIC method to detect Piperacillin and Cefepime was 97.4% or 2.6%; the complete coincidence rate to detect Piperacillin/tazobactam, Imipenem and Meropenem was 100%; the complete or partial coincident rate to detect Amikacin, Gentamicin and Tobramycin 94.7% or 5.3%; the complete or partial coincident rate to detect Ceftazidime was 97.4% or 2.6%; the complete or partial coincident rate to detect Ciprofloxacin 86.8% or 10.6%, and the full non-coincidence rate was 2.6%.
 CONCLUSION The results of drug sensitive test from the two methods are highly consistent. We suggest that the microbiology labs do not report the interpretive results for C. testosteroni with K-B method but report the test results.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Cefepime ; Cephalosporins ; Comamonas testosteroni ; Imipenem ; Meropenem ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Penicillanic Acid ; analogs & derivatives ; Piperacillin ; Piperacillin, Tazobactam Drug Combination ; Pseudomonas aeruginosa ; Thienamycins

Immobilized penicillin acylase was used for bioconversion of penicillin PG into 6-APA in aqueous two-phase systems consisting of a light-sensitive polymer PNBC and a pH-sensitive polymer PADB. Partition coefficients of 6-APA was found to be about 5.78 in the presence of 1% NaCl. Enzyme kinetics showed that the reaction reached equilibrium at roughly 7 h. The 6-APA mole yields were 85.3% (pH 7.8, 20 degrees C), with about 20% increment as compared with the reaction of single aqueous phase buffer. The partition coefficient of PG (Na) varied scarcely, while that of the product, 6-APA and phenylacetic acid (PA) significantly varied due to Donnan effect of the phase systems and hydrophobicity of the products. The variation of the partition coefficients of the products also affected the bioconversion yield of the products. In the aqueous two-phase systems, the substrate, PG, the products of 6-APA and PA were biased in the top phase, while immobilized penicillin acylase at completely partitioned at the bottom. The substrate and PG entered the bottom phase, where it was catalyzed into 6-APA and PA and entered the top phase. Inhibition of the substrate and products was removed to result in improvement of the product yield, and the immobilized enzyme showed higher efficiency than the immobilized cells and occupied smaller volume. Compared with the free enzyme, immobilized enzyme had greater stability, longer life-time, and was completely partitioned in the bottom phase and recycle. Bioconversion in two-phase systems using immobilized penicillin acylase showed outstanding advantage. The light-sensitive copolymer forming aqueous two-phase systems could be recovered by laser radiation at 488 nm or filtered 450 nm light, while pH-sensitive polymer PADB could be recovered at the isoelectric point (pH 4.1). The recovery of the two copolymers was between 95% and 99%.
Catalysis ; Enzymes, Immobilized ; metabolism ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Kinetics ; Penicillanic Acid ; analogs & derivatives ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Penicillin Amidase ; metabolism ; Penicillin G ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Phase Transition ; Polymers ; chemistry ; Substrate Specificity

Ambroxol ; therapeutic use ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Penicillanic Acid ; analogs & derivatives ; therapeutic use ; Pneumonia ; drug therapy ; etiology ; virology ; Poliomyelitis ; immunology ; Vaccines ; adverse effects ; immunology

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the efficacy of piperacillin/tazobactam in the management of burn infection.

METHODSSixty-three burn patients were enrolled in the study with burn sepsis or burn area more than 50%TBSA or full skin loss more than 30% TBSA. The administration regime of the antibiotics was 4.5 g intravenously administered every 8 hours in the treatment of burn sepsis or in the prophylactic management. The effectiveness was identified when the septic symptoms disappeared or focal infection did not develop into sepsis.

RESULTSThe overall clinical efficacy was 90.4%, and success in sepsis (control) was 75%. Furthermore, 95.7% of the focal infection was prevented from developing into systemic infection. The bacterial clearance rates were 71.4% and 51.4% in treatment and prophylaxis groups, respectively.

CONCLUSIONPiperacillin/taxobactam was effective in the treatment and/or prophylaxis of burn sepsis caused by bacteria susceptible to it, so it could be applied empirically.

Adult ; Burns ; complications ; drug therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Infusions, Intravenous ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Penicillanic Acid ; analogs & derivatives ; therapeutic use ; Piperacillin ; therapeutic use ; Sepsis ; etiology ; prevention & control ; Treatment Outcome

AIMTo investigate whether tazobctam has crystallization water.

METHODSIn order to establish a method for water content determination in tazobctam, many methods including Karl Fischer titration, weight loss on drying, TGA, DSC and X-ray diffraction experiment of an orthorhombic form were studied.

RESULTSThe water content of the same batch tazobactam determined by different mthods was different.

CONCLUSIONThe results showed that one mole tazobatam contains half mole water of crystallization and the strength of attraction between tazobatam molecule and water molecule is rather strong.

Crystallization ; Enzyme Inhibitors ; chemistry ; Molecular Conformation ; Molecular Structure ; Penicillanic Acid ; analogs & derivatives ; chemistry ; Water ; X-Ray Diffraction ; beta-Lactamase Inhibitors ; beta-Lactamases ; chemistry

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to determine the spectrum of locally prevalent pathogens and their susceptibility patterns responsible for bacteremia in pediatric hemato-oncologic patients for empiric antimicrobial therapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A one-year retrospective study of pediatric hematooncologic patients with bacteremia in Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, the Catholic University of Korea, from April 2009 to March 2010 was conducted using previous medical records. The findings were compared with our previous data obtained from 2004 to 2006. RESULTS: Sixty-five episodes of bacteremia were recorded in 41 patients. Of them, 55 (84.6%) occurred in neutropenic and 10 (15.4%) in non-neutropenic patients. Gram-positive organisms were more commonly isolated than Gram-negative organisms (56.9% vs. 41.5%) in the following order: viridans streptococci (23.1%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (21.6%), coagulase-negative staphylococci (12.3%), Staphylococcus aureus (7.7%), Enterococcus faecium (7.7%). Susceptibility rates of viridans streptococci to penicillin, cefotaxime and vancomycin were 33.3%, 60% and 100%, and those of Enterobacteriaceae to amikacin, ceftazidime, piperacillin/ tazobactam and meropenem were 94.7%, 73.7%, 78.9%, and 100%, respectively. Compared to our previous data, infection still contributed towards a major fraction of mortality and morbidity in the management of patients with cancer. No differences in mortality rate were observed between isolated organisms from bacteremia. CONCLUSIONS: Gram-positive organisms were more prevalent than Gram-negative organisms in our population. The monitoring of causative agents and antimicrobial resistance should be considered in therapeutic strategies of pediatric hemato-oncologic infection.
Amikacin ; Bacteremia ; Cefotaxime ; Ceftazidime ; Child ; Enterobacteriaceae ; Enterococcus faecium ; Humans ; Klebsiella pneumoniae ; Korea ; Medical Records ; Neutropenia ; Penicillanic Acid ; Penicillins ; Retrospective Studies ; Staphylococcus aureus ; Thienamycins ; Vancomycin ; Viridans Streptococci

PURPOSE: Patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) are usually at greater risk for acquiring urinary tract infection (UTI). Few studies have focused on UTI specifically acquired within the ICU. We retrospectively studied and compared the microbiology and antibiotic sensitivity of UTI in ICU-admitted patients between 2001 and 2008. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We reviewed the medical records of a total of 1,818 ICU patients who had undergone a urine culture exam in 2001 and 2008 in a single hospital. Changes in causative organisms and their antibiotic sensitivity between 2001 and 2008 were analyzed. RESULTS: The common pathogens in 2008 were Escherichia coli (20.3%), Pseudomonas (19.5%), Enterococcus (18.0%), Klebsiella (7.8%), coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (CNS) (4.3%), and Staphylococcus (4.3%). Pseudomonas species significantly increased in 2008 compared with 2001 (p=0.002). Gram-negative organisms showed relatively higher sensitivities to amikacin, imipenem, and Tazocin (72.1%, 76.2%, and 74.6%, respectively), whereas they showed relatively lower sensitivities to third-generation cephalosporins and ciprofloxacin (43% to 59%). Gram-positive organisms showed high sensitivities to teicoplanin and vancomycin (91.2% and 86.8%, respectively), whereas they showed low sensitivities to ampicillin and ciprofloxacin (25% and 26.5%, respectively). The antibiotic resistance of Pseudomonas species was nearly double that of E. coli. CONCLUSIONS: E. coli, Pseudomonas, and Enterococcus were the three most common organisms in ICU-acquired UTI in our study. In particular, Pseudomonas species were found to have increased significantly in recent years. Pseudomonas species had a significantly lower susceptibility to antibiotic sensitivity than did the other organisms.
Amikacin ; Ampicillin ; Cephalosporins ; Ciprofloxacin ; Drug Resistance, Microbial ; Enterococcus ; Escherichia coli ; Humans ; Imipenem ; Critical Care ; Intensive Care Units ; Klebsiella ; Medical Records ; Penicillanic Acid ; Piperacillin ; Pseudomonas ; Retrospective Studies ; Staphylococcus ; Teicoplanin ; Urinary Tract ; Urinary Tract Infections ; Vancomycin