Publications
| Title | Abstract | Year Filter | PMID(sorted descending) Filter |
|---|
| efficacy of three surface disinfectants against spores of clostridium difficile ribotype 027. | the emergence of clostridium difficile ribotype 027 raised the question of sporicidal surface disinfectants are also effective against spores of c. difficile ribotype 027. | 2010 | 21134785 |
| from cosubstrate similarity to inhibitor diversity--inhibitors of adp-ribosyltransferases from kinase inhibitor screening. | adp-ribosyltransferases (adp-rts) use nad(+) to transfer an adp-ribosyl group to target proteins. although some adp-rts are bacterial toxins only few inhibitors are known. here we present the development of fluorescence-based assays and a focussed library screening using kinase inhibitors as a new approach towards inhibitors of adp-rts. different screening setups were established using surrogate small molecule substrates or the quantitation of the cofactor nad(+). proof-of-principle screening ex ... | 2010 | 21132207 |
| protective roles of cx3cr1-mediated signals in toxin a-induced enteritis through the induction of heme oxygenase-1 expression. | the injection of clostridium difficile toxin a into the ileal loops caused fluid accumulation with the destruction of intestinal epithelial structure and the recruitment of neutrophils and macrophages. concomitantly, intraileal gene expression of cx3cl1/fractalkine (fkn) and its receptor, cx3cr1, was enhanced. when treated with toxin a in a similar manner, cx3cr1-deficient (cx3cr1(-/-)) mice exhibited exaggerated fluid accumulation, histopathological alterations, and neutrophil recruitment, but ... | 2010 | 21131421 |
| prevalence of clostridium difficile in retailed meat in the netherlands. | recent reports indicate that a large proportion of community-acquired clostridium difficile infections (ca-cdi) are not linked to recent antibiotic therapy, older age, significant comorbidity or previous hospitalization. possible community sources for ca-cdi include animals and food, and therefore a surveillance study on the prevalence of c. difficile in meat was performed. samples of different meat species were collected from the retail trade and analyzed for the presence of c. difficile using ... | 2010 | 21131085 |
| infection probability score: a predictor of clostridium difficile-associated disease onset in patients with haematological malignancy. | purpose: to assess the predictive power of three systems: infection probability score, apache ii and karnofsky score for the onset of clostridium difficile-associated disease (cdad) in hematology-oncology patients. methods and sample: a retrospective pilot surveillance survey was conducted in the hematology unit of a general hospital in greece. data were collected by using an anonymous standardised case-record form. the sample consisted of 102 hospitalized patients. results: the majority of the ... | 2010 | 21130685 |
| gaseous and air decontamination technologies for clostridium difficile in the healthcare environment. | the recent data for hospital-acquired infections suggest that infection rates for meticillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (mrsa) and clostridium difficile are beginning to decrease. however, while there is still pressure to maintain this trend, the resistance of c. difficile spores to standard detergents continues to present a problem for many uk hospitals trying to prevent its spread or control outbreaks. alternative disinfection technologies such as gaseous decontamination are currently bei ... | 2010 | 21130521 |
| herpes simplex virus: a marker of severity in bacterial ventilator-associated pneumonia. | purpose: ventilator-associated pneumonia (vap) is the most frequent nosocomial infection in intensive care units and has a high morbidity and mortality rate. it is mainly a bacterial disease, although the potential role of viruses as pathogens or copathogens in vap is under discussion. our study aims were to determine the incidence of herpes simplex virus (hsv) in the lower respiratory tract (lrt) secretions in patients with bacterial vap and to assess its potential clinical relevance. material ... | 2010 | 21129912 |
| thirty-day mortality of clostridium difficile infection in a uk national health service foundation trust between 2002 and 2008. | few standardised data are available on mortality rates in patients with clostridium difficile infection (cdi). the literature often reports 'attributable' mortality or cannot be universally applied. we aimed to investigate the pattern and trends in all-cause mortality in a large unselected cohort of patients affected by cdi. this was done by means of a retrospective cohort study between 2002 and 2008 of all patients with positive stool toxin tests indicating cdi in one national health service (n ... | 2010 | 21129821 |
| monomicrobial clostridium difficile bacteraemias and relationship to gut infection. | 2010 | 21129818 | |
| the continuing crisis in antibiotic resistance. | the emergence of antibiotic resistance in bacterial pathogens is an inevitable consequence of antibiotic use. despite repeated warnings, negligent antibiotic use and poor infection-control practice have led to the continuing development of extensive resistance problems worldwide. multidrug-resistant pathogens are now characterized by their heterogeneity, increasing virulence, resistance even to reserve agents and spread within and between hospitals and the community. examples are glycopeptide-re ... | 2010 | 21129629 |
| automated surveillance of clostridium difficile infections using biosense. | to determine the feasibility of using electronic laboratory and admission-discharge-transfer data from biosense, a national automated surveillance system, to apply new modified clostridium difficile infection (cdi) surveillance definitions and calculate overall and facility-specific rates of disease. | 2010 | 21128815 |
| typhlitis in children with malignancy: a single center experience. | in a case-control study, medical records of all children (below 18 y of age) who were diagnosed with any malignancy between january 1988 and december 2008 were reviewed. children who developed typhlitis during the course of their malignancy were identified. age and sex-matched controls who were diagnosed with malignancy during the same time period but did not develop typhlitis were identified (1:4 ratio). the variables that were examined included underlying malignancy, chemotherapy, and final ou ... | 2011 | 21127432 |
| bacteraemia and breast abscess: unusual extra-intestinal manifestations of clostridium difficile infection. | extra-intestinal manifestations of clostridium difficile infection are uncommon. most cases are associated with gastrointestinal disease and often occur as a mixed infection with other gut flora. we report a case of breast abscess following monomicrobial c. difficile bacteraemia in a female with background chronic hepatitis c infection and alcoholic liver disease. no evidence of colitis was found. our case shows that c. difficile is indeed capable of spreading from the gastrointestinal tract. | 2010 | 21127155 |
| clostridium difficile infection rates and spectrum of disease among peripartum women at one hospital from 2003 to 2007 with molecular typing analysis of recovered clostridium difficile isolates. | peripartum women are at risk for clostridium difficile infection (cdi), but the risk magnitude and clinical disease spectrum are unknown. we determined the incidence and clinical features of cdi in peripartum women in the loyola university medical center system and describe typing of c difficile isolates by restriction endonuclease analysis (rea). | 2010 | 21126802 |
| comparison of two commercial molecular assays to a laboratory-developed molecular assay for diagnosis of clostridium difficile infection. | we compared two commercial pcr assays, the prodesse progastro cd assay and the bd geneohm cdiff assay, with a laboratory-developed clostridium difficile toxin pcr assay with previously established performance characteristics. results of all methods were in agreement for 333 (96%) of 346 stool specimens. no significant difference in performance among the assays was found (p values, >0.05). | 2010 | 21123537 |
| testing standards for sporicides. | sporicidal products are of considerable importance in healthcare environments due to the requirement for products that are capable of dealing with contamination with clostridium difficile spores. sporicidal testing standards to validate the claims of sporicidal activity are an important tool in the evaluation of commercial sporicides. within europe there are a number of sporicidal testing standards which are often used to validate the claims of commercial sporicides. however, the extent to which ... | 2010 | 21122947 |
| prevalence and clinical impact of endoscopic pseudomembranes in patients with inflammatory bowel disease and clostridium difficile infection. | limited data suggests that pseudomembranes are uncommon in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (ibd) and c. difficile associated disease (cdad), but the reason for this is unknown. we aimed to evaluate the rate of pseudomembranes in this population, identify predictive factors for pseudomembranes' presence and assess its clinical impact. | 2010 | 21122505 |
| escherichia coli and selected veterinary and zoonotic pathogens isolated from environmental sites in companion animal veterinary hospitals in southern ontario. | hospital-based infection control in veterinary medicine is emerging and the role of the environment in hospital-acquired infections (hai) in veterinary hospitals is largely unknown. this study was initiated to determine the recovery of escherichia coli and selected veterinary and zoonotic pathogens from the environments of 101 community veterinary hospitals. the proportion of hospitals with positive environmental swabs were: e. coli--92%, clostridium difficile--58%, methicillin-resistant staphyl ... | 2010 | 21119862 |
| a study of the prevalence of cytotoxic and non-cytotoxic klebsiella oxytoca fecal colonization in two patient populations. | klebsiella oxytoca is a cause of antibiotic-associated hemorrhagic colitis. few reports of the occurrence of k oxytoca within stool exist and there is no gold standard method for its isolation. | 2009 | 21119796 |
| diagnostic algorithm using a sensitive broth culture method for detection of clostridium difficile toxin from stool samples. | the two-step glutamate dehydrogenase antigencytotoxicity neutralization assay algorithm has been found to be reliable for the diagnosis of toxigenic clostridium difficile. however, the high sensitivity of the screening method is compromised by the relative low sensitivity of the second step, the direct cytotoxin neutralization assay (dcna) using a fecal filtrate. the objective of the present study was to compare the dcna with an indirect cytotoxin neutralization assay (icna). | 2009 | 21119790 |
| clostridium difficile infection: epidemiology, risk factors and management. | the epidemiology of clostridium difficile infection (cdi) has changed over the past decade. there has been a dramatic worldwide increase in its incidence, and new cdi populations are emerging, such as those with community-acquired infection and no previous exposure to antibiotics, children, pregnant women and patients with ibd. diagnosis of cdi requires identification of c. difficile toxin a or b in diarrheal stool. the accuracy of current diagnostic tests remains inadequate and the optimal diag ... | 2010 | 21119612 |
| reference assays for clostridium difficile infection: one or two gold standards? | accurate diagnosis of clostridium difficile infection (cdi) is essential for optimal treatment, prevention and control. there are two reference assays for cdi diagnosis: the cell cytotoxicity assay (ccta) and toxigenic culture (tc). importantly, these tests actually detect different targets: ccta detects the presence of c difficile toxins (primarily toxin b, but also toxin a), whereas tc detects the presence in the stool of c difficile with the potential to produce toxin. not surprisingly studie ... | 2010 | 21118850 |
| adenosine deaminase inhibition prevents clostridium difficile toxin a-induced enteritis in mice. | toxin a (txa) is able to induce most of the classical features of clostridium difficile-associated disease in animal models. the objective of this study was to determine the effect of an inhibitor of adenosine deaminase, ehna [erythro-9-(2-hydroxy-3-nonyl)-adenine], on txa-induced enteritis in c57bl6 mice and on the gene expression of adenosine receptors. ehna (90 μmol/kg) or phosphate-buffered saline (pbs) was injected intraperitoneally (i.p.) 30 min prior to txa (50 μg) or pbs injection into t ... | 2010 | 21115723 |
| outcome for gram-negative bacteraemia when following restrictive empirical antibiotic guidelines. | restrictions in prescribing broad spectrum antimicrobials have been part of a strategy to reduce clostridium difficile cases in the uk in recent years. however, there has been little work on assessing the safety of alternative antimicrobial agents. | 2010 | 21115461 |
| alternative therapies for clostridium difficile infections. | clostridium difficile infection is a serious condition responsible for significant morbidity and mortality, especially in patients being treated with antimicrobials. increasing frequency of the infection and hypervirulent c. difficile strains have resulted in more severe disease as well as therapeutic failures with traditional treatment (metronidazole and vancomycin). to review the studies assessing nontraditional therapies for the prevention and treatment of primary or recurrent c. difficile in ... | 2010 | 21114394 |
| pneumatosis coli associated with pseudomembranous colitis in a patient following colonic surgery. | pneumatosis intestinalis is a rare disorder characterized by gas-filled cysts within the subserosal and/or submucosal regions of the intestinal wall. the source of this gas and its translocation across the mucosa is incompletely understood. most (85%) cases are associated with medical conditions, ranging from psychiatric through respiratory disorders to gastrointestinal-related diseases; the remaining 15% lack any recognizable cause or association. in this case report, pneumatosis coli (affectin ... | 2010 | 21113293 |
| [use of endorectal tube actiflo in the management of clostridium difficile colitis in icu]. | 2010 | 21112728 | |
| acquisition of clostridium difficile by piglets. | clostridium difficile is recognized as an important cause of nosocomial diarrhoea in humans especially in association with administration of antibiotics. in pigs, c. difficile can cause neonatal enteritis and can be isolated from faeces from both diseased and healthy animals. the presented prospective study describes how soon c. difficile can be isolated from newborn piglets after normal parturition and how c. difficile spreads within a pig farm. six sows, their farrowing crates and their litter ... | 2010 | 21111541 |
| rapid and sensitive loop-mediated isothermal amplification test for clostridium difficile detection challenges cytotoxin b cell test and culture as gold standard. | compared to the composite gold standard cytotoxin b assay and toxigenic culture, the loop-mediated isothermal amplification (lamp) test for clostridium difficile had a sensitivity and specificity of 98%, positive predictive value of 92%, and negative predictive value of >99%. a one-hour turnaround time for the lamp test provides rapid diagnosis and cost savings. | 2010 | 21106782 |
| update on clostridium difficile infection. | purpose of review: this review summarizes the most recent epidemiological data and advances in research into the pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of clostridium difficile infection (cdi). recent findings: the epidemiology of cdi has changed with the emergence of hypervirulent strains. cdi rates have increased in the community, in children and in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. although the north american pulsed-field gel electrophoresis type 1, restriction endonuclease analysis gr ... | 2010 | 21099432 |
| cyclic-di-gmp reaches out into the bacterial rna world. | the ubiquitous bacterial signaling molecule bis-(3'-5')-cyclic guanosine monophosphate (c-di-gmp) has brought second messenger signaling back onto the agenda of molecular microbiologists. this is due not only to its general role in promoting biofilm formation, but also to the increasingly diverse array of effector molecules bound by c-di-gmp and of the target processes affected. effectors include diverse transcription factors and proteins that directly interact with complex cellular machineries, ... | 2010 | 21098727 |
| clostridium perfringens tpel glycosylates the rac and ras subfamily proteins. | clostridium perfringens tpel belongs to a family of large clostridial cytotoxins that encompasses clostridium difficile toxin a (tcda) and b (tcdb) and clostridium sordellii lethal toxin (tcsl). we report here the identification of the tpel-catalyzed modification of small gtpases. a recombinant protein (tpel1-525) derived from the tpel n-terminal catalytic domain in the presence of streptolysin o (slo) induced the rounding of vero cells and the glycosylation of cellular rac1. among several hexos ... | 2010 | 21098103 |
| rational design of inhibitors and activity-based probes targeting clostridium difficile virulence factor tcdb. | clostridium difficile is a leading cause of nosocomial infections. the major virulence factors of this pathogen are the multi-domain toxins tcda and tcdb. these toxins contain a cysteine protease domain (cpd) that autoproteolytically releases a cytotoxic effector domain upon binding intracellular inositol hexakisphosphate. currently, there are no known inhibitors of this protease. here, we describe the rational design of covalent small molecule inhibitors of tcdb cpd. we identified compounds tha ... | 2010 | 21095570 |
| disarming clostridium difficile. | in this issue, puriet al. (2010) present inhibitors that prevent the autocatalytic activation of the clostridial toxin tcdb in vivo. their approach is likely to provide guidance for the development of novel drugs targeting virulence factors and thereby rendering bacterial pathogens innocuous. | 2010 | 21095563 |
| a rare cause of chronic mesenteric ischemia from fibromuscular dysplasia: a case report. | abstract: | 2010 | 21092091 |
| [clostridium difficile: a serious outpatient infection?]. | secondary to severe hospital outbreaks due to hypervirulent strains of clostridium difficile, several surveillance systems in north-america and europe observed an increase in infections due to this micro-organism, also in the outpatient setting. the case reported in the present article illustrates the fulminant presentation that a c. difficile colitis can show in a previously healthy person without prior contact with healthcare facilities. it introduces a review of some recent publications on th ... | 2010 | 21089556 |
| practice of gastroenterologists in treating flaring inflammatory bowel disease patients with clostridium difficile: antibiotics alone or combined antibiotics/immunomodulators? | background:: the optimal management of clostridium difficile infection (cdi) in flaring inflammatory bowel disease (ibd) patients has not been defined. limited data suggest that coadministration of immunomodulators (im) with antibiotics (ab) results in a worse outcome. we investigated the prevalent practice among north american gastroenterologists in this scenario. methods:: a structured questionnaire presented the clinical cases of two hospitalized patients with ulcerative colitis and concomita ... | 2010 | 21089183 |
| insights into the mechanism of type i dehydroquinate dehydratases from structures of reaction intermediates. | the biosynthetic shikimate pathway consists of seven enzymes that catalyze sequential reactions to generate chorismate, a critical branch point in the synthesis of the aromatic amino acids. the third enzyme in the pathway, dehydroquinate dehydratase (dhqd), catalyzes the dehydration of 3-dehydroquinate to 3-dehydroshikimate. we present three crystal structures of the type i dhqd from the intestinal pathogens clostridium difficile and salmonella enterica. structures of the enzyme with substrate a ... | 2010 | 21087925 |
| using the waterlow tool to predict clostridium difficile infection risk in hospital settings. | c difficile is the most important cause of infectious healthcare acquired diarrhoea and risk of infection is a public concern. many acute and primary care trusts are working to further reduce rates of c difficile and targets have been set. global reduction strategies include prudent antibiotic prescribing and intensive cleaning programmes. while risk assessment tools for c difficile exist, they are not easy to use in hospital. this article introduces an inexpensive and easy to use assessment too ... | 2010 | 21086834 |
| using the lived experiences of patients with clostridium difficile infection to improve care. | to better understand the lived experiences and needs of patients who have clostridium difficile infection. | 2010 | 21086831 |
| clostridium difficile infection in europe: a hospital-based survey. | little is known about the extent of clostridium difficile infection in europe. our aim was to obtain a more complete overview of c difficile infection in europe and build capacity for diagnosis and surveillance. | 2011 | 21084111 |
| pathogenic c difficile is here (and everywhere) to stay. | 2011 | 21084110 | |
| human c. difficile infections are increasing in incidence and severity. | 2010 | 21083827 | |
| universal phosphatase-coupled glycosyltransferase assay. | a nonradioactive glycosyltransferase assay is described here. this method takes advantage of specific phosphatases that can be added into glycosyltransferase reactions to quantitatively release inorganic phosphate from the leaving groups of glycosyltransferase reactions. the released phosphate group is then detected using colorimetric malachite-based reagents. because the amount of phosphate released is directly proportional to the sugar molecule transferred in a glycosyltransferase reaction, th ... | 2010 | 21081508 |
| improving surveillance for pediatric clostridium difficile infection: derivation and validation of an accurate case-finding tool. | the incidence of clostridium difficile infection (cdi) is increasing. multicenter studies of cdi have been limited by the lack of valid case-finding tools. to facilitate pediatric studies of cdi, we constructed a case-finding tool using administrative data. | 2011 | 21079527 |
| antibiotic prophylaxis in variceal hemorrhage: timing, effectiveness and clostridium difficile rates. | to investigate if antibiotics administered within 8 h of endoscopy reduce mortality or increase the incidence of clostridium difficile infection (cdi). | 2010 | 21072894 |
| clostridium difficile in vegetables, canada. | clostridium difficile is an important gastrointestinal pathogen of humans and animals. it has been isolated from various foods, including meat and ready-to-eat salads, and concern has been expressed regarding food as a possible source of human c. difficile infection (cdi). | 2010 | 21069911 |
| anti-pseudomonal beta-lactams for the initial, empirical, treatment of febrile neutropenia: comparison of beta-lactams. | several beta-lactams are recommended as single agents for the treatment of febrile neutropenia. | 2010 | 21069685 |
| ischemic colitis after capecitabine plus cisplatin treatment in advanced gastric cancer. | systemic chemotherapy can be complicated by colonic toxicity, which usually determines the onset of pseudomembranous colitis and, rarely, of ischemic colitis in patients with cancer. this report describes the case of a 45-year-old man with advanced gastric cancer who developed severe ischemic colitis after chemotherapy with cisplatin and capecitabine. the patient developed symptoms of gastrointestinal toxicity with abdominal pain and bloody diarrhea. he had a normal white blood cell count throug ... | 2011 | 21069429 |
| targeting selenium metabolism and selenoproteins: novel avenues for drug discovery. | selenoproteins play a wide range of roles in metabolism and oxidative stress defense and are produced by organisms in all three domains of life. recent evidence has been presented that metal based cancer drugs target the selenol nucleophile of the active site selenocysteine in thioredoxin reductase isoenzymes. other metals and metalloids, such as tin, arsenic and gold, have also recently been shown to form stable complexes with hydrogen selenide, a required precursor for the synthesis of selenop ... | 2010 | 21069141 |
| manganese binds to clostridium difficile fbp68 and is essential for fibronectin binding. | clostridium difficile is an etiological agent of pseudomembranous colitis and antibiotic-associated diarrhea. adhesion is the crucial first step in bacterial infection. thus, in addition to toxins, the importance of colonization factors in c. difficile-associated disease is recognized. in this study, we identified fbp68, one of the colonization factors that bind to fibronectin (fn), as a manganese-binding protein (k(d) = 52.70 ± 1.97 nm). furthermore, the conformation of fbp68 changed dramatical ... | 2010 | 21062746 |
| therapeutic success of rifaximin for clostridium difficile infection refractory to metronidazole and vancomycin. | we report the case of a 46-year-old white male with confirmed clostridium difficile infection for >4 weeks after fluoroquinolone therapy. the patient received two courses of metronidazole 500 mg three times daily (t.i.d.) during which time diarrhea resolved; however, symptoms recurred 14-15 days after treatment termination. he received a 2-week course of vancomycin 125 mg four times daily, with symptoms recurring 10 days after treatment conclusion. the patient then received a pulsed tapering sch ... | 2010 | 21060709 |
| the effect of hospital-acquired clostridium difficile infection on in-hospital mortality. | the effects of hospital-acquired clostridium difficile infection (cdi) on patient outcomes are incompletely understood. we conducted this study to determine the independent impact of hospital-acquired cdi on in-hospital mortality after adjusting for the time-varying nature of cdi and baseline mortality risk at hospital admission. | 2010 | 21059973 |
| sustained reduction in antimicrobial use and decrease in methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus and clostridium difficile infections following implementation of an electronic medical record at a tertiary-care teaching hospital. | we evaluated the effect of implementation of an electronic medical record (emr) on the use of antimicrobial agents and on the rates of infections with clostridium difficile and methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (mrsa). | 2010 | 21059617 |
| a common polymorphism in the interleukin-8 gene promoter is associated with an increased risk for recurrent clostridium difficile infection. | neutrophil recruitment coordinated by intestinal interleukin (il)-8 secretion is a key component in the pathogenesis of clostridium difficile infection (cdi). we hypothesized that a common single-nucleotide polymorphism (snp) in the -251 region of the il-8 gene promoter may be predictive of recurrent cdi. | 2010 | 21058913 |
| recto-vesical fistulation complicating a faecal incontinence management product in clostridium difficile diarrhoea. | 2011 | 21054743 | |
| inhibition of rho-kinase abrogates migration of human transitional cell carcinoma cells: results of an in vitro study. | migration of cells involves a complex signaling network. the aim of the present study was to elucidate the impact of rho-kinase (rok) on g protein-coupled receptor-induced migration of human transitional cell carcinoma cells in an in vitro experimental setting. | 2010 | 21051874 |
| clostridium difficile infections in patients with severe burns. | with improved survival in burn patients, clostridium difficile infection (cdi) remains a significant potential complication. the incidence of, risk factors for, and outcomes of cdi in severely burned patients are poorly studied and remain unclear. this study involves retrospective case control and cohort studies using electronic medical records from february 1, 2002 to january 31, 2009 at the us department of defense's only burn unit. demographic, risk factor, and outcome data were collected for ... | 2010 | 21050662 |
| comparative metagenomic study of alterations to the intestinal microbiota and risk of nosocomial clostridum difficile-associated disease. | this study investigated the relationship between hospital exposures, intestinal microbiota, and subsequent risk of clostridium difficile-associated disease (cdad), with use of a nested case-control design. the study included 599 patients, hospitalized from september 2006 through may 2007 in montreal, quebec, from whom fecal samples were obtained within 72 h after admission; 25 developed cdad, and 50 matched controls were selected for analysis. nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and antibiotic ... | 2010 | 21050115 |
| [environmental contamination by clostridium difficile]. | 2010 | 21046723 | |
| interscience conference on antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy - 50th annual meeting - research on promising new agents: part 1. | the 50th annual interscience conference on antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy (icaac), held in boston, included topics covering new therapeutic developments in the field of infectious disease. this conference report highlights selected presentations on research with novel antimicrobial agents. investigational drugs discussed include the dicationic porphyrin derivative xf-73 (destiny pharma), the tetracycline analog tp-434 (tetraphase pharmaceuticals), an elongation factor tu inhibitor (novart ... | 2010 | 21046515 |
| autoproteolytic cleavage mediates cytotoxicity of clostridium difficile toxin a. | toxin a and toxin b from clostridium difficile are the causative agents of the antibiotic-associated pseudomembranous colitis. they are of an a/b structure type and possess inositol hexakisphosphate-inducible autoproteolytic activity to release their glucosyltransferase domain to the cytoplasm of target cells. in this study, we investigated the effect of extracellular and intracellular autoproteolytic cleavage on the function of tcda. extracellular cleavage led to functional inactivation albeit ... | 2010 | 21046073 |
| a homology model for clostridium difficile methionyl trna synthetase: active site analysis and docking interactions. | treatment of c. difficile infection is one of the most difficult biomedical challenges. to develop novel antibacterials, researchers have been targeting bacterial molecular functions that are essential for its growth. the methionyl trna synthetase (metrs) is strictly required for protein biosynthesis and success was reported in developing antibacterials to inhibit this enzyme. the present study was aimed at building and analyzing a homology model for c. difficile metrs in the context of drug des ... | 2010 | 21042822 |
| prevalence of clostridium difficile in retail pork. | clostridium difficile was isolated from 1.8% (7/393) of retail pork samples obtained from 4 canadian provinces. five ribotypes and 3 toxinotypes were identified. three isolates were indistinguishable from the international outbreak strain ribotype 027 and were toxinotype iii. although the implications for food safety practices remain elusive, the frequency of toxigenic isolates and isolates indistinguishable from known human pathogenic strains suggests contaminated pork may be a source of c. dif ... | 2010 | 21037888 |
| real-time pcr and typing of clostridium difficile isolates colonizing mare-foal pairs. | clostridium difficile infection can occur in the dams of sick foals, but it is unknown if mares and foals share the same isolates. in this study, c. difficile isolates from fecal samples of 11 mares paired with 11 foals were genotyped by arbitrarily primed pcr; two mares and three foals in five mare-foal pairs had diarrhea. fecal immunoassays were utilized to detect c. difficile common antigen and toxin a. quantitative real-time pcr (qpcr) systems were developed to detect genes for toxins a and ... | 2010 | 21035363 |
| evaluation of sporicidal activities of selected environmental surface disinfectants: carrier tests with the spores of clostridium difficile and its surrogates. | the emergence of clostridium difficile as a major nosocomial pathogen points to the need for safe, effective, and fast-acting environmental sporicides for infection prevention and control. available and fast-acting sporicides are generally corrosive and unsafe for both humans and the environment. | 2010 | 21034981 |
| clostridium difficile-associated disease among patients in dhahran, saudi arabia. | clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea (cdad) is an important healthcare-associated infection. however, there are no data from saudi arabia on this disease. a two-year prospective, observational study on the incidence of cdad in a hospital in saudi arabia was carried out. stool analysis for c. difficile toxins a and b was carried out by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. medical and laboratory records were reviewed. of the total number of patients, there were 53.3% male and the mean age wa ... | 2010 | 21030314 |
| regulatory oversight and safety of probiotic use. | depending on intended use of a probiotic (drug vs. dietary supplement), regulatory requirements differ greatly. for dietary supplements, premarketing demonstration of safety and efficacy and approval by the food and drug administration are not required; only premarket notification is required. saccharomyces boulardii is a probiotic regulated as a dietary supplement intended for use by the general healthy population, not as a drug to prevent, treat, or mitigate disease. however, since recent incr ... | 2010 | 21029521 |
| statewide experience with clostridium difficile colitis in academic and nonacademic medical centers (*). | abstract background: clostridium difficile colitis is a nosocomial infection that can present as minor, readily treated symptoms or as fulminant colitis leading to death. risk factors for c. difficile colitis have been defined, and certain populations of hospitalized patients appear to be particularly susceptible. however, most information on c. difficile colitis is from large tertiary-care medical centers. whether the community hospital experience is similar to that of large referral centers is ... | 2010 | 21028991 |
| risk factors for treatment failure and recurrence after metronidazole treatment for clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea. | the incidence of treatment failure or recurrence of clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea (cdad) following metronidazole treatment has increased recently. we studied the treatment failure, recurrence rate, and risk factors predictive of treatment failure and recurrence after metronidazole treatment for cdad. | 2010 | 20981209 |
| follicular fluid high-density lipoprotein-associated sphingosine 1-phosphate (s1p) promotes human granulosa lutein cell migration via s1p receptor type 3 and small g-protein rac1. | coordinated migration and progesterone production by granulosa cells is critical to the development of the corpus luteum, but the underlying mechanisms remain obscure. sphingosine 1-phosphate (s1p), which is associated with follicular fluid high-density lipoprotein (ff-hdl), was previously shown to regulate ovarian angiogenesis. we herein examined the effects of s1p and ff-hdl on the function of granulosa lutein cells. both ff-hdl and s1p induced migration of primary human granulosa lutein cells ... | 2010 | 20980685 |
| what is the current role of algorithmic approaches for diagnosis of clostridium difficile infection? | with the recognition of several serious outbreaks of clostridium difficile infection in the industrialized world coupled with the development of new testing technologies for detection of this organism, there has been renewed interest in the laboratory diagnosis of c. difficile infection. two factors seem to have driven much of this interest. first, the recognition that immunoassays for detection of c. difficile toxins a and b, for many years the most widely used tests for c. difficile infection ... | 2010 | 20980568 |
| comparison of real-time pcr techniques to cytotoxigenic culture methods for diagnosing clostridium difficile infection. | in the past decade, the incidence of clostridium difficile infections (cdi) with a more severe course has increased in europe and north america. assays that are capable of rapidly diagnosing cdi are essential. two real-time pcrs (lumc and lvi) targeting c. difficile toxin genes (tcdb, and tcda and tcdb, respectively) were compared with the bd geneohm pcr (targeting the tcdb gene), using cytotoxigenic culture as a gold standard. in addition, a real-time pcr targeting the tcdc frameshift mutation ... | 2010 | 20980562 |
| management of clostridium difficile infection: thinking inside and outside the box. | treatment of clostridium difficile infection (cdi) has relied on 2 antimicrobial agents, metronidazole and vancomycin, since the recognition of this disease entity. while effective, these "inside the box" approaches to cdi management have the disadvantage of further microbial disruption of the host indigenous microflora. "outside the box" therapies use non-antimicrobial approaches to management and are theoretically less prone to causing recurrent cdi episodes. recent advances in understanding o ... | 2010 | 20979491 |
| murine model of clostridium difficile infection with aged gnotobiotic c57bl/6 mice and a bi/nap1 strain. | the increased incidence and severity of clostridium difficile infection (cdi) in older adults (age, ≥65 years) corresponds with the emergence of the bi/nap1 strain, making elucidation of the host immune response extremely important. we therefore infected germ-free c57bl/6 mice aged 7-14 months with a bi/nap1 strain and monitored the mice for response. infected mice were moribund 48-72 h after infection and developed gross and histological cecitis and colitis and elevated concentrations of kerati ... | 2010 | 20977342 |
| identification of a genetic locus responsible for antimicrobial peptide resistance in clostridium difficile. | clostridium difficile causes chronic intestinal disease, yet little is understood about how the bacterium interacts with and survives in the host. to colonize the intestine and cause persistent disease, the bacterium must circumvent killing by host innate immune factors, such as cationic antimicrobial peptides (camps). in this study, we investigated the effect of model camps on growth and found that c. difficile is not only sensitive to these compounds but also responds to low levels of camps by ... | 2010 | 20974818 |
| recent epidemiology of clostridium difficile infection during hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. | given the limited information on clostridium difficile infection (cdi) during hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (hsct), we examined the recent epidemiology of cdi in hsct recipients at our institution. during the two-yr retrospective study period (2005-2006), 361 transplants were performed: 60% allogeneic and 40% autologous. among all hospitalized patients in a non-outbreak setting, cdi rates in hsct recipients were ninefold higher than those in general patients and 1.4-fold higher than th ... | 2010 | 20973823 |
| mapping interactions between germinants and clostridium difficile spores. | germination of clostridium difficile spores is the first required step in establishing c. difficile-associated disease (cdad). taurocholate (a bile salt) and glycine (an amino acid) have been shown to be important germinants of c. difficile spores. in the present study, we tested a series of glycine and taurocholate analogs for the ability to induce or inhibit c. difficile spore germination. testing of glycine analogs revealed that both the carboxy and amino groups are important epitopes for rec ... | 2010 | 20971909 |
| audit of the laboratory diagnosis of clostridium difficile infection in the uk. | a uk-wide audit of the laboratory diagnosis of clostridium difficile infection (cdi) was undertaken by the association of clinical pathologists and the royal college of pathologists, in conjunction with keele university. a postal questionnaire was sent out to all consultant microbiologists, with eighty responses available for analysis. there was considerable variation in laboratory practices. in particular, only 56% of laboratories gave guidance on follow-up testing of toxin-negative samples, 68 ... | 2010 | 20965100 |
| comment: the relationship between inpatient fluoroquinolone use and clostridium difficile-associated disease. | 2010 | 20959498 | |
| reducing the incidence of clostridium difficile infections: can we do it? | 2010 | 20957908 | |
| an update on clostridium difficile infection and its management. | 2010 | 20955528 | |
| clostridium difficile infection in cancer patients and hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients. | clostridium difficile has become the most common bacterial cause of nosocomial diarrhea. high rates of c. difficile infection (cdi) coupled with increasing morbidity and mortality attributed to cdi have sparked a renewed interest in this disease. emergence of hypervirulent strains, rising rates of severe and recurrent infection and associated infection control challenges, and diagnostic and therapeutic dilemmas are major issues in the non-oncology population. scant data on cdi exist in the cance ... | 2010 | 20954878 |
| recurrent haemophagocytic syndrome in an hiv-infected patient. | we describe a case of recurrent haemophagocytic syndrome (hs) in an hiv-infected patient.the first episode was associated with active human herpesvirus 8 infection and progressive kaposi's sarcoma which was successfully treated with splenectomy, foscarnet and chemotherapy. the second episode was triggered by a clostridium difficile colitis and resolved completely after treatment with metronidazole only. recurrent hs has rarely been described in adult patients out of the setting of relapsing mali ... | 2010 | 20954469 |
| clostridium difficile infection and inflammatory bowel disease: understanding the evolving relationship. | clostridium difficile (c. difficile) infection (cdi) is the leading identifiable cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea. while there is an alarming trend of increasing incidence and severity of cdi in the united states and europe, superimposed cdi in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (ibd) has drawn considerable attention in the gastrointestinal community. the majority of ibd patients appear to contract cdi as outpatients. c. difficile affects disease course of ibd in several ways, inclu ... | 2010 | 20954275 |
| the safety of drugs used in acid-related disorders and functional gastrointestinal disorders. | medicines are frequently used in the management of acid-related disorders and functional gastrointestinal disorders. with the exception of complicated peptic ulcer disease, these disorders are not associated with appreciable mortality. drug treatments have consequently been held to the highest standards of safety. some medicines have been withdrawn or restricted based on assessments and perceptions of risk. however, the risk of serious toxicity is low for most of the agents discussed in this art ... | 2010 | 20951916 |
| outcomes of emergency colectomy for fulminant clostridium difficile colitis. | clostridium difficile has become increasingly a common cause of nosocomial infection with increasing antibiotic usage. recently there has been an increase in the incidence of patients undergoing colectomy for fulminant c. difficile colitis (fcdc). early surgical consultation is necessary to avoid delay in diagnosis. we present a retrospective review of the outcomes of colectomies for fcdc at our large district general hospital. | 2010 | 20950772 |
| the diverse sporulation characteristics of clostridium difficile clinical isolates are not associated with type. | clostridium difficile causes diarrhoeal diseases ranging from asymptomatic carriage to a fulminant, relapsing, and potentially fatal colitis. endospore production plays a vital role in transmission of infection, and in order to cause disease these spores must then germinate and return to vegetative cell growth. type bi/nap1/027 strains of c. difficile have recently become highly represented among clinical isolates and are associated with increased disease severity. it has also been suggested tha ... | 2010 | 20950700 |
| susceptibility of clostridium difficile toward antimicrobial agents used as feed additives for food animals. | a total of 65 toxigenic clostridium difficile strains isolated from patients with antibiotic-associated diarrhea were tested for susceptibility to avilamycin, flavomycin, monensin, and salinomycin. except for flavomycin the substances showed in vitro efficacy comparable to reports of the currently most commonly used drugs for treatment of c. difficile. this indicates that these old compounds may be useful for the treatment of c. difficile infections in man and perhaps for other bacterial causes ... | 2010 | 20950192 |
| clostridium difficile and inflammatory bowel disease: implications for current clinical practice. | clostridium difficile infection should always be included in the differential diagnosis of patients with refractory inflammatory bowel disease (ibd) symptoms, as it is well known to induce or mimic a flare of ibd. there is currently an alarming increase in the incidence of c. difficile infection in europe and north america. current epidemiologic data suggest that more virulent strains, such as c. difficile 027/nap1/bi, are emerging. testing for both c. difficile toxins a and b should be done, an ... | 2009 | 20948756 |
| in-plane parallel scanning: a microarray technology for point-of-care testing. | a new microarray technology is described for rapid, inexpensive, multiplex diagnostics assays. referred to as "in-plane parallel scanning" (ipps), this technology replaces expensive laser scanning with a grid of 100-μm-wide waveguides embedded in the chip's substrate, enabling real-time quantification of molecular complex formation on the chip's surface. compared to conventional microarray technology, ipps has advantages of shorter assay time and lower instrument cost and complexity so that the ... | 2010 | 20945920 |
| differential role of rho gtpases in intestinal epithelial barrier regulation in vitro. | maintenance of intestinal epithelial barrier functions is crucial to prevent systemic contamination by microbes that penetrate from the gut lumen. gtpases of the rho-family such as rhoa, rac1, and cdc42 are known to be critically involved in the regulation of intestinal epithelial barrier functions. however, it is still unclear whether inactivation or activation of these gtpases exerts barrier protection or not. we tested the effects of rho gtpase activities on intestinal epithelial barrier func ... | 2011 | 20945370 |
| clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea in a tertiary care medical center. | this retrospective, case-control study aimed to identify variables associated with the incidence of clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea (cdad) in acute care facilities and to specifically identify the relationship of fluoroquinolones and acid suppressive agents in the development of cdad. seventy-one symptomatic patients positive for c. difficile toxin a or b hospitalized for at least 72 hours were compared with 142 control patients hospitalized for at least 72 hours who were not positive ... | 2010 | 20944758 |
| evaluation of the cepheid xpert clostridium difficile epi assay for diagnosis of clostridium difficile infection and typing of the nap1 strain at a cancer hospital. | clostridium difficile is the most common cause of health care-associated diarrhea. accurate and rapid diagnosis is essential to improve patient outcome and prevent disease spread. we compared our two-step diagnostic algorithm, an enzyme immunoassay for glutamate dehydrogenase (gdh) followed by the cytotoxin neutralization test (cyt) with a turnaround time of 24 to 48 h, versus the cepheid xpert c. difficile epi assay, a pcr-based assay with a turnaround time of <1 h. in the first phase of the st ... | 2010 | 20943860 |
| [clostridium difficile]. | 2010 | 20942043 | |
| nosocomial infections and multidrug-resistant bacterial organisms in the pediatric intensive care unit. | nosocomial infections in pediatric intensive care units (picus) caused by multidrug-resistant bacterial organisms are increasing. this review attempts to report on significant findings in the current literature related to nosocomial infections in picu settings with an international perspective. the types of nosocomial infections are addressed, including catheter-related bloodstream infections, ventilator-associated pneumonia, urinary tract infections, gastrointestinal infections and post-surgica ... | 2010 | 20936380 |
| impact of clostridium difficile on inflammatory bowel disease. | clostridium difficile infection (cdi) has been increasing in incidence among those with underlying inflammatory bowel disease (ibd) and is associated with substantial morbidity, the need for surgery and even mortality. the similar clinical presentation between cdi and a flare of underlying ibd makes prompt diagnosis essential to prevent deterioration which would accompany an escalation of immunosuppression in the absence of appropriate antibiotic therapy. classical risk factors (antibiotic or he ... | 2010 | 20932144 |
| medical microbiology: a toxin contest. | 2010 | 20930831 | |
| sequencing of superbugs seen as key to combating their spread. | 2010 | 20930725 | |
| prevention of healthcare‐associated clostridium difficile infection: what works? | prevention of clostridium difficile infection has become extremely important because of increases in its incidence and severity. unfortunately, efforts at c. difficile infection prevention are hampered by lack of data to support optimal prevention methods, especially for endemic c. difficile infection. studies are needed to define the optimal prevention practices and to investigate novel prevention methods. | 2010 | 20929366 |