Publications
| Title | Abstract | Year(sorted ascending) Filter | PMID Filter |
|---|
| blood pressure cuffs: friend or foe? | a study to assess the level of bacterial contamination of blood pressure cuffs in use on hospital wards was performed. viable organisms were recovered from all the 24 cuffs sampled at a density of between 1000 and >25 000 colony-forming units/100 cm2. potential pathogens were isolated from 14 cuffs (58%). eleven cuffs grew a single pathogen and three cuffs grew a mixture, yielding a total of 18 isolates. meticillin-susceptible staphylococcus aureus was isolated from eight (33%) cuffs, meticillin ... | 2006 | 16616799 |
| evaluation of five enzyme immunoassays compared with the cytotoxicity assay for diagnosis of clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea in dogs. | clostridium difficile-associated-diarrhea (cdad) is a nosocomial infection in dogs. diagnosis of this infection is dependent on clinical signs of disease supported by laboratory detection of c. difficile toxins a or b, or both, in fecal specimens via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (elisa). unfortunately, to the authors' knowledge, commercially available elisas have not been validated in dogs to date. we evaluated 5 elisas done on 143 canine fecal specimens (100 diarrheic and 43 nondiarrheic d ... | 2006 | 16617699 |
| recurrent clostridium difficile. | 2006 | 16618421 | |
| [clostridium difficile: a reemerging pathogen?]. | 2006 | 16619874 | |
| effect of novel a2a adenosine receptor agonist atl 313 on clostridium difficile toxin a-induced murine ileal enteritis. | clostridium difficile is a spore-forming, anaerobic, gram-positive bacillus that releases two main virulence factors: toxins a and b. toxin a plays an important pathogenic role in antibiotic-induced diarrhea and pseudomembranous colitis, a condition characterized by intense mucosal inflammation and secretion. agonist activity at a2a adenosine receptors attenuates inflammation and damage in many tissues. this study evaluated the effects of a new selective a2a adenosine receptor agonist (atl 313) ... | 2006 | 16622196 |
| carbohydrate recognition by clostridium difficile toxin a. | clostridium difficile tcda is a large toxin that binds carbohydrates on intestinal epithelial cells. a 2-a resolution cocrystal structure reveals two molecules of alpha-gal-(1,3)-beta-gal-(1,4)-beta-glcnaco(ch(2))(8)co(2)ch(3) binding in an extended conformation to tcda. residues forming key contacts with the trisaccharides are conserved in all seven putative binding sites in tcda, suggesting a mode of multivalent binding that may be exploited for the rational design of novel therapeutics. | 2006 | 16622409 |
| is fecal leukocyte test a good predictor of clostridium difficile associated diarrhea? | fecal leukocyte test (flt) is widely used to screen for invasive diarrheas including c. difficile associated diarrhea (cdad), which account for more than 25 % of all antibiotic associated diarrhea. | 2006 | 16623943 |
| acute diarrhea in the adult horse: case example and review. | 2006 | 16627106 | |
| colonic abnormalities on ct in adult hospitalized patients with clostridium difficile colitis: prevalence and significance of findings. | the purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of an abnormal colon on ct in adult inpatients with clostridium difficile colitis, compare the clinical presentation of these patients, and determine whether ct findings predicted the need for surgical treatment. | 2006 | 16632736 |
| probiotics for the prevention of antibiotic-associated diarrhea and clostridium difficile diarrhea. | antibiotic-associated diarrhea is a common clinical problem occurring in up to 25% of patients, with diarrhea owing to clostridium difficile accounting for up to a quarter of cases. the clinical and economic costs of antibiotic-associated diarrhea are significant and better treatments are needed. probiotics may offer potential effective therapy for antibiotic-associated diarrhea by restoring intestinal microbial balance. a number of different probiotics have been evaluated in the prevention and ... | 2006 | 16633131 |
| meta-analysis of probiotics for the prevention of antibiotic associated diarrhea and the treatment of clostridium difficile disease. | antibiotic-associated diarrhea (aad) is a common complication of most antibiotics and clostridium difficile disease (cdd), which also is incited by antibiotics, is a leading cause of nosocomial outbreaks of diarrhea and colitis. the use of probiotics for these two related diseases remains controversial. | 2006 | 16635227 |
| clostridium difficile: familiar pathogen, changing epidemiology: a virulent strain has been appearing more often, even in patients not taking antibiotics. | 2006 | 16639241 | |
| antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of clostridium difficile and its relation to pcr ribotypes in a swedish university hospital. | all 238 clostridium difficile isolates were susceptible to metronidazole and vancomycin, whereas 84% and 1% were resistant to clindamycin and fusidic acid. etest mics for metronidazole were lower than agar dilution mics (p < 0.01) but without difference in susceptible-intermediate-resistant categorization. no particular pcr ribotype was associated with clindamycin or fusidic acid resistance. | 2006 | 16641471 |
| clostridium difficile and clostridium perfringens species detected in infant faecal microbiota using 16s rrna targeted probes. | clostridium perfringens and clostridium difficile are pathogenic clostridia potentially associated with gastrointestinal infections and allergy in infants. to enable the molecular detection and quantification of these species in the infant gut, two 16s rrna oligonucleotide probes were developed: cdif198 for c. difficile and cperf191 for c. perfringens. we defined the probes in silico using the rdp sequence database. the probes were then validated using fish combined with flow cytometry and a col ... | 2006 | 16647148 |
| fluoroquinolones and anaerobes. | the usefulness of fluoroquinolones for the treatment of mixed aerobic and anaerobic infections has been investigated since these agents started being used in clinical practice. newer compounds have increased in vitro activity against anaerobes, but clinically relevant susceptibility breakpoints for these bacteria have not been established. pharmacodynamic analyses and corroboration by new data from clinical trials have enhanced our knowledge concerning the use of fluoroquinolones to treat select ... | 2006 | 16652318 |
| lack of association between the increased incidence of clostridium difficile-associated disease and the increasing use of alcohol-based hand rubs. | to determine whether there is an association between the increasing use of alcohol-based hand rubs (abhrs) and the increased incidence of clostridium difficile-associated disease (cdad). | 2006 | 16671029 |
| the comparative pathology of clostridium difficile-associated disease. | clostridium difficile is a confirmed pathogen in a wide variety of mammals, but the incidence of disease varies greatly in relation to host species, age, environmental density of spores, administration of antibiotics, and possibly, other factors. lesions vary as well, in severity and distribution within individuals, and in some instances, age groups, of a given species. the cecum and colon are principally affected in most species, but foals and rabbits develop severe jejunal lesions. explanation ... | 2006 | 16672570 |
| evidence that clostridium difficile tcdc is a membrane-associated protein. | clostridium difficile produces two toxins, a and b, which act together to cause pseudomembraneous colitis. the genes encoding these toxins, tcda and tcdb, are part of the pathogenicity locus, which also includes tcdc, a putative negative regulator of the toxin genes. in this study, we demonstrate that tcdc is a membrane-associated protein in c. difficile. | 2006 | 16672625 |
| [clostridium difficile, an old acquaintance in new clothes]. | 2006 | 16674870 | |
| [clostridium difficile-associated diarrhoea--a changing disease?]. | in recent years an increase in the number of clostridium difficile-associated diarrhoea cases has been reported worldwide. this is due mainly to the increasing number of elderly patients being admitted to hospitals, changes in hygiene standards and changes in the antibiotics used to combat other diseases. but changes in the virulence of c. difficile strains also seem to play a role. this review presents the current knowledge of c. difficile-associated diarrhoea in the light of these changes in i ... | 2006 | 16674871 |
| [antibiotic treatment of clostridium difficile associated diarrhea in adults. a survey of a cochrane review]. | 2006 | 16674872 | |
| [pseudomembraneous colitis caused by a toxin b-positive and a toxin a-negative strain of clostridium difficile]. | we describe a case of pseudomembraneous colitis (pmc) caused by a toxin a- b+ strain of clostridium difficile (cd). in denmark only a few laboratories investigate for toxin production, and if they do, the toxin a enzyme immunoassay (eia) is the test generally used when testing for cd. this toxin a negative but toxin b positive strain thus remains undetectable. if cd-associated diarrhea is clinically suspected and tests for toxin a are negative, infection with a toxin a- b+ strain should be consi ... | 2006 | 16674873 |
| old foe learns new tricks. | 2006 | 16676406 | |
| regulation of toxin and bacteriocin gene expression in clostridium by interchangeable rna polymerase sigma factors. | the production of major extracellular toxins by pathogenic strains of clostridium botulinum, clostridium tetani and clostridium difficile, and a bacteriocin by clostridium perfringens is dependent on a related group of rna polymerase sigma-factors. these sigma-factors (botr, tetr, tcdr and uvia) were shown to be sufficiently similar that they could substitute for one another in in vitro dna binding and run-off transcription experiments. in cells, however, the sigma-factors fell into two subclass ... | 2006 | 16677313 |
| epidemiologic surveillance of clostridium difficile diarrhea in a freestanding pediatric hospital and a pediatric hospital at a university medical center. | to describe the epidemiology of clostridium difficile in children, we cultured stool specimens from patients at the children's hospital central california, madera, ca (chcc, n = 676) and at the university of california davis medical center pediatric hospital, sacramento, ca (ucdmc-ph, n = 301) for c. difficile, and toxins a and b genes and strain identity of the isolates were determined by polymerase chain reaction assays. a higher percentage of patients from ucdmc-ph were culture positive (148/ ... | 2006 | 16678379 |
| ultrasound diagnosis of clinically undetected clostridium difficile toxin colitis. | 2006 | 16679120 | |
| prevalence of diarrhea at a university hospital and association with modifiable risk factors. | to assess the prevalence of diarrhea at a university-affiliated medical center and the presence of modifiable risk factors. | 2006 | 16684806 |
| rho family gtpase inhibition reveals opposing effects of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase and janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription signaling cascades on neuronal survival. | rho family gtpases promote the survival of certain neuronal populations. however, pro-survival and pro-death signaling pathways regulated downstream of rho gtpases are largely unknown. cerebellar granule neurons (cgns) exposed to clostridium difficile toxin b (toxb), a monoglucosyltransferase that specifically inhibits rho gtpases, die by a mitochondrial apoptotic cascade. using a high-throughput immunoblotting screen (bd powerblot), we found that toxb markedly reduced the expression of rac1 and ... | 2006 | 16686690 |
| antagonistic activity of probiotic lactobacilli and bifidobacteria against entero- and uropathogens. | to develop in vitro assays for comparing the antagonistic properties and anti-oxidative activity of probiotic lactobacillus and bifidobacterium strains against various entero- and urinary pathogens. | 2006 | 16696680 |
| prospective evaluation of hospital isolation room capacity. | risk assessment is used to determine the need for isolation in single rooms. limited availability of isolation rooms and/or operational needs may compromise this process. this article reports the results of a 12-month prospective observational study of every infection control request for isolation in a 1100-bed teaching hospital. in addition, four point-prevalence surveys of the usage of single rooms were carried out. data were collected on the incidence of new clinical meticillin-resistant stap ... | 2006 | 16697305 |
| prevalence of clostridium difficile in the environment in a rural community in zimbabwe. | clostridium difficile has been shown to be a nosocomial pathogen associated with diarrhoea and pseudomembranous colitis in hospitalised patients, but very little is known about its prevalence outside the hospital environment. the aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of c. difficile in faeces of domestic animals, soil and drinking water in a rural community. water, animal faeces and soil were collected from homesteads in a rural community and the samples were cultured for c. difficil ... | 2006 | 16698054 |
| clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea: resurgence with a vengeance. | there has been a significant increase in the incidence and severity of clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea (cdad) in the past several years, including outbreaks in multiple states and provinces in the united states and canada, as well as in the united kingdom. a new, highly virulent strain of c. difficile has appeared that is less responsive to standard therapy and associated with a high rate of recurrence. along with nosocomially acquired infections there has been a rise in the number of ... | 2006 | 16699477 |
| review article: tolevamer, a novel toxin-binding polymer: overview of preclinical pharmacology and physicochemical properties. | tolevamer is a novel toxin-binding polymer that is currently being investigated in clinical trials for the treatment of patients who have clostridium difficile-associated diarrhoea. | 2006 | 17206941 |
| [characterization of a toxin a-negative, toxin b-positive variant strain of clostridium difficile.]. | clostridium difficile is one of the most important pathogens responsible for nosocomial diarrhea. recently, we have frequently experienced culture positive, toxin a enzyme immunoassay negative strains. therefore, we evaluated the strains with several pcr primer sets to characterize them. | 2006 | 18156695 |
| [comparison of two enzyme immunoassays for clostridium difficile toxin a.]. | clostridium difficile is one of the most important pathogens responsible for nosocomial diarrhea. the disease is mediated by two toxins, designated as a and b; therefore, identification of the toxins is important for diagnosis. however, culture or cytotoxin assay are not easily done because of tedious procedures. instead, toxin a immunoassay is widely used. we evaluated two different enzyme immunoassays (eia) for c. difficile toxin a and compared them with culture and pcr results. | 2006 | 18156759 |
| nosocomial diarrhea in the intensive care unit. | we made an epidemiological case-control study to examine risk factors for the development of diarrhea in the intensive care unit (icu) of a public hospital in santo andré, sp, from january to october 2002. forty-nine patients with diarrhea (cases) and 49 patients without diarrhea (controls), matched for age and gender, were included in the study. a stool culture and enzyme immunoassays for clostridium difficile toxins a and b were performed on fecal specimens from diarrhea patients. fourteen of ... | 2006 | 17420910 |
| [influence of selected lactobacillus sp. on clostridium difficile strains with different toxigenicity profile]. | this study was performed for determination of antagonistic activity of lactobacillus spp. (l. plantarum 2017405, l. rhamnosus gg, l. acidophilus dsm 21007 and l. fernmentumn 353) on clostridiunl difficile strains belonging to different toxigenicity profiles. forty strains c. difficile isolated from patients suffering from antibiotic associated diarrhea (aad) were used. among c. difficile strains 13 produced toxin a and b (a+b+cdt-), 14 produced only toxin b (ab'cdt), 9 produced toxins a and b an ... | 2006 | 17133906 |
| treatment of a radiation-induced rectal ulcer with hyperbaric oxygen therapy in a man with prostate cancer. | late radiation proctopathy is a painful and vexing complication of prostate radiation. we report a case of a 55-year-old man with prostate cancer, and complaints of tenesmus and severe rectal pain after radiation therapy. the patient was diagnosed with a locally advanced gleason score 8 prostate cancer and an increased prostate-specific antigen of 42.3 ng/ml. his past medical history was notable for a history of bilateral lymph node dissection complicated by clostridium difficile colitis. he sub ... | 2006 | 17138131 |
| past, present, and future therapies for clostridium difficile-associated disease. | to describe and examine the past, present, and potential future treatment options for clostridium difficile-associated disease (cdad). | 2006 | 17148650 |
| klebsiella oxytoca as a causative organism of antibiotic-associated hemorrhagic colitis. | antibiotic-associated hemorrhagic colitis is a distinct form of antibiotic-associated colitis in which clostridium difficile is absent. although the cause is not known, previous reports have suggested a role of klebsiella oxytoca. | 2006 | 17151365 |
| [feces culture successful therapy in clostridium difficile diarrhea]. | 2006 | 17153868 | |
| icd-9 codes and surveillance for clostridium difficile-associated disease. | we conducted a retrospective cohort study to compare clostridium difficile-associated disease rates determined by c. difficile-toxin assays and international classification of diseases, 9th revision (icd-9) codes. the correlation between toxin assay results and icd-9 codes was good (k = 0.72, p<0.01). the sensitivity of the icd-9 codes was 78% and the specificity was 99.7%. | 2006 | 17176576 |
| ramoplanin: a topical lipoglycodepsipeptide antibacterial agent. | ramoplanin, a novel antibiotic with activity against aerobic and anaerobic gram-positive bacteria, acts to prevent cell wall peptidoglycan formation by binding to a key intermediate moiety, lipid ii. it has been fast-tracked by the us fda for the prevention of enterococcal infections and the treatment of clostridium difficile. the minimum inhibitory concentration(90s) have been < or = 1.0 microg/ml against gram-positive organisms examined. in carriers of vancomycin-resistant enterococci, a doubl ... | 2006 | 17181409 |
| prophylactic antibiotics in obstetrics-gynecology: a current asset, a future liability? | currently, prophylactic antibiotics have proven effective in lowering the postoperative and postprocedure infection rate following vaginal hysterectomy, emergency cesarean section for the patient in labor, radical hysterectomy, abdominal hysterectomy, pregnancy termination, hysterosalpingogram and intrauterine device insertion. guidelines for the most effective and safe use are presented. concerns are raised regarding the widespread prolonged use of prophylactic antibiotics on women in labor to ... | 2006 | 17181412 |
| ertapenem versus cefotetan prophylaxis in elective colorectal surgery. | ertapenem, a long-acting carbapenem, may be an alternative to the recommended prophylactic antibiotic cefotetan. | 2006 | 17182989 |
| old bugs learn some new tricks. | 2006 | 17186890 | |
| [clinical case of the month: clostridium difficile colitis]. | a 55-year-old patient with mant e cels underwent a cytotoxic chemotherapy (d.h.a.p. + rituximab). during the medullar aplasia related to the third cycle, diarrhoea due to clostridium difficile arised and relapsed 15 days later despite normal blood counts. this colitis was very severe with pluribacterial peritonitis, but resolved with intensive medical treatment. the incidence, the patient's risk factors, the iatrogenic and nosocomial characters of cl. difficile colitis are discussed. | 2006 | 17191741 |
| clostridium difficile: what to do? less responsive to treatment, more relapses. | 2006 | 17224896 | |
| a hospital outbreak of diarrhea due to an emerging epidemic strain of clostridium difficile. | increased clostridium difficile-associated disease (cdad) in a hospital and an affiliated long-term care facility continued despite infection control measures. we investigated this outbreak to determine risk factors and transmission settings. | 2006 | 17159019 |
| cholesterol, it's not just for heart disease anymore. | recent studies have shown that cholesterol plays a significant role in the ability of toxin a from clostridium difficile to enter eukaryotic cells. the translocation process is one of three major steps during intoxication that could be targeted for intervention against the severe antibiotic-associated diarrhea caused by c. difficile. | 2006 | 17163660 |
| clostridium difficile-associated disease. | 2006 | 17212182 | |
| [gastrointestinal infections due to clostridium difficile]. | 2006 | 17214219 | |
| clostridium difficile comes of age. | 2006 | 17661635 | |
| healthcare cost and utilization project (hcup) statistical briefs | this statistical brief presents data from the healthcare cost and utilization project (hcup) on the trend in cdad from 1993 to 2005 and provides details on cdad hospitalizations for 2005. a recent evaluation of surveillance for cdad in hospitals found high sensitivity (78%) and specificity (99.7%) when using international classification of diseases, 9th revision (icd-9) codes. although it is not possible to determine whether these infections originated in a healthcare setting or were community a ... | 2006 | 21735570 |
| rifaximin: recent advances in gastroenterology and hepatology. | rifaximin was initially developed for the treatment of bacteria-related diarrhea, but appreciation of its potentially broader use has increased as understanding of the importance of enteric bacteria in many organic and functional gastrointestinal diseases has advanced. this article reviews data that have been presented at medical meetings or published in medical journals since the publication of a 2006 rifaximin review in this journal. the data presented expand previous research, suggesting that ... | 2007 | 23329908 |
| beating the bug. | nhs trusts across england are under orders from the chief nursing officer christine beasley to step up their efforts to control clostridium difficile infection rates. | 2007 | 27732112 |
| clostridium difficile infection control monitoring tightened. | infection control teams must now report cases of clostridium difficile associated diarrhoea (cdad) in all patients aged two years and over. | 2007 | 27316610 |
| clostridium difficile colitis: reduced time to diagnosis in a community-based outpatient setting between 1997 and 2004. | objective: we studied antibiotic use prior to the onset of clostridium difficile colitis (cdc) and time interval between onset of gastrointestinal symptoms and diagnosis for two historical time periods with separate comparisons for inpatients and outpatients to determine whether time to diagnosis had decreased and whether previous metronidazole use is associated with cdc.method: we performed a retrospective chart review of adult patients (those 18 years or older) with positive findings on clostr ... | 2007 | 21412481 |
| antibiotic prophylaxis during chemotherapy-induced neutropenia for patients with acute leukemia. | chemotherapy-induced neutropenia places patients with acute leukemia at high risk for bacterial infections. a number of studies performed over the past 20 years have investigated the utility of prophylactic antimicrobials, including trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and fluoroquinolones, to prevent infection in the setting of mucositis and neutropenia. many of these studies have found a benefit of prophylaxis in terms of the incidence of fever and bacterial infection. clinical guidelines do not reco ... | 2007 | 20425357 |
| infection control - delivering the message in the 21 century. | the experiences gleaned from new and suddenly emergent infectious diseases (e.g. sars, avian influenza or diarrhea caused by clostridium difficile) have highlighted how important it is, also for infection prophylaxis, to be able to find instruments for rapid and effective communication. since 1990 online (e) learning has been used to train nursing staff and offers the advantage of being able to study at an individual pace as well as cut down on the time and financial resources needed. it serves ... | 2007 | 20200683 |
| elucidating the in vivo targets of bacterial toxins. | many bacterial pathogens release soluble proteins, referred to as toxins, which damage host cells during disease. in the past, bacterial toxins have been studied extensively using cultured cells, and in vitro biochemical systems. however, little is known about the types of cells targeted by toxins during the disease process while within the host. this has limited our understanding of these important virulence factors. to address this problem, we have recently used transparent zebrafish embryos t ... | 2007 | 17661678 |
| viral gastroenteritis increases the reports of clostridium difficile infection. | 2007 | 17662506 | |
| performance of techlab c. diff quik chek and techlab c. difficile tox a/b ii for the detection of clostridium difficile in stool samples. | two membrane-bound enzyme immunoassays by techlab, blacksburg, va, were evaluated and compared with the triage micro c. difficile panel (biosite diagnostics, san diego, ca), with culture, and with cytotoxic assay. the techlab panels were c. diff quik chek (qc-gdh) and c. difficile tox a/b ii (qc-toxina/b), which detect glutamate dehydrogenase (gdh) and clostridium difficile toxins a and b, respectively. the triage panel detects gdh (tr-gdh) and toxin a (tr-toxina). | 2007 | 17662566 |
| clostridium difficile--second international symposium (icds). | 2007 | 17665327 | |
| genome sequence of fusobacterium nucleatum subspecies polymorphum - a genetically tractable fusobacterium. | fusobacterium nucleatum is a prominent member of the oral microbiota and is a common cause of human infection. f. nucleatum includes five subspecies: polymorphum, nucleatum, vincentii, fusiforme, and animalis. f. nucleatum subsp. polymorphum atcc 10953 has been well characterized phenotypically and, in contrast to previously sequenced strains, is amenable to gene transfer. we sequenced and annotated the 2,429,698 bp genome of f. nucleatum subsp. polymorphum atcc 10953. plasmid pfn3 from the stra ... | 2007 | 17668047 |
| ce offering--introductory offer clostridium difficile associated disease (cdad). | 2007 | 17668836 | |
| increased detection of clostridium difficile during a norovirus outbreak. | 2007 | 17669553 | |
| a case of toxic megacolon secondary to clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea worsened after administration of an antimotility agent and molecular analysis of recovered isolates. | 2007 | 17671768 | |
| computer-aided identification of polymorphism sets diagnostic for groups of bacterial and viral genetic variants. | single nucleotide polymorphisms (snps) and genes that exhibit presence/absence variation have provided informative marker sets for bacterial and viral genotyping. identification of marker sets optimised for these purposes has been based on maximal generalized discriminatory power as measured by simpson's index of diversity, or on the ability to identify specific variants. here we describe the not-n algorithm, which is designed to identify small sets of genetic markers diagnostic for user-specifi ... | 2007 | 17672919 |
| epidemiology of clostridium difficile infection in a large teaching hospital in singapore. | we undertook this study to define the incidence of toxigenic clostridium difficile in our hospital and to characterise the isolates. | 2007 | 17676487 |
| pneumatosis intestinalis caused by clostridium difficile in a neutropenic child. | 2007 | 17678836 | |
| playing host to the difficult clostridium. | 2007 | 17678842 | |
| emergency colectomy in severe clostridium difficile-associated disease: the sooner the better for some. | 2007 | 17681191 | |
| impact of a reduction in the use of high-risk antibiotics on the course of an epidemic of clostridium difficile-associated disease caused by the hypervirulent nap1/027 strain. | a series of measures were implemented, in a secondary/tertiary-care hospital in quebec, to control an epidemic of nosocomial clostridium difficile-associated disease (n-cdad) caused by a virulent strain; these measures included the development of a nonrestrictive antimicrobial stewardship program. interrupted time-series analysis was used to evaluate the impact of these measures on n-cdad incidence. from 2003-2004 to 2005-2006, total and targeted antibiotic consumption, respectively, decreased b ... | 2007 | 17683015 |
| clinical management of clostridium difficile-associated disease. | the incidence of clostridium difficile-associated disease (cdad) and its serious complications (including colectomy and death) have been increasing worldwide. this phenomenon is strongly associated with the appearance of a new "hypervirulent" strain in several countries. more-effective strategies are needed for the prevention and treatment of this entity. this article will review the current approaches using antimicrobials, probiotics, immunomodulation, surgery, and miscellaneous adjuvants to pr ... | 2007 | 17683016 |
| clostridium difficile toxin b causes apoptosis in epithelial cells by thrilling mitochondria. involvement of atp-sensitive mitochondrial potassium channels. | targeting to mitochondria is emerging as a common strategy that bacteria utilize to interact with these central executioners of apoptosis. several lines of evidence have in fact indicated mitochondria as specific targets for bacterial protein toxins, regarded as the principal virulence factors of pathogenic bacteria. this work shows, for the first time, the ability of the clostridium difficile toxin b (tcdb), a glucosyltransferase that inhibits the rho gtpases, to impact mitochondria. in living ... | 2007 | 17220295 |
| glutamate 2,3-aminomutase: a new member of the radical sam superfamily of enzymes. | a gene eam in clostridium difficile encodes a protein that is homologous to lysine 2,3-aminomutase (lam) in many other species but does not have the lysyl-binding residues asp293 and asp330 in lam from clostridium subterminale sb4. the c. difficile protein has lys and asn, respectively, in the sequence positions of the essential asp residues in lam. the c. difficile gene has been cloned into an e. coli expression vector, expressed in e. coli, and the protein purified and characterized. the recom ... | 2007 | 17222594 |
| risk factors for severity and relapse of pseudomembranous colitis in an elderly population. | pseudomembranous colitis (pmc) is well recognized as an important cause of diarrhoea in patients receiving antibiotics, with significant consequences of morbidity and mortality. mortality among elderly patients is high, and even with successful treatment, a significant number of patients relapse. to evaluate the outcome of elderly patients with pmc, and to try to identify risk factors that might influence mortality or relapse. | 2007 | 17223943 |
| typing and subtyping of clostridium difficile isolates by using multiple-locus variable-number tandem-repeat analysis. | using the genomic sequence of clostridium difficile strain 630, we developed multiple-locus variable-number tandem-repeat analysis (mlva) with automated fragment analysis and multicolored capillary electrophoresis as a typing method for c. difficile. all reference strains, representing 31 serogroups, 25 toxinotypes, and 7 known subtypes of pcr ribotype 001, could be discriminated from each other. application of mlva to 28 isolates from 7 outbreaks due to the emerging hypervirulent pcr ribotype 0 ... | 2007 | 17166961 |
| evaluation of real-time pcr and conventional diagnostic methods for the detection of clostridium difficile-associated diarrhoea in a prospective multicentre study. | in this prospective multicentre study, an enzyme-linked fluorescent assay (vidas cda2; biomérieux), an enzyme-linked assay [premier toxins a and b (ptab); meridian] and an in-house real-time pcr amplifying the tcdb gene were compared with the cell cytotoxicity assay used as the 'gold standard' for diagnosis of clostridium difficile-associated diarrhoea (cdad). faecal samples from patients with a request for c. difficile diagnosis and samples from patients with diarrhoea hospitalized for at least ... | 2007 | 17172514 |
| a portrait of the geographic dissemination of the clostridium difficile north american pulsed-field type 1 strain and the epidemiology of c. difficile-associated disease in québec. | an increase in the incidence and severity of clostridium difficile-associated disease in québec and the united states has been associated with a hypervirulent strain referred to as north american pulsed-field type 1 (nap1)/027. | 2007 | 17173224 |
| the acid test: is proton pump inhibitor therapy an independent risk factor for clostridium difficile-associated disease? | 2007 | 17631157 | |
| inactivation of rho gtpases with clostridium difficile toxin b impairs centrosomal activation of aurora-a in g2/m transition of hela cells. | during g2 phase of cell cycle, centrosomes function as a scaffold for activation of mitotic kinases. aurora-a is first activated at late g2 phase at the centrosome, facilitates centrosome maturation, and induces activation of cyclin b-cdk1 at the centrosome for mitotic entry. although several molecules including hef1 and pak are implicated in centrosomal activation of aurora-a, signaling pathways leading to aurora-a activation at the centrosome, and hence mitotic commitment in vertebrate cells r ... | 2007 | 17634283 |
| fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis of hindgut bacteria associated with the development of equine laminitis. | carbohydrate-induced laminitis in horses is characterized by marked changes in the composition of the hindgut microbiota, from a predominantly gram-negative population to one dominated by gram-positive bacteria. the objective of this study was to monitor changes in the relative abundance of selected hindgut bacteria that have previously been implicated in the pathophysiology of equine laminitis using fluorescence in situ hybridization (fish). caecal cannulae were surgically implanted in five sta ... | 2007 | 17635552 |
| severity of clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea in solid organ transplant patients. | clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea (cdad) has a wide spectrum of disease severity. studies have implicated immunosuppressants as a risk factor for severe disease. we hypothesized that solid organ transplant (sot) patients with cdad would be at greater risk for severe disease because of their profound immunosuppression. adult sot patients with cdad seen at duke university medical center between 1999 and 2003 were compared with a reference group of non-transplant patients with cdad. the pri ... | 2007 | 17635835 |
| antibiotic treatment for clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea in adults. | clostridium difficile (c. difficile) is recognized as a frequent cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea and colitis. | 2007 | 17636768 |
| high resolution fesem and tem reveal bacterial spore attachment. | transmission electron microscopy (tem) studies in the 1960s and early 1970s using conventional thin section and freeze fracture methodologies revealed ultrastructural bacterial spore appendages. however, the limited technology at that time necessitated the time-consuming process of imaging serial sections and reconstructing each structure. consequently, the distribution and function of these appendages and their possible role in colonization or pathogenesis remained unknown. by combining high re ... | 2007 | 17637074 |
| the long-term outcome of treatment of clostridium difficile colitis. | 2007 | 17638211 | |
| increasing prevalence and severity of clostridium difficile colitis in hospitalized patients in the united states. | to evaluate changes in the epidemiological features of clostridium difficile colitis in hospitalized patients in the united states (c difficile is a common cause of nosocomial diarrhea that has been shown to be increasing in virulence in canada and across europe). | 2007 | 17638799 |
| effects of transcription factor activator protein-1 on interleukin-8 expression and enteritis in response to clostridium difficile toxin a. | clostridium difficile toxin a causes acute colitis associated with intense infiltration of neutrophils. although c. difficile toxin a is known to induce nuclear factor-kappab-mediated chemokine expression in intestinal epithelial cells, little is known about its effect on the regulation of activator protein-1 (ap-1) by mitogen-activated protein kinase (mapk). in the present study, we investigated whether the mapk and ap-1 signaling pathway is involved in interleukin (il)-8 expression and enteric ... | 2007 | 17639289 |
| clostridium difficile-associated diarrhoea. | clostridium difficile is an important nosocomial pathogen and the most frequently diagnosed cause of infectious hospital-acquired diarrhoea. toxigenic strains usually produce toxin a and toxin b, which are the primary virulence factors of c. difficile. some recently described strains produce an additional toxin, an adenosine-diphosphate ribosyltransferase known as binary toxin, the role of which in pathogenicity is unknown. there has been concern about the emergence of a hypervirulent fluoroquin ... | 2007 | 17640189 |
| clostridium difficile: an emerging epidemic in nursing homes. | clostridium difficile is currently recognized as the most common cause of nosocomial infectious diarrhea in the nursing home setting. data from the centers for disease control and prevention confirm that the incidence of c. difficile has doubled in recent years and accounts for approximately 3 million cases of diarrhea and colitis each year. overall mortality associated with c. difficile infectious diarrhea is estimated to be 17% but is even higher in the older adult population. older adults are ... | 2007 | 17642100 |
| fluoroquinolone use is the predominant risk factor for the development of a new strain of clostridium difficile-associated disease. | 2007 | 17233799 | |
| rho-glucosylating clostridium difficile toxins a and b: new insights into structure and function. | clostridium difficile causes pseudomembranous colitis and is responsible for many cases of nosocomial antibiotic-associated diarrhea. major virulence factors of c. difficile are the glucosylating exotoxins a and b. both toxins enter target cells in a ph- dependent manner from endosomes by forming pores. they translocate the n-terminal catalytic domains into the cytosol of host cells and inactivate rho guanosine triphosphatases by glucosylation. the crystal structure of the catalytic domain of to ... | 2007 | 17237138 |
| toxin production by and adhesive properties of clostridium difficile isolated from humans and horses with antibiotic-associated diarrhea. | clostridium difficile is a common nosocomial pathogen in humans and animals that causes diarrhea and colitis following antibiotic therapy. isolates of c. difficile obtained from faecal material from 20 human patients and 6 equine subjects with antibiotic-associated diarrhea were investigated regarding production of toxins a and b, their capacity to adhere to the human intestinal caco-2 cell line and equine intestinal cells, and for the presence of fimbriae. the results showed that most (17/20) o ... | 2007 | 17239950 |
| antianaerobe activity of ceftobiprole, a new broad-spectrum cephalosporin. | agar dilution testing of 463 anaerobes showed most gram-positive beta-lactamase-negative strains (other than some clostridium difficile and peptostreptococcus anaerobius), as well as both beta-lactamase-positive and beta-lactamase-negative strains of fusobacterium nucleatum, to have ceftobiprole mic values of < or =0.016 to 4 microg/ml. ceftobiprole was less active against beta-lactamase-positive gram-negative bacilli, especially the members of the bacteroides fragilis group. like ceftobiprole, ... | 2007 | 17240107 |
| impact of emergency colectomy on survival of patients with fulminant clostridium difficile colitis during an epidemic caused by a hypervirulent strain. | to determine whether emergency colectomy reduces mortality in patients with fulminant clostridium difficile-associated disease (cdad), and to identify subgroups of patients more likely to benefit from the procedure. | 2007 | 17245181 |
| utilizing case reports to build awareness of rare complications in critical care. | 2007 | 17252060 | |
| new pcr ribotypes of clostridium difficile detected in children in brazil: prevalent types of clostridium difficile in brazil. | a total of 35 brazilian isolates of clostridium difficile from faecal stools and four isolates from hospital environments were analyzed by pcr ribotyping. a whole cell protein profile (as an alternative for serogrouping), in vitro toxin production and susceptibility to vancomycin, metronidazole and clindamycin were also investigated. all strains were typeable by both phenotypic and genotypic methods, and a total of 13 different pcr ribotypes were identified, of which seven (132, 133, 134, 135, 1 ... | 2007 | 17252315 |
| [dramatic increase of clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea in germany: has the new strain pcr-ribotype 027 already reached us?]. | 2007 | 17252365 |