Publications
| Title | Abstract | Year(sorted descending) Filter | PMID Filter |
|---|
| multilocus variable-number tandem-repeat analysis and multilocus sequence typing reveal genetic relationships among clostridium difficile isolates genotyped by restriction endonuclease analysis. | numbers of clostridium difficile infections have increased worldwide in the past decade. while infection with c. difficile remains predominantly a health care-associated infection, there may also be an increased incidence of community-associated infections. c. difficile strains of public health significance continue to emerge, and reliable genotyping methods for epidemiological investigations and global surveillance of c. difficile are required. in this study, multilocus sequence typing (mlst) a ... | 2010 | 19955268 |
| c. diff quik chek complete enzyme immunoassay provides a reliable first-line method for detection of clostridium difficile in stool specimens. | we evaluated a single membrane device assay for simultaneously detecting both clostridium difficile glutamate dehydrogenase (gdh) and toxin a/b antigens against a standard that combines two pcr assays and cytotoxigenic culture. results showing dual gdh and toxin a/b antigen positives and negatives can be reported immediately as true positives and negatives, respectively. specimens with discrepant results for gdh and toxins a/b, which comprised 13.2% of the specimens, need to be retested. | 2010 | 19955275 |
| slec is essential for germination of clostridium difficile spores in nutrient-rich medium supplemented with the bile salt taurocholate. | clostridium difficile is the major cause of infectious diarrhea and a major burden to health care services. the ability of this organism to form endospores plays a pivotal role in infection and disease transmission. spores are highly resistant to many forms of disinfection and thus are able to persist on hospital surfaces and disseminate infection. in order to cause disease, the spores must germinate and the organism must grow vegetatively. spore germination in bacillus is well understood, and g ... | 2010 | 19933358 |
| [clostridium difficile-associated infections. how dangerous are the new strains?]. | in recent years, a global increase of clostridium difficile-associated infections (cdi) and the emergence of new hypervirulent strains causing numerous outbreaks was noticed. the appearance of these strains was accompanied by increased morbidity and mortality, affecting patients previously unknown to be at risk for cdi. meanwhile, these hypervirulent strains occur in germany as well. so far, the changing epidemiology of cdi did neither change diagnosis nor therapy of cdi but necessitates a serie ... | 2010 | 19997894 |
| hemolytic uremic syndrome in a preterm infant. | 2010 | 19997939 | |
| first report of hypervirulent strains polymerase chain reaction ribotypes 027 and 078 causing severe clostridium difficile infection in italy. | 2010 | 20001530 | |
| clostridium difficile in food--innocent bystander or serious threat? | clostridium difficile is a critically important cause of disease in humans, particularly in hospitalized individuals. three major factors have raised concern about the potential for this pathogen to be a cause of foodborne disease: the increasing recognition of community-associated c. difficile infection, recent studies identifying c. difficile in food animals and food, and similarities in c. difficile isolates from animals, food and humans. it is clear that c. difficile can be commonly found in ... | 2010 | 20002685 |
| preliminary molecular analysis of clostridium difficile isolates from healthy horses in northern italy. | clostridium difficile, associated with a wide spectrum of diseases in humans, as well as in several animal species, is an important cause of colitis in adult horses and foals. the aim of this study was to investigate by toxin gene profile and pcr-ribotyping the molecular characteristics of 14 c. difficile strains isolated from 42 faeces of healthy horses. both toxin genes, tcda and tcdb, were present in only 1 isolate (7.1%). six isolates (42.9%) demonstrated tcda-/tcdb+ genotype, and seven isol ... | 2010 | 20004974 |
| exposure to hospital roommates as a risk factor for health care-associated infection. | numerous patient- and hospital-level characteristics have been established as risk factors for the transmission of health care-associated infections (hais). few studies have quantitatively assessed the impact of exposure to hospital roommates on the acquisition of infections. this study evaluated the association between roommate exposures and the risk of hais. | 2010 | 20022405 |
| a mariner-based transposon system for in vivo random mutagenesis of clostridium difficile. | understanding the molecular basis of clostridium difficile infection is a prerequisite to the development of effective countermeasures. although there are methods for constructing gene-specific mutants of c. difficile, currently there is no effective method for generating libraries of random mutants. in this study, we developed a novel mariner-based transposon system for in vivo random mutagenesis of c. difficile r20291, the bi/nap1/027 epidemic strain at the center of the c. difficile outbreaks ... | 2010 | 20023081 |
| comparison of two rapid assays for clostridium difficile common antigen and a c difficile toxin a/b assay with the cell culture neutralization assay. | we compared 3 rapid assays for clostridium difficile with a cell culture cytotoxicity neutralization assay (ccna). of 600 stool samples, 46 were positive for toxigenic c difficile. both rapid common antigen assays were highly sensitive (91.3%-100%) and, therefore, were appropriate screening tests. the rapid toxin assay had poor sensitivity (61%) but excellent specificity (99.3%). testing stools for glutamate dehydrogenase (step 1) and those positive with a rapid toxin assay (step 2) would correc ... | 2010 | 20023265 |
| total synthesis of le(a)-lacnac pentasaccharide as a ligand for clostridium difficile toxin a. | the toxins tcda and tcdb produced by the human pathogen clostridium difficile gain entrance to host epithelial cells by recognizing cell-surface carbohydrate ligands. inhibiting the attachment of these toxins to host cells has been proposed to be a viable therapy to treat c. difficile infections. glycan array screening previously revealed that the le(a)-lacnac pentasaccharide binds strongly to tcda. here we report the efficient syntheses of the pentasaccharide and a structurally related tetrasac ... | 2010 | 20024143 |
| health care-associated clostridium difficile infection in canada: patient age and infecting strain type are highly predictive of severe outcome and mortality. | c. difficile infection (cdi) has become an important and frequent nosocomial infection, often resulting in severe morbidity or death. severe cdi is more frequently seen among individuals infected with the emerging nap1/027/bi (nap1) strain and in the elderly population, but the relative importance of these 2 factors remains unclear. we used a large canadian database of patients with cdi to explore the interaction between these 2 variables. | 2010 | 20025526 |
| clostridium difficile infection and inflammatory bowel disease. | the importance of clostridium difficile (c. difficile) infection amongst patients with inflammatory bowel disease (ibd) is increasingly being recognized. recent studies have demonstrated a concerning trend towards increased rates of infection, morbidity, mortality and health costs, and guidelines now promote testing for c. difficile in ibd patients experiencing a relapse. this critical review focuses on the epidemiology, risk factors, pathogenesis, treatment options and outcomes associated with ... | 2010 | 20025557 |
| management of osteomyelitis of the foot in diabetes mellitus. | although osteomyelitis occurs in approximately 10-20% of patients with diabetes-related foot ulcers, no widely accepted guideline is available for its treatment. in particular, little consensus exists on the place of surgery. a number of experts claim that early surgical excision of all infected or necrotic bone is essential. others suggest that surgery should not be performed routinely, but instead only in patients who do not respond to antibiotic treatment or in case of particular clinical ind ... | 2010 | 20010969 |
| phenotypic characterisation of clostridium difficile reveals lack of extracellular virulence factor production and significant differences in antibiogram profiles. | 2010 | 20031376 | |
| evaluation of diagnostic tests for clostridium difficile infection. | we evaluated toxigenic clostridium difficile detection by a lateral flow assay for antigen and toxin, an enzyme immunoassay, and two commercial pcr methods. compared to the cell cytotoxicity neutralization assay and toxigenic culture, both toxin detection methods lacked sensitivity. pcr following combined antigen and toxin detection provided the most useful diagnostic information. | 2010 | 20032256 |
| multilocus sequence typing of clostridium difficile. | a robust high-throughput multilocus sequence typing (mlst) scheme for clostridium difficile was developed and validated using a diverse collection of 50 reference isolates representing 45 different pcr ribotypes and 102 isolates from recent clinical samples. a total of 49 pcr ribotypes were represented overall. all isolates were typed by mlst and yielded 40 sequence types (sts). a web-accessible database was set up (http://pubmlst.org/cdifficile/) to facilitate the dissemination and comparison o ... | 2010 | 20042623 |
| bactericidal activity of telavancin, vancomycin and metronidazole against clostridium difficile. | we compared the time-kill activities of telavancin, vancomycin and metronidazole at concentrations of 2 times, 4 times, and 8 times their respective mics against five clostridium difficile strains including rea type bi, using inocula that contained predominantly either vegetative cells or spores. telavancin mics (0.125-0.25 microg/ml) were 2-8-fold lower than those of vancomycin. telavancin was bacteriostatic, reducing the inoculum by 1-2.5 log(10) after 24 h. no major differences occurred with ... | 2010 | 20044011 |
| purification, characterisation and identification of acidocin lchv, an antimicrobial peptide produced by lactobacillus acidophilus n.v. er 317/402 strain narine. | in the last two decades, antimicrobial peptides (amps) have been gaining attention as antimicrobial alternatives to chemical food preservatives and commonly used antibiotics. lactobacillus acidophilus n.v. er 317/402 strain narine produces a small amp with a molecular weight of 1.1kda, designated acidocin lchv. in this study, the amp was extremely heat stable (90min at 130 degrees c), was active over a wide ph range and was found to be sensitive to proteolytic enzymes (trypsin, pepsin and protei ... | 2010 | 20045288 |
| severe and refractory clostridium difficile infection successfully treated with tigecycline and metronidazole. | 2010 | 20045292 | |
| antimicrobial-resistant pathogens in animals and man: prescribing, practices and policies. | this meeting focused on infections in humans and animals due to methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (mrsa), extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (esbl)-producing bacteria and clostridium difficile, and their corresponding treatments. mrsa is predominantly a human pathogen, and molecular typing has revealed that certain clones have spread widely both between humans and from humans to animals. esbl-producing bacteria, particularly those that express the ctx-m beta-lactamases, have been dissemi ... | 2010 | 20045808 |
| proton pump inhibitors as a risk factor for paediatric clostridium difficile infection. | proton pump inhibitors (ppis) and h(2) receptor antagonists (h(2)ras) may play an important role on the onset of clostridium difficile-associated disease (cdad) in adults. the impact of clostridium difficile on children treated with gastric acid-suppressing agents remains unknown. | 2010 | 20047577 |
| isolation and characterization of bacteria resistant to metallic copper surfaces. | metallic copper alloys have recently attracted attention as a new antimicrobial weapon for areas where surface hygiene is paramount. currently it is not understood on a molecular level how metallic copper kills microbes, but previous studies have demonstrated that a wide variety of bacteria, including escherichia coli, staphylococcus aureus, and clostridium difficile, are inactivated within minutes or a few hours of exposure. in this study, we show that bacteria isolated from copper alloy coins ... | 2010 | 20048058 |
| changes in the composition of the human fecal microbiome after bacteriotherapy for recurrent clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea. | clostridium difficile-associated disease (cdad) is the major known cause of antibiotic-induced diarrhea and colitis, and the disease is thought to result from persistent disruption of commensal gut microbiota. bacteriotherapy by way of fecal transplantation can be used to treat recurrent cdad, which is thought to reestablish the normal colonic microflora. however, limitations of conventional microbiologic techniques have, until recently, precluded testing of this idea. in this study, we used ter ... | 2010 | 20048681 |
| healthcare costs of staphylococcus aureus and clostridium difficile infections in veterans: role of vitamin d deficiency. | clostridium difficile and staphylococcal infections are associated with increased morbidity, mortality and healthcare costs. vitamin d deficiency may also contribute to increased healthcare costs. there is increasing evidence that vitamin d may have an antimicrobial role. we examined the relationship of serum 25(oh)d levels to staphylococcal and c. difficile infections to determine if vitamin d deficiency was associated with adverse outcomes. in the outpatient setting, vitamin d deficiency in pa ... | 2010 | 20056018 |
| emergency subtotal colectomy for fulminant clostridium difficile colitis--is a surgical solution considered for all patients? | clostridium difficile has been an increasing problem in uk hospitals. at the time of this study, there was a high incidence of c. difficile within our trust and a number of patients developed acute fulminant colitis requiring subtotal colectomy. we review a series of colectomies for c. difficile, examining the associated morbidity and mortality and the factors that predispose to acute fulminant colitis. | 2010 | 20056063 |
| clostridium difficile infection: more known than is realised. | 2010 | 20056074 | |
| diagnosis of clostridium difficile infection is associated with a small increased risk of death in elderly inpatients. | 2010 | 20061064 | |
| intravenous immunoglobulin for the treatment of severe clostridium difficile colitis: an observational study and review of the literature. | clostridium difficile colitis (cdc) is the most common cause of hospital-acquired diarrhea. the increase in the incidence and fatality rate of cdc over the past decade has stimulated a search for new therapies, including intravenous immunoglobulin (ivig). we report our experience with ivig for the treatment of 21 patients with severe cdc. | 2010 | 20063275 |
| tube feeding, the microbiota, and clostridium difficile infection. | clostridium difficile (c. difficile) is now the leading cause of nosocomial diarrhea in the usa, accounting for 30% of patients with antibiotic-associated diarrhea, 70% of those with antibiotic-associated colitis, and most cases of pseudomembranous colitis. the organism has evolved over the last 8 years to become more virulent and resistant to antimicrobials (nap1/027 strain) causing a more severe form of the disease that has increased mortality and healthcare costs. while it is generally accept ... | 2010 | 20066732 |
| chemical probes of surface layer biogenesis in clostridium difficile. | clostridium difficile, a leading cause of hospital-acquired infection, possesses a dense surface layer (s-layer) that mediates host-pathogen interactions. the key structural components of the s-layer result from proteolytic cleavage of a precursor protein, slpa, into high- and low-molecular-weight components. here we report the discovery and optimization of the first inhibitors of this process in live bacteria and their application for probing s-layer processing. we also describe the design and ... | 2010 | 20067320 |
| evaluation of the efficacy of electrochemically activated solutions against nosocomial pathogens and bacterial endospores. | electrochemically activated solutions (ecas) are generated from halide salt solutions via specially designed electrolytic cells. the active solutions are known to possess high biocidal activity against a wide range of target microbial species, however, literature revealing the kill-kinetics of these solutions is limited. the aim of the study was to identify the kill-rate and extent of population kill for a range of target species (including endospores) using ecas generated at the anode (anolyte) ... | 2010 | 20070511 |
| four distinct structural domains in clostridium difficile toxin b visualized using saxs. | clostridium difficile is a nosocomial bacterial pathogen causing antibiotic-associated diarrhea and fatal pseudomembranous colitis. key virulence factors are toxin a and toxin b (tcdb), two highly related toxins that are members of the large clostridial toxin family. these large multifunctional proteins disrupt cell function using a glucosyltransferase domain that is translocated into the cytosol after vesicular internalization of intact holotoxin. although substantial information about the bioc ... | 2010 | 20070948 |
| fidaxomicin: a macrocyclic antibiotic for the management of clostridium difficile infection. | to evaluate the efficacy and safety of fidaxomicin for the treatment of clostridium difficile infection. | 2010 | 20071495 |
| coexistence of multiple multilocus variable-number tandem-repeat analysis subtypes of clostridium difficile pcr ribotype 027 strains within fecal specimens. | we investigated whether multilocus variable-number tandem-repeat analysis (mlva) typing could identify different subtypes of clostridium difficile ribotype 027 within the same feces specimen. five of 39 specimens yielded at least one isolate with an mlva profile different (more than five summed tandem repeat differences) from that of other isolates in the same specimen, thereby potentially obscuring epidemiological links between c. difficile infection cases. | 2010 | 20071546 |
| comparison of immunocard toxins a&b and the new semiautomated vidas clostridium difficile toxin a&b tests for diagnosis of c. difficile infection. | 2010 | 20071550 | |
| clostridium difficile testing in the clinical laboratory by use of multiple testing algorithms. | the incidence of clostridium difficile infection (cdi) has risen almost 3-fold in the united states over the past decade, emphasizing the need for rapid and accurate tests for cdi. the cepheid xpert c. difficile assay is an integrated, closed, nucleic acid amplification system that automates sample preparation and real-time pcr detection of the toxin b gene (tcdb). a total of 432 stool specimens from symptomatic patients were tested by a glutamate dehydrogenase (gdh) assay, a toxin a and b enzym ... | 2010 | 20071552 |
| effect of biotherapeutics on cyclosporin-induced clostridium difficile infection in mice. | immunosuppressive therapy may precipitate clostridium difficile associated disease (cdad). we evaluated the role of cyclosporin in the development of cdad in the experimental mouse model and studied the effect of probiotic and epidermal growth factor (egf) as biotherapeutics measures. | 2010 | 20074161 |
| [recent trend and research issues related to antimicrobial-resistant bacteria]. | the discovery of penicillin in 1928 was followed by the discovery and synthesis of various kinds of antimicrobial agents such as quinolone, aminogycoside, macrolide, tetracyclone, and oxazolidinone. these discoveries dramatically decreased the mortality rate due to infectious diseases. however, bacteria have also acquired antimicrobial-resistance genes or changed their own genes to oppose these antimicrobial agents, and now drug-resistant bacteria are becoming a serious clinical concern. today, ... | 2010 | 20077765 |
| [problem of infection in the icu]. | there are many infectious diseases related to the treatment such as ventilator-associated pneumonia, catheter-associated urinary tract infection, catheter-related bloodstream infection, surgical site infection, and clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea, characteristic of the infectious disease in the icu. as a complication of the use of the medical devices, you should consider the risk of the infection. for infection caused by multi-drug resistant bacteria such as mrsa, pseudomonas aeruginos ... | 2010 | 20077770 |
| clostridium difficile in raw products of animal origin. | prevalence of clostridium difficile was examined in austrian ground meat samples and bactofugates, following an evaluation of enrichment broths. bactofugation is a centrifugation procedure used at sensitive dairies to lower the concentration of spores in raw milk before heat treatment. among the five enrichment broths tested, c. difficile moxalactam norfloxacin boullion (cdmn) was the only one that allowed recovery of c. difficile from artificially spiked meat samples. use of tween 80 as a deter ... | 2010 | 20079946 |
| betapix up-regulates na+/h+ exchanger 3 through a shank2-mediated protein-protein interaction. | na(+)/h(+) exchanger 3 (nhe3) plays an important role in neutral na(+) transport in mammalian epithelial cells. the rho family of small gtpases and the pdz (psd-95/discs large/zo-1) domain-based adaptor shank2 are known to regulate the membrane expression and activity of nhe3. in this study we examined the role of betapix, a guanine nucleotide exchange factor for the rho gtpase and a strong binding partner to shank2, in nhe3 regulation using integrated molecular and physiological approaches. imm ... | 2010 | 20080968 |
| impact of an intervention to control clostridium difficile infection on hospital- and community-onset disease; an interrupted time series analysis. | strategies to reduce rates of clostridium difficile infection (cdi) generally recommend isolation or cohorting of active cases and the reduced use of cephalosporin and quinolone antibiotics. data supporting these recommendations come predominantly from the setting of epidemic disease caused by ribotype 027 strains. we introduced an initiative involving a restrictive antibiotic policy and a cdi-cohort ward at an acute, 820-bed teaching hospital where ribotype 027 strains account for only one quar ... | 2010 | 19832710 |
| no-loaded zn(2+)-exchanged zeolite materials: a potential bifunctional anti-bacterial strategy. | nitric oxide (no) is important for the regulation of a number of diverse biological processes, including vascular tone, neurotransmission, inflammatory cell responsiveness, defence against invading pathogens and wound healing. transition metal exchanged zeolites are nanoporous materials with high-capacity storage properties for gases such as no. the no stores are liberated upon contact with aqueous environments, thereby making them ideal candidates for use in biological and clinical settings. he ... | 2010 | 19861185 |
| comparison of bd geneohm cdiff real-time pcr assay with a two-step algorithm and a toxin a/b enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for diagnosis of toxigenic clostridium difficile infection. | the bd geneohm cdiff assay, a real-time pcr assay for the detection of the clostridium difficile toxin b (tcdb) gene, was compared with the toxin a/b (tox a/b) ii enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (elisa) and a two-step algorithm which includes a c. diff chek-60 glutamate dehydrogenase (gdh) antigen assay followed by cytotoxin neutralization. four hundred liquid or semisolid stool samples submitted for diagnostic c. difficile testing, 200 gdh antigen positive and 200 gdh antigen negative, were s ... | 2010 | 19864479 |
| rifaximin: a unique gastrointestinal-selective antibiotic for enteric diseases. | rifaximin is gaining attention for its potential activity in a multitude of gastrointestinal diseases. we review the unique pharmaceutical properties of this antibiotic and the published evidence in the literature regarding the use of rifaximin for different gastrointestinal disorders. | 2010 | 19881343 |
| in vitro activity of tigecycline and comparators against a european compilation of anaerobes collected as part of the tigecycline evaluation and surveillance trial (test). | the tigecycline evaluation and surveillance trial (test) is a global surveillance study designed to monitor the in vitro activity of the broad-spectrum antimicrobial tigecycline against nosocomial- and community-acquired pathogens. in this study the in vitro activity of tigecycline against 1256 anaerobic pathogens collected across europe has been compared to the activity of several comparator antibiotics. the pathogens examined in this study included bacteroides, prevotella, anaerococcus, clostr ... | 2010 | 19883155 |
| antimicrobial prescribing in hospitals: be careful what you measure. | measurement of prescribing is an important component of antimicrobial stewardship. the standard unit of measurement in hospitals is defined daily doses denominated by bed days (e.g. ddds per 1000 bed days) but alternatives have not been evaluated in depth. | 2010 | 19884120 |
| the clostron: mutagenesis in clostridium refined and streamlined. | the recent development of the clostron group ii intron directed mutagenesis tool for clostridium has advanced genetics in this genus, and here we present several significant improvements. we have shown how marker re-cycling can be used to construct strains with multiple mutations, demonstrated using flp/frt in clostridium acetobutylicum; tested the capacity of the system for the delivery of transgenes to the chromosome of clostridium sporogenes, which proved feasible for 1.0kbp transgenes in add ... | 2010 | 19891996 |
| [comparison of three clostridium difficile culture media: interest of enhancing spore germination media?]. | clostridium difficile is the most common agent of postantibiotic and nosocomial bacterial diarrhoea. since the emergence of the highly virulent and epidemic strain nap1/027 in europe, it appears necessary to isolate c. difficile strains to realize an epidemiologic follow-up by molecular typing. the aim of this work was to compare three selective culture conditions for the isolation of c. difficile. | 2010 | 19892495 |
| activity of tigecycline against recent european clinical isolates of clostridium difficile. | 2010 | 19892528 | |
| two-step glutamate dehydrogenase antigen real-time polymerase chain reaction assay for detection of toxigenic clostridium difficile. | current diagnosis of clostridium difficile infection (cdi) relies upon detection of toxins a/b in stool by enzyme immunoassay [eia(a/b)]. this strategy is unsatisfactory because it has a low sensitivity resulting in significant false negatives. we investigated the performance of a two-step algorithm for diagnosis of cdi using detection of glutamate dehydrogenase (gdh). gdh-positive samples were tested for c. difficile toxin b gene (tcdb) by polymerase chain reaction (pcr). the performance of the ... | 2010 | 19900734 |
| hospital-based epidemiology: a strategy for 'dealing with clostridium difficile'. | clostridium difficile-associated diarrhoea (cdad) remains a major infection control problem. uncertainty remains over methods of diagnosis and definitions for ascertaining provenance of cases. we undertook a prospective epidemiological study to better ascertain local epidemiology of 275 new cases (general practitioner and hospital) diagnosed in a large teaching hospital in the uk. the highest incidence of cases was found in haematology and critical care and a surprisingly high proportion, 29%, o ... | 2010 | 19726105 |
| intake of lactobacillus plantarum reduces certain gastrointestinal symptoms during treatment with antibiotics. | to examine if intake of lactobacillus plantarum can prevent gastrointestinal side effects in antibiotic-treated patients. | 2010 | 19727002 |
| secondary pouchitis: those with identifiable etiopathogenetic or triggering factors. | restorative proctocolectomy with ileal pouch-anal anastomosis (ipaa) is the surgical treatment of choice for the majority of patients with medically refractory ulcerative colitis (uc) or uc with dysplasia, or familial adenomatous polyposis. various forms of pouchitis frequently occur after surgery. in fact, pouchitis is the most frequent long-term complication of ipaa in patients with uc, with a cumulative prevalence of up to 50%. the etiology and pathogenesis of pouchitis are not entirely clear ... | 2010 | 19755972 |
| clostridium difficile and inflammatory bowel disease: more questions than answers? | 2010 | 19827137 | |
| rare extraintestinal infection caused by toxin-producing clostridium difficile. | toxigenic clostridium difficile is a well known cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea mainly among hospitalized patients, at the same time we have little information about extraintestinal infections caused by this bacterium. we report here on rare extraintestinal infection caused by toxigenic c. difficile: 31-year-old male, accident victim was admitted to the hospital because of polytrauma. microbiological examination of the pus revealed a toxin-producing c. difficile as an etiologic factor of ... | 2010 | 19835967 |
| detection of gyra and gyrb mutations in clostridium difficile isolates by real-time pcr. | fluoroquinolone (fq)-resistance in clostridium difficile has been associated with mutations in the quinolone-resistance determining region (qrdr) of gyr genes. in particular, the majority of resistant clinical isolates show mutations in codon 82 of gyra or in codon 426 of gyrb. a real-time pcr method was developed to identify these mutations in fq-resistant c. difficile strains. twenty-one clinical isolates, selected as representative of the different gyr alleles known up to date, and 20 clinica ... | 2010 | 19837154 |
| clostridium difficile is associated with poor outcomes in patients with cirrhosis: a national and tertiary center perspective. | clostridium difficile-associated disease (cdad) is associated with antibiotic use, acid suppression, and hospitalization, all of which occur frequently in cirrhosis. the aim was to define the effect of cdad on outcomes and identify risk factors for its development in cirrhosis. | 2010 | 19844204 |
| the potential value of faecal lactoferrin as a screening test in hospitalized patients with diarrhoea. | nosocomial diarrhoea is common and its investigation carries a significant healthcare cost. this study aimed to determine the utility of faecal lactoferrin (fl), a readily measurable marker of intestinal inflammation, in hospitalized patients with diarrhoea. | 2010 | 19849752 |
| tumor endothelial marker 5 expression in endothelial cells during capillary morphogenesis is induced by the small gtpase rac and mediates contact inhibition of cell proliferation. | tumor endothelial marker (tem) 5 is an adhesion g-protein-coupled receptor upregulated in endothelial cells during tumor and physiologic angiogenesis. so far, the mechanisms leading to upregulation of tem5 and its function during angiogenesis have not been identified. here, we report that tem5 expression in endothelial cells is induced during capillary-like network formation on matrigel, during capillary morphogenesis in a three-dimensional collagen i matrix, and upon confluence on a two-dimensi ... | 2010 | 19853600 |
| toxic megacolon complicating a clostridium difficile infection in a pregnant woman. | clostridium difficile infection (cdi) in non-hospitalized patients has been reported with increased frequency, whereas an association between cdi and pregnancy has not been highlighted. we report a case of toxic megacolon complicating a severe cdi during the second trimester of pregnancy in a patient without traditional risk factors, such as antibiotic use, immunodeficiency, and prolonged and recent hospitalization. | 2010 | 19745034 |
| a comprehensive surveillance, control and management programme for clostridium difficile infection. | 2010 | 19765860 | |
| high prevalence of tcdc deletion-carrying clostridium difficile and lack of association with disease severity. | we assessed the prevalence of tcdc deletion-carrying clostridium difficile using a stool polymerase chain reaction (pcr) assay that detects previously described 18- and 39-bp deletions (j. clin. microbiol. 2008;46:1996). we divided inpatients into 2 groups, those for whom the assay detected a deletion in tcdc and those for whom no deletion was detected. we compared risk factors (antibiotic use, hospitalization, nursing home stay, immunocompromise, age >65 years), complications (pseudomembranous ... | 2010 | 19775847 |
| laboratory markers as predictors of mortality in patients with clostridium difficile infection. | previous studies have identified laboratory markers for severe clostridium difficile infection (cdi). the most consistent of these markers is the presence of marked leukocytosis. we examined the validity of these markers as predictors of mortality in patients with cdi. we excluded patients with preexisting hematologic conditions that would be expected to impair their ability to demonstrate leukocytosis. on univariate analysis, marked leukocytosis (p = 0.02), thrombocytopenia (p = 0.008), and inc ... | 2010 | 19794314 |
| unusual manifestations of clostridium difficile infection. | clostridium difficile infection (cdi) is an increasing nosocomial problem. new, more-virulent strains of c. difficile have spread across north america and europe. health care institutions now face a greater incidence of disease, often with greater severity. a need for surgical management for control of infection is on the increase. the clinical appearance of cdi is changed. | 2010 | 19795991 |
| [clostridium difficile nosocomial diarrhoea--side-effect of antibiotic administration]. | c. difficile is recognised as the main cause for colitis in hospitalised patients which are treated with antibiotics, chemotherapics or other drugs that disturb intestinal microbiota. thus, a rapid and correct diagnostic of clostridium difficile infections is essential for preventing nosocomial infection spread. empiric therapy, regardless of the laboratory investigation results, is inadequate, especially in epidemic situations, as not all the cases of diarrhoea are due to c. difficile infection ... | 2010 | 21553478 |
| [clostridium difficile and ulcerative colitis]. | different diagnostic considerations take place when a diarrhea of recent development and prolonged or atypical course is evaluated. infectious colitis, including clostridium difficile colitis, and inflammatory bowel disease are the main diagnosis that we put into consideration. we present a 42-year-old woman that begins with diarrhea of probable infectious cause. because of the recurrence of the symptoms we arrived to the diagnosis of clostridium difficile colitis complicating an ulcerative coli ... | 2010 | 21381409 |
| [surfaces of the hospital environment as possible deposits of resistant bacteria: a review]. | the main objective of this study is to identify, in the literature, articles about the occurrence of contamination from inanimate surfaces and a possible dissemination of resistant bacteria in the hospital environment. a bibliographic survey was performed with articles published in the databases lilacs, medline, science direct, scopus and isi web of knowledge, between 2000 and 2008. twenty-one articles were selected and analyzed. the analyzed studies highlighted the presence of bacteria on monit ... | 2010 | 21337799 |
| clostridium difficile infection: essential information for nurses. | clostridium difficile (c. difficile) infection is a challenging problem in the acute care setting. staff nurses are important in the early recognition, diagnosis, and prompt treatment of patients with this bacterial infection. essential information regarding c. difficile, including pathogenesis, risk factors, patient presentation, diagnosis, and treatment approaches, is reviewed. | 2010 | 21337989 |
| clostridium difficile infection: an overview of the disease and its pathogenesis, epidemiology and interventions. | clostridium difficile infection (cdi) is the primary cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea and is a significant nosocomial disease. in the past ten years, variant toxin-producing strains of c. difficile have emerged, that have been associated with severe disease as well as outbreaks worldwide. this review summarizes current information on c. difficile pathogenesis and disease, and highlights interventions used to combat single and recurrent episodes of cdi. | 2010 | 21327030 |
| in-depth genetic analysis of clostridium difficile pcr-ribotype 027 strains reveals high genome fluidity including point mutations and inversions. | previously, we demonstrated that the recently evolved pcr-ribotype 027 hypervirulent clostridium difficile strain (r20291) has acquired five genetic regions compared to the historic 027 counterpart strain (cd196), that may in part explain phenotypic traits relating to survival, antimicrobial resistance and virulence. closer scrutiny of the three genome sequences reveals that, in addition to gene gain/loss, point mutations and inversions appear to have accumulated. inversions are located upstream ... | 2010 | 21327033 |
| infectious diarrhea: cellular and molecular mechanisms. | diarrhea caused by enteric infections is a major factor in morbidity and mortality worldwide. an estimated 2-4 billion episodes of infectious diarrhea occur each year and are especially prevalent in infants. this review highlights the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying diarrhea associated with the three classes of infectious agents, i.e., bacteria, viruses and parasites. several bacterial pathogens have been chosen as model organisms, including vibrio cholerae as a classical example of ... | 2010 | 21327112 |
| common approaches to the control of multidrug-resistant organisms other than methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (mrsa). | curbing antibiotic resistance is a challenge in health care today. infections caused by multidrug-resistant organisms are estimated to cause 12,000 deaths and cost 3.5 billion dollars in excess health care costs in the united states annually. this article focuses on relevant infection control measures for vancomycin-resistant enterococci, multidrug-resistant gram-negative infections, and clostridium difficile. common control strategies targeting these pathogens are reviewed and opportunities for ... | 2010 | 21316000 |
| ccpa-mediated repression of clostridium difficile toxin gene expression. | the presence of glucose or other rapidly metabolizable carbon sources in the bacterial growth medium strongly represses clostridium difficile toxin synthesis independently of strain origin. in gram-positive bacteria, carbon catabolite repression (ccr) is generally regarded as a regulatory mechanism that responds to carbohydrate availability. in the c. difficile genome all elements involved in ccr are present. to elucidate in vivo the role of ccr in c. difficile toxin synthesis, we used the clost ... | 2010 | 21299645 |
| the incidence of nosocomial toxigenic clostridium difficile associated diarrhea in tehran tertiary medical centers. | clostridium difficile is the most common cause of nosocomial diarrhea. it is usually a consequence of antibiotic treatment, but sporadic cases can occur. this study was aimed to determine the frequency of the nosocomial clostridium difficile (c. difficile) associated diarrhea in tehran university of medical sciences hospitals and study of antibacterial susceptibility of isolates. in this study a total of 942 stool samples from patients with nosocomial diarrhea that were hospitalized in imam khom ... | 2010 | 21287466 |
| impact of clostridium difficile infection in patients with ulcerative colitis. | clostridium difficile infection (cdi) is becoming prevalent in general population as well as in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (ibd). | 2010 | 21272802 |
| synthesis and antimicrobial evaluation of nitazoxanide-based analogues: identification of selective and broad spectrum activity. | a library composed of nitazoxanide-based analogues was synthesized and assayed for increased antibacterial efficacy against the pyruvate-ferredoxin oxidoreductase (pfor) using microorganisms helicobacter pylori, campylobacter jejuni and clostridium difficile. derivatives were found to recapitulate and improve activity against these organisms and select analogues were tested for their ability to disrupt the pfor enzyme directly. the library was also screened for activity against staphylococci and ... | 2010 | 21275058 |
| studies with bioengineered nisin peptides highlight the broad-spectrum potency of nisin v. | nisin a is the most thoroughly investigated member of the lantibiotic family of antimicrobial peptides. in addition to a long history of safe use as a food antimicrobial, its activity against multi-drug resistant pathogens has resulted in a renewed interest in applying nisin as a chemotherapeutic to treat bacterial infections. the wealth of nisin-related information that has been generated has also led to the development of the biotechnological capacity to engineer novel nisin variants with a vi ... | 2010 | 21255345 |
| comparative genome-wide analysis of small rnas of major gram-positive pathogens: from identification to application. | in the recent years, the number of drug- and multi-drug-resistant microbial strains has increased rapidly. therefore, the need to identify innovative approaches for development of novel anti-infectives and new therapeutic targets is of high priority in global health care. the detection of small rnas (srnas) in bacteria has attracted considerable attention as an emerging class of new gene expression regulators. several experimental technologies to predict srna have been established for the gram-n ... | 2010 | 21255362 |
| [c. difficile: new bacterial species significantly more pathogenic]. | 2010 | 21207759 | |
| [incidence and characteristics of clostridium difficile infection in patients with diarrhea in a prague teaching hospital]. | description of basic epidemiological and clinical data of patients suffering from clostridium difficile infection (cdi). recognizing important predisposing factors and detecting complications of the disease. | 2010 | 21243600 |
| the ecology and pathobiology of clostridium difficile infections: an interdisciplinary challenge. | clostridium difficile is a well recognized pathogen of humans and animals. although c. difficile was first identified over 70 years ago, much remains unknown in regards to the primary source of human acquisition and its pathobiology. these deficits in our knowledge have been intensified by dramatic increases in both the frequency and severity of disease in humans over the last decade. the changes in c. difficile epidemiology might be due to the emergence of a hypervirulent stain of c. difficile, ... | 2010 | 21223531 |
| systematic review: clostridium difficile and inflammatory bowel disease. | there is increasing concern about the apparently rising incidence and worsening outcome of clostridium difficile infection (cdi) associated with inflammatory bowel disease (ibd). we have systematically reviewed the literature to evaluate the incidence, risk factors, endoscopic features, treatment and outcome of cdi complicating ibd. | 2010 | 21198703 |
| 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 |
| human c. difficile infections are increasing in incidence and severity. | 2010 | 21083827 | |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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-associated disease: impact of the updated shea/idsa guidelines. | clostridium difficile-associated disease (cdad) is an increasingly difficult condition to treat because of the emergence of antibiotic resistance and highly pathogenic strains of bacteria. these newly identified strains affect patients in every facet of health care, from individuals in the community to those in intensive care units and all points in between. appropriate management regarding diagnosis, infection control, pharmacotherapy, and prevention is the key to good outcomes in all patient p ... | 2010 | 21172764 |
| [a case of pseudomembranous colitis in a juvenile rheumatoid arthritis patient taking methotrexate]. | pseudomembranous colitis is mainly caused by antibiotics and clostridium difficile infection. but conditions such as gastrointestinal surgery, antacid medication, anti-neoplastic agent or immunosuppressive agent which influences the normal flora of colon can induce colitis without the administration of any antibiotics. we experienced a 13 year-old male who was taking low-dose methotrexate for juvenile rheumatoid arthritis complained diarrhea and abdominal pain for 3 weeks. sigmoidoscopic finding ... | 2010 | 21173564 |
| pseudomembranous colitis complicating ulcerative colitis. | clostridium difficile toxin (cd toxin) causes antibiotic-associated colitis, or pseudomembranous colitis (pmc). although cd toxin is sometimes found in the stools of patients with ulcerative colitis (uc), uc is rarely complicated by pmc. we report herein a case of pmc complicating uc, and present a review of the literature. a 71-year-old woman was diagnosed as having uc of the left colon, and treated with prednisolone and mesalazine. later, however, lumbar spinal stenosis was also detected. afte ... | 2010 | 21175502 |
| clostridium difficile: progress and challenges. | there is a surge of new interest in c. difficile infection (cdi) reflecting substantial increases in cases and fatalities. the new challenges by this now old pathogen have brought renewed interest in all facets of the disease. particularly important are the role of fluoroquinolones as inducing agents, the new polymerase chain reaction test to detect toxigenic strains in stools, the important role of the nap-1 strain, recent evidence favoring oral vancomycin over metronidazole in seriously ill pa ... | 2010 | 21175676 |
| clostridium difficile colonization in early infancy is accompanied by changes in intestinal microbiota composition. | clostridium difficile is a major enteric pathogen responsible for antibiotic-associated diarrhea. host susceptibility to c. difficile infections results partly from inability of the intestinal microbiota to resist c. difficile colonization. during early infancy, asymptomatic colonization by c. difficile is common and the intestinal microbiota shows low complexity. thus, we investigated the potential relationship between the microbiota composition and the implantation of c. difficile in infant gu ... | 2010 | 21177896 |
| rifaximin therapy for metronidazole-unresponsive clostridium difficile infection: a prospective pilot trial. | background:clostridium difficile infection (cdi) is a recent epidemic in the united states, particularly in the hospital setting. oral metronidazole is standard therapy for c. difficile infection, but resistance to metronidazole is becoming a clinical challenge.methods: we evaluated the efficacy of the nonsystemic oral antibiotic rifaximin for the treatment of metronidazole-resistant c. difficile infection. twenty-five patients with c. difficile infection were enrolled in the study. all had mild ... | 2010 | 21180604 |
| use of probiotics in gastrointestinal disorders: what to recommend? | perturbation of bacterial microflora of the gastrointestinal (gi) tract may play an important role in the pathophysiology of some gi disorders. probiotics have been used as a treatment modality for over a century. they may restore normal bacterial microflora and effect the functioning of the gi tract by a variety of mechanisms. probiotics are not currently regulated and only few randomized controlled trials exist investigating their efficacy in different gi disorders. they are available in a var ... | 2010 | 21180611 |