Searching MEDLINE was searched from 1966 to May 1998 for articles published in English; the search terms were reported. Excerpta Medica and Abstracts from the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (American Society for Microbiology, 1993-1997) were also searched. In addition, the references from all identified studies and review articles were checked, and experts in t...

Endocarditis is a disease characterized by inflammation or infection of the inner surface of the heart (the endocardium). This article will focus on endocarditis that is the result of infection (infective endocarditis). Endocarditis commonly affects heart valves, but may also involve nonvalvular areas or mechanical devices that are implanted in the heart, such as artificial heart valves, pacema...

This review summarizes ongoing research aimed at finding novel drugs as alternatives to traditional antibiotics. Anti-virulence approaches, phage therapy and therapeutic antibodies are strategies that may yield drugs with high specificity and narrow spectra. Several candidates are currently being evaluated in clinical trials, mostly for topical applications, but so far, none have been approved ...

The most prominent complications of having liver diseases such as cirrhosis include ascites. Derived from the Greek word “askos” which means “sack”, ascites is characterized as the collection of fluid in the peritoneal cavity. Aside from liver diseases, it can also be caused by a wide range of reasons necessitating different means of definitive management. Therefore, the identification of the n...

This review focuses on recent advances of topical interest regarding the diagnosis and treatment of common causes of bacterial meningitis occurring in children beyond the neonatal period. Tuberculous meningitis is beyond the scope of this review.

Several groups of bacteria were isolated and identified in an evaluation of the microbiological properties of a sewage treatment system involving the process of controlled eutrophication in a marine setting (J. G. Songer, N. M. Trieff, R. F. Smith, and D. Grajcer, 1974). Fecal coliforms, enterococci, Salmonellae, Shigellae, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, and Vibrio alginolyticus were studied at three...

Prostate inflammation is a common syndrome, especially in men under 50. It usually presents with voiding symptoms and pain in the genitourinary area, and sometimes as sexual dysfunction. Based on clinical and laboratory characteristics, prostatitis is classified as acute bacterial prostatitis, chronic bacterial prostatitis, chronic inflammatory and non-inflammatory prostatitis or chronic pelvic...