value of pneumococcal capsular antigen by comparing this with the results of Gram stain and culture in representative and nonrepresentative sputa during follow-up in patients with community-acquired pneumonia. Antigen was de tected by a latex particle agglutination test. At the time of hospital admission, antigen was detected in 17 representa tive sputum specimens from 30 patients with pneumoco...

purpose: to report the prevalence of fungal keratitis as a cause of corneal ulcer in patients refered to boo-ali sina hospital in sari and identify the predisposing factors.  methods: this prospective study was conducted on patients who presented with corneal ulcers to the ophthalmology ward at boo-ali sina hospital in sari, 2004-2005. using standard techniques, a corneal scraping was performed...

Endotoxin concentrations were determined in middle-ear effusions (MEEs) from 89 children with chronic otitis media by using the Limulu's amoebocyte lysate assay. Mean concentrations of endotoxin in Haemophilus influenzae-positive and Streptococcus pneumoniae-positive MEEs were 157 and 21.8 ng/ml, respectively, and were significantly different (P less than 0.01). Endotoxin was also found in Gram...

Evaluations of screening tests for bacteriuria have traditionally compared the test results with those of quantitative urine cultures. However, many patients with symptomatic urinary tract infections can have less than 10(5) CFU/ml in their urine. Therefore, the results of urine culture and three screening tests (Bac-T-Screen, Chemstrip LN [which tests for leukocyte esterase and nitrate reducta...

Gram stains of 87 different clinical samples were prepared by the laboratory's conventional methods (automated or manual) and by a new single-slide-type automated staining instrument, GG&B AGS-1000. Gram stains from either heat- or methanol-fixed slides stained with the new instrument were easy to interpret, and results were essentially the same as those from the methanol-fixed slides prepared ...

Gram-negative cell walls are strong enough to withstand ;3 atm of turgor pressure (40), tough enough to endure extreme temperatures and pHs (e.g., Thiobacillus ferrooxidans grows at a pH of '1.5) and elastic enough to be capable of expanding several times their normal surface area (41). Strong, tough, and elastic . . . the gram-negative cell wall is a remarkable structure which protects the con...

Microbiological confirmation of a urinary tract infection (UTI) takes 24-48 h. In the meantime, patients are usually given empirical antibiotics, sometimes inappropriately. We assessed the feasibility of sequentially performing a Gram stain and MALDI-TOF MS mass spectrometry (MS) on urine samples to anticipate clinically useful information. In May-June 2012, we randomly selected 1000 urine samp...

Abstract Aim Septic arthritis is a debilitating pathology. Joint aspirate gram stain often performed followed by definitive culture. We review the accuracy of staining for suspected septic arthritis, and investigate factors associated with cultures positive bacterial growth. Method reviewed all theatre joint aspirates at Major Trauma Centre from 2015-2021 arthritis. Information collected includ...

The microscopic examination of Gram-stained sputum specimens is very helpful in the evaluation of patients with community-acquired pneumonia and has also been recommended for use in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. This study was undertaken to evaluate that recommendation. One hundred one sputum samples from CF patients were cultured for gram-negative bacilli and examined by Gram staining for bot...