OBJECTIVE to identify possible risk factors for acquisition of Enterobacterial strains with a marker for resistance to carbapenems. METHODS exploratory case-control study performed in hospital settings. The study sample consisted of patients with biological specimens that tested positive for carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (cases), with the disk diffusion test and Etest, and controls ...

Epigenetics is believed to provide great chances for a better understanding of the development and treatment of many diseases where the analysis of genomic DNA has so far failed to provide conclusive answers. Methylcytosine is a frequently used quantitative marker of epigenetic studies. Since immediate analysis of sampled material is in most cases not possible, storage time and conditions are c...

OBJECTIVE For transbronchial biopsy of peripheral pulmonary lesions manouevering the biopsy instrument into acutely angulated subsegmental ostia is frequently problematic. The aim of the present study was to compare the stiffness of various biopsy instruments with regard to their use in the clinical setting. - METHODS The maximal anterograde and retrograde bending angles, were measured for va...

BACKGROUND Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection of the genital mucosa is thought to require trauma to the cervicovaginal epithelium. Therefore, we determined whether a cytology specimen collection procedure (Pap smear), which disrupts the epithelium by design, renders the cervix more susceptible to HPV infection in a primate model. METHODS In a series of female rhesus macaques, a speculum exa...

To the Editor: Wang et al. detected severe acute respiratory syndrome–associated coronavirus (SARSCoV) from throat wash and saliva specimens and suggested that these specimens have advantages over other specimens, including ease of procurement and safety for medical personnel (1). The virus has been detected with variable success from nasopharyngeal aspirates, nose and throat swabs, and tears (...

PURPOSE To determine if a new, single-sample device (ESwab; Copan Diagnostics, Inc) can simplify the traditional multi-sample approach to specimen collection in infectious keratitis. DESIGN Prospective, diagnostic test evaluation. METHODS In this institutional study, patients with suspected infectious keratitis meeting traditional criteria for diagnostic corneal specimen collection and cult...

Thalassinos, N. C., Leese, B., Latham, S. C., and Joplin, G. F. (1970). Archives of Disease in Childhood, 45, 269. Urinary excretion of phosphate in normal children. In 55 normal children on a normal diet, the phosphate and creatnine were estimated in a fasting 2-hour urine collection and in a simultaneous blood sample. In comparison with adults, a high serum phosphate and relatively decreased ...

The China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) is a nationally representative longitudinal survey of persons in China 45 years of age or older and their spouses, including assessments of social, economic, and health circumstances of community-residents. CHARLS examines health and economic adjustments to rapid ageing of the population in China. The national baseline survey for the s...

Monitoring activated clotting time (ACT) during extracorporeal procedures is virtually universal. The ACT test is usually performed immediately following blood collection. However, certain situations may occur that delay rapid measurement. It is unknown how an aged blood sample affects the ACT measurement. It is hypothesized that the ACT will be affected as a blood sample ages. Multiple blood s...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy of urine culture by bag specimen for the detection of neonatal urinary tract infection in full-term newborn infants. Retrospective study (1997) including full-term newborn infants having a positive urine culture (> 100,000 CFU/ml) by bag specimen collection. The urinary tract infection diagnosis was confirmed by positive urine culture (suprapubic bladder aspir...