In our study population, the routine use of quantitative invasive diagnostic tools is not justified in the setting of ventilated patients clinically suspected of having nosocomial pneumonia.

No abstract

Laryngeal papillomatosis is one of the first diseases where interferon (IFN) was found to be effective. In 1983, a programme for the treatment of all such cases started in Cuba. Up to December 1991, 125 patients (92 children, 33 adults) have been treated: 102 with leucocyte IFN-α, 12 with recombinant IFN-α-2b, and 11 have received both preparations. Case management consisted of surgical removal of the lesions followed by an IFN schedule starting with 105 IU/kg of weight in children or 6 × 106 IU in adults, i.m. daily. The dose was progressively reduced, as long as no relapses occurred. At the end of the one-year schedule the doses were reduced to 5 × 104 IU/kg in children or 3 × 106 IU in adults, weekly. If there was a relapse, it was removed surgically and the patient returned to a higher dose level. Most cases (89; 71 per cent) have not relapsed after the treatment; 60 of them have been followed for more than three years. In those with relapses, the frequency of recurrence decreased in all but four patients. The treatment seemed to be more effective if initiated less than three months after the disease onset. The tracheostomy could be removed in five out of seven patients who needed it before the IFN treatment and was necessary in only three new cases during IFN treatment. In two of these, decannulation was possible later on. In a total of 14 patients relapses persisted after several cycles of IFN treatment. They were considered resistant to such treatment. No severe side effects were reported. The most frequent ones were fever, drowsiness, increased bronchial secretion, chills and headache. The establishment of this programme has maintained the disease under control in Cuba.

No abstract

We present a case of brain abscess caused by Nocardia otitidiscaviarum in an immunocompromized 44-y-old male. Only 7 other cases of N. otitidiscaviarum brain abscess or involvement were found in the literature. The mortality was 75% despite treatment among cases reviewed. There is a lack of therapeutic guidelines regarding brain abscesses due to Nocardia.

Flowers have been used for centuries in decoration and traditional medicine, and as components of dishes. In this study, carotenoids and phenolics from 125 flowers were determined by liquid chromatography (RRLC and UHPLC). After comparing four different extractants, the carotenoids were extracted with acetone: methanol (2:1), which led to a recovery of 83%. The phenolic compounds were extracted with 0.1% acidified methanol. The petals of the edible flowers Renealmia alpinia and Lantana camara showed the highest values of theoretical vitamin A activity expressed as retinol activity equivalents (RAE), i.e., 19.1 and 4.1 RAE/g fresh weight, respectively. The sample with the highest total phenolic contents was Punica granatum orange (146.7 mg/g dry weight). It was concluded that in most cases, flowers with high carotenoid contents did not contain high phenolic content and vice versa. The results of this study can help to develop innovative concepts and products for the industry.

In order to evaluate the S-100 concentration in cerebrospinal fluid from subjects with nonischemic brain damage, a total of 33 samples were analyzed: 11 from subjects in whom no organic disease could be found; 14 from patients with a diagnosis of lymphocytic or bacterial-fungal meningitis, and 8 from patients with acute lymphatic leukemia but no demonstrable signs of meningeal involvement. In all cases, the subjects considered had no previous history of melanoma or ischemic brain damage. The mean levels ± SEM found for each study group were 1.00 ± 0.11, 1.67 ± 0.23 and 1.17 ± 0.14 μg/l, respectively. Significant differences appeared between the groups when applying the Kruskal-Wallis nonparametric test (p = 0.035). The highest levels were found in the meningitis group and were significantly different from those of the control group (p = 0.015). No significant differences were found with regard to age or sex. Based on the pathophysiology of meningitis and on previous studies, the results suggest the existence of brain damage caused by an infection as a possible cause of increased S-100 levels.

A strain of Alcaligenes faecalis A12C (A. faecalis A12C) isolated from Argyrosomus regius is a probiotic in fish. Previous experiments showed that A. faecalis A12C had inhibitory effects on the growth of multidrug-resistant bacteria. We aimed to confirm whether A. faecalis A12C is safe and has adequate intestinal colonization in experimental rats, and evaluate its efficacy in an animal model of peritonitis. We used 30 male rats, randomly divided into 6 groups (n = 5): three groups (HA7, HA15, HA30) received A. faecalis A12C in drinking water (6 × 108 CFU/mL) for 7 days, and three control groups received drinking water only. All groups were evaluated at 7, 15, and 30 days. Survival after A. faecalis A12C administration was 100% in all groups. Mild eosinophilia (1.5%, p < 0.01) and increased aspartate aminotransferase (86 IU/L, p < 0.05) were observed in HA7, followed by progressive normalization. No histological signs of organ injury were found. We observed significant E. coli decline in faeces, parallel to an increase in A. faecalis A12C at 7 days. E. coli had a tendency to recover initial values, while A. faecalis A12C disappeared from the intestinal microbiota at 30 days. To evaluate its efficacy against peritonitis, we studied two additional groups of animals: IA group pretreated with A. faecalis A12C before E. coli intra-abdominal inoculation, and IC group inoculated with no A. faecalis A12C. We found an increase in C-reactive protein, alanine aminotransferase, urea, and eosinophils in IC animals when compared with IA. Peritonitis was more evident in IC than in IA animals. Our findings suggest that A. faecalis A12C altered clinically relevant parameters in sepsis and was associated with a lesser spread of infection.