BackgroundThe clinical spectrum of leprosy is dependent on the host immune response against Mycobacterium leprae or the newly discovered Mycobacterium lepromatosis antigen. Helminth infections have been shown to affect the development of several diseases through immune regulation and thus may play a role in the clinical manifestations of leprosy and leprosy reactions. The purpose of this study is to determine the proportion of helminth infections in leprosy and its association with the type of leprosy and type 2 leprosy reaction (T2R).MethodsHistory or episode of T2R was obtained and direct smear, formalin-ether sedimentation technique, and Kato-Katz smear were performed on 20 paucibacillary (PB) and 61 multibacillary (MB) leprosy participants.ResultsThere are more helminth-positive participants in MB leprosy compared to PB (11/61 versus 0/20, p = 0.034) and in T2R participants compared to non-T2R (8/31 versus 3/50, p = 0.018).ConclusionsOur results suggest that soil-transmitted helminth infections may have a role in the progression to a more severe type of leprosy, as well as the occurrence of T2R. These findings could serve as a fundamental base for clinicians to perform parasitological feces examination in patients who have MB leprosy and severe recurrent reactions to rule out the possibility of helminth infection. Further secondary confirmation of findings are needed to support these conclusions.
BACKGROUND Acne vulgaris is a pilosebaceous disorder. Bacterial activity and inflammation both influence acne formation. Antibiotics suppress the bacterial activities and elicit anti-inflammatory effects. The overuse of antibiotics may lead to resistance in bacteria. This study was aimed to provide an overview of bacteria that may cause acne and determine their susceptibility to antibiotics.METHODS This was a cross-sectional study sampling from 93 patients with acne in Ciptomangunkusumo Hospital. Comedones were extracted and cultured on Brucella blood agar, under aerobic and anaerobic conditions at 35oC for 24–48 hours. Bacterial identification was performed using Vitek®, and susceptibility test using E-test. Data interpretation was based on the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute 2015.RESULTS Staphylococcus epidermidis (50.5%), Propionibacterium acnes (11.0%), and Staphylococcus aureus (7.7%) were identified. Bacteria were not found in 69.2% and 1.1% of samples in anaerobic and aerobic cultures, respectively. P. acnes was susceptible to doxycycline (100%) and minocycline (100%), while 10% was resistant to erythromycin, clindamycin, and tetracycline. S. epidermidis was susceptible to minocycline (100%); but resistant to erythromycin (65.2%), clindamycin (52.2%) and tetracycline (32.6%). The susceptibility of S. epidermidis to doxycycline was 89.1%, which was lower than that of P. acnes (100%). S. aureus was found to be sensitive to minocycline (100%), doxycycline (71.4%), clindamycin (71.4%), and tetracycline (71.4%); but it was resistant to erythromycin (42.9%).CONCLUSIONS Doxycycline and minocycline showed 100% effectiveness for P. acnes. The isolated bacteria were more susceptible to doxycycline compared to tetracycline. The use of clindamycin and erythromycin needs to be limited as most S. epidermidis isolates were resistant to both.
Background: Multidrug therapy (MDT) is a safe and effective drug combination for leprosy treatment that can prevent drug resistance. Mycobacterium leprae resistance, especially to rifampicin, is a serious problem as it potentially thwarts the worldwide leprosy-elimination program by the World Health Organization (WHO). One of the suspected causes of rifampicin resistance is poor treatment compliance. It was necessary to assess the association between the treatment compliance and the occurrence of mutation rifampicin resistance in multibacillary (MB) leprosy patients.Methods: A comparative, analytical, cross-sectional study was performed in MB leprosy patients who had completed treatment at the Dermatovenereology Outpatient Clinic in Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital and the Sitanala Center for Leprosy Hospital from October 2012 to April 2013. Based on treatment regularity and history of drug discontinuation, the subjects were classified as either having good or poor compliance. Skin smear from a slit skin smear (SSS) examination was further analyzed by using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) sequencing technique to detect rifampicin resistance.Results: Fifty-seven study subjects were enrolled in this study. In the good treatment compliance group (29 subjects), only 1 case of mutation for rifampicin resistance was found. Meanwhile, in the poor drug compliance group (28 subjects), 8 cases of mutation for resistance (29%) were found. This difference in mutation rate was statistically significant (OR=11.2; 95% CI=1.296–96.787; p=0.012).Conclusion: This study revealed that the risk of occurrence of M. leprae resistance to rifampicin in patients with poor drug compliance was significantly higher than in those with good drug compliance.
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