BackgroundThe defense mechanisms of the urinary tract are attributed mainly to the innate immune system and the urinary tract urothelium which represent the first line of defense against invading pathogens and maintaining sterility of the urinary tract. There are only a few publications regarding cathelicidin (LL-37) and a urinary tract infection (UTI). This study was done to investigate the plasma and urine levels of human LL-37 in patients with UTI.MethodsA case-control study was conducted at Omdurman Hospital, Sudan during the period from August 2014 to May 2017. The cases were patients with confirmed UTI and the controls were healthy volunteers without UTI. Sociodemographic and clinical data were obtained from each participant using questionnaires. Urine cultures and antimicrobial susceptibility were tested. Plasma and urine levels of LL-37 were determined using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit. SPSS (version 16.0) was used for analyses.ResultsCases and controls (87 in each arm) were matched according to their basic characteristics. Compared with controls, the median (inter-quartile) LL-37 level in plasma [2.100 (1.700–2.700) vs. 1.800 (1.000–2.200) ng/ml, P = 0.002] and in urine [0.900 (0.300–1.600) vs. 0.000 (0.000–1.000) ng/mg creatinine, P < 0.001] was significantly higher in cases. There was no significant difference in the median plasma [2.1 (1.7–2.9) vs. 2.000 (1.700–2.400) ng/ml, P = 0.561] and urine [0.850 (0.275–2.025) vs. 0.900 (0.250–1.350) ng/mg creatinine, P = 0.124]. The uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) was the predominant isolate, n = 38 (43.7%). LL-37 levels between the E. coli isolates and the other isolated organisms. There was no significant correlation between plasma and urine LL-37 levels (r = 0.221), even when the data of the cases were analyzed separately.ConclusionLL-37 is notably increased among patients with UTI compared with normal control subjects. Severity of UTI increases the levels of LL-37. The increased level was not only in the patient’s urine, but has also been observed in the patient’s plasma. Detection of increased levels of LL-37 could help to differentiate subjects with suspected UTI. Accordingly, LL-37 could act as a good marker for diagnosing UTIs.

Introduction: Antimicrobial resistance is a global health problem. The present study was carried out to determine the prevalence and antibiotic resistance of uropathogens in the outpatient departments (OPDs) at the clinics of Qassim University, Saudi Arabia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from January to December 2016. Nonrepetitive midstream urine samples (1273) were cultured on standard culture media. Identification and susceptibility testing of causative microorganisms was performed using the fully automated VITEK 2 Compact system. Results: Out of the 1273 nonrepetitive urine samples, 418 (32.8%) exhibited significant growth of UTI-causing microbes, 377 (90.2%) of which were Gram-negative bacilli. The commonly isolated microorganisms were Escherichia coli (157, 37.6%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (70, 16.7%), Proteus mirabilis (17, 4.1%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (24, 5.8%), Enterobacter cloacae (11, 2.6%), Enterococcus faecalis (12, 2.9%), and Staphylococcus aureus (14, 3.3%). Overall, drug resistance was observed in 91.3% (n=381/418) of the samples, with a majority (80%) exhibiting resistance to at least 2 drugs. Drug resistance was commonly observed against ampicillin (89.9%), oxacillin (75.6%), piperacillin (85.4%), clindamycin (56.1%), amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (74.5%) and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (50.4%). Conclusion: The uropathogens E. coli, K. pneumoniae and P. aeruginosa and multidrug resistance pose serious therapeutic threats in the setting of this study. A concerted and systematic effort is required to rapidly identify high-risk patients and to reduce the burden of antimicrobial resistance in this region.

Background: Onychomycosis is mainly caused by dermatophytes, but yeasts and nondermatophyte molds have also been implicated, giving rise to diverse clinical presentations. The aetiological agents of the disease may show geographic variation. Aim:The aim of the present study was to isolate the causative pathogens and to correlate the various clinical patterns of onychomycosis with causative pathogens. Materials and Methods:The study population comprised 170 patients with clinical suspicion of onychomycosis. Nail samples were collected for direct microscopic examination and culture. Clinical patterns were noted and correlated with causative pathogens.Results: Out of total 170 cases included in the study, 140 (82.4%) were positive by microscopy and 77 (45.3%) showed positive mycological findings by both microscopy and culture. The male: female ratio was 1:2.5 and the mean age was 35.29 ± 16.47 years. Fingernails were involved in 51.9%, toenails in 28.6% and both fingernails and toenails in 19.5% of the 77 patients. The clinical types noted were distal lateral subungual onychomycosis (71.4%), proximal subungual onychomycosis (10.4%), total dystrophic onychomycosis (10.4%), superficial white onychomycosis (3.9%) and mixed pattern onychomycosis (3.9%). Yeasts were the most common pathogens isolated, being found in 36 patients (46.8%) followed by nondermatophyte molds which were isolated from 28 patients (36.4%) followed by dermatophytes which were isolated from 13 patients (16.9%). Conclusion:Distal lateral subungual onychomycosis was the most common clinical presentation. Candida albicans, Aspergillus species and Tricophyton rubrum were the major pathogens. A single pathogen can give rise to more than one clinical type.

Sunflower seed cake and cotton seed warehouses combusted spontaneouslyand burnt in August and November 2009, respectively, in Khartoum North industrialarea. The objective of this study was to determine some of the reasons for self-heatingand spontaneous combustion. Representative samples from the two warehouses werecollected. Aspergillus niger, A. flavus, Paesiolomyces sp., Rhizopus oryzae, Absidia sp.were isolated at 37 o C. Bacillus thuringiensis was isolated at 37 oC, and B. pantothenticus,B. ciculans, B. licheniformis, B. sphaericus, B. badius, Escherichia coli and Klebsiellasp. were isolated at 60 oC. A decrease in oil, fibre and phosphorus and increase in freefatty acids and protein contents were detected.