Twelve cases of genito-urinary complications of brucellosis are presented. Ten patients had epididymo-orchitis, 1 presented with right hydronephrosis and 1 with haematuria and dysuria. The 10 cases of epididymo-orchitis were compared with 15 cases of acute non-specific epididymo-orchitis. The former were of longer duration and were not associated with lower urinary tract symptoms; almost all of these patients had ingested unpasteurised milk. Non-specific epididymo-orchitis had a more acute onset, shorter duration and was associated more frequently with pyuria, lower urinary tract symptoms, higher leucocyte counts and insignificant brucella titres. The distinction between these two types of epididymo-orchitis is essential, since the treatments are entirely different.

No abstract

Introduction: Microbial infections of the vagina in pregnant women are health problems that lead to serious medical complications and consequences. This study aimed to investigate and determine antimicrobial susceptibilities of the causative agents of vaginal infections in pregnant women. Methodology: A cross-sectional study of pregnant women (n = 200) was conducted between August and December 2008 at Omdurman Maternity Hospital, Khartoum, Sudan. Vaginal and cervical swabs were obtained from each subject and processed for isolation and identification of pathogenic microorganisms using standard methods of wet mount preparation, direct Gram smear, Nugent scoring system, direct immunofluorescence, and cultural techniques. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing of bacterial isolates was performed using standard procedures. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS program version 12.0.1. A p value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Of the 200 pregnant women enrolled, BV was detected in 49.8%, followed by Chlamydia trachomatis (31.3%) and Candida albicans (16.6%), with low frequencies of Neisseria gonorrhoeae (1.8%) and Trichomonas vaginalis (0.5%). Higher infection rates were recorded among subjects in the third trimester (71.6%) than in the second trimester of gestation (28.4%). No significant association (p = 0.7) between history of abortions and C. trachomatis infections was found. Gentamicin was the most active agent against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Clarythromycin was the most active against Mycoplasma species. Conclusions: Pregnant women with vaginal complaints revealed various positive microbiology results. Such cases may require specific medication. Routine culture of vaginal and cervical samples should be performed on all pregnant women during prenatal visits.

The prevalence of ESBL-producing E. coli detected in this study is of great concern, which requires sound infection control measures including antimicrobial management and detection of ESBL-producing isolates.

No abstract

BackgroundThe emergence of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing isolates has important clinical and therapeutic implications. High prevalence of ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae has been reported in the literature for clinical samples from a variety of infection sites. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the prevalence of ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae, and to perform molecular characterization and antimicrobial susceptibility testing of clinical isolates from patients admitted to the intensive care units at Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar, from November 2012 to October 2013.MethodsA total of 629 Enterobacteriaceae isolates were included in the study. Identification and susceptibility testing was performed using Phoenix (Becton Dickinson) and the ESBL producers were confirmed by double-disk potentiation as recommended by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute. Molecular analysis of the ESBL producers was performed by polymerase chain reaction.ResultsIn total, 109 isolates (17.3 %) were confirmed as ESBL producers and all were sensitive to meropenem in routine susceptibility assays. Most of the ESBL producers (99.1 %) were resistant to amoxicillin/clavulanic acid and ceftriaxone and 93.6 % were resistant to cefepime. Among the ESBL-producing genes, blaCTX-M (66.1 %) was the most prevalent, followed by blaSHV (53.2 %) and blaTEM (40.4 %).ConclusionsThese findings show the high prevalence of ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae within the intensive care units at Hamad Medical Corporation, Qatar, and emphasize the need for judicious use of antibiotics and the implementation of strict infection control measures.

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 the emergence of antibiotic resistance pathogens is an important health risk. Usually Gram negative bacteria acquire resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics by beta-lactamase production. The objectives of this study was to assess the prevalence of ESBL and to detect the frequency of blaTEM, blaSHV and blaCTX-M genotypes among ESBL producing Enterobacteriaceae isolates from patients in Khartoum, Sudan. Methods a total of 171 isolates of Enterobacteriaceae were recovered from hospitals in Khartoum, Sudan (2014 -2015) were used to detect ESBL production using disc diffusion method. blaTEM, blaSHV and blaCTX-M genes were investigated by PCR based methods using gene-specific primers. Results the high resistance among Enterobacteriaceae was noticed in ciprofloxacin (72%) and ofloxacin (73%). ESBL production was mainly in Escherichia Coli (38%) and Klebsiella pneumonia (34%). Prevalent genotypes were blaTEM (86%), blaCTX-M (78%) and blaSHV (28%). These were found mainly in Escherichia Coli (38%, 37%, 2%) and K. pneumonia (34%, 31%, 26.1%). The majority of ESBL producing isolates possess more than one ESBL genes. Conclusion the ESBL production in Enterobacteriaceae was high, with blaTEM and blaCTX-M genotypes more prevalent. Public health and laboratory standard of excellence is needed to reducing the spread of resistant pathogens.