No abstract

Methods PatientsSix cases of PAD were enrolled, all male patients: 5 cases of TAO, and 1 of ASO. All the patients had a history of intermittent claudication, rest pain, non-healing ischemic ulcers, or all three, and were not candidates for surgical revascularisation. None of the patients had responded to conventional medical therapy for at least 8 weeks. Exclusion criteria were: diabetes mellitus with proliferative retinopathy; malignant disease; recent onset (within 3 month) of myocardial infarction or brain infarction; uncontrolled myocardial ischemia; persistent severe heart failure (ejection fraction <30%); hematological disease; current serious infectious disease; aged older than 80 years; and diseases with life expectancy of less than 1 year. We

No abstract

No abstract

Representatives of paramyxoviruses isolated from waterfowl in the U.S.A., goose/Delaware/1053/76, and Japan, pintail/Wakuya/20/78, were shown to be serologically closely related but distinct from other avian paramyxoviruses. Another isolate, from domestic ducks in the U.S.A., was shown to be representative of a further distinct serotype of avian paramyxoviruses. We propose that, in the current system of nomenclature these serotypes be designated PMV-8, for which the prototype strain would be PMV-8/goose/Delaware/1053/76 and PMV-9, for which the prototype strain would be PMV-9/domestic duck/New York/22/78.

To clarify the efficacy of repeated stool examinations by the agar plate culture method for the detection of Strongyloides stercoralis infection, 4,071 stool samples collected from 2,406 patients > 50 years of age in Ryukyu University Hospital were examined. The cumulative detection rate of S. stercoralis infection was 4.7% (112/2,406). At the first, second, third, and beyond fourth examinations, the detection rates were 3.6% (86/2,406), 1.5% (12/786), 2.6% (10/392), and 2.0% (4/198), respectively. From these results, the cumulative detection rate was estimated to be 7.4% when three stool samples were examined for all patients. Our study showed that repeated stool examinations increase the sensitivity of detection of S. stercoralis infection.

This study was conducted to clarify the prevalence of Blastocystis hominis and Strongyloides stercoralis infection in Ryukyu University Hospital, Okinawa, Japan, between January 2004 and November 2006. Stool samples collected from 3,292 patients were examined by the direct smear method, formalin-ether sedimentation method, and agar plate culture method. The prevalence rate of B. hominis and S. stercoralis infection was 1.0 and 3.4%, respectively. The prevalence rate of B. hominis infection in patients aged >80 years old was significantly higher than that in patients <80 years old (P < 0.001). The prevalence rate of S. stercoralis infection was significantly higher in patients with B. hominis infection compared with those without (P < 0.001). This study demonstrated a prevalence rate for B. hominis and S. stercoralis infection and an association between B. hominis and S. stercoralis infection in Okinawa, Japan.

The autoSCAN-W/A (W/A; Baxter MicroScan, West Sacramento, Calif.) with the new fluorometric Rapid Neg Combo 1 (RNC) panel is a fully automated fluorometric system for identification of both enteric and nonenteric gram-negative bacilli within 2 h. We compared the W/A with the Vitek AutoMicrobic System (Vitek AMS; Vitek Systems, Inc., Hazelwood, Mo.) for identification of 383 clinical isolates of gram-negative bacilli. The API 20E (Analytab Products, Plainview, N.Y.) and conventional biochemical testing were used as the reference systems. The W/A correctly identified 336 isolates (87.7%) to the species level and classified an additional 29 isolates (7.6%) as correct with low probability (overall identification = 95.3%); the Vitek AMS correctly identified 355 isolates (92.7%) to the species level and classified an additional 8 isolates (2.1%) as correct with low probability (overall identification = 94.8%). A common set of 134 isolates of gram-negative bacilli was tested in both participating laboratories as a means of assessing interlaboratory agreement with both the W/A and the Vitek AMS. The overall agreements between the two laboratories were 86% with the W/A and 92% with the Vitek AMS. The W/A performed comparably to the Vitek AMS for identification of most gram-negative bacilli, actually exceeding the Vitek AMS for identification of nonenteric bacilli. Rapid time to identification and a high level of automation make the W/A an attractive system for clinical microbiology laboratories.