Background:Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a severe challenge for antimicrobial therapy, due to the chromosomal mutations or exhibition of intrinsic resistance to various antimicrobial agents such as most β-lactams. We undertook this study to evaluate the existence of SME, IMP, AIM, and VIM metallo-β-lactamases (MBL) encoding genes among P. aeruginosa strains isolated from Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients in Al-Zahra Hospital in Isfahan, Iran.Materials and Methods:In a retrospective cross-sectional study that was conducted between March 2012 and April 2013, a total of 48 strains of P. aeruginosa were collected from clinical specimens of bedridden patients in ICU wards. Susceptibility test was performed by disc diffusion method. All of the meropenem-resistant strains were subjected to modified Hodge test for detection of carbapenemases. Multiplex polymerase chain reaction was performed for detection of blaVIM, blaIMP, blaAIM, and blaSME genes.Results:In disk diffusion method, imipenem and meropenem showed the most and colistin the least resistant antimicrobial agents against P. aeruginosa strains. Of the 48 isolates, 36 (75%) were multidrug resistant (MDR). Amplification of β-lactamase genes showed the presence of blaVIM genes in 7 (%14.6) strains and blaIMP genes in 15 (31.3%) strains. All of the isolates were negative for blaSME and blaAIM genes. We could not find any statistically significant difference among the presence of this gene and MDR positive, age, or source of the specimen.Conclusion:As patients with infections caused by MBL-producing bacteria are at an intensified risk of treatment failure, fast determination of these organisms is necessary. Our findings may provide useful insights in replace of the appropriate antibiotics and may also prevent MBLs mediated resistance problem.

Objective The The impact of a hospital antimicrobial stewardship was determined on antimicrobial-resistant, Clostridioides difficile rates and the amount of antimicrobial consumed in cancer patients.The intervention effects of antimicrobial stewardship (ASP) plans in 2017–2018 and 2018–2019 were respectively evaluated among hematology/oncology and bone marrow transplant patients in Ayatollah Taleghani University Hospital, Tehran, Iran. In this interventional quasi-experimental study, the ASP repository was utilized to capture four survey questions encompassed in these immunocompromised patients: amount of antibiotics (meropenem and vancomycin) consumption gr-year, the number of positive Clostridioides difficile infection and multidrug-resistant positive cases in blood cultures. Results The number of MDR cases in the periods of 2017–2018 and 2018–2019 were 145 and 75, respectively (p = 0.011). A significant reduction in all positive blood cultures from 2017–2018 to 2018–2019 was found (p = 0.001). 574 patients admitted to our hospital in these periods of 2017- 2018 and 2018- 2019were assessed for MPM and VMN use. The amounts of MPM prescriptions in 2018–2019 was significantly decreased from 22464 to 17262 g (p = 0.043). The significant reduction in antibiotic consumption, MDR organisms, and CDI can highly promote patients’ health and decreasing medical costs and long-term defects for patients.

Background and Objectives: Infections is yet one of the life-threatening complications of the hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). The myeloablative and immunosuppressive conditioning regimens, which are administered before HSCT, dampen the defense capacity of the recipients’ immune systems. In this condition, opportunistic infections, especially viral infections such as cytomegalovirus (CMV) can be reactivated and cause morbidity and mortality in HSCT patients. Here, we aimed to find out any possible relationship between types of conditioning regimen and CMV reactivation in allo- geneic HSCT patients. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the data of 145 CMV-seropositive cases out of total 201 allo-HSCT patients, including age, gender, underlying disease, conditioning regimen, prophylaxis regimen and occurrence of acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) to evaluate their roles in CMV reactivation. Results: Our result showed that conditioning regimen containing Busulfan and Fludarabine (P=0.003) or Cyclophospha- mide (P=0.02) significantly decrease the early CMV reactivation. Patients who developed aGVHD (P=0.003) and those who received anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG) as prophylaxis regimen (P=0.002), had 1.84 and 2.63 times higher risks of CMV reactivation, respectively. Conclusion: Our findings suggest the conditioning regimen, aGVHD and ATG as influencing factors for early CMV reacti- vation post-HSCT which should be considered in the future studies.

Salmonella typhi, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Moreover, gram-positive bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus are considered Background: Essential oils are volatile components which produced by different parts of the medicinal plants. These components have antibacterial potential and have been used throughout the world as a common, time-tested spice. The present study aimed to assess the antibacterial effects of cinnamon essential oil on several foodborne bacteria, including Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Methods: Literature search was performed in databases such as PubMed, Google Scholar, SID, Scopus, ScienceDirect, and Elsevier to find the relevant articles published during 1987-2018 using keywords such as medicinal plants, cinnamon essential oil, foodborne diseases, and foodborne pathogens. Results: Cinnamon essential oil has been reported to have several antibacterial components, which could inhibit the growth of some foodborne pathogens. Therefore, it could be used in foods, cosmetics, and hygienic industries alone or in combination with other antimicrobial agents to reduce the risk of contamination and increase the shelf life of foods. Conclusion: Proper doses of cinnamon essential oil can be applied as a food preservative in the food industry as long as the taste of the food is not affected.