Background:Chronic infections in CHD are due to one or both of the organisms Chlamydia pneumoniae and Helicobacter pylori.Aim:To examine the association between serum markers of Chlamydia pneumoniae and Helicobacter pylori infection and markers of myocardial damage. in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), with chronic coronary artery disease (CAD) and in–control group.Material and methods:Sera were taken from a total of 153 subjects. Subjects were divided in three groups: 64 patients with ACS; 53 patients with CAD and a group of 35 conditionally healthy individuals. Analysis of patients’ sera for IgG antibodies to H. pylori and markers for myocardial damage was done on the Immulite system. The presence of specific IgG and IgA antibodies to C. pneumoniae was determined with MIF, Sero FIA (Savyon Diagnostics, Israel). Statistical analysis of data was done using the statistical program SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences), version 13.Results and discussion:There was a high significant difference in troponin levels between the three groups of subjects (p=0.0000). Levels of creatine kinase isoenzyme (CK-MB) were highest in the ACS group (500.0 ng/mL). There was a statistically significant difference between CG subjects and ACS patients due to more frequent detection of antichlamydial IgA antibodies in patients with acute coronary syndrome. Positive serum immune response for Helicobacter pylori was 17 (53.1%) and 29 (80.6%), respectively.Conclusion:Increased IgA antibody titers for C. Pneumoniae, increased CRP values as well as classic markers of myocardial damage are risk factors for coronary events.
BACKGROUND: Clostridium difficile is a major nosocomial pathogen. In Europe, this bacterium is mostly characterised by PCR ribotyping. Most of the Clostridium difficile infections (CDI) are treated with vancomycin or metronidazole, although prolonged antibiotic use is considered as one of the main risk factors for CDI.AIM: This study aimed to detect the presence of various C. difficile ribotypes in hospitalised patients and to investigate their toxigenicity and antibiotic susceptibility.MATERIAL AND METHODS: All stool samples obtained from each patient were inoculated on Columbia blood agar and cycloserine cefoxitine fructose agar (CCFA) for isolation of C. difficile. Glutamate dehydrogenase and toxins A and B were investigated by immunochromatographic tests. Final confirmation of the isolates was performed by Vitek 2 and MALDI-TOF. A total of 21 isolates were collected for further investigation. PCR ribotyping was performed as described by Janezic and Rupnik. PCR ribotype profiles were analysed using software (Bionumerics, Applied Maths). Antibiotic susceptibility was determined by E-tests for metronidazole, vancomycin, tetracycline, clindamycin, erythromycin, imipenem, ciprofloxacin and moxifloxacin.RESULTS: About 48% of C. difficile isolates belonged to ribotype 001/072. So, this ribotype was the most common ribotype in this study. The remaining 52% of C. difficile isolates consisted of 10 different ribotypes: 017, SLO 160, SLO 187, SLO 120, 255/258, 014/020, 046, 002, 070 and 027. Furthermore, 20 (95.2 %) out of 21 isolates of C. difficile were toxigenic. Toxins A and B were detected simultaneously in 90.5 % of C. difficile isolates. Two isolates from the ribotype 017 were toxin B positive only. Treatments with any of the following antimicrobials: clindamycin, erythromycin, ciprofloxacin and moxifloxacin (as well as many other antibiotics), could be a risk factor for CDI due to the high resistance of the strains in this study. About 90% of the strains from the most common ribotype 001/072 have MICs for clindamycin and erythromycin > 256 µg/ml. CONCLUSION: All strains isolated are highly resistant to ciprofloxacin. All strains were susceptible to vancomycin (median MIC was 0.63 µg/ml) and metronidazole (median MIC was 0.084 µg/ml), so these two antimicrobials remain optimal treatment option for CDI.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.