Seminal fluids of 197 males with complaints of involuntary infertility were examined for spermatozoal counts, morphological changes in the spermatozoa and cultured for ureaplasmas and mycoplasmas. In 12, no spermatozoa were present, 29 had a count of less than one million and 156 had more than one million spermatozoa per mL of the seminal fluid. Various morphological changes were detected in the spermatozoa in some cases. U urealyticum and M hominis were grown in 43.15% and 16.75% in comparison to control figures of 15.9% and 11.4% respectively. There was no correlation between growth of ureaplasmas and the spermatozoal count. Among the morphological changes, presence of coiled tails, presence of a fuzzy coat around the tail and microcolonies were highly specific for culture positivity (98.2, 98.2 and 9735% respectively) but of low sensitivity (55.2%,14.1% and 8.2% respectively). MJAFI 1999; 55 : 193-196

Background: Carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) has become a menace in several intensive care units, which needs to be controlled immediately after being reported by a laboratory. Detection in the laboratory is usually done using phenotypic methods and it is not known whether knowledge of these genes helps in individual patient management. This study aimed to compare the outcomes of oxacillinases β-lactamases (OXA-48) and New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase (NDM-1)-producing CRKP isolates, the two most common carbapenemases reported from India, obtained from patients with bloodstream infections in an ICU in a tertiary care center in North India and to compare the different laboratory methods for their detection.Materials and methods: Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates obtained from the blood culture of patients admitted to various ICUs were subjected to conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCRs) for blaNDM and blaOXA48-like genes. Those positive for any of the genes were tested by the modified carbapenem inactivation method (mCIM) and if found positive were also subjected to ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA)-modified carbapenem inactivation method (eCIM). Antibiotic susceptibility tests (AST) were performed and clinical data were recorded.Results: A total of 49 isolates were positive for one or more carbapenemase genes (30 {61.2%} for blaNDM gene only, 13 {26.5%)} for blaOXA48-like gene only, and six {12.2%} for both). The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of mCIM were found to be 77.6%, 100%, 100%, and 78.9%, respectively. Statistically significant differences were found in the AST pattern between the isolates with two genes. Increased MIC levels of colistin were observed, though they lay in the sensitive range. Mortality occurred in all six patients who were infected with CRKP harboring both the genes though no significant difference was observed in NDM and OXA-48 producing CRKP isolates. Conclusion: Surveillance of carbapenemase genes in a hospital setting is essential. The possible reasons for the low diagnostic accuracy of mCIM and differences in AST patterns are discussed.