Stool cultures for nosocomial diarrhea: money down the drain?

The potential benefit of the administration of probiotics in children has been studied in many settings globally. Probiotics products contain viable micro-organisms that confer a health benefit on the host. Beneficial effects of selected probiotic strains for the management or prevention of selected pediatric conditions have been demonstrated. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of current available evidence on the efficacy of specific probiotics in selected conditions to guide pediatricians in decision-making on the therapeutic or prophylactic use of probiotic strains in children. Evidence to support the use of certain probiotics in selected pediatric conditions is often available. In addition, the administration of probiotics is associated with a low risk of adverse events and is generally well tolerated. The best documented efficacy of certain probiotics is for treatment of infectious gastroenteritis, and prevention of antibiotic-associated, Clostridioides difficile-associated and nosocomial diarrhea. Unfortunately, due to study heterogeneity and in some cases high risk of bias in published studies, a broad consensus is lacking for specific probiotic strains, doses and treatment regimens for some pediatric indications. The current available evidence thus limits the systematic administration of probiotics. The most recent meta-analyses and reviews highlight the need for more well-designed, properly powered, strain-specific and dedicated-dose response studies.

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Practice Guidelines for Ordering Stool Cultures in a Pediatric Population

American Journal of Clinical Pathology ◽

10.1093/ajcp/103.2.149 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 103 (2) ◽

pp. 149-153 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Deirdre L. Church ◽

Gisele Cadrain ◽

Amin Kabani ◽

T. Jadavji ◽

C. Trevenen

Keyword(s):

Practice Guidelines ◽

Pediatric Population ◽

Stool Cultures

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AN OUTBREAK OF URINARY TRACT AND OTHER INFECTIONS DUE TO E. COLI

PEDIATRICS ◽

10.1542/peds.33.6.865 ◽

1964 ◽

Vol 33 (6) ◽

pp. 865-871

Author(s):

Avron Y. Sweet ◽

Emanuel Wolinsky

Keyword(s):

Urinary Tract Infection ◽

Urinary Tract ◽

Tract Infection ◽

Premature Infant ◽

Fatal Case ◽

Polymyxin B ◽

Susceptibility Pattern ◽

E Coli ◽

Stool Cultures

In a premature infant nursery 3 infants died of E. coli infections and 5 babies contracted urinary tract infection due to E. coli within a 5-month period. The causative organisms were found to be resistant to tetracycline, streptomycin, chloramphenicol, and sulfisoxazole, and sensitive to kanamycin, polymyxin B, and nitrofurantoin. From throat and stool cultures of 25 infants in the nursery, E. coli with this susceptibility pattern were recovered from 13. Of these, 9 were serotype 04:H5 and one was group 04 but nonmotile. Isolates from the urine of 3 infants with urinary tract infection and meninges of one fatal case were serotype 04:H5. Stool cultures revealed group 04 E. coli only in infants with that organism in the throat. The findings indicate that an outbreak of infections due to E. coli 04:H5 had occurred as a consequence of widespread colonization with that organism in a premature infant nursery. The unusual incidence of urinary tract infection due to a specific E. coli serotype indicates that urosepsis in the newborn can occur in epidemic form.

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Treatment of Non-HIV Cryptosporidial Diarrhea with Azithromycin

Annals of Pharmacotherapy ◽

10.1177/106002809502901006 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 29 (10) ◽

pp. 991-993 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Robert E Bessette ◽

Guy W Amsden

Keyword(s):

High Dose ◽

Immunocompromised Patients ◽

Excessive Weight Loss ◽

The Past ◽

Excessive Weight ◽

Case Summary ◽

Effective Option ◽

Stool Cultures ◽

Immunocompetent Patients

Objective: To report a patient with non-HIV-related cryptosporidial diarrhea who was treated effectively with a regimen of high-dose azithromycin therapy. Case Summary: A 42-year-old immunocompetent man contracted cryptosporidiosis from an ailing calf that he had purchased. He finally was admitted to the hospital because of excessive weight loss and profuse diarrhea. The patient was started on a course of high-dose azithromycin therapy and symptoms resolved within 48 hours. Follow-up stool cultures were negative for the parasite. Discussion: Although usually associated with immunocompromised patients, cryptosporidiosis occurs in immunocompetent hosts in a significant portion of the reported cases each year. Although self-limiting in most cases in this population, the disease can be severe at times and require treatment. Paromomycin therapy has been used in the past with good results. Although macrolides have had erratic effects against this parasite in the past, azithromycin (an azalide) demonstrated good efficacy in this patient. Conclusions: Azithromycin has demonstrated that it may be an effective option for the treatment of cryptosporidiosis in immunocompetent patients. Studies involving its use in immunocompromised patients are currently underway.

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Function of the CRISPR-Cas System of the Human Pathogen Clostridium difficile

mBio ◽

10.1128/mbio.01112-15 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 6 (5) ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Pierre Boudry ◽

Ekaterina Semenova ◽

Marc Monot ◽

Kirill A. Datsenko ◽

Anna Lopatina ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Clostridium Difficile ◽

Type I ◽

Human Pathogen ◽

Range Analysis ◽

Data Set ◽

Content Type ◽

Crispr System ◽

Nosocomial Diarrhea ◽

Active Expression ◽

Foreign Dna

ABSTRACT Clostridium difficile is the cause of most frequently occurring nosocomial diarrhea worldwide. As an enteropathogen, C. difficile must be exposed to multiple exogenous genetic elements in bacteriophage-rich gut communities. CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats)-Cas (CRISPR-associated) systems allow bacteria to adapt to foreign genetic invaders. Our recent data revealed active expression and processing of CRISPR RNAs from multiple type I-B CRISPR arrays in C. difficile reference strain 630. Here, we demonstrate active expression of CRISPR arrays in strain R20291, an epidemic C. difficile strain. Through genome sequencing and host range analysis of several new C. difficile phages and plasmid conjugation experiments, we provide evidence of defensive function of the CRISPR-Cas system in both C. difficile strains. We further demonstrate that C. difficile Cas proteins are capable of interference in a heterologous host, Escherichia coli. These data set the stage for mechanistic and physiological analyses of CRISPR-Cas-mediated interactions of important global human pathogen with its genetic parasites. IMPORTANCE Clostridium difficile is the major cause of nosocomial infections associated with antibiotic therapy worldwide. To survive in bacteriophage-rich gut communities, enteropathogens must develop efficient systems for defense against foreign DNA elements. CRISPR-Cas systems have recently taken center stage among various anti-invader bacterial defense systems. We provide experimental evidence for the function of the C. difficile CRISPR system against plasmid DNA and bacteriophages. These data demonstrate the original features of active C. difficile CRISPR system and bring important insights into the interactions of this major enteropathogen with foreign DNA invaders during its infection cycle.

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Three-Tube Method for Screening Stool Cultures for Salmonella and Shigella

Applied Microbiology ◽

10.1128/aem.24.3.409-411.1972 ◽

1972 ◽

Vol 24 (3) ◽

pp. 409-411 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Yhu-Hsiung Lee ◽

A. Kathleen Daly ◽

Pauline Thurston

Keyword(s):

Stool Cultures

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An outbreak of salmonellosis among Filipinos in a private camp, Saudi Arabia

Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal ◽

10.26719/1996.2.1.107 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 107-114

Author(s):

Salah Th. Al Awaidy

Keyword(s):

Saudi Arabia ◽

Case Control ◽

Professional Staff ◽

Large Company ◽

And Storage ◽

Stool Cultures

In October 1994, 19 Filipino professional staff of a large company in Damman city were hospitalized with acute febrile gastroenteritis. All ate three daily meals at the company cafeteria. A case-control investigation was begun to determine the cause of the outbreak. We searched the compound for any resident with a diarrhoeal illness. Both cases and controls were asked where and when foods were eaten during the three days before onset. Stool cultures were done for all patients and all 25 kitchen employees. Food cooking, handling and storage procedures were reviewed

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