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| 2. |
- Sundvall, Pär-Daniel, et al.
(författare)
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Evaluation of dipstick analysis among elderly residents to detect bacteriuria: a cross-sectional study in 32 nursing homes.
- 2009
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Ingår i: BMC geriatrics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2318. ; 9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Few studies have evaluated dipstick urinalysis for elderly and practically none present confidence intervals. Furthermore, most previous studies combine all bacteria species in a "positive culture". Thus, their evaluation may be inappropriate due to Yule-Simpson's paradox. The aim of this study was to evaluate diagnostic accuracy of dipstick urinalysis for the elderly in nursing homes. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study voided urine specimens were collected from 651 elderly individuals in nursing homes. Dipstick urinalysis for nitrite, leukocyte esterase and urine culture were performed. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values with 95% confidence intervals were calculated. Visual readings were compared to readings with a urine chemistry analyzer. RESULTS: 207/651 (32%) of urine cultures showed growth of a potentially pathogenic bacterium. Combining the two dipsticks improved test characteristics slightly compared to using only one of the dipsticks. When both dipsticks are negative, presence of potentially pathogenic bacteria can be ruled out with a negative predictive value of 88 (84-92)%. Visual and analyzer readings had acceptable agreement. CONCLUSION: When investigating for bacteriuria in elderly people at nursing homes we suggest nitrite and leukocyte esterase dipstick be combined. There are no clinically relevant differences between visual and analyzer dipstick readings. When dipstick urinalysis for nitrite and leukocyte esterase are both negative it is unlikely that the urine culture will show growth of potentially pathogenic bacteria and in a patient with an uncomplicated illness further testing is unnecessary.
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| 3. |
- Midlöv, Patrik, et al.
(författare)
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Medication report reduces number of medication errors when elderly patients are discharged from hospital
- 2008
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Ingår i: PHARMACY WORLD & SCIENCE. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0928-1231 .- 1573-739X. ; 30:1, s. 92-98
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective To investigate whether a Medication Report can reduce the number of medication errors when elderly patients are discharged from hospital. Method We conducted a prospective intervention with retrospective controls on patients at three departments at Lund University Hospital, Sweden that where transferred to primary care. The intervention group, where patients received a Medication Report at discharge, was compared with a control group with patients of the same age, who were not given a Medication Report when discharged from the same ward one year earlier. Main outcome measures The main outcome measure was the number of medication errors when elderly patients were discharged from hospital. Results Among 248 patients in the intervention group 79 (32%) had at least one medication error as compared with 118 (66%) among the 179 patients in the control group. In the intervention group 15% of the patients had errors that were considered to have moderate or high risk of clinical consequences compared with 32% in the control group. The differences were statistically significant (P < 0.001). Conclusion Medication errors are common when elderly patients are discharged from hospital. The Medication Report is a simple tool that reduces the number of medication errors.
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| 5. |
- Linge, Helena, et al.
(författare)
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The Antibacterial Chemokine MIG/CXCL9 Is Constitutively Expressed in Epithelial Cells of the Male Urogenital Tract and Is Present in Seminal Plasma.
- 2008
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Ingår i: Journal of Interferon and Cytokine Research. - : Mary Ann Liebert Inc. - 1079-9907 .- 1557-7465. ; 28:3, s. 190-196
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- ABSTRACT The integrity of the urogenital tract against potentially invasive pathogens is important for the health of the individual, fertilization, and continuance of species. Antibiotic peptides with broad antimicrobial activity, among them chemokines, are part of the innate immune system. We investigated the presence of the antibacterial interferon (IFN)-dependent CXC chemokines, MIG/CXCL9, IP-10/CXCL10, and I-TAC/CXCL11, in the human male reproductive system. MIG/CXCL9 was detected at 25.0 nM (range 8.1-40.6 nM; n = 14), whereas IP-10/CXCL10 and I-TAC/CXCL11 were detected at lower levels (mean 1.8 nM, range 0.3-5.8 nM and mean 0.6, 0.2-1.6 nM, respectively) in seminal plasma of fertile donors. The levels of MIG/CXCL9 are more than 300-fold higher than those previously reported in blood plasma. In vasectomized donors, significantly lower levels of MIG/CXCL9 (mean 14.7 nM, range 6.6-21.8) were found, suggesting that the testis and epididymis, in addition to the prostate, significantly contribute to the MIG/CXCL9 content of seminal plasma. Strong expression of MIG/CXCL9 was found in the epithelium of testis, epididymis, and prostate, as detected by immunohistochemistry. MIG/CXCL9 at concentrations in the order of those found in seminal plasma possessed antibacterial activity against the urogenital pathogen Neisseria gonorrhoeae. The relatively high levels of MIG/CXCL9 in seminal plasma point to roles for this chemokine in both host defense of the male urogenital tract and during fertilization.
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| 6. |
- Nordahl, Emma, et al.
(författare)
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Domain 5 of high molecular weight kininogen is antibacterial.
- 2005
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Ingår i: Journal of Biological Chemistry. - 1083-351X. ; 280:41, s. 34832-34839
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Antimicrobial peptides are important effectors of the innate immune system. These peptides belong to a multifunctional group of molecules that apart from their antibacterial activities also interact with mammalian cells and glycosaminoglycans and control chemotaxis, apoptosis, and angiogenesis. Here we demonstrate a novel antimicrobial activity of the heparin-binding and cell-binding domain 5 of high molecular weight kininogen. Antimicrobial epitopes of domain 5 were characterized by analysis of overlapping peptides. A peptide, HKH20 (His(479) - His(498)), efficiently killed the Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa and the Gram-positive Enterococcus faecalis. Fluorescence microscopy and electron microscopy demonstrated that HKH20 binds to and induces breaks in bacterial membranes. Furthermore, no discernible hemolysis or membrane-permeabilizing effects on eukaryotic cells were noted. Proteolytic degradation of high molecular weight kininogen by neutrophil-derived proteases as well as the metalloproteinase elastase from P. aeruginosa yielded fragments comprising HKH20 epitopes, indicating that kininogen-derived antibacterial peptides are released during proteolysis.
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| 7. |
- Pasupuleti, Mukesh, et al.
(författare)
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Preservation of Antimicrobial Properties of Complement Peptide C3a, from Invertebrates to Humans
- 2007
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Ingår i: Journal of Biological Chemistry. - 0021-9258 .- 1083-351X. ; 282:4, s. 2520-2528
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The human anaphylatoxin peptide C3a, generated during complement activation, exerts antimicrobial effects. Phylogenetic analysis, sequence analyses, and structural modeling studies paired with antimicrobial assays of peptides from known C3a sequences showed that, in particular in vertebrate C3a, crucial structural determinants governing antimicrobial activity have been conserved during the evolution of C3a. Thus, regions of the ancient C3a from Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda as well as corresponding parts of human C3a exhibited helical structures upon binding to bacterial lipopolysaccharide permeabilized liposomes and were antimicrobial against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. Human C3a and C4a (but not C5a) were antimicrobial, in concert with the separate evolutionary development of the chemotactic C5a. Thus, the results demonstrate that, notwithstanding a significant sequence variation, functional and structural constraints imposed on C3a during evolution have preserved critical properties governing antimicrobial activity.
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| 8. |
- Friberg, Örjan, et al.
(författare)
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Incidence, microbiological findings, and clinical presentation of sternal wound infections after cardiac surgery with and without local gentamicin prophylaxis
- 2007
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Ingår i: European Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. - Berlin : Springer. - 0934-9723 .- 1435-4373. ; 26:2, s. 91-97
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Sternal wound infection (SWI) is a serious complication after cardiac surgery. In a previous randomized controlled trial, the addition of local collagen-gentamicin in the sternal wound before wound closure was found to significantly reduce the incidence of postoperative wound infections compared with the routine intravenous prophylaxis of isoxazolyl-penicillin only. The aims of the present study were to analyse the microbiological findings of the SWIs from the previous trial as well as to correlate these findings with the clinical presentation of SWI. Differences in clinical presentation of SWIs, depending on the causative agent, could be identified. Most infections had a late, insidious onset, and the majority of these were caused by staphylococci, predominantly coagulase-negative staphylococci. The clinically most fulminant infections were caused by gram-negative bacteria and presented early after surgery. Local administration of gentamicin reduced the incidence of SWIs caused by all major, clinically important bacterial species. Propionibacterium acnes was identified as a possible cause of SWI and may be linked to instability in the sternal fixation. There was no indication of an increase in the occurrence of gentamicin-resistant bacterial isolates in the treatment group. Furthermore, the addition of local collagen-gentamicin reduced the incidence of SWIs caused by methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci. This technique warrants further evaluation as an alternative to prophylactic vancomycin in settings with a high prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.
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| 9. |
- Gisslén, Magnus, 1962, et al.
(författare)
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Amyloid and tau cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers in HIV infection.
- 2009
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Ingår i: BMC neurology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2377. ; 9:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Because of the emerging intersections of HIV infection and Alzheimer's disease, we examined cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers related of amyloid and tau metabolism in HIV-infected patients. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study we measured soluble amyloid precursor proteins alpha and beta (sAPPalpha and sAPPbeta), amyloid beta fragment 1-42 (Abeta1-42), and total and hyperphosphorylated tau (t-tau and p-tau) in CSF of 86 HIV-infected (HIV+) subjects, including 21 with AIDS dementia complex (ADC), 25 with central nervous system (CNS) opportunistic infections and 40 without neurological symptoms and signs. We also measured these CSF biomarkers in 64 uninfected (HIV-) subjects, including 21 with Alzheimer's disease, and both younger and older controls without neurological disease. RESULTS: CSF sAPPalpha and sAPPbeta concentrations were highly correlated and reduced in patients with ADC and opportunistic infections compared to the other groups. The opportunistic infection group but not the ADC patients had lower CSF Abeta1-42 in comparison to the other HIV+ subjects. CSF t-tau levels were high in some ADC patients, but did not differ significantly from the HIV+ neuroasymptomatic group, while CSF p-tau was not increased in any of the HIV+ groups. Together, CSF amyloid and tau markers segregated the ADC patients from both HIV+ and HIV- neuroasymptomatics and from Alzheimer's disease patients, but not from those with opportunistic infections. CONCLUSIONS: Parallel reductions of CSF sAPPalpha and sAPPbeta in ADC and CNS opportunistic infections suggest an effect of CNS immune activation or inflammation on neuronal amyloid synthesis or processing. Elevation of CSF t-tau in some ADC and CNS infection patients without concomitant increase in p-tau indicates neural injury without preferential accumulation of hyperphosphorylated tau as found in Alzheimer's disease. These biomarker changes define pathogenetic pathways to brain injury in ADC that differ from those of Alzheimer's disease.
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| 10. |
- Robinson, Yohan, 1977, et al.
(författare)
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Postoperative multisegmental lumbar discitis treated by staged ventrodorsoventral intervention.
- 2007
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Ingår i: Surgical infections. - : Mary Ann Liebert Inc. - 1096-2964 .- 1557-8674. ; 8:5, s. 529-34
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Postoperative spinal infections are relatively rare. They can become life-threatening.A 56-year-old man developed multisegmental spinal infection with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus after discectomy at L3/4. A staged ventrodorsoventral intervention was needed for radical debridement and stabilization. After femoral head necrosis developed as a result of the infection, a Girdlestone hip was maintained until the joint was aseptic and a hip prosthesis could be implanted. Two years postoperatively, the patient remained free of infection recurrence.Radical debridement and a tightly controlled antibiotic regimen are necessary for the management of postoperative spinal infections. This should include staged interventions until recovery from infection is possible. Early intervention can prevent systemic sepsis caused by widespread bacterial dissemination.
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