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C Cocuzza

Publications and source records attributed to C Cocuzza.

24 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Effect of antibiotics on Bordetella pertussis adhering activity: hypothesis regarding mechanism of action.

Microbial adherence to epithelial cell surfaces has been implicated as the first step in the initiation of several infectious diseases. The ability of antibiotics to affect the properties of bacterial adherence to cell surfaces may be a criterion in selecting antibiotics for therapy. This study was performed in order to investigate the activity of amoxicillin, chloramphenicol, and clarithromycin in modifying the adhering activity of Bordetella pertussis to human epithelial cells. The actions of antibiotics, alone or combined with aprotinin, were compared with that of trypsin, aprotinin and trypsin+aprotinin, to investigate the chemical nature of the ligand where antibiotics could act. The adhering activity was evaluated on human epithelial cells, collected from the oral mucosa, challenged with B. pertussis A2963 previously incubated in the presence of the tested substances for 1 h at 37 degrees C in a shaker incubator. After staining, the percentage of mucosal cells with more than 50 adhering bacteria was evaluated. Under the described experimental conditions, trypsin significantly reduced the adherence of B. pertussis. Aprotinin had no effect but was able to counteract the inhibitory action of trypsin. Both clarithromycin and chloramphenicol markedly reduced adhering activity and their actions were not counteracted by aprotinin. Amoxicillin was without effect. It was hypothesized that chloramphenicol and clarithromycin, exerting their antimicrobial action by inhibiting bacterial protein synthesis, affected bacterial adhesion through an unknown mechanism without proteolytic effect.

Amoxicillin↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Concentrations of ceftibuten in bronchial secretions.

Ceftibuten is a broad-spectrum oral cephalosporin exhibiting antimicrobial activity against a wide range of gram-negative and some gram-positive pathogens. Pharmacokinetic studies have shown that the molecule has an oral bioavailability higher than 90% of the administered dose (reaching peak serum concentrations of 5-19 mg/l after a single dose of 200 and 400 mg). Moreover, ceftibuten has been shown to be useful in the treatment of acute lower respiratory tract infections. This study was performed to determine the distribution of ceftibuten in bronchial secretions from patients affected by the exacerbation of chronic bronchitis. Patients were treated with a single 400-mg oral dose of ceftibuten. Blood and bronchial-secretion samples were obtained just before, and at 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 16 and 24 h after dosing. Cells were separated from bronchial secretions by centrifugation. Ceftibuten in duplicate samples of both serum and bronchial secretion was quantified by HPLC. Ceftibuten reached peak levels 2 and 4 h after oral administration in serum and in bronchial secretions, respectively (18.12 +/- 2.13 and 9.19 +/- 3.1 mg/l, respectively). Falling curves after the peaks showed a monoexponential decay. The absorption was very rapid both in serum and bronchial secretions, but elimination was slower in bronchial secretions than in serum.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Pinworm infestation of the appendix].

The Authors present 2 cases of enterobiasis of appendix observed on a total of 186 appendicectomies. Enterobius infestation is an uncommon cause of acute appendicitis. Preoperative diagnosis of pinworm infestation is almost impossible without clinical suspect. Parasites may produce symptoms which resemble acute appendicitis but parasitic infection rarely causes it. It is also important considered in the differential diagnosis cases that mimic Crohn's disease.

Adult↗