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Biomedical subjects

E Holst

Publications and source records attributed to E Holst.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1983

Self-care of common illnesses in Denmark.

Survey data collected from a random sample of the Danish population in the first phase of a research investigation of self-care behavior are discussed. Self-administered postal questionnaires were used to obtain data on behavioral responses to common illness conditions. Information was obtained from 1,462 persons regarding care of 3,100 illness episodes. Log-linear analyses of multiway frequency tables were used to examine the effects of sociodemographic and attitudinal variables on the illness responses. Age, sex, perceived health status, and a reliant attitude toward physicians were the more important variables related to the illness behaviors. Interactions among these variables suggest directions for productive research into the factors shaping responses to illness. Income and social class, among respondents in relation to differences in activity levels maintained while ill suggest that some people may have limited options for caring for themselves during illness.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Anaerobic comma-shaped bacteria recovered from the human genital tract. A review.

The present survey reviews the current knowledge on comma-shaped anaerobic rods that can be isolated from the human genital tract. It summarizes bacterial characteristics such as morphology, biochemical activities, gas chromatographic patterns and differential diagnostic tests. In particular the existence of two variants of such rods is stressed. These variants differ in length, number of flagella, certain biochemical activities and susceptibility to nitroimidazoles. The occurrence of comma-shaped rods in relation to clinical findings is also discussed.

Bacterial Infections↗
PubMed1983

Antimicrobial susceptibility of comma-shaped bacteria isolated from the vagina.

Comma-shaped bacteria isolated from the posterior vaginal fornix of women with foul-smelling discharge were tested for their antimicrobial susceptibility. The 20 strains studied were tested anaerobically, using agar dilution tests. They were highly susceptible to beta lactam antibiotics, clindamycin, doxycycline, erythromycin, gentamicin and thiamphenicol. On the other hand, the bacteria were relatively resistant to sulfamethoxazole, nalidixic acid and nitroimidazoles. A difference in susceptibility to nitroimidazoles between long and short variants of the comma-shaped bacteria was found; the former being more susceptible than the latter.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1982

Gas chromatographic study of cellular fatty acids of comma-shaped bacteria isolated from the vagina.

Gas chromatographic analyses were performed of the cellular fatty acids of 16 strains of comma-shaped bacteria isolated from the vagina of women with discharge. Acidic methanolysis of lyophilized bacterial cells was used, followed by splitless injection of hexane extracts onto a fused silica capillary column. Myristic (14:0), hexadecanoic (16:0), octadecadienoic (18:2), octadecenoic (18:1) and octadecanoic (18:0) acids were the major fatty acids found. Long and short variants of the comma-shaped bacteria showed a great similarity in their fatty acid patterns. No hydroxy acids were detected.

Bacteria↗
PubMed1982

Characteristics of anaerobic comma-shaped bacteria recovered from the female genital tract.

Comma-shaped rods isolated from the vagina of women with signs of vaginitis were studied. Three types of rods were found: a long (length about 4 microns), a medium-sized (about 3 microns) and a short (about 1 micron) variant. All three variants had a characteristic cork-screw motility. The long and the medium-sized variants had up to eight flagella, while the short had up to four. The bacteria only grew under anaerobic conditions, although after a great number of passages on artificial culture media the short variant, but not the other variants, could be grown in a microaerophilic atmosphere. In broth media growth of all three variants was stimulated by the addition of 0.3% formatefumarate. On solid media colonies developed after incubation for 48 to 72 hours at 37 degrees C. The long and the medium-sized variants differed from the short variant in that they produced leucine arylamidase, while only the short variant produced alpha-galactosidase. None of the strains utilized carbohydrates; intravariant differences were found in the test results for gelatin and nitrate reduction. All strains of the short variant tested, but none of the long, hydrolysed sodium hippurate. Gas chromatographic analyses showed that all three variants produce acetic, lactic and succinic acids.

Anaerobiosis↗
PubMed1982

Clostridium difficile toxin in faecal specimens of healthy children and children with diarrhoea.

Presence of cytopathogenic effect (CPE) that could be inhibited by an antitoxin to Clostridium sordelli, known to cross-react with Clostridium difficile toxin, was sought in faecal specimens from 101 infants. Of the children, 45 were healthy, while 56 had been hospitalized because of diarrhoea. CPE was found in 12 of the healthy infants and in 5 of those hospitalized. Faecal specimens of these 5 gave a CPE at titres of 10(3-4), whereas in the 12 healthy infants the titres were 10(1-2). Studies on consecutive samples showed that the CPE could persist for between 7-11 weeks up to 9 months and more. Of the 45 healthy infants, 11 harboured C. difficile compared with 6 of the 56 with diarrhoea. In both groups, 3 CPE-positive infants were culture-negative for C. difficile. Four of those hospitalized had recently been given antibiotics; all were negative in both culture and CPE tests. The present study demonstrates that care should be exercised when interpreting the results of cultures for C. difficile and tests for CPE made on faecal specimens in order to establish a diagnosis of antibiotic-associated enterocolitis in infants and children.

Bacterial Toxins↗
PubMed1982

Feasibility of automated head-space gas chromatography in identification of anaerobic bacteria.

Neutral and acidic metabolites of some anaerobic bacteria cultured in a liquid growth medium were analysed by gas chromatography. Studies on the head-space vapours above heated broth cultures, using a gas chromatograph equipped with a fused silica capillary column and a unit for automatic head-space injection, enabled volatile alcohols and fatty acids to be readily detected. By contrast, when studying ether extracts of the same cultures, using a packed column, alcohols were only rarely registered, being more or less "hidden" under the solvent peak. Head-space gas chromatography was thus found to provide more diagnostic information on anaerobes, as exemplified by the registration of volatile alcohols produced by Clostridium sporogenes. Being suited for automation, this technique should be considered as an alternative to the study of solvent extracts of broth cultures in gas chromatographic identification of anaerobic bacteria.

Alcohols↗
PubMed1981

Recovery of Clostridium difficile from children.

The occurrence of Clostridium difficile in faecal specimens of 218 children, aged 2 weeks to 15 years, was studied. The organism was recovered from 43 (20%) of the children (range 2 weeks to 10 years). The isolation frequency was significantly correlated to age. Thus, in children 1 to 8 months of age the organism occurred in 64%, while in children below and above that age C. difficile could only be recovered in 4%. No significant difference in the recovery frequency could be demonstrated between children with (23%) and without (17%) gastroenteritis. C. difficile occurred numerically more often in non-antibiotic treated children (22%) than in those given such drugs (13%). None of the children in the present study had evidence of pseudomembranous colitis. A comparative study of different selective media did not demonstrate any difference in the recovery frequency of C. difficile. The media used were Chopped Meat Glucose broth with cycloserine and either kanamycin or cefoxitin, and Cycloserine-Cefoxitin-Fructose agar.

Adolescent↗