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Biomedical subjects

H Goossens

Publications and source records attributed to H Goossens.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources

Distribution of serotypes and biotypes of thermophilic campylobacters in the Federal Republic of Germany: a comparison with other countries.

Thermophilic Campylobacter isolates from infected humans from the southwest of the FRG were bio- and serotyped according to Lior's scheme. Serotyping was performed with a commercially available test kit (Sopar, Brussels). C. jejuni represented about 87% of the isolates with Biotype I representing about 50% of the isolates. C. coli was found in 12% of the isolates and C. laridis in less than 1%. The most frequently identified serotypes were LIO 8, LIO 7 and LIO 4. The results are compared with investigations from seven other countries and with one investigation from northern Germany.

Bacteriological Techniques↗

In-vitro evaluation of antibiotic combinations against Campylobacter fetus.

We evaluated the in-vitro activity of 16 antibiotics against 22 clinical isolates of Campylobacter fetus. The interaction of these antibiotics was also tested by chequer-board titration and time-kill assay. Eight antibiotic combinations were evaluated. Antagonism was not found with any of the combinations tested. The highest synergistic effect was obtained with a combination of ampicillin and cefazolin or ampicillin and gentamicin.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

Semisolid blood-free selective-motility medium for the isolation of campylobacters from stool specimens.

Isolation of Campylobacter jejuni and C. coli from stool specimens is done by growing campylobacter colonies on solid selective media with or without blood. However, recognition of these colonies can be difficult. Therefore, we decided to evaluate an isolation procedure based on the swarming of campylobacters through a semisolid medium. We developed a semisolid blood-free selective motility (SSM) medium which is composed of Mueller-Hinton broth with 0.4% agar and supplemented with cefoperazone (30 micrograms/ml) and trimethoprim (50 micrograms/ml). The SSM medium was compared with our previously described Butzler Medium Virion (Goossens et al., J. Clin. Microbiol. 24:840-843, 1986) and blood-free medium (Bolton and Coates, J. Appl. Bacteriol. 54:115-125, 1983) with cefoperazone (32 micrograms/ml) (Bolton et al., J. Clin. Pathol. 37:956-957, 1986). Of 1,890 routine stool specimens tested, 100 were found to be positive for campylobacters: 95 were recovered with the SSM medium, 94 with the Virion medium, and 90 with the blood-free medium. The SSM medium performed equally well whether it was incubated in the special incubator or the candle jar. Only 4.4 and 7.3% of the plates grew contaminating fecal flora when incubated in the special incubator and the candle jar, respectively. Clearly the SSM medium is easy, quick, cheap, sensitive, and more selective than any other medium which has been developed so far and does not require the addition of blood. We believe that this medium has a future in the routine microbiology laboratory in developed as well as in developing countries.

Campylobacter↗

Comparative translocation of enteropathogenic Campylobacter spp. and Escherichia coli from the intestinal tract of gnotobiotic mice.

In C3H gnotobiotic mice, no significant difference was observed between the translocation of nine clinical isolates of enteropathogenic Campylobacter spp. and that of seven nonisogeneic Escherichia coli strains with or without various determinants of pathogenicity. In addition, there was no correlation found between the intensity of translocation of Campylobacter strains and the signs of invasiveness in the patients from whom the strains had been isolated.

Animals↗

Nosocomial outbreak of Campylobacter jejuni meningitis in newborn infants.

In a nosocomial outbreak of Campylobacter jejuni infection 11 newborn infants (7 female, 4 male) had meningitis. The outbreak was caused by a single strain of C jejuni, as demonstrated by biotyping (biotype I), serotyping (LAU 7/PEN 18 on heat-stable antigens, a new serotype on heat-labile antigens), and the identical susceptibility pattern and outer-membrane-protein profile on sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Specific antibodies against the outbreak strain (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Western blot) developed in all the babies. They were treated with gentamicin and ampicillin. All but one baby, who had a moderately dilated left lateral ventricle after the meningitis, recovered well. The source of infection could not be clearly determined. Thus, C jejuni can cause serious nosocomial infection; it should be considered as a possible agent of meningitis of unknown origin, particularly in newborn infants and other compromised hosts.

Ampicillin↗

Evaluation of the direct detection of group A beta-hemolytic streptococcal antigen in a pediatric population: comparison with the traditional culture technique.

An evaluation of the Directigen Group A Strep Test (DGAST) in comparison with the traditional culture technique, was carried out on 1907 throat specimens, obtained from pediatric patients suspected of having a group A beta-hemolytic streptococcal pharyngitis. Of the 344 specimens positive by culture, 277 were DGAST positive (sensitivity, 81%). Of the 1563 specimens negative by culture, 1511 were DGAST negative (specificity, 97%). Nineteen isolates of non-group A beta-hemolytic streptococci were recovered, primarily group C, B and G. The DGAST is easy to perform, rapid and very specific, but lower sensitivity indicates that a back up traditional culture is still necessary, especially in pediatric patients.

Adolescent↗

Modified selective medium for isolation of Campylobacter spp. from feces: comparison with Preston medium, a blood-free medium, and a filtration system.

Our previously described (H. Goossens, M. De Boeck, and J. P. Butzler, Eur. J. Clin. Microbiol. 2:389-393, 1983) selective medium, consisting of cefoperazone (15 mg/liter), rifampin (10 mg/liter), colistin (10,000 IU/liter), and amphotericin B (2 mg/liter) (medium M1), for the isolation of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli from stool specimens was modified as follows: cefoperazone (30 mg/liter), rifampin (10 mg/liter), and amphotericin B (2 mg/liter) (medium M2). A comparative study of the isolation of Campylobacter spp. from stool specimens was carried out with medium M1; medium M2; a selective blood-free medium consisting (per liter) of charcoal (4 g), ferrous sulfate (0.25 g), sodium pyruvate (0.25 g), casein hydrolysate (3 g), sodium deoxycholate (1 g), nutrient broth no. 2 (25 g), agar (12 g), and cefoperazone (32 mg) (medium M3); and Preston medium containing (per liter) trimethoprim (10 mg), rifampin (10 mg), polymyxin B (5,000 IU), and cycloheximide (100 mg) (medium M4). We also included a filtration system in which membrane filters were applied directly to the surface of the nonselective blood-free medium distributed in small petri dishes. A total of 5,276 stool specimens were tested: 2,788 stool specimens were tested on M1 and M3 in study 1; 2,488 stool specimens were inoculated on the four selective media in study 2, and the last 986 specimens of the 2,488 were tested in parallel with the filtration system. In study 2, 128 Campylobacter strains were isolated from 126 different patients; 85.0, 88.3, 82.5, and 66.6% of these strains were isolated on M1, M2, M3, and M4, respectively. No contaminating fecal flora was found on 65.4, 70.7, 62.4, and 40.3% of the M1, M2, M3, and M4 plates, respectively. Furthermore, C. coli was found to be more susceptible to antibiotics present in the selective media, particularly colistin and polymyxin B, than was C. jejuni. We therefore recommend M2 for the isolation of Campylobacter spp. Finally, the filtration method was found to be easy and cheap; although the sensitivity was low, this method allowed the isolation of new Campylobacter spp. which seem to be associated with diarrhea.

Adult↗

Prevalence of asymptomatic bacteriuria and comparison between different screening methods for its detection in infants.

Urine was cultured from 441 healthy children, aged 3 to 36 months, simultaneously by standard pour plating and by dip-slide. Significant bacteriuria (greater than or equal to 10(5) colony-forming units/ml in two successive specimens) was found in 13 children (2.9%): 11 boys, 2 girls. Proteus mirabilis was the most frequently isolated organism. Of the 13 infants, 2 had malformations on intravenous pyelography. All 13 had a negative antibody-coated bacteria test. Nitrite test (N-Multistix) and microscopic examination were also performed. The results suggest that asymptomatic bacteriuria cannot be accurately predicted either by microscopic examination or by the nitrite test, and that the quantitative urine culture by dip-slide is the easiest and most reliable way of diagnosing urinary tract infections. However the criteria of Kass were found to be too strict.

Antibody-Coated Bacteria Test, Urinary↗

Comparative in vitro activities of aztreonam, ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, ofloxacin, HR 810 (a new cephalosporin), RU28965 (a new macrolide), and other agents against enteropathogens.

The in vitro activity of drugs currently used in the treatment of diarrhea against 595 enteropathogens from worldwide sources was compared with that of six newly developed antibiotics, ciprofloxacin; norfloxacin; ofloxacin; aztreonam; HR810, an expanded-spectrum cephalosporin; and RU28965, a new macrolide. In contrast with ampicillin and chloramphenicol, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole showed an excellent activity against all of the enteropathogens tested, except Campylobacter species. Ciprofloxacin had the highest activity, with an overall 90% MIC of less than or equal to 0.097 micrograms/ml, except for Campylobacter species (0.39 micrograms/ml). Unlike other cephalosporins, HR810 showed a satisfactory activity against Campylobacter species (90% MIC of 3.12 micrograms/ml). RU28965 was three times less active than erythromycin against Campylobacter species.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

[Prevention of motion sickness with a transdermal therapeutic system containing scopolamine. A randomized, comparative double-blind study in the German Federal Navy].

To test the prophylactic value of anti-motion sickness drugs, a randomized double-blind trial was undertaken on 46 young, healthy, male volunteer marines. Comparison was made between a transdermal therapeutic system (TTS) containing as the effective agent scopolamine (TTS-scopolamine) and proprietary meclozine tablets. An artificial "sea voyage" served to produce motion sickness, each subject sitting by himself on an artificially tilting "island", on two days for 30 minutes. Without treatment, 19 of the 46 subjects developed symptoms of motion sickness requiring treatment. After administration of TTS-scopolamine or meclozine tablets (double-dummy technique) the motion sickness score was reduced by 89% and 59%, respectively. There was a reduction on the visual analog scale of 98% and 59%, respectively. Probability of error (Fisher's exact probability test) for assuming therapeutic advantage of TTS-scopolamine over meclozine tablets was 13.5%. A pre-set significance level of 5% was thus not reached. This trial shows that TTS-scopolamine, even in a brief exposure, has at least the same effectiveness as meclozine, in addition to avoiding the gastrointestinal tract and maintaining with certainty a constant blood level over three days.

Administration, Topical↗

In-vitro susceptibility of salmonellae to antimicrobial agents.

The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of various antimicrobial drugs, for 667 strains of Salmonella, isolated in three different continents of the world, were determined: 17 antibiotics were tested against 506 randomly selected and 161 chloramphenicol-resistant strains. The activity of the monobactam aztreonam against these organisms was in general equal or superior to that observed with the third-generation cephalosporins, cefotaxime and ceftazidime. Furthermore aztreonam and cefotaxime exhibited uniform and high activity against all the salmonella strains tested, irrespective of their chloramphenicol resistance. Ceftazidime was found to have higher geometric mean MICs only for non-typhi salmonellae from Peru.

Aminoglycosides↗