Biomedical subjects

J M Gourgand

Publications and source records attributed to J M Gourgand.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1997

Comparative sensitivities of Sabin and Mahoney poliovirus type 1 prototype strains and two recent isolates to low concentrations of glutaraldehyde.

Significant intratypic differences in the glutaraldehyde (GTA) sensitivity of echovirus isolates have been shown. While exploring ways to optimize the study of GTA sensitivity of enteroviruses, we also observed intratypic differences in poliovirus type 1 isolates collected in France. A suspension procedure was used for assessing the virucidal effect of GTA at low concentrations (< or = 0.10%) against purified viruses. Two recent isolates of poliovirus type 1 tested were first fully characterized by the PCR restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) test. The RFLP pattern of clinical isolate 5617 was similar to that of poliovirus type 1 LS-c, 2ab (Sabin strain), confirming the vaccine origin of strain 5617. The RFLP pattern of strain 5915 recovered from sewage was different from that of the Mahoney strain, suggesting a genetic variation in this wild isolate. We then analyzed under the same controlled conditions the GTA sensitivities of both isolates and their respective prototype strains. The wild Mahoney and 5915 strains exhibited significantly lower sensitivities to GTA than did the vaccine Sabin and 5617 strains. The inactivation rates of clinical isolates 5617 and 5915 were very similar to those of their corresponding reference Sabin and Mahoney strains. Both the conformational structure of the capsid of each strain and the amino acid constitution of structural polypeptides could be involved in the variations observed. The relevance of our comparative sensitivity studies to standardization of virucidal tests is discussed.

Animals↗

PubMed1994

Clinical and bacteriological survey after change in aminoglycoside treatment to control an epidemic of Enterobacter cloacae.

The effect of a change in the first line antibiotic treatment in a neonatal unit was studied. A total of 238 neonates (G1), admitted between 1 January and 31 July 1989, and treated with gentamicin, were compared with 398 (G2) admitted between 1 August 1989 and 31 July 1990 who received amikacin, in the combination of ampicillin plus an aminoglycoside. This change was implemented in an attempt to prevent the spread of an epidemic strain of Enterobacter cloacae resistant to third generation cephalosporins and all aminoglycosides, except amikacin. The change in treatment had no effect on the incidence of nosocomial infections [19.7% (G1) vs. 16.3% (G2) RR = 1.21 (0.86-1.70)], but the proportion of patients with nosocomial infections caused by the E. cloacae decreased (6.3% vs. 2.0% RR 3.14 CI 1.35-7.28). Certain trends in the bacterial ecology emerged: E. aerogenes and Enterococci increased in G2. The proportion of gentamicin-resistant strains such as E. cloacae or Staphylococci decreased and there was no increase in aminoglycoside-resistant strains, except in Escherichia coli, in which resistance to amikacin rose from 0 to 3%. This study illustrates the influence of antimicrobial therapy on the species and the resistance of strains isolated in nosocomial infections. It also highlights the need for epidemiologic surveillance, and poses the question of how best to modify antibiotic policy.

Amikacin↗

PubMed1991

A case-control study of an outbreak of infections caused by Klebsiella pneumoniae strains producing CTX-1 (TEM-3) beta-lactamase.

In July 1984 Klebsiella pneumoniae producing beta-lactamase CTX-1(TEM-3) (K. pneumoniae-CTX-1) spread from an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) throughout the hospitals of Clermont-Ferrand, France, and were isolated in four other hospitals of the region. A retrospective case control study was conducted in the ICU to characterize the risk factors for nosocomial infection with this organism. The cases were the 74 patients who had had K. pneumoniae-CTX-1 isolated from one or more clinical samples between July 1984 and December 1987. They were compared with 74 controls for host risk factors, underlying disease, procedures and antibiotic treatment. The monthly incidence of infection/colonization varied from 0% to 14.6%. The mortality rate attributable to this organism was 0.26% during the study period. The duration of stay of cases was longer than that of controls. More cases than controls had ventilatory assistance. However, the predominant risk factor was emergency abdominal surgery. Before K. pneumoniae-CTX-1 was isolated, cases received quinolones and trimethoprim sulphamethoxazole more often than controls. However, only 15% of cases had received third generation cephalosporins while at the onset of K. pneumoniae-CTX-1 infection colonization, 32 patients were no longer being given antibiotics. The use of antibiotic prophylaxis by, for example, selective digestive tract decontamination should be considered in patients at high risk of infection.

Adult↗

PubMed1982

Echocardiographic patterns in infants and children with chronic renal failure.

Sixty-five echocardiograms were performed on 20 children with chronic renal failure and were compared with 101 normal controls. The main cardiac abnormalities were dilation of left ventricle and left atrium, left ventricular wall and septum hypertrophy, increase of cardiac output, and rarely decrease of contractility. Anemia, arteriovenous fistula, arterial hypertension and severe renal failure (patients treated by maintenance dialysis) were factors associated with these abnormalities. The authors emphasize the value of echocardiograms in the follow up of children with chronic renal failure.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1981

[A protocol of selective evolution against theoretical doublet code non-sense].

The connection of codons in the matrix representing the genetic code has to be viewed in conjunction with the optimisation laws against mutation effects. One of the principal effects seems to be represented by selection against non sense. An evolution model by dynamic vocabulary extensive of doublet codes optimised against the occurrence of terminators is presented in detail. This work can be extended to triplet codes.

Biological Evolution↗

PubMed1981

[Optimization against the occurrence of terminators for theoretical doublet codes].

The aim of this work is the study of the internal laws of logic of the genetic code. If we accept, as a major hypothesis, selection against the occurrence of terminators, this leads us to the optimisation of theoretical code resistance to non sense effects. Depending on how the notion of vocabulary extension is envisaged, several methods exist. One of them is presented here for the simplest doublet codes.

Base Composition↗