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Biomedical subjects

N Konforti

Publications and source records attributed to N Konforti.

16 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1990

Serious infectious complications of midsternotomy: a review of bacteriology and antimicrobial therapy.

49 patients with severe infectious complications of midsternotomy incision were treated at our referral center over a 3-year period. 43 species of microorganisms were identified in 38 patients, the most common being Pseudomonas aeruginosa (37%) and Staphylococcus aureus (30%). Most of the patients underwent aggressive debridement and chest wall reconstruction by muscle transposition in combination with antimicrobial therapy. Antimicrobial therapy was given perioperatively according to the in vitro susceptibility of the organisms. Treatment was continued beyond this period for 2-3 weeks in patients with extensive deep seated infection or in those with positive cultures from intraoperative specimens. Some patients needed a longer course of up to 6-8 weeks antimicrobial therapy because of insufficient response to the shorter course. In all, 45/49 patients had complete wound healing. 28 recovered within 2-5 weeks and 16 required a more protracted course with additional surgery in 8; 1 wound did not heal after 20 months and 4 patients died from non-infectious complications. Due to the lack of specific guidelines in the literature as to the proper choice and length of administration of antimicrobial therapy for midsternotomy wound infection, and in view of these favorable results, we recommend our protocol in the treatment of midsternotomy wound infection (in combination with appropriate surgery).

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1990

ELISA for Campylobacter jejuni antibodies in Israeli children with diarrhea and in healthy soldiers.

An ELISA test was employed to detect Campylobacter jejuni antibodies, using as antigen the glycine-HCl buffer extract of a local isolate. The antibody response (IgG, IgA and IgM) was examined in a group of 32 children (age 0-12 years) with C. jejuni enteritis diagnosed by the isolation of the agent. Controls were represented by two groups of children matched according to their age and sex: a) children with enteritis of unknown etiology, and b) healthy children. In addition, 66 healthy soldiers (aged 18-19), from whom serum specimens were collected during the first year of military service, were tested. The results indicated that the serodiagnosis of C. jejuni infection by ELISA is specific and sensitive regarding each Ig tested. The test for IgG was the most sensitive (72%) and that for IgM the most specific (100%). The healthy young adult soldiers showed significantly higher mean levels of IgG and IgA antibodies than the healthy children, suggesting that in Israel exposure to C. jejuni commonly occurs during early childhood. The ELISA for C. jejuni can improve the diagnosis of campylobacteriosis for clinical and epidemiological purposes.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Septicemia from biliary tract infection.

One hundred four strains of microorganisms were isolated from the blood in 76 episodes of septicemia originating from biliary tract infection. The 70 patients involved included 40 with acute cholecystitis without previous surgery, 17 with cholangitis following previous surgery, and 13 patients with malignant disease, with or without previous surgery. The most common organisms were Escherichia coli, Klebsiella, Streptococcus, and Proteus. Various streptococci, most of them from group D, were involved in 21% of the episodes. Twenty-five patients underwent surgery following the bacteremia. In ten of 12 operations performed shortly after the septicemia, bile culture yielded the same organism(s) as in the blood. The types of organisms in blood, and especially the important role of streptococci, must be taken into consideration when choosing antibiotics for therapy for and prevention of biliary septicemia.

Aged↗
PubMed1988

Polymicrobial bacteremia.

Of 585 bacteremic episodes studied prospectively at Rokach Hospital during a 4-year period (1980-1983), 70 (12%) episodes observed in 67 patients were due to multiple species. A total of 170 strains of microorganisms were involved, 2-5 per bacteremic episode: 130 (76%) were aerobic Gram-negative bacilli, 36 (21%) were Gram-positive cocci (most of them streptococci) and 4 isolates (2%) were Candida. The most common sources of infection were the urinary tract (31 episodes), intra-abdominal foci (22 episodes, half of them from biliary tract), and skin or soft tissue infection (14 episodes). At least one organism was also recovered from a local focus of infection in more than 50% of cases. Many patients had severe underlying diseases in addition to old age. People with biliary infection had, however, a relatively lower frequency of underlying disease. Fifty-six percent of the episodes were hospital-acquired, primarily those related to urinary infection with indwelling catheters, intra-abdominal abscess and infected burns. Twenty-eight patients (42%) died as a result of the bacteremia. Polymicrobial bacteremia was found to be quite common in the population studied, and the urinary tract was the most important portal of entry, especially in the older patients.

Aged↗
PubMed1987

Bacteremic infections in granulopenic patients in Israel.

Forty-four bacteremic, granulopenic patients hospitalized during a 4-year period (between 1980 and 1983) in the Tel Aviv Medical Center are reviewed. Fifty-four organisms were recovered from the 44 patients, including 17 strains in 8 patients (18%) in mixed infections. Eighty-three percent of the organisms were gram-negative and 17% gram-positive. The most common organism was Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Seventy percent of the infections were hospital acquired, and the most common focus of infection was the urinary tract. The most resistant strains of microorganisms grew in hospital-acquired infections and in people who were already receiving antimicrobials. These findings differ somewhat from previously published data.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Invasive pneumococcal infection in Israel. Review of 90 cases.

90 cases of invasive pneumococcal infection hospitalized during the period 1975-1984 were reviewed. The organism was recovered from blood, cerebrospinal fluid or other normally sterile body fluids. 40 of the patients were adults, most of whom had pneumonia, and 50 were children who had pneumonia, primary bacteremia or meningitis. 90% of the adults and 14% of the children had underlying conditions. Nosocomial infection was remarkably more common among adults (25%), than among children (2%). Mortality was similar to that reported by others: 37% for adults and 10% for children. The most important predictive factors for fatal outcome were: old age (greater than 80), meningeal infection, presence of malignancy or chronic lung disease, and failure to mount leucocytosis. 13% of the strains were moderately resistant to penicillin.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Endocarditis caused by Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans.

The first two cases of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans endocarditis in Israel are reported. One involved a 67 year old woman with mitral insufficiency and the other, a 48 year old alcoholic male with bioprosthetic mitral valve. The organism grew in three of seven and seven of fourteen blood culture specimens, taken during the first two or three days of hospitalization respectively. Blood cultures became positive after incubation for seven days. The first patient recovered after therapy with penicillin and an aminoglycoside, and the second one is still being treated. Previously described cases of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans endocarditis are reviewed.

Actinobacillus Infections↗
PubMed1983

Meningitis and bacteremia due to Bacillus cereus. A case report and a review of Bacillus infections.

A patient with meningitis and bacteremia due to Bacillus cereus is described. The patient had transsphenoidal hypophysectomy for chromophobe adenoma, complicated by rhinorrhea, which was corrected by subarachnoid drainage. Three weeks after removal of the drain, the patient presented with meningitis and died the following day. The causative organism was identified as B. cereus. The literature on Bacillus infections is reviewed with special attention to severe infections. A modified classification is proposed, dividing infections into superficial, closed-space and systemic ones. Sixty-one previously reported cases of systemic Bacillus infections are reviewed according to type of infection (endocarditis, meningitis or pulmonary infection), and the underlying conditions, ways of acquiring the infection, clinical picture and mortality are discussed.

Aged↗
PubMed1983

Bacteremia in hospitalized children.

Among 7,205 children hospitalized in the Pediatric Service at the Rokach (Hadassah) Hospital during 1980 and 1981, 44 were found to be bacteremic. The most common pathogen was Streptococcus pneumoniae, followed by Salmonella, Staphylococcus, Klebsiella and others; 52% of the isolates were gram-negative. The most common focus of infection was the respiratory tract, followed by the gastrointestinal and urinary tracts. Almost half of the bacteremic children were under 2 years of age. Other data, such as predisposing conditions and mortality, and whether the bacteremias were hospital acquired, are also analyzed. All of the findings are discussed and compared to the findings from the few similar studies in the literature.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1977

Sensitivity of strains of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli to tobramycin and other antibiotics.

The sensitivity patterns of strains of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli associated with diarrhoeal disease of infants to tobramycin and other antibiotics were estimated. The activity of tobramycin and of gentamicin alone and in combinations against recent isolates of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli was investigated. It was found that all the strains included in the present study were sensitive to tobramycin and gentamicin and most of them were sensitive to colistin and furazolidone. No significant differences in minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) and rates of killing were found between tobramycin and gentamicin, and they acted in an additive manner against most of the strains tested.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1975

Sensitivities of strains of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli to cephalexin and other antibiotics.

The sensitivity patterns of strains of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli to nine antibiotics were determined. Most strains were sensitive to gentamicin, kanamycin, neomycin, and colistin. Sensitivity to cephalexin was generally greater than sensitivity to ampicillin. Compared with sensitivity patterns of strains isolated in previous years, no significant change in sensitivity patterns of recently isolated strains was detected. All ampicillin-resistant strains destroyed the drug by producing beta-lactamase. The activity of this enzyme against cephalexin was significantly lower than its activity against ampicillin. The role of beta-lactamase, the correlation between its production and resistance to beta-lactamase antibiotics, and the similarity between beta-lactamase produced by EEC and the classified beta-lactamases produced by other enteric bacteria and Escherichia coli, are discussed.

Amidohydrolases↗