Biomedical subjects

O Akan

Publications and source records attributed to O Akan.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1997

Ofloxacin versus co-trimoxazole in the treatment of typhoid fever in children.

Ofloxacin has been successfully used in the treatment of typhoid fever and Salmonella infectious of adults for many years. However, it has rarely been tried for the typhoid fever of children. In the present study, the therapeutic efficacy of ofloxacin in the treatment of typhoid fever in children was compared to that of co-trimoxazole. Out of 41 patients with bacteriologically documented typhoid fever, those with co-trimoxazole-resistant strains received 20 mg/kg ofloxacin twice daily for 10 days, and those with co-trimoxazole-susceptible bacteria were given 60 mg/kg co-trimoxazole twice daily for 10 days. Both groups were compared according to the clinical variables (apyrexia, resolution of gastrointestinal, central nervous system reactions and articular symptoms) and the time when cultures became negative. All patients in both groups were cured without relapse. Apyrexia, resolution of gastrointestinal, central nervous system reactions and articular symptoms were obtained in a significantly shorter time with ofloxacin than with co-trimoxazole (P < 0.05). The interval between onset of therapy and the time when cultures became negative was significantly shorter in the ofloxacin group than in the co-trimoxazole group (P = 0.005). Ofloxacin seems to be a good alternative in the treatment of typhoid fever caused by co-trimoxazole resistant salmonellae in children aged less than 16 years. It is well tolerated by the patients and it causes no side effects with short-term usage.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

PubMed1996

Changing patterns of the prevalence of different Shigella species and their antibiotic susceptibilities in Ankara, Turkey.

Shigella flexneri was the most common Shigella serogroup isolated in Turkey. Recently, an increase in the number of Shigella sonnei isolates was noticed. A retrospective analysis of 2,710 isolates, obtained from stools of Turkish children between January 1980 and September 1994, revealed that, between 1980 and 1987, S. flexneri was the most common subgroup. The isolation rate of S. sonneri increased steadily from 1987 to 1994 reaching to a peak of 78% of all isolates in 1991. The antibiotic susceptibility of 206 strains isolated in 1994 was also studied. A marked difference between the two species was observed for chloramphenicol (98% susceptibility in S. sonnei versus 20% in S. flexneri, ampicillin (90% vs. 18%), ampicillin-sulbactam (98% vs. 53%), and tetracycline (46% vs. 18%) (p < 0.001). Susceptibility to trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole was similar between the two groups (42% vs. 38%). All isolates were susceptible to ciprofloxacin and ceftriaxone. Comparing our results with resistance rates in 1989, a marked increase in amplicillin (from 44.1% to 82%), chloramphenicol (from 36.7% to 56%) and trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole (from 35.8% to 62%) resistance was observed.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

PubMed1992

[Penicillin resistance in Streptococcus pneumoniae strains].

In this study a total of 87 Streptococcus pneumoniae strains were tested for their susceptibility to penicillin with disk diffusion method by using 5 micrograms methicillin disks. In 68 strains susceptibility to penicillin was also determined by using agar dilution method performed in Mueller-Hinton agar supplemented with 5% sheep blood. Of 63 adult isolates tested with disk-diffusion method 35 strains (55.6%) were susceptible to penicillin, 24 strains (38.1%) had low level resistance and 4 strains (6.3%) had high-level resistance to penicillin. Of 24 S. pneumoniae isolates recovered from children 5 (20.8%) were penicillin susceptible, while 11 (45.8%) had low level resistance and 8 (33.4%) had high level resistance to penicillin. These values were 40 (45.9%), 35 (40.3%) and 12 (13.8%) in total isolates respectively. Of 44 isolates in which MIC values of penicillin were determined by agar dilution method, 34 strains (77.3%) were penicillin susceptible and 10 strains (22.7%) had low level resistance while none of these strains had high level resistance to penicillin. Of 24 children isolates tested with agar dilution method 11 strains (45.8%) were susceptible to penicillin, 8 strains (33.4%) showed low level resistance and 5 strains (20.8%) showed high level resistance to penicillin. For total of 68 isolates these values were 45 (66.1%), 18 (26.4%) and 5 (7.3%) respectively. These findings indicate the need to perform antibiotic susceptibility testing of all pneumococcal isolates to avoid therapeutic failure.

Adult↗

PubMed1991

[Comparison of two different media-atmosphere combinations on the isolation of group A beta-hemolytic streptococci from throat cultures].

In this study effects of incubation of sheep blood agar medium in aerobic conditions and incubation of sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim containing sheep blood agar medium in 5 to 10% CO2, of the isolation of group A beta hemolytic streptococci from throat cultures were compared. 608 throat swab specimens were studied. Each agar medium was evaluated after 24 and 48 hours of incubation period. The aerobic incubation of sheep blood agar plates for 24 hours yielded 108 (17.7%) strains of beta hemolytic streptococci, of these 96 (15.8%) strains being group A. 113 (18.5%) strains of beta hemolytic streptococci were isolated after 48 hours of incubation and 100 (16.4%) of these were group A. The number of beta hemolytic streptococci isolated in 5 to 10% CO2 atmosphere for 24 hours was 62 (10.2%), and 57 (9.3%) of these were group A. When the incubation period was prolonged to 48 hours, the total number of beta hemolytic streptococci isolated increased to 82 (13.5%) and 76 (12.5%) of these were determined as group A. The difference between these two combinations was significant for 24 hours of incubation, but not significant for 48 hours of incubation. The highest isolation rate for group A streptococci was achieved in aerobic incubation of sheep blood agar plates for 48 hours.

Aerobiosis↗

PubMed1990

[Group B streptococcal endocarditis].

In this article, a case of group B streptococcal endocarditis in a diabetic patient, taking immunosuppressive therapy because of dermatomyositis is reported.

Dermatomyositis↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Microorganisms involved in acute bacterial meningitis in children and the role of Haemophilus influenzae.

Acute bacterial meningitis (ABM) is an important cause of mortality and neurological damage in children. Documentation of the etiological agents is very important both for the treatment of patients and for prophylactic approaches. H.influenzae, N.meningitidis and S.pneumoniae are the three major pathogens involved in ABM. In Turkey for many years H.influenzae has not been isolated in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) specimens. In order to show the bacteria involved in ABM in our hospital and to see the role of H.influenzae, we investigated the CSF of 59 patients with bacterial meningitis using Gram and Wayson stains, culture and latex agglutination techniques. The agents were determined in 38 (64.4%) specimens by using culture positivity in 30 (50.8%), and latex or stain positivity in eight (13.6%) specimens. The microorganisms causing ABM included S.pneumoniae (25.6%), gram-negative enteric bacillI (17.9%), N.meningitis (12.8%), alpha hemolytic streptococci (10.3%), H.influenzae (10.3%), nonfermentative gram-negative bacillI (5.1%), candida spp. (5.1%), group B streptococci (2.6%), coagulase negative staphylococci (2.6%), S.aureus (2.6%) and pseudomonas spp. (5.1%). In this study it has been shown that H.influenzae can cause ABM in Turkish children. Multicentric studies from different parts of Turkey will be helpful in showing the real incidence in our country.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-1 beta levels in children with bacterial, tuberculous and aseptic meningitis.

Cerebrospinal fluid levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-1 beta in 78 children with nonbacterial, bacterial and tuberculous meningitis, and in 34 control subjects were analyzed in order to evaluate the involvement of these cytokines in the pathogenesis of acute bacterial meningitis and their discriminative value between different etiologies of meningitis. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-1 beta levels were significantly higher in bacterial and tuberculous meningitis than in aseptic meningitis and in control subjects (p < 0.0001). There was no difference in the levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-1 beta between nonbacterial meningitis and control groups. The finding that both tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-1 beta are increased in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with bacterial and tuberculous meningitis whereas normal levels of these two cytokines have been found in patients with nonbacterial meningitis signifies that these cytokines may be used to differentiate between bacterial and nonbacterial meningitis.

Acute Disease↗