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Biomedical subjects

R Di Rosa

Publications and source records attributed to R Di Rosa.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

High-level aminoglycoside resistance among enterococci: evaluation of an agar screen susceptibility test.

Seventy-five enterococci from infected (63 isolates) and colonized (12 isolates) patients hospitalized in various divisions of the Policlinico Umberto I, University of Rome, were in vitro studied for high-level resistance (HLR) to gentamicin (HLRG) and streptomycin (HLRS) with adoption of a standard broth dilution and an agar screen test. The employed procedures provided equal results for 100% of the 75 isolates. Of these, 21 (28%) showed HLRG and 43 (57%) HLRS. Combined HLRG and HLRS were found in 18 (24%) isolates, whereas HLRS or HLRG alone were found in 25 (33%) and 3 (4%) isolates respectively. It is concluded that HLR to aminoglycosides may represent a major problem in Italian institutions. Along with other established procedures, the agar screen test employed in the study may be used to detect this antibiotic resistance in enterococci.

Drug Resistance, Microbial

Effect of lactitol and lactulose administration on the fecal flora in cirrhotic patients.

We compared the effect of lactulose or lactitol on the fecal flora of 21 cirrhotic patients without hepatic encephalopathy. All were treated with an individualized disaccharide dose to achieve and maintain two semiliquid bowel movements per day. Stool pH and fecal flora were determined before and 10 days after stabilizing the cathartic effect. Increased counts of lactobacilli were obtained with both treatments. This increase, which was related to the decreased stool pH, was more constant with lactulose. In addition, lactitol decreased certain proteolytic bacteria such as enterococci and enterobacteria. Both total aerobic and anaerobic bacterial counts showed little quantitative variations with either treatment.

Animals

[A clinico-epidemiological study on the efficacy of thymopentin therapy in patients with chronic bronchitis and cellular immunity deficiency].

The immunological in vivo effects of thymopentin (TP5) treatment in eleven hypo-anergic patients affected with chronic bronchitis are reported. Significant improvement of cellular immunity, evaluated by skin tests, and an increase of percentage of CD4+ cells and natural killer activity are demonstrated. The clinical evaluation showed an evident reduction of infectious episodes of acute bronchitis after TP5 treatment.

Aged

[Recurrent infections of the urogenital tract: preliminary results of a study on the clinical and immunological effects of thymopentin treatment].

We are carrying on a trial with subcutaneous injections of thymopentin in a group of patients that presented more than 2 infectious episodes of uro-genital tract in the latest 18 months. Microbiological investigations were performed with microscopic and cultural examinations before and after six weeks of treatment with thymopentin (TP5) associated with antibiotic therapy chosen on the basis of cultural response. The follow-up was prolonged to 6 months. The immunological studies were performed at the same moments, by a panel of monoclonal antibodies and by the evaluation of the NK activity and granulocytic phagocytosis. The cellular immunity was studied by skin tests. In our patients, during the follow-up period, we observed a significant reduction of infectious episodes, an increase of NK activity, and a restoration of cellular immunity in hypoergic subjects.

Adolescent

Isolation of Clostridium difficile from human jejunum: identification of a reservoir for disease?

The possibility that the small intestine may represent a reservoir for Clostridium difficile was studied, using segments of human jejunum collected at necropsy. Our results (three of 100 specimens positive for C difficile culture) support the hypothesis that C difficile can be found in human jejunum and that it adheres to the normal mucosa as a resident bacterium. These findings suggest that gastrointestinal disease caused by C difficile has an endogenous origin.

Aged

Anaerobic bacteria and bacterial infections: perspectives on treatment and resistance in Italy.

Results of laboratory tests of 2,000 samples obtained from 1984 to 1987 from patients with suspected anaerobic infections and the clinical experience of these patients are reported. Of these samples, 395 were positive for anaerobes; 36.5% of these 395 samples contained single organisms, and 63.5% contained a mixture of anaerobes and aerobes. Abdominal infections were the infections most frequently caused by anaerobes. The Bacteroides fragilis group and strains of Peptostreptococcus were the microorganisms most frequently isolated. In addition, 300 anaerobes isolated from clinical samples at three Italian hospitals were tested for susceptibility to 10 antibiotics (aztreonam, cefotaxime, cefoxitin, ceftazidime, ceftriaxone, clindamycin, imipenem, metronidazole, penicillin, and piperacillin). Imipenem and metronidazole proved to be the most active agents, with low and similar values for the 50% and 90% minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs). No microorganism showed resistance to these agents. After imipenem and metronidazole, clindamycin was the most effective agent tested. All other antibiotics tested showed elevated MICs against Bacteroides species and Clostridium difficile. In Italy, cefoxitin still maintains satisfactory activity against the majority of anaerobes tested.

Anti-Bacterial Agents

[Changes in various immunological parameters in patients with recurrent vaginal candidiasis].

An immunological study has been performed in a group of 14 patients suffering from recurring vaginal candidiasis. Cellular immunity has been evaluated by skin test. Mononuclear cells of peripheral blood have been studied by a panel of monoclonal antibodies. Moreover granulocytes phagocytosis and NK activity have been determined. We observed a significant reduction of cellular immunity and phagocytosis comparing to the control group. This association may represent the basis of a compromised immunological response in patients with recurring vaginal candidiasis.

Adult

[Recurrent vaginitis].

Vaginitis is one of the most frequent infections of the female genital system and, in the United States, represents the main reason for gynecological consultation. Candida albicans, Trichomonas vaginalis and Gardnerella vaginalis are responsible for 90% of cases of vaginal phlogosis. It has been calculated that a percentage varying between 5% and 40% of the female population will suffer, at least once in their lifetime, from an episode of vaginal candidosis. The re-appearance of symptoms after suspension of the antimycotic therapy still represents an unsolved and obscure problem from the etiopathogenetic point of view. The incidence of recurrences in women suffering from various forms of vaginal candidosis, according to the Authors, is between 5% and 25%. Considering the uncertainties existing regarding the clinical and etiopathogenetic definition of recurrent vaginitis we carried out a perspective study, at the General Out-patient Department of the II Obstetrical and Gynecological Clinic of "La Sapienza" Rome University in collaboration with the Bacteriological Laboratory of the III Medical Clinic of "La Sapienza" Rome University, on a group of 60 women suffering from recurrent vaginitis. We included in the study in the period 1 October 1987 - 30 September 1988 60 women reporting to the General Out-Patient Department of the II Obstetrical and Gynecological Clinic of the "La Sapienza" Rome University. These patients complained about the appearance of a leukorrhea or a leukoxanthorrhea in combination with at least one of the following symptoms: burning sensation; itch; dyspareunia; dysuria; recurring cystitis. All the women reported in their case histories having suffered from at least three episodes of recurrent vaginal candidosis in the previous twelve months. Diagnosis had been established on the basis of fresh microscopic examination with determination of the vaginal pH on the occasion of the first episode only; whereas clinical examination only was undertaken on the occasion of the subsequent ones. In 30% of patients (or 18 cases) the diagnosis of the subsequent episodes was "telephonic". In all cases, at each episode, a local therapy with antimycotic drugs had been prescribed. Following the introduction of a sterile speculum sterile swabs were used to remove 2 samples of the fluid present at the level of the posterior vaginal fornix. The first swab was placed in a test-tube containing 2 ml of prereduced transport broth (brain-heart infusion broth oxoid) for the successive aerobe and anaerobe cultures.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Candidiasis, Vulvovaginal