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Biomedical subjects

S J Sokalski

Publications and source records attributed to S J Sokalski.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

An outbreak of Serratia marcescens in 14 adult cardiac surgical patients associated with 12-lead electrocardiogram bulbs.

Two clusters of Serratia marcescens in 14 adult cardiac surgical patients occurred over 10 months in an 876-bed teaching hospital. The 14 infections that were studied were as follows: one sternal and five leg incisions, five pneumonias, one bacteremia, one urinary tract infection, and one infected internal defibrillator site. The first cluster included four pneumonias, one urinary tract infection, and one bacteremia. Corrective actions were taken based on outbreak data through no source was identified. No further infections occurred during the following 2 months. The second cluster included one sternal and five leg incisions, an infected internal defibrillator incision site, and one pneumonia. Serratia marcescens was isolated from six electrocardiogram rubber welsh bulbs with sensitivities identical to patient isolates that indicated a common source outbreak in at least the second cluster of infections. Disposable electrocardiogram leads were introduced and the problem was resolved. We conclude that reusable electrocardiogram welsh bulbs are a vector for postoperative infections.

Aged↗
PubMed1989

An unforeseen complication of home parenteral antibiotic therapy.

Increasing pressure to cut the length of hospital stay has resulted in a large number of patients receiving home parenteral antibiotic therapy. We present a case of an immediate allergic reaction in a penicillin-sensitive spouse of a patient receiving parenteral mezlocillin sodium therapy. A seminal level of 42 micrograms/mL of mezlocillin was documented by bioassay.

Aged↗
PubMed1982

Antibody and complement in the stimulation of neutrophil chemiluminescence by Neisseria meningitidis: studies in a patient with complete deficiency of C7.

When an eight-year-old boy with a syndrome compatible with disseminated neisseria infection was found to lack C7, studies on the role of antibody and complement in the interaction of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNLs) and Neisseria were initiated with use of a luminol-enhanced chemiluminescence assay. The chemiluminescent response to opsonized Neisseria meningitidis was markedly lower than the response to opsonized zymosan or Streptococcus pneumoniae but was similar to that obtained with Haemophilus influenzae type b. IgG antibody to N. meningitidis was shown to enhance the chemiluminescent response. The chemiluminescent response of PMNLs to N. meningitidis was normal when the bacteria were incubated with sera deficient in C5, C6, or C7 but was absent in serum lacking C2. Thus, both antibody and the early-acting proteins of the classical complement pathway appear to be essential for maximal stimulation of PMNL oxidative metabolism by N. meningitidis, although the late-acting components of complement are not.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

Nosocomial infections.

The frequency of nosocomial infection is increasing. The most common sites of such infection are the urinary tract, surgical wounds, the lower part of the respiratory tract, and the skin and subcutaneous tissues. Various techniques are available for prevention of nosocomial infections, but among the most important aspects are understanding and acceptance of responsibility by hospital personnel. The establishment of a surveillance system with a nurse epidemiologist to serve as liaison and educator among professional and ancillary groups within the hospital may be hard to justify on a cost basis to hospital administrators but is important in the control of nosocomial infections.

Bacterial Infections↗