PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

W C Hsieh

Publications and source records attributed to W C Hsieh.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

Effects of antibiotic combinations on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in vitro.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection has become an important infectious disease problem. Vancomycin is the only antimicrobial agent documented to be effective in the treatment of MRSA infection. Under vancomycin treatment there is still a moderate percentage of treatment failures, especially in severe MRSA infections. In searching for better treatment regimens, we evaluated the effects of several antibiotics in combination with vancomycin or fosfomycin against MRSA isolates by the checkerboard titration method. We found that the combinations of vancomycin with imipenem and fosfomycin with cefazolin had a synergistic effect against 97.1% and 94.3% of 70 tested strains, respectively. Rifampicin, gentamicin, cefazolin, or cefamandole in combination with vancomycin, and cefmetazole in combination with fosfomycin did not have such good results. They were synergistic against far fewer of the tested strains, 0%, 3.3%, 50.0%, 30.0% and 64.3%, respectively. For confirmation, further studies in vivo of the effectiveness are advisable. It is likely that we can improve the treatment of severe MRSA infections by those combination regimens which are highly synergistic against MRSA.

Drug Therapy, Combination↗
PubMed1989

Intestinal capillariasis: report of a case.

Infection with Capillaria philippinensis has not been reported in Taiwan before. It is characterized by chronic diarrhea, abdominal pain and muscle wasting. Because the infection results in a severe disease with a high mortality, early diagnosis is very important. A 58-year-old housewife from Ar-Lien village, Kao-Hsiung County, was admitted to the National Taiwan University Hospital in July 1988, after suffering from diarrhea, lower leg edema and weight loss for one year. The initial symptom was epigastric pain followed by watery diarrhea. Thereafter borborygmus, frequent loose stool passage and weakness persisted. The cause of her malabsorption syndrome went undetected until the ova, larvae and adult worms of C. philippinensis were detected in the direct smear of the patient's stool in August 1988. She received mebendazole 200mg b.i.d. for 20 days. Capillaria ova were no longer detected following the third day of medication. At the second month follow-up, her body weight returned to her pre-morbid state and all laboratory findings returned to normal with the exception of mild anemia. The infection source was not clear.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Acanthamoeba dendriform keratitis.

A soft contact lens patient complained of persistent redness, blurry vision and photophobia of the right eye. Both tap water and distilled water were used in his contact lens care regimen. Atypical corneal epithelial dendriform patterns were noted and the patient was treated for presumed herpes simplex keratitis and corneal erosion. The definitive diagnosis of Acanthamoeba dendriform keratitis was made upon isolation of the offending organism from the patient's contact lens case. The clinical course is presented to help define early clinical signs of the disease.

Acanthamoeba↗
PubMed1988

Immunodiagnosis of clonorchiasis by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

The present study applied the indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique in the immunodiagnosis of clonorchiasis. Antigen used in this study was extracted from adult worms of Clonorchis sinensis obtained from cats. 132 patients with clonorchiasis, 100 healthy persons and 14 patients with other parasitic infections were studied. Mean O.D. ratio with standard deviation of clonorchiasis was 1.41 +/- 0.21 with 0.95 +/- 0.13 of healthy persons. Results revealed 90.2% to 95.5% of sensitivity and 84% to 99% specificity dependent on the two cut off values of O.D. ratio, i.e. 1.10 and 1.20. Antibody titers derived from O.D. ratio highly correlated with direct titration (Y = 0.0303 +/- 1.1766 X, r = 0.8945). Cross reactions of other parasite infections to clonorchiasis were observed in patients with angiostrongyliasis and schistosomiasis.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Evaluation of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for immunodiagnosis of clonorchiasis.

Two groups of patients with parasitologically proved clonorchiasis were recruited from among staff and workers of China Petroleum Company at Miao-Li county. There were 86 patients in the pre-treatment group and 143 patients in post-treatment. The latter were defined as those treated for 18 months after a daily dosage of 3 X 25 mg/kg BW/day of praziquantel. Indirect ELISA was performed to detect the serum antibody against Clonorchis sinensis with extracted crude antigen of adult worms obtained from the bile duct of cats. Direct smears of stool for Clonorchis ova were checked concomitantly. Results revealed significant decrease of optical density ratio between pre- and post-treatment groups. Positive ELISA was detected in 79 pre-treatment group patients (91.8%) and in 28 patients (20.7%) of the post-treatment group (p less than 0.01). Distribution of ELISA titers was shown in patients of post-treatment group towards negative from 400 dilution positive in pre-treatment group. One fourth of the post-treatment group patients with positive ELISA still presented Clonorchis ova in their stool. The main cause was non-compliance of medication. The study confirms the value of immunodiagnosis of C. sinensis by ELISA in the field treatment of clonorchiasis.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Bacteriology of viridans streptococcal bacteremia.

In order to assess the species distribution and the antibiotic susceptibility of viridans streptococci in various human infections, we reviewed 164 cases of viridans streptococcal bacteremia seen at the National Taiwan University Hospital between May 1981 and April 1987. The organisms were isolated from 83 patients with endocarditis. Among 81 nonendocarditis patients, only 54 had clinically recognizable foci of suppurative inflammation. Mainly based on API 20 STREP system of species identification, S. sanguis II accounted for 24.4%; S. mitis, 20.7%; S. sanguis I, 20.1%; and S. milleri 2, 11.6% of the 164 cases studied. Of 83 endocarditis patients, 27.7% were S. sanguis I; 21.7%, S. sanguis II; and 16.9%, S. mitis. In nonendocarditis bacteremia with known suppurative lesions, 3 most often isolated organisms were S. sanguis II (24.0%), S. mitis (24.0%), and S. milleri 2 (24.0%). In nonendocarditis bacteremia without suppurative infection, the most frequent isolates were S. sanguis II (33.3%) and S. mitis (25.9%). In terms of relative frequency between endocarditis and nonendocarditis cases, S. mutan, S. sanguis I, and S. bovis had the highest frequency ratio of 7:1, 3.5:1, and 1.5:1, respectively. All isolates were susceptible to penicillin G, ampicillin, and cephalothin. Tetracycline resistance, however, were observed in 35.4% of the isolates; oxacillin resistance, 11.0%; and erythromycin resistance, 9.1%.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Comparison of aminoglycoside resistance patterns in Japan, Formosa, and Korea, Chile, and the United States.

The resistance mechanisms of more than 2,000 aminoglycoside-resistant gram-negative aerobic bacteria were estimated by a method that assigned a biochemical mechanism based on susceptibility to selected aminoglycosides. Strains from hospitals in Japan, Formosa, and Korea (the Far East) were compared with strains from Chile and the United States. Of the strains from Chile, 90% had an aminoglycoside resistance pattern indicative of the 3-N-acetyltransferase [AAC(3)-V] enzyme. Of the strains from the Far East, 78% had susceptibility patterns suggesting the presence of AAC(6') enzymes. In contrast, strains from the United States had a wider variety of resistance mechanisms including 2''-O-adenylyltidyltransferase [ANT(2'')], AAC(3), AAC(6'), and AAC(2'). Reflecting these differences in resistance patterns, the frequencies of resistance to gentamicin, tobramycin, dibekacin, and amikacin in strains from the United States were different from those in strains from the Far East. These differences seem to be correlated with different aminoglycoside usage in the two regions. In the United States, where gentamicin was the most widely used aminoglycoside, 92% of the strains were resistant to gentamicin, 81% were resistant to dibekacin, and 8.8% were resistant to amikacin. In the Far East, dibekacin and kanamycin were widely used in the past and more recently amikacin has been frequently used. Of the strains from this region, 99% were resistant to dibekacin, 85% were resistant to gentamicin, and 35% were resistant to amikacin.

Aminoglycosides↗
PubMed1985

[Serotype distribution of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Comparative studies of nosocomial and community strains].

A total of 202 strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa were collected from December 1980 to September 1982 at National Taiwan University Hospital. Of the 202 strains, 102 were nosocomial strains and the other 100 were community strains. The distribution of O antigen group were as follow: E, 34.2%; B, 17.3%; G, 10.9%; F, 9.9%, I, 7.9%; L, 7.4%; others, 12.4%. The antisera used were produced by Toshiba Kagaku Kogyo Co., Japan. The relationship between antibiotic susceptibility pattern and O antigen group were that group-I was the most susceptible group and group-L was the most resistant group. With the O antigen grouping and antibiotic susceptibility pattern, we tried to differentiate the nosocomial strains from the community strains. No obvious difference could be drawn.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1984

Comparison of in vitro antibacterial activity of four oral cephems: cephalexin, cefaclor, cefatrizine and cefadroxil.

The in vitro antibacterial activity of four oral cephems: cephalexin, cefaclor, cefatrizine and cefadroxil against clinical isolates of staphylococci, Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa was compared by agar dilution method. All drugs had comparable antistaphylococcal activity. Cefatrizine and cefaclor were more active than cephalexin and cefadroxil against Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Proteus mirabilis. All four drugs were relatively inactive against isolates of Enterobacter species and indole-positive Proteus. However, cefatrizine demonstrated the greatest activity of the four oral cephems against these organisms. None of these oral cephems was active against Serratia marcescens or Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Bacteria↗
PubMed1984

Clonorchis sinensis: epidemiology in Taiwan and clinical experience with praziquantel.

The human infection rate of clonorchiasis in Taiwan was estimated with 0.012-1.5%. Three endemic areas were noted, e.g. Mei-Nung in the south (52%), SunMoon lake area in the centre (52%), and Miao-Li in the middle (57%) of Taiwan. Those are areas where local people customarily eat raw fresh-water fish. From December 1979 to December 1981, a new trematodicide, praziquantel (2-cyclohexylcarbonyl-1,2,3,6,7,11b-hexahydro-4H-pyrazino[2,1-a]++ +isoquinolin-4-one, EMBAY 8440, Biltricide), was evaluated in the treatment of 67 cases of clonorchiasis sinensis, 62 inpatients and 5 outpatients at National Taiwan University Hospital. Two dosages of praziquantel, namely, 25 mg per kg of body weight 3 times daily for one or two days were used in a single-blind method. This study revealed nearly 100% egg reduction in either dosage but the cure rate of the one-day dosage initially was 96% at 2 months follow-up, then 91% at 6 months and 81% at one year. However, the cure rate of the two-day dosage schedule remained 100% throughout one year follow-up. Patients tolerability to either dosage was good in hospitalized and ambulatory cases, 39% were without any complaints. Side effects were noted mostly in nervous and gastrointestinal systems but were only mild and transient in nature.

Adolescent↗