Anita Pandey

External Ophthalmomyiasis Caused by Oestrus ovis: A Rare Case Report from India

Myiasis of different organs has been reported off and on from various regions in the world. We report a human case of external ophthalmomyiasis caused by the larvae of a sheep nasal botfly, Oestrus ovis, for the first time from Meerut city in Western Uttar Pradesh, India. A 25-year-old farmer presented with severe symptoms of conjunctivitis. The larvae, 3 in number, were observed in the bulbar conjunctiva, and following removal the symptoms of eye inflammation improved within a few hours.

Physician accessories: doctor, what you carry is every patient's worry?

BACKGROUNDnNosocomial infections are on the rise worldwide and many a times they are carried by the health care personnel. Accessories used by physicians and healthcare personnel can be a potential source of nosocomial infection.nnnMATERIALS AND METHODSnWe designed a survey with the aim to investigate the prevalence of microbial flora of accessories such as pens, stethoscopes, cell phones and white coat used by the physicians working in a tertiary care hospital.nnnOBSERVATIONSnIt was observed that 66% of the pens, 55% of the stethoscopes, 47.61% of the cell phones and 28.46% of the white coats used by the doctors were colonized with various microorganisms. Staphylococcus spp. was the predominant isolate followed by Escherichia coli. Methicillin resistance in Staphylococcus aureus was also found, which was a matter of concern.nnnCONCLUSIONSnAwareness of appropriate hand hygiene is important in order to prevent potential transmission to patients.

Maxillary osteomyelitis by mucormycosis: report of four cases.

Mucormycosis is a fungal infection commonly affecting structures in the head and neck, such as the air sinuses, orbits, and the brain. Common predisposing factors include diabetes mellitus and immunosuppression. We describe our clinical experience with four cases of mucormycosis of the maxillary antrum associated with uncontrolled diabetes mellitus managed at our centre. Early diagnosis and prompt treatment can significantly reduce the mortality and morbidity of this lethal fungal infection.

Accidental intestinal myiasis caused by genus Sarcophaga

Myiasis of different organs has been reported off and on from various regions in the world. We report a human case of intestinal myiasis caused by larvae of Sarcophaga. A 25 - year - old male presented with symptom of passage of live worms in stool. Following diagnosis and treatment the patient improved completely with cessation of maggots in stool.

Evaluation of phenotypic tests for detection of Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase and metallo-beta-lactamase in clinical isolates of Escherichia coli and Klebsiella species

CONTEXTnCarbapenemase production is an important mechanism responsible for carbapenem resistance.nnnAIMSnPhenotypic detection and differentiation of types of carbapenemase in carbapenem resistant Enterobacteriaceae is important for proper infection control and appropriate patient management.nnnSETTINGS AND DESIGNnWe planned a study to determine the occurrence of Class A Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC type) and Class B Metallo-β-lactamase (MBL type) carbapenemase in hospital and community.nnnMATERIALS AND METHODSnClinical isolates of Escherichia coli and Klebsiella species and simultaneously evaluate different phenotypic methods for detection of carbapenemases.nnnRESULTSnIt was observed that 20.72% clinical isolates of E. coli and Klebsiella spp. were resistant to carbapenem on screening of which, 14.64% were E. coli and 29.69% were Klebsiella spp. Using phenotypic confirmatory tests the occurrence of carbapenemase production was found to be 87.01% in E. coli and 91.51% in Klebsiella spp. using both modified Hodge test (MHT) and combined disk test (CDT) using imipenem-ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid.nnnCONCLUSIONSnBoth MBL and KPC type carbapenemases were seen among clinical isolates of E. coli and Klebsiella spp. CDT is simple, rapid and technically less demanding procedure, which can be used in all clinical laboratories. Supplementing MHT with CDT is reliable phenotypic tests to identify the class A and class B carbapenemase producers.

Superbugs causing ventilator associated pneumonia in a tertiary care hospital and the return of pre-antibiotic era!

The rise in super bugs causing Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia (VAP) is a major cause of mortality and morbidity despite recent advances in management owing to the looming ′antibiotic apocalypse′. The aetiology and susceptibility pattern of the VAP isolates varies with patient population, type of intensive care unit (ICU) and is an urgent diagnostic challenge. The present study carried out for a period of one year in a tertiary care hospital, enrolled patients on mechanical ventilation (MV) for ≥48 hrs. Endotracheal aspirates (ETA) from suspected VAP patients were processed by semi quantitative method. Staphylococus aureus, members of Enterobacteriaceae were more common in early onset VAP (EOVAP), while Nonfermenting Gram negative bacilli (NFGNB) were significantly associated with late onset VAP (LOVAP). Most of the isolates were multi drug resistant (MDR) super bugs. With limited treatment options left for this crisis situation like the pre-antibiotic era; it is an alarm for rational antibiotic therapy usage and intensive education programs.

Evaluation of phenotypic tests for the detection of AmpC beta-lactamase in clinical isolates of Escherichia coli.

BACKGROUNDnAmpC beta lactamases are cephalosporinases that confer resistance to a wide range of beta lactam drugs thereby causing serious therapeautic problem. As there are no CLSI guidelines for detection of AmpC mediated resistance in Gram negative clinical isolates and it may pose a problem due to misleading results, especially so in phenotypic tests. Although cefoxitin resistance is used as a screening test, it does not reliably indicate AmpC production.nnnMATERIALS AND METHODSnWe planned a study to determine the occurrence of AmpC beta lactamase in hospital and community, clinical isolates of Escherichia coli and simultaneously evaluate different phenotypic methods for detection of AmpC beta lactamases.nnnRESULTSnIt was observed that 82.76% isolates were ESBL positive and 59% were cefoxitin screen positive. Using phenotypic confirmatory tests the occurrence of Amp C beta lactamases was found to be 40% and 39% by inhibitor based method using boronic acid (IBM) and modified three dimensional test (M3D) respectively.nnnCONCLUSIONnBoth the test showed concordant result. Co-production was observed in 84.62% isolates Screening of ESBL and Amp C can be done in routine clinical microbiology laboratory using aztreonam and IBM respectively as it is a simple, rapid and technically less demanding procedure which can be used in all clinical laboratories.

Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus: Inconsistencies in Vancomycin Susceptibility Testing Methods, Limitations and Advantages of each Method.

BACKGROUNDnVancomycin may be ineffective against an increasing proportion of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) well within the susceptible range. On the other hand it is common knowledge that determination of vancomycin MICs is method dependent. Therefore, given the apparent variability in vancomycin MIC results obtained with the different methods, the use of the vancomycin MIC to predict the outcome of serious S. aureus infections needs to take into account the method used and the results of studies using that particular method.nnnAIMnComparative study was carried out to evaluate the MICs obtained by BMD method, E-test, and Vitek 2 method and to detect inconsistencies in these vancomycin for 66 MRSA isolates obtained from various samples of patients attending the OPDs & IPDs within a period of one year.nnnMATERIALS AND METHODSnA comparative study was carried out to evaluate the MICs obtained by BMD method, E-test, and Vitek 2 method to detect vancomycin susceptibility in 66 clinical isolates of MRSA obtained from various samples of patients attending the OPDs & IPDs within a period of one year. The study was conducted in Department of Microbiology, Subharti Medical College, Meerut from January to December 2012.nnnRESULTSnOn determination of MICs for vancomycin for the MRSA isolates, all were identified as VSSA by BMD, E-Test & Vitek 2 methods. However, the vancomycin MIC values obtained by E-test correlated better with BMD method (correlation factor= 0.6727) than Vitek 2 (correlation factor=0.5316), indicating E-Test to be a better method for determination of vancomycin MICs as compared to Vitek 2.nnnCONCLUSIONnMRSA isolates with higher vancomycin MICs, even within the susceptibility range, are being observed more frequently which result in treatment failures with vancomycin. Because of the discrepancy that exists in vancomycin MIC results from different methods, the prediction of outcome of serious S.aureus infections should take into account the method used & results of studies using that particular method.

Mixed pulmonary infection in an immunocompromised patient: A rare case report

Patients who are immunocompromised are predisposed to a variety of common and uncommon pulmonary infections. We report a case of mixed pulmonary infection by drug resistant tuberculosis with a nocardiosis in a 49-year-old man who was a known case of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, on prolonged corticosteroid use with diabetes mellitus. Chronic use of corticosteroids is a predisposing factor for opportunistic infections, such as nocardiosis or tuberculosis. Since such a mixed infection is rare, maybe a combined approach to therapy early in the course of disease would be effective in such cases.

Sphingomonas paucimobilis septicemia in a neonate: A rare case report

Sphingomonas paucimobilis , a yellow-pigmented, aerobic, glucose nonfermenting, Gram-negative bacilli is a rare cause of human infection. It was first discovered as an infective agent in humans in 1977 and named Pseudomonas paucimobilis. It was renamed as S. paucimobilis in 1990 in accordance with phylogenetic data. S. paucimobilis is an aerobic bacterium found in soil and water; it is a rare cause of healthcare associated infections. S. paucimobilis can cause infections in healthy as well as immunocompromised individuals. At first, its colony looks like Gram-positive bacilli colony, so by mistake it is discarded as contaminants. S. paucimobilis is an emerging pathogen and it should not be discarded as contaminants. Here, we report a case of S. paucimobilis bacteremia in a neonate who presented with respiratory distress.