Selma Ay

Evaluation of 23 cutaneous anthrax patients in eastern Anatolia, Turkey: diagnosis and risk factors.

Background  Anthrax is a potentially fatal zoonotic disease. The diagnosis of cutaneous anthrax (CA) may be very difficult, particularly in atypical presentations and nonendemic regions.

The Effect of Caffeic Acid Phenethyl Ester on Bacterial Translocation and Intestinal Damage in Cholestatic Rats

We investigated the effect of caffeic acid phenethyl ester in rat ileum injury induced by chronic biliary obstruction. Swiss albino rats were divided into three groups: Group 1, sham (n=7); Group 2, common bile duct ligation (n=7); and Group 3, common bile duct ligation plus caffeic acid phenethyl ester (n=7). In the caffeic acid phenethyl ester-treated rats, ileum tissue levels of malondialdehyde and myeloperoxidase were significantly lower than those of the bile duct-ligated rats (P < 0.001). The levels of tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-6, and interleukin-1α in the caffeic acid phenethyl ester group were significantly lower than those in the bile duct ligation group (P < 0.03, P < 0.01, and P < 0.02 respectively). The present study demonstrates that intraperitoneal administration of caffeic acid phenethyl ester in bile duct-ligated rats reduces intestinal oxidative stress. This effect may be useful in the preservation of intestinal damage in cholestasis.

Evaluation of Metallo Beta Lactamase E test Results from Different Brands of Mueller Hinton Agar Plates

Aim: MBL E test for MBL screening in carbapenem resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates is recommended as a fast and reliable phenotypic screening test. However, as it has been put forward by some reserachers, because of variations in antibiotic susceptibility tests or MBL E test with different brands of Mueller- Hinton Agar (MHA) media, the possibility that carbapenem MIK values and MBL E test results can, therefore, be influenced by these media. To this end, we aim to determine the most suitable MHA media to be used in search for MBL E test in routine microbiology laboratories by employing five different brands of MHA media. Materials and Methods: 29 carbapenem resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains isolated from hospitalised patients have been used in this study. P.aeruginosa isolates were identified by conventional methods. Imipenem and meropenem E test were used for verification of carbapenem resistance. MBL E test was used for detecting MBL production by five different brands of Mueller Hinton agar plates and the results of these tests were compared with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) results. Results: IMP, VIM, GIM, SIM and SPM type genes were found to be negative with polymerase chain reaction for 29 isolates that were resistant to carbapenem. One isolate with BBL brand MHA, two isolates with Oxoid brand MHA, 19 isolates with Himedia brand MHA, 21 isolates with Merck brand MHA, and 27 isolates with Plasmatec brand MHA gave positive results. Conclusion: The present results indicate that use of BBL or Oxoid brand MHA media, especially in laboratories without any fascilities for molecular diagnosis, can be more reliable compared to other brands.