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Bacterial and fungal diseases

This section aims to publish studies looking at all aspects of the prevention, diagnosis and management of bacterial and fungal diseases in humans, as well as related molecular genetics, pathophysiology, and epidemiology. This section includes studies relating to antibiotic resistance and healthcare-associated infections.

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  1. Pseudomonas aeruginosa has gained an increasing amount of attention in the treatment of patients with pneumonia. However, the benefit of empirical combination therapy for pneumonia remains unclear. We evaluated ...

    Authors: So-Youn Park, Hyun Jung Park, Song Mi Moon, Ki-Ho Park, Yong Pil Chong, Mi-Na Kim, Sung-Han Kim, Sang-Oh Lee, Yang Soo Kim, Jun Hee Woo and Sang-Ho Choi

    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:308

    Content type: Research article

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  2. Non-brucellar and non-tuberculous infectious sacroiliitis (ISI) is a rare disease, with misleading clinical signs that delay diagnosis. Most observations are based on isolated case reports or small case series...

    Authors: Marion Hermet, Emeline Minichiello, René Marc Flipo, Jean Jacques Dubost, Yannick Allanore, Jean Marc Ziza, Philippe Gaudin, Thierry Thomas, Emmanuelle Dernis, Baptiste Glace, Alain Regnier and Martin Soubrier

    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:305

    Content type: Research article

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  3. Control of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) transmission has been unsuccessful in many hospitals. Recommended control measures include isolation of colonized patients, rather than decolonization...

    Authors: Tatiana V Gurieva, Martin CJ Bootsma and Marc JM Bonten

    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:302

    Content type: Research article

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  4. Complicated skin and skin structure infections (cSSSIs) frequently result in hospitalization with significant morbidity and mortality.

    Authors: Peter Matthews, Marc Alpert, Galia Rahav, Denise Rill, Edward Zito, David Gardiner, Ron Pedersen, Timothy Babinchak and Paul C McGovern

    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:297

    Content type: Research article

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  5. Isolation of Aspergillus from lower respiratory samples is associated with colonisation in high percentage of cases, making it of unclear significance. This study explored factors associated with diagnosis (infec...

    Authors: Jose Barberan, Bernardino Alcazar, Eduardo Malmierca, Francisco Garcia de la Llana, Jordi Dorca, Daniel del Castillo, Victoria Villena, Melissa Hernandez-Febles, Francisco-Javier Garcia-Perez, Juan-Jose Granizo, Maria-Jose Gimenez and Lorenzo Aguilar

    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:295

    Content type: Research article

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  6. Consultation to infectious diseases specialists (ID), although not always performed by treating physicians, is part of hospital’s daily practice. This study analyses adherence by treating physicians to written...

    Authors: María-Carmen Fariñas, Gabriela Saravia, Jorge Calvo-Montes, Natividad Benito, Juan-José Martínez-Garde, Concepción Fariñas-Alvarez, Lorenzo Aguilar, Ramón Agüero, José-Antonio Amado, Luis Martínez-Martínez and Manuel Gómez-Fleitas

    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:292

    Content type: Research article

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  7. The hospital environment has been suggested as playing an important role in the transmission of hospital-associated (HA) pathogens. However, studies investigating the contamination of the hospital environment ...

    Authors: Meredith C Faires, David L Pearl, William A Ciccotelli, Karen Straus, Giovanna Zinken, Olaf Berke, Richard J Reid-Smith and J Scott Weese

    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:290

    Content type: Research article

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  8. Cholera is newly emergent in Papua New Guinea but may soon become endemic. Identifying the risk factors for cholera provides evidence for targeted prevention and control measures.

    Authors: Alexander Rosewell, Benita Addy, Lucas Komnapi, Freda Makanda, Berry Ropa, Enoch Posanai, Samir Dutta, Glen Mola, WY Nicola Man, Anthony Zwi and C Raina MacIntyre

    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:287

    Content type: Research article

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  9. The staphylococci are implicated in a variety of human infections; however, many clinical microbiology laboratories in Nigeria do not identify staphylococci (in particular coagulase negative staphylococci - CN...

    Authors: Adebayo Shittu, Omotayo Oyedara, Fadekemi Abegunrin, Kenneth Okon, Adeola Raji, Samuel Taiwo, Folasade Ogunsola, Kenneth Onyedibe and Gay Elisha

    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:286

    Content type: Research article

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  10. Staphylococcus aureus, particularly methicillin resistant (MRSA), is a common pathogen among patients receiving hemodialysis. To evaluate nasal carriage, molecular characterization and effectiveness of decoloniz...

    Authors: Yu-Chuan Kang, Wei-Chen Tai, Chun-Chen Yu, Je-Ho Kang and Yhu-Chering Huang

    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:284

    Content type: Research article

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  11. Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) has large impact on direct healthcare costs, especially those derived from hospitalization. This study determines impact, clinical characteristics, outcome and economic conse...

    Authors: Antoni Sicras-Mainar, Jordi Ibáñez-Nolla, Isabel Cifuentes, Pablo Guijarro, Ruth Navarro-Artieda and Lorenzo Aguilar

    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:283

    Content type: Research article

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  12. The aim of our study was to investigate and control an outbreak and identify risk factors for colonization and infection with Serratia marcescens in two departments in Tartu University Hospital.

    Authors: Vivika Adamson, Piret Mitt, Heti Pisarev, Tuuli Metsvaht, Kaidi Telling, Paul Naaber and Matti Maimets

    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:281

    Content type: Research article

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  13. Between 2007 and 2011, the Netherlands experienced the largest documented Q-fever outbreak to date with a total of 4108 notified acute Q-fever patients. Previous studies have indicated that Q-fever patients ma...

    Authors: Joris AF van Loenhout, W John Paget, Jan H Vercoulen, Clementine J Wijkmans, Jeannine LA Hautvast and Koos van der Velden

    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:280

    Content type: Study protocol

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  14. Semi-quantitative bacteruria counts (s-QBC) are important in the diagnosis of urinary tract infection (UTI) due to most uropathogens. The prognostic value of s-QBC for diagnosis of UTI due to group B streptoco...

    Authors: Chee K Tan, Kimberly B Ulett, Michael Steele, William H Benjamin Jr and Glen C Ulett

    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:273

    Content type: Research article

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  15. MRSA prevalence in nursing homes often exceeds that in hospitals, but reasons for this are not well understood. We sought to measure MRSA burden in a large number of nursing homes and identify facility charact...

    Authors: Courtney R Murphy, Victor Quan, Diane Kim, Ellena Peterson, Matthew Whealon, Grace Tan, Kaye Evans, Hildy Meyers, Michele Cheung, Bruce Y Lee, Dana B Mukamel and Susan S Huang

    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:269

    Content type: Research article

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  16. Initial antimicrobial therapy (AB) is an important determinant of clinical outcome in patients with severe infections as pneumonia, however well-conducted studies regarding prognostic impact of inadequate init...

    Authors: Nihal Piskin, Hande Aydemir, Nefise Oztoprak, Deniz Akduman, Fusun Comert, Furuzan Kokturk and Guven Celebi

    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:268

    Content type: Research article

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  17. Significant bacteriuria (SBU) and urinary tract infections (UTIs) are common in patients with spina bifida and neuropathic detrusor sphincter dysfunction. Laboratory agar plated culture is the gold standard to...

    Authors: Bas SHJ Zegers, Cuno CSPM Uiterwaal, Carla C Verpoorten, Myleen MH Christiaens, Jan JLL Kimpen, Catharine CCE de Jong-de Vos van Steenwijk and Jan JD van Gool

    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:264

    Content type: Research article

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  18. Rickettsioses are caused by pathogenic species of the genus Rickettsia and play an important role as emerging diseases. The bacteria are transmitted to mammal hosts including humans by arthropod vectors. Since de...

    Authors: Elisabeth Janecek, Sabine Streichan and Christina Strube

    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:261

    Content type: Technical advance

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  19. The objective of this study was to assess temporal changes in incidence and short term mortality of Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia (SAB) from 1995 through 2008.

    Authors: Niels Mejer, Henrik Westh, Henrik C Schønheyder, Allan G Jensen, Anders R Larsen, Robert Skov and Thomas Benfield

    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:260

    Content type: Research article

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  20. We sought to characterize the temporal trends in nasopharyngeal carriage of macrolide-resistant pneumococci during a period with increased heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) coverage in Central ...

    Authors: Ioanna N Grivea, Alexia Sourla, Eleni Ntokou, Denise C Chryssanthopoulou, Alexandra G Tsantouli and George A Syrogiannopoulos

    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:255

    Content type: Research article

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  21. Spotted fever caused spotted fever group rickettsiae (SFGR) is prevalent throughout China. In this study, we describe a rapid, simple, and sensitive loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay targetin...

    Authors: Lei Pan, Lijuan Zhang, Guiqiang Wang and Qinghui Liu

    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:254

    Content type: Research article

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  22. Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans is the etiological agent of periodontitis, and there is a strong association between clone JP2 and aggressive periodontitis in adolescents of African descent. The JP2 clone ...

    Authors: Akihiro Yoshida, Oum-Keltoum Ennibi, Hideo Miyazaki, Tomonori Hoshino, Hideaki Hayashida, Tatsuji Nishihara, Shuji Awano and Toshihiro Ansai

    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:253

    Content type: Research article

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  23. Understanding nosocomial pathogen transmission is restricted by culture limitations. Novel platforms, such as PCR-based electron spray ionization-time-of-flight-mass spectrometry (ESI-TOF-MS), may be useful as...

    Authors: Heather C Yun, Rachael E Kreft, Mayra A Castillo, Garth D Ehrlich, Charles H Guymon, Helen K Crouch, Kevin K Chung, Joseph C Wenke, Joseph R Hsu, Tracy L Spirk, J William Costerton, Katrin Mende and Clinton K Murray

    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:252

    Content type: Research article

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  24. Procalcitonin (PCT) has emerged as a valuable marker of sepsis. The potential role of PCT in diagnosis and therapy monitoring of intravascular catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSI) in intensive care ...

    Authors: Vasiliki P Theodorou, Vasilios E Papaioannou, Gregory A Tripsianis, Maria K Panopoulou, Elias K Christophoridis, Georgios A Kouliatsis, Theodora M Gioka, Efstratios S Maltezos, Sophia I Ktenidou-Kartali and Ioannis A Pneumatikos

    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:247

    Content type: Research article

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  25. The objective of this study is to analyze the factors that are associated with the adequacy of empirical antibiotic therapy and its impact in mortality in a large cohort of patients with extended-spectrum β-la...

    Authors: Galo Peralta, María Lamelo, Patricia Álvarez-García, María Velasco, Alberto Delgado, Juan Pablo Horcajada, María Montero, María Pía Roiz, Maria Carmen Fariñas, Juan Alonso, Luis Martínez Martínez, Alfonso Gutiérrez-Macías, Jose Angel Alava, Azucena Rodríguez, Ana Fleites, Vicente Navarro…

    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:245

    Content type: Research article

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  26. Contact lens-related infections are often associated with inadequate contact lens hygiene, and therefore, contact lens care products should be able to sufficiently minimise the amount of pathogens that are res...

    Authors: Claudia Hildebrandt, Daniela Wagner, Thomas Kohlmann and Axel Kramer

    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:241

    Content type: Research article

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  27. Healthcare-associated (HCA) infection has emerged as a new epidemiological category. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of HCA infection on mortality in community-onset Klebsiella pneumoniae bloodst...

    Authors: Younghee Jung, Myung Jin Lee, Hye-Yun Sin, Nak-Hyun Kim, Jeong-Hwan Hwang, Jinyong Park, Pyoeng Gyun Choe, Wan Beom Park, Eu Suk Kim, Sang-Won Park, Kyoung Un Park, Hong Bin Kim, Nam-Joong Kim, Eui-Chong Kim, Kyoung-Ho Song and Myoung-don Oh

    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:239

    Content type: Research article

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  28. Invasive fungal disease (IFD) is a frequent and serious infectious complication in immunocompromised patients. Culture and cytology in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) have a high specificity but low sensitivity f...

    Authors: Michael Buess, Gieri Cathomas, Jörg Halter, Lilian Junker, Peter Grendelmeier, Michael Tamm and Daiana Stolz

    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:237

    Content type: Research article

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  29. Kingella kingae is the second most common pathogen causing paediatric arthritis and is described to be the causative bacteria in some paediatric osteomyelitis. Its microbiological detection is particularly diffi...

    Authors: Dunja Wilmes, Patrick Omoumi, Jean Squifflet, Olivier Cornu, Hector Rodriguez-Villalobos and Jean Cyr Yombi

    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:236

    Content type: Case report

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  30. Previous reports of infection with Clostridium septicum have identified an unexpected association with concurrent malignancy. The reported rate of associated malignancy has been found to be as high as 81 percent....

    Authors: Demetri M Economedes, Jerome Santoro and Carl A Deirmengian

    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:235

    Content type: Case report

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  31. Melioidosis has become an emerging infection in Sri Lanka; a country which is considered non endemic for it. Paraplegia due to Burkholderia pseudomallei is a very rare entity encountered even in countries where t...

    Authors: Shanika Nandasiri, Harith Wimalaratna, Muditha Manjula and Enoka Corea

    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:232

    Content type: Case report

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  32. Candida albicans is the most pathogenic Candida species but shares many phenotypic features with Candida dubliniensis and may, therefore, be misidentified in clinical microbiology laboratories. Candidemia cases ...

    Authors: Suhail Ahmad, Ziauddin Khan, Mohammad Asadzadeh, Ajmal Theyyathel and Rachel Chandy

    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:230

    Content type: Research article

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  33. To investigate a possible role of Cefditoren, a recently marketed in Greece third-generation oral cephalosporin in urinary infections of outpatients.

    Authors: Despina Hatzaki, Garyphallia Poulakou, Ioannis Katsarolis, Niki Lambri, Maria Souli, Ioannis Deliolanis, Georgios K Nikolopoulos, Evangelia Lebessi and Helen Giamarellou

    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:228

    Content type: Research article

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  34. Complicated skin and soft tissue infections (cSSTIs) occur frequently, but limited data do not allow any consensus on an optimal treatment strategy. We designed this prospective, multicenter, observational stu...

    Authors: Benjamin A Lipsky, Gregory J Moran, Lena M Napolitano, Lien Vo, Susan Nicholson and Myoung Kim

    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:227

    Content type: Research article

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  35. Legionella pneumophila is a common cause of community-acquired pneumonia. Central nervous system dysfunction is common, and diagnosis in the absence of pulmonary symptoms can be challenging. Here we describe an ...

    Authors: Nathaniel M Robbins, Aditi Kumar and Barbra M Blair

    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:225

    Content type: Case report

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  36. Infection with cagA-positive, cagA EPIYA motif ABD type, and vacA s1, m1, and i1 genotype strains of Helicobacter pylori is associated with an exacerbated inflammatory response and increased risk of gastroduodena...

    Authors: Shu Sahara, Mitsushige Sugimoto, Ratha-Korn Vilaichone, Varocha Mahachai, Hiroaki Miyajima, Takahisa Furuta and Yoshio Yamaoka

    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:223

    Content type: Research article

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  37. Uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTI) are a frequent reason for consultation of women in primary health care. To avoid therapy failure and development of resistances, the choice of an antibiotic should ...

    Authors: Gustav Kamenski, Gernot Wagner, Sonja Zehetmayer, Waltraud Fink, Wolfgang Spiegel and Kathryn Hoffmann

    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:222

    Content type: Research article

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  38. The adipokine leptin regulates energy expenditure, vascular function, bone and cartilage growth as well as the immune system and systemic inflammatory response. Several activating effects towards T cells, mono...

    Authors: Michael Behnes, Martina Brueckmann, Siegfried Lang, Christian Putensen, Joachim Saur, Martin Borggrefe and Ursula Hoffmann

    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:217

    Content type: Research article

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  39. This study aimed to analyze the clinical features, causative pathogens, neuro-imaging findings, and therapeutic outcomes of bacterial brain abscess in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) following rad...

    Authors: Peng-Hsiang Fang, Wei-Che Lin, Nai-Wen Tsai, Wen-Neng Chang, Chi-Ren Huang, Hsueh-Wen Chang, Tai-Lin Huang, Hsin-Ching Lin, Yu-Jun Lin, Ben-Chung Cheng, Ben Yu-Jih Su, Chia-Te Kung, Hung-Chen Wang and Cheng-Hsien Lu

    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:204

    Content type: Research article

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  40. Acinetobacter baumannii complex (ABC) has emerged as an important pathogen causing a variety of infections. Longitudinal multicenter surveillance data on ABC from different sources in Taiwan have not been publis...

    Authors: Shu-Chen Kuo, Shan-Chwen Chang, Hui-Ying Wang, Jui-Fen Lai, Pei-Chen Chen, Yih-Ru Shiau, I-Wen Huang and Tsai-Ling Yang Lauderdale

    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:200

    Content type: Research article

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  41. The aim of our study was to evaluate the prognostic value of MR-proADM and PCT levels in febrile patients in the ED in comparison with a disease severity index score, the APACHE II score. We also evaluated the...

    Authors: Francesco Travaglino, Benedetta De Berardinis, Laura Magrini, Cristina Bongiovanni, Marcello Candelli, Nicolò Gentiloni Silveri, Jacopo Legramante, Alberto Galante, Gerardo Salerno, Patrizia Cardelli and Salvatore Di Somma

    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:184

    Content type: Research article

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  42. In several European Countries, by the end of 2012, CLSI guidelines will be replaced by EUCAST. We compared antimicrobial susceptibility results of a large number of respiratory pathogens using both EUCAST and ...

    Authors: Anna Marchese, Susanna Esposito, Ramona Barbieri, Matteo Bassetti and Eugenio Debbia

    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:181

    Content type: Correspondence

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  43. Switch therapy is a management approach combining early discontinuation of intravenous (IV) antibiotics, switch to oral antibiotics, and early hospital discharge. This analysis compares switch therapy using ti...

    Authors: Julio A Ramirez, Angel C Cooper, Timothy Wiemken, David Gardiner and Timothy Babinchak

    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:159

    Content type: Research article

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  44. Urinary tract infection (UTI) is common in children, and may cause serious illness and recurrent symptoms. However, obtaining a urine sample from young children in primary care is challenging and not feasible ...

    Authors: Harriet Downing, Emma Thomas-Jones, Micaela Gal, Cherry-Ann Waldron, Jonathan Sterne, William Hollingworth, Kerenza Hood, Brendan Delaney, Paul Little, Robin Howe, Mandy Wootton, Alastair Macgowan, Christopher C Butler and Alastair D Hay

    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:158

    Content type: Study protocol

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  45. The clinical effects of varying pharmacokinetic exposures of antibiotics (antibacterials and antifungals) on outcome in infected critically ill patients are poorly described. A large-scale multi-centre study (...

    Authors: Jason A Roberts, Jan J De Waele, George Dimopoulos, Despoina Koulenti, Claude Martin, Philippe Montravers, Jordi Rello, Andrew Rhodes, Therese Starr, Steven C Wallis and Jeffrey Lipman

    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:152

    Content type: Study protocol

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  46. The prevalence of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli has been increased not only in the hospital but also in the community worldwide. This study was aimed to characterize ESBL- produc...

    Authors: Sun Hee Park, Ji-Hyun Byun, Su-Mi Choi, Dong-Gun Lee, Si-Hyun Kim, Jae-Cheol Kwon, Chulmin Park, Jung-Hyun Choi and Jin-Hong Yoo

    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:149

    Content type: Research article

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  47. Treatment of shigellosis in rabbits with butyrate reduces clinical severity and counteracts the downregulation of cathelicidin (CAP-18) in the large intestinal epithelia. Here, we aimed to evaluate whether but...

    Authors: Rubhana Raqib, Protim Sarker, Akhirunnesa Mily, Nur Haque Alam, Abu Saleh Mohammed Arifuzzaman, Rokeya Sultana Rekha, Jan Andersson, Gudmundur H Gudmundsson, Alejandro Cravioto and Birgitta Agerberth

    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:111

    Content type: Research article

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  48. To measure Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) nasal colonization prevalence in household contacts of children with current community associated (CA)-MRSA infections (study group) in comparison wit...

    Authors: Yaseen Rafee, Nahed Abdel-Haq, Basim Asmar, Tanaz Salimnia, Celine Vidaillac Pharm, Michael J Rybak Pharm and Muhammad Amjad

    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:45

    Content type: Research article

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  49. Invasive fungal infection (IFI) is associated with high morbidity and high mortality in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) patientsThe purpose of this study was to assess the characteristics and ou...

    Authors: Chen-Yiu Hung, Kuo-Chin Kao, Po-Nan Wang, Han-Chung Hu, Meng-Jer Hsieh, Jui-Ying Fu, Chih-Hao Chang, Li-Fu Li, Chung-Chi Huang, Ying-Huang Tsai and Cheng-Ta Yang

    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:44

    Content type: Research article

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  50. Recent evidence indicates that Gram-negative bacterial pathogens, the most common of which are Pseudomonas spp., Enterobacteriaceae, and Acinetobacter baumannii, are frequent causes of hospital-acquired infection...

    Authors: Hakan Leblebicioglu, Nedim Cakir, Mustafa Celen, Halil Kurt, Hakan Baris and Joerg Laeuffer

    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2012 12:42

    Content type: Research article

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