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An outbreak of nosocomial diarrhea that occurred in a pediatric orthopedic service between 1 December 1993 and 15 April 1994 is reported. A total of 37 patients (mean age, 9.6 years; range, 2 months-19.3 years) were involved in the outbreak, including six patients with bacteriologically documented Clostridium difficile infection. A multivariate analysis identified lincomycin treatment for at least three days as the only significant risk factor. Stool samples from four asymptomatic patients were also positive for Clostridium difficile and its cytotoxins. Isolates from all patients belonged to serogroup C, were highly resistant to lincomycin, and exhibited the same restriction pattern by pulsedfield gel electrophoresis. The outbreak ended after treatment with lincomycin was discontinued and hygiene control measures were implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to compare the performances of a specific fungal medium and a standard aerobic medium for detecting growth of Fusarium spp. in blood, simulated blood cultures were performed. For lower inocula (102 and 103 cfu/ml taken together), fungal growth was detected significantly earlier using the fungal medium. The mean difference in the time to detection between the two media was 22.33 h at 102 cfu/ml, with the maximum difference being achieved for Fusarium verticilloides at 37.05 h. These in vitro test results suggest fungal medium could be useful for obtaining more rapid blood culture results when evaluating patients at risk for invasive infection with Fusarium spp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]