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Objective: The aim of this study is to determine the species distribution, slime activity, and methicillin resistance of coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) isolated from blood cultures as either contaminants or true bacteremia agents., Materials and Methods: In this study, 13.268 blood culture samples sent to our laboratory from various clinics during a two-year period were examined in terms of the presence of CoNS to clarify whether the isolates are true bacteremia agents, as defined by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) criteria. The slime activities of true bacteremia agents (58 CoNS strains) and contaminants (50 randomly selected CoNS strains) were investigated by the Christensen method. The methicillin susceptibilities of the strains were determined by the disk diffusion method., Results: Although the frequency of slime production was 39.7% among the true bacteremia CoNS agents, it was 18% in CoNS that were judged to be contaminants (p<0.05). S. epidermidis was the most frequently isolated species for both the true bacteremia agent group (56.9%) and contaminant group (74%). Additionally, S. epidermidis was the bacterium most frequently characterized as slime producing in both groups. The methicillin resistance of slime-producing CoNS was determined to be 82.6% for the true bacteremia agent group and 77.8% for the contaminant group., Conclusion: The presence of slime activity in CoNS isolated from blood culture samples is supportive evidence that they are most likely the agents of true bacteremia cases.

The incidence of infections due to coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) has been steadily increasing in recent years. In this report, we describe an isolate of the CoNS Staphylococcus lugdunensis from a wound specimen with a colony morphology distinct from that of a classical S. lugdunensis colony. Specifically, wrinkled, medium-sized, beta hemolytic, opaque, rough white colonies were detected on blood agar. Catalase-positive, coagulase-negative, gram-positive cocci-yielding such colonies should be suspected of being S. lugdunensis.

A 5-year-old child living in Erzurum, Turkey, complaining of otalgia, otorrhea and pruritus in the right ear for three days, was examined. Otoscopic examination at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology revealed live maggots in the external auditory canal. Ten maggots were recovered and were identified as third stage larvae of Wohlfahrtia magnifica (Diptera: Sarcophagidae). Local and systemic antibiotic therapies were applied. No pathological findings were present at the follow-up examination after 15 days of therapy.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the in vitro hemolytic activities of 107 Candida strains isolated from different clinical samples in liquid medium, and to examine the impact of glucose on this activity., Materials and Methods: A total of 107 Candida isolates representing seven species (C. albicans, n=28; C. glabrata, n=23; C. tropicalis, n=17; C. parapsilosis, n=16; C. kefyr, n=14; C. krusei, n=5; C. guilliermondii, n=4) were included in the study. The hemolytic activities of the strains were tested on two different Sabouraud dextrose liquid media (SDB) containing 7% defibrinated human blood, one of which is supplemented with 3% glucose and the other without glucose. Cultures were evaluated at the end of a 48-hour incubation. The hemolysis in the media was detected spectrophotometrically by measuring the amount of released hemoglobin and compared with a standard hemolysate which was prepared prior to testing. The degree of hemolysis (percentage value) by an individual strain was calculated according to the following formula below: (Absorbance of supernatant media at 540 nm / Absorbance of standard hemolysate at 540 nm X 100)., Results: In the liquid medium without glucose, strains generally produced hemolysis at low levels. The degree of hemolysis produced by all species increased noticeably in the liquid medium with glucose. Strains of C. albicans and C.kefyr had demonstrated significant hemolytic activity, whereas others had lower activity. C. parapsilosis exerted very little hemolytic activity in the medium with glucose and showed no activity in the medium without glucose., Conclusion: The hemolytic activities of most Candida species was found to be higher in the human blood-enriched SDB medium containing 3% additive glucose than in the one free from additives. This result indicates that increased blood glucose concentration may contribute to increased hemolytic activity in Candida species, and it suggests a parallel with possible pathogenesis of Candida in patients with diabetes mellitus.

Objective: Gram negative bacilli are among the most important microbial agents involved in both hospital- and community-acquired infections. The quinolones are preferred antibacterial agents for the treatment of both community- and hospital-acquired urinary tract infections caused by gram negative bacilli because of their strong antibacterial effects, and because they can be administered both orally and parenterally. In this study, it was aimed to determine the sensitivity of gram negative bacteria isolated from both hospital- and community-acquired infections, to quinolones., Materials and Methods: Bacterial strains used in this study were isolated from pathologic samples of patients who were treated in different clinics or who were admitted to the polyclinics of Atatürk University Research Hospitals. Susceptibility to ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, ofloxacin and norfloxacin was assessed for all strains included in the study via the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method according to CLSI criteria., Results: Of the 205 strains tested, 116 (56.5%) were from community-acquired infections, and 89 (43.5%) were from hospital-acquired infections. Resistance rates of community-origin strains against ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin and levofloxacin were 25%, whereas they were 26.7% against norfloxacin. Ciprofloxacin was the most effective quinolone (65.2%) against hospital-origin strains. E. coli was the most commonly isolated etiological agent from both community- and hospital-acquired infections., Conclusion: In this study, resistance to quinolones was observed for gram negative bacilli isolated from both hospital- and community-acquired infections, with the exception of community-acquired Salmonella and Shigella. Thus, these drugs should not be used empirically in the treatment of infections caused by gram negative bacilli, and susceptibility test results should be considered when planning therapy.