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Volume 76, Issue 12
Displaying 1-11 of 11 articles from this issue
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15. Candidatus-the provisional status for prokaryotes that were not yet cultivableYoshiaki KAWAMURA2002 Volume 76 Issue 12 Pages 985-987
Published: December 20, 2002
Released on J-STAGE: February 07, 2011
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Yoshiko HAMADA, Akinobu SAITO, Yutaka SHIBATA2002 Volume 76 Issue 12 Pages 988-994
Published: December 20, 2002
Released on J-STAGE: February 07, 2011
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSVIDAS ECO is useful as a rapid method for detecting E. coli O157 from food samples, because can obtain the results within lhour byexamining the enrichment broth after a 18 hour lncubation. In addition, one can handle alarge amount of samples, owing to its simplicity. No false negative were recognized in the present experiment and diffuse outbreak samples cases, whlch confirmed the usefulness of ECO as a screening method. Besides, regarding ECO positive samples, wecould confirm by the following day, that they were false positive, by a combined test using an isolation medium after a bead-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.View full abstractDownload PDF (1063K) -
Takao KOBAYASHI, Tetsuya MATSUMOTO, Kazuhiro TATEDA, Kenzi ISOGAI, Kaz ...2002 Volume 76 Issue 12 Pages 995-1002
Published: December 20, 2002
Released on J-STAGE: February 07, 2011
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSWe evaluated a new rapid urinary antigen detection kit, NOW Streptococcus pneumoniae (Binax Inc., USA) that detected S. pneumoniae antigen by immunochromatographic membrane assay, with 66 Japanese adult patients of community acquired pneumonia. Twenty-two (33.3%) patients were found to be positive with the kit and S. pneumoniae was isolated from six patients (27.3%) of these 22 patients. S. pneumoniae was not isolated from eight of the 22 patients by blood or sputum culture. Analysis of clinical laboratory data showed that the levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) in the serum were significantly higher in the urine-antigen positive group than those in the urine-antigen negative group. There were no significant difference between the two groups including renal function, urinalysis, clinical symptom, and severity of pneumonia. Our study suggests that more cases of community acquired pneumonia are caused by S. pneumoniae than conventional tests can currently confirm. Since it is not technically complex, does not require equipment, and detects within as quickly as in 15 minutes, the S. pneumoniae urinary antigen kit is useful for rapid diagnosis of community acquired pneumonia in adults.View full abstractDownload PDF (2821K) -
The Relationship Between Disease Severity and Drug-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniaeOsamu NISHIYAMA, Hiroyuki TANIGUCHI, Yasuhiro KONDOH, Masahiro KIMURA, ...2002 Volume 76 Issue 12 Pages 1003-1009
Published: December 20, 2002
Released on J-STAGE: February 07, 2011
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSTo examine the utility of the Pneumonia PORT prediction rule for evaluating the severity of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in Japan, 127 consecutive patients with CAP admitted during one-year period were recruited and stratified by the rule. The relationship between CAP severity determined by the rule and drug-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae was also investigated. The number of the patients classified into each class was 20 (15.7%) in class I, 32 (25.2%) in class II, 32 (25.2%) in class III, 31 (24.4%) in class IV, and 12 (9.4%) in class V, respectively. Risk class-specific mortality rate was 0% in class I and II, 3.1% in class III, 3.2% in class IV, and 41.7% in class V, respectively. Twenty-seven patients (21.3%) were diagnosed as pneumococcal pneumonia. In terms of penicillinsuscptibility of Streptococcus pneumoniae, 19 strains (70.4%) were penicillin-susceptible Streptococcus pneumoniae (PSSP). Five (18.5%) were penicillin-intermediate Streptococcus pneumoniae (PISP), and 3 (11.1%) were penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae (PRSP). Highly resistant pneumococci with penicillin MIC≥4.0μg/ml. was not observed. For severity of drug-resistant pneumococcal pneumonia, 3 patients infected with PISP were classified as class IV, 2 with PISP were as class V, 2 with PRSP were as class IV, and 1 with PRSP was as class V. The patients with drug-resistant pneumococcal pneumonia were classified as high risk classes (class IV to V), however, the mortality rate was low (0%).
In conclusion, the Pneumonia PORT prediction rule is effective for evaluating the severity of CAP in Japan, especially in classifying the class V patients who are related to high mortality. The mortality rate of the patients with drug-resistant pneumococcal pneumonia was low.View full abstractDownload PDF (1064K) -
Osamu KASUGA, Kimiko TAKAGI, Hitoshi MISAWA, Masato ONOZAWA, Eiji CHIB ...2002 Volume 76 Issue 12 Pages 1010-1015
Published: December 20, 2002
Released on J-STAGE: February 07, 2011
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSAnti-microbial effect of the pretreatment with various organic acid buffer solutions against coexisting microorganisms which were isolated from cooling-tower water samples along with Legionella spp. was examined. Among several buffer solutions, a 0.1M potassium citrate-citric acid buffer solution (hereafter, citrate buffer solution, pH2.2) hardly affected the recovery of Legionella spp., but effectively inhibited the growth of co-existing microorganisms. To evaluate the buffer action of these buffer solutions, pHs of 9 cooling-tower water samples were evaluated after addition of an equal volume of each buffer solution. When a citrate buffer solution, pH2.2 was combined to a 200-fold concentrated solution of each cooling-tower water sample, the pH of the combined solution became 2.5 to 2.7 and maintained a stably low pH value than that (pH3.0 to 7.4) obtained after mixture of a 0.2M HCl-KCl buffer solution (hereafter, HCl buffer solution, pH2.2), suggesting strong buffer action of the citrate buffer solution, pH2.2 in the combined solutions. Furthermore, when cooling-tower water samples were pretreated with a citrate buffer solution, pH2.2, the recovery of Legionella spp. was successful in 7 out of 9 cooling-tower water samples, suggesting 3 times higher recovery rate than that obtained by addition of a HCl buffer solution, pH2.2 (3 out of 9 cooling-tower water samples).View full abstractDownload PDF (1012K) -
A Survey of Patients with Influenza who were Prescribed Zanamivir during the 2001/2002 season in JapanKeizo MATSUMOTO, Shoji KUDOH, Norio SUGAYA, Hiroshi SUZUKI2002 Volume 76 Issue 12 Pages 1016-1024
Published: December 20, 2002
Released on J-STAGE: February 07, 2011
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSPatients diagnosed as influenza who were prescribed zanamivir were surveyed from December 2001 to April 2002 in Japan as the same 2000/2001 influenza season. A total of 751 survey questionnaires were returned. We analyzed the efficacy of zanamivir against 367 patients who were diagnosed as influenza by rapid diagnosed kit and took zanamivir within 48 hours after onset of symptoms. Following the first zanamivir treatment, symptom relief was reported by 24.0% of the patients within 12 hours, 52.6% within 24 hours and 79.6% within 48 hours. The patients reported that the severest influenza symptom was fever, 28.4% of the patients started to feel reduction of fever within 12 hours, 62.2% within 24 hours. All of the 751 patients, 98.8% reported that the Diskhaler could be used as instructed by the doctor or pharmacist and 91.3% found the device easy or very easy to use. These results showed that the effect of zanamivir started very fast and the diskhaer was well accepted. This was the same as the previous results.View full abstractDownload PDF (3945K) -
Shigeto HONTSU, Mitsuru KONISHI, Hideaki TAKENAKA, Kei KASAHARA, Ken T ...2002 Volume 76 Issue 12 Pages 1025-1029
Published: December 20, 2002
Released on J-STAGE: February 07, 2011
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSA 88-year-old woman, who had lived in a nursing home, was admitted to our hospital because of the suspicion of pulmonary tuberculosis. She had a cough, fever and diarrhea on admission. She suffered from sepsis because Listeria monocytogenes was isolated from only the blood culture twice. We immediately administered imipenem/cilastatin to her on admission. She simultaneously had pulmonary non-tuberculous mycobacterial infection because the chest roentgenogram showed a cavity in the right upper lung field and Mycobacterium intracellulare was isolated from the sputum many times. She was treated with isoniazid, rifampicin and clarithromycin for the pulmonary non-tuberculous mycobacterial infection. Her condition improved soon after the administration of IPM/CS but a low grade fever and cough persisted. L. monocytogenes and M. intracellulare are important pathogens in the elderly because cell-mediated immunity mainly works as host defenses against both organisms.View full abstractDownload PDF (3224K) -
Tomohide KAWAMOTO, Motohiko OGAWA, Toshio KISHIMOTO, Yuichi UCHIDA, Ka ...2002 Volume 76 Issue 12 Pages 1030-1034
Published: December 20, 2002
Released on J-STAGE: February 07, 2011
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSAfter an inspection tour to farms and abattoirs in Australia and New Zealand, three Japanese persons simultaneously developed febrile illnesses in Japan. They generally had slight fever and general fatigue, followed by thrombocytopenia and hepatic dysfunction. However, no respiratory symptoms were observed. In one of the cases, severe thrombocytopenia (1.3×104/μl) and high fever up to 40°C were observed. These clinical symptoms were compatible with Q fever. All of the cases showed four hold-elevations of IgM and IgG against Coxiella burnetii phase II between acute and convalescent sera by a serological test. C. burentii-DNA was also detected in the serum of one patient. Minocycline was highly effective in all cases. This report illustrates the typical clinical courses of acute Q fever.View full abstractDownload PDF (683K) -
Ken MORII, Toshio TAKECHI, Yoichi SHIMIZU2002 Volume 76 Issue 12 Pages 1035-1039
Published: December 20, 2002
Released on J-STAGE: February 07, 2011
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSEnterococcus faecium is usually known as a pathogen of nosocomial infections in compromised patients. Recently it is a problem that some of the E. faecium become resistant to many antibiotics. It is not usual that this pathogen causes pneumonia. We report a community-aquired pneumonia by multidrug-resistant E. faecium in an outpatient who had been receiving hemodialysis for the past year. The patient recovered from peumonia with vancomycin, but had nosocomial pneumonia caused by MRSA later but recovered.View full abstractDownload PDF (7082K) -
Gen-ichi TANAKA, Yasuhiro NAGATOMO, Yasufumi KAI, Mikitaro MATSUYAMA, ...2002 Volume 76 Issue 12 Pages 1040-1044
Published: December 20, 2002
Released on J-STAGE: February 07, 2011
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSMycoplasma pneumoniae (M. pneumoniae) pneumonia is a common disease which usually shows a good prognosis, however, it can develop a very serious state such as respiratory distress syndrome. We experienced 2 cases with M. pneumoniae pneumonia from identical twin sisters. Case 1, who was 22 years-old and was the senior sister of the twin, complained of fever and cough on August 1st, 1999. Her chest radiograph revealed consolidation in the right lung. When she was admitted to our hospital on August 11, she revealed severe hypoxemia and the titer to M. pneumoniae was markedly elevated. She was diagnosed as M. pneumoniae pneumonia with acute respiratory distress syndrome and treated with clarithromycin and methylprednisolone. Although it was necessary for her to be in the intensive care unit for 8 days, her condition gradually improved and was discharged on the 30th of September. Case 2, who was the younger sister of Case 1, complained cough and fever on August 21, 1999. Her chest radiograph showed consolidation in the left lung. She was treated by sparfloxacin because the intrafamilial infection of M. pneumoniae was most likely. The diagnosis was confirmed by the increased antibody-titer to M. pneumoniae later. There have been several reports that hyperimmune reaction may be related with the worse course of M. pneumoniae puemonia. However, the clinical courses of twin sisters, who should be very similar in their immune response to the same antigen, were very different from each other. The time of administration of effective anti-biotics seemed to be a crucial factor to determine their courses. These results emphasized the importance of early diagnosis of the patients with M. pneumoniae pneumonia and the adequate chemotherapy to prevent developing severe respiratory failure.View full abstractDownload PDF (2418K) -
Daisuke KATAOKA, Hiromitsu FUJIWARA, Ayako TANIMOTO, Yoshinori TANAKA2002 Volume 76 Issue 12 Pages 1045-1047
Published: December 20, 2002
Released on J-STAGE: February 07, 2011
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSDownload PDF (292K)
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