BioMed research international
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Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) cause various diseases in humans and animals. Recently, the prevalence of NTM-related disease has been on the rise, becoming an emerging public health problem. The aim of this study was to determine the antibiotic susceptibility profiles of clinical isolates of Mycobacterium abscessus and Mycobacterium fortuitum. Methods. We performed susceptibility tests on 37 clinical NTM isolates to 30 antibiotics with the microdilution method recommended by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute. ⋯ Amikacin, cefoxitin, and azithromycin have the highest in vitro activity against M. abscessus. Isolates of M. fortuitum need to be individually evaluated for drug susceptibility before choosing an effective antimicrobial regimen for treatment of infections.
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Review
Alternative and Natural Therapies for Acute Lung Injury and Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome.
Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a complex clinical syndrome characterized by acute inflammation, microvascular damage, and increased pulmonary vascular and epithelial permeability, frequently resulting in acute respiratory failure and death. Current best practice for ARDS involves "lung-protective ventilation," which entails low tidal volumes and limiting the plateau pressures in mechanically ventilated patients. Although considerable progress has been made in understanding the pathogenesis of ARDS, little progress has been made in the development of specific therapies to combat injury and inflammation. ⋯ Here we review natural remedies shown to attenuate lung injury and inflammation in experimental models. Translational human studies in patients with ARDS may facilitate treatment of this devastating disease.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
The Efficacy of Programmed Intermittent Epidural Bolus for Postoperative Analgesia after Open Gynecological Surgery: A Randomized Double-Blinded Study.
It is well known that the programmed intermittent epidural bolus (PIEB) technique effectively provides epidural anesthesia in labor. This randomized double-blind trial compared the postoperative analgesic efficacy of PIEB with that of continuous epidural infusion (CEI) in patients undergoing gynecological surgery under combined general-epidural anesthesia. ⋯ PIEB was better than CEI in terms of providing postoperative analgesia after open gynecological surgery under combined general-epidural anesthesia.
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Hearing loss (HL) is a common sensory disorder in humans with high genetic heterogeneity. To date, over 145 loci have been identified to cause nonsyndromic deafness. ⋯ In these 5 families, we detected one reported and six novel mutations in 5 different deafness autosomal recessive (DFNB) genes (TRIOBP, LHFPL5, CDH23, PCDH15, and MYO7A). The custom capture panel in our study provided an efficient and comprehensive diagnosis for known deafness genes in small families.
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To evaluate contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) for monitoring early intrahepatic recurrence of primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after curative treatment. ⋯ Intrahepatic recurrent HCC and HGDNs with diameter ≤ 3.0 cm have a characteristic appearance on CEUS. This imaging modality may be effective for monitoring early intrahepatic recurrence after curative treatment of primary HCC.