Sepsis is associated with high morbidity and mortality rates worldwide. Rapid and reliable diagnostic methods are needed for efficient and evidence-based treatment of septic patients. Recently, new molecular tools have emerged to complement the conventional culture-based diagnostic methods. In this study, we used spiked whole blood samples to evaluate together two ready-to-use molecular solutio...

meningitis, pneumonia, and sepsis in newborns and young infants (age < 60 days) are the main causes of childhood mortality in developing countries. even though streptococcus pneumonia is the most commonly detected microorganism in pediatric bacterial meningitis, it is rare in newborn infants. the following article reports a case of pneumococcal meningitis that was detected early in a newborn in...

Burn injury and sepsis produce acute gastrointestinal derangements that may predispose patients to bacterial translocation. We studied the effects of enalapril, an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI), on gastrointestinal anatomic alterations, bacterial translocation, and related mortality during gut-derived sepsis in burned mice that had received a prior bacterial challenge. BALB/c m...

Polymicrobial sepsis is the result of an exaggerated host immune response to bacterial pathogens. Animal models and human studies demonstrate that alcohol intoxication is a key risk factor for sepsis-induced mortality. Multiple chemokines, such as CXCL1, CXCL2 and CXCL5 are critical for neutrophil recruitment and proper function of neutrophils. However, it is not quite clear the mechanisms by w...

Ten percent of infants born in the United States are admitted to neonatal intensive care units (NICU) annually. Approximately one-half of these admissions are from term infants (>34 weeks of gestation) at risk for systemic infection. Most of the term infants are not infected but rather have symptoms consistent with other medical conditions that mimic sepsis. The current standard of care for eva...

Meningitis, pneumonia, and sepsis in newborns and young infants (age < 60 days) are the main causes of childhood mortality in developing countries. Even though streptococcus pneumonia is the most commonly detected microorganism in pediatric bacterial meningitis, it is rare in newborn infants. The following article reports a case of pneumococcal meningitis that was detected early in a newborn in...