Stephen T Chambers

..To review recent events in the international effort to eradicate polio from earth and inform readers of recent changes in strategy that have implications for New Zealand..

..This review discusses the recent advances in breath analysis for the diagnosis of bacterial and fungal lower respiratory tract infections...

..These results suggest that in contrast to log phase organisms, which are killed by ethanol/water solutions in seconds, plastic-adherent organisms are more resistant to the bactericidal activity of ethanol...

..The duration of antimicrobial therapy and timing of replacement of the device have not been determined but 2 weeks treatment before removal and 2-4 weeks treatment after replacement is commonly administered...

..Antimicrobial therapy can be stopped 4-6 weeks after surgery if arterial stump cultures are negative but should be continued long-term, and perhaps indefinitely, if they are positive...

..As 2-PF is not normally found in human breath its presence may reflect the active metabolism of A. fumigatus in the airways and form the basis of a new diagnostic breath test for Aspergillus infection...

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..To determine whether a single treatment with ethanol/water (70:30) will sterilize infected vascular catheters...

..These ethnic disparities are of major concern, and policy planners should consider further interventions to improve the efficacy of current anti-smoking campaigns and to undertake studies of conjugate pneumococcal vaccines for Maori...

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..Betaine insufficiency is associated with unfavourable vascular risk profiles in metabolic syndrome patients. We investigated associations between betaine insufficiency and secondary events in acute coronary syndrome patients...

..Urinary betaine excretion positively correlated with plasma homocysteine in outpatients attending a lipid disorders clinic (lipid clinic study). We aimed to confirm this in subjects with established vascular disease...

..We aimed to measure the relationships between plasma and urine betaine and plasma lipids, and the effects of lipid-lowering drugs on these...

..Betaine comes from the diet and from choline, and it is associated with vascular disease in some patient groups. Betaine supplementation lowers plasma total homocysteine...

..The post-methionine load test is reported to be both an independent vascular risk factor and a measure of betaine sufficiency...

..Breath analysis has the potential of being a non-invasive diagnostic method of detecting respiratory infection including invasive aspergillosis...

..We aimed to compare the individuality (within subject consistency) of plasma and urine betaine and N,N-dimethylglycine...

..Clinical trials of combinations of betaine and fibrate, to complement statin therapy, are needed to determine the value of these agents in reducing the residual cardiovascular disease risk...

..Growth of Ps. aeruginosa releases a "grape-like" odour that has been identified as the microbial volatile organic compound 2-aminoacetophenone (2-AA)...

..To find whether the control of betaine metabolism differs between male and female patients and identify the effects of insulin and other hormones...

..These compounds are detectable before the visual appearance of colonies, potentially useful as the basis of a non-invasive diagnostic test for TB and have characteristic odors...

..We aimed to compare plasma cortisol (a stress marker) and C-reactive protein (an inflammation marker) as statistical predictors of plasma betaine concentrations...

..However, results of clinical trials of vitamin D supplementation have been inconclusive...

..These patients are often treated with fibrates which alter renal function and raise plasma homocysteine concentrations. We suggest there is a connection between fibrate treatment and betaine excretion...

..Streptococci cause up to 20% of prosthetic joint infections but this has received little attention in the published literature...

..Campylobacter fetus has been isolated as an infrequent cause of abscesses. We report a case of Campylobacter fetus epidural abscess and bacteremia in a debilitated elderly man who had a fatal outcome...

..We conclude that PCR-ELISA is a more sensitive and reliable method for laboratory diagnosis of IA...

..Does abnormal betaine excretion persist?..

..Proline betaine (PB), a glycine betaine (GB) analogue found in citrus foods, increases urinary GB loss and plasma total homocysteine (tHcy) concentrations in rats. Its presence in human plasma is associated with increased GB excretion...

..We have converted the free acid into methyl nicotinate and detected statistically significant differences in the breath of smear positive patients compared with healthy (smear negative) subjects...

..50), and this relationship may be stronger in patients with known vascular disease. Urinary loss of glycine betaine may contribute to hyperhomocysteinemia and the development of cardiovascular disease...

..To establish whether normal human subjects excrete glycine betaine at a constant rate...

..9% at constant and variable temperatures...

..Glycine betaine (GB) is known to decrease tHcy in other clinical settings, but whether it is beneficial in chronic renal failure has not been established...

..To describe the use and outcomes of outpatient antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) for infective endocarditis (IE) within the Canterbury region of New Zealand over an 8 year period...

..To determine whether daily dimethylglycine supplementation affects plasma homocysteine concentrations...

..Cutaneous larva migrans is common in returned travellers from the tropics. It is rare in New Zealand, however. Presumably there were very specific, favourable local factors to allow maturation and transmission of the larva in this case...

..Toxicity associated with DMT treatment raises concerns for its use in further studies. However, sub-acute administration of DMT to sheep may provide a useful model of acute alveolar damage...

..Ethanol is an effective antiseptic. We describe a case of a patient with recurrent CRS successfully treated with 70% ethanol locks...

..To reconcile observing a positive correlation of betaine excretion with homocysteine in lipid disorder patients but not other study groups...

..In contrast, peripheral blood concentrations of proline betaine, which is present in the diet (and has no known metabolic or physiological role in mammals), is not controlled...

..Further evaluation of PCR assays for the diagnosis of IA and other invasive fungal infections is warranted...

..The study shows that glycine betaine analogues have multiple effects on homocysteine metabolism (250)...

..We conclude that the pneumolysin PCR assay adds little to existing diagnostic tests for S. pneumoniae and is unable to distinguish colonization from infection when respiratory samples are tested...

..4-Methylthiazolium betaine was the only one that showed significant antibacterial activity towards Escherichia coli under hyperosmotic conditions. None of the tested betaines showed any evidence of osmoprotection or urea protection...

..We present the first reported case of a recurrent breast infection caused by Gordonia bronchialis. The infection occurred in a 43-year-old immunocompetent female, and species level identification was obtained with 16S rRNA sequencing...

..We sought to provide a contemporary picture of the presentation, etiology, and outcome of infective endocarditis (IE) in a large patient cohort from multiple locations worldwide...

..We need to return to the original meaning of atypical pneumonia and restrict its use to describe pneumonia that is truly unusual in clinical presentation, epidemiology, or both...

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..82, P = 0.005 versus r(2) = 0.54, P = 0.056). In all patients, the free concentrations in the interstitial fluid were at least two-fold the MIC(90) for Staphylococcus aureus...

..To audit the use and value of venous duplex ultrasound in patients hospitalised for cellulitis at Christchurch Hospital, New Zealand...

..To assess changes in trimethoprim resistance over 2 years in bacteria causing uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTIs) presenting to a representative group of general practitioners (GPs) in Christchurch...

..To review the clinical practice and complications of the home intravenous antimicrobial service at Christchurch Hospital after twelve months of full operation...

..To compare the efficacy, safety, and acceptability of treatment with intravenous antibiotics for cellulitis at home and in hospital...

..To determine the resistance rates and patterns in bacteria causing uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTIs) presenting to general practitioners (GPs) in Christchurch...