G French

..The potential for success of such coordinated efforts has been demonstrated by the recent dramatic reductions in MRSA and C. difficile infections in England...

..New point-of-care PCR tests are being introduced that are potentially even more rapid but are even more expensive; studies on the clinical cost-effectiveness of these very rapid tests are awaited...

..Further work is needed to determine the importance of environmental contamination with MRSA and the effect on hospital infection rates of effective decontamination...

..A clinical trial has demonstrated the non-inferiority of iclaprim, as compared with linezolid, in the treatment of cSSSIs, including those associated with MRSA...

..The remaining articles in the supplement report the European clinical experience from the pivotal clinical trials in complicated intra-abdominal infections, complicated skin and skin structure infections and community acquired pneumonia...

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..There is an urgent need to control antimicrobial resistance by improved antibiotic usage and reduction of hospital cross-infection...

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..Ciprofloxacin-containing media should be used with caution for MRSA screening in settings where ciprofloxacin-susceptible strains (including community-associated MRSA) are increasing in prevalence...

..Ciprofloxacin susceptibility is a useful screening marker of CA-MRSA strains in London, which are more frequent than previously thought and whose incidence is increasing...

..There are striking differences between the molecular epidemiology of CA-MRSA in UK and US hospitals, which may have implications for control...

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..We recommend that the mandatory national surveillance scheme should collect additional data on MRSA bacteraemia to provide information for a national strategy for MRSA control and to allow appropriate comparison between institutions...

..Hypermutation in K. pneumoniae is uncommon and does not contribute to accumulation of QRDR mutations or directly to ciprofloxacin resistance...

..The PVL gene sequence and the PVL-encoding phage varied with lineage. Further work is required to determine whether PVL sequence and/or phage variations result in biological differences...

..To investigate bacterial contamination on hand-touch surfaces in the public transport system and in public areas of a hospital in central London...

..This result was available within 36 h. The analysis of rpoB and pncA is a rapid and practical means of simultaneously identifying and typing MDR isolates of M. tuberculosis...

..All patients, regardless of their admission history, should be screened on admission for carriage of multiply resistant enterobacteria by a sensitive method, and units should have plans for temporary ward closure should outbreaks occur...

..We sought to determine whether antimicrobial susceptibility (AMS)-based algorithms could be used to presumptively identify CA-MRSA in a hospital MRSA collection...

..To investigate the effect of screening specimens and different criteria for exclusion of duplicate isolates when surveillance of antimicrobial resistances is performed...

..Evidence identified to support recommendations has been categorized. A risk assessment approach is recommended and areas for research and development identified...

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..Several other washer-disinfectors were also found to be faulty. The potential hazards of automated endoscope washer-disinfectors and the importance of controlled professional maintenance, servicing and training is discussed...

..Although our results are derived from a small number of isolates and confirmation with larger numbers would be useful, they strongly suggest that mutations within rpoB form the molecular basis of rifampin resistance in this species...

..Gemifloxacin was also the most potent quinolone against Gram-positive anaerobes and fusobacteria but trovafloxacin was the most potent agent tested against other Gram-negative anaerobes...

..5 and 87.6%, respectively. The OMA is a promising automated system for the rapid routine screening of urine specimens, and further clinical trials are in progress...

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..Current EIA(A/B) tests for CDI are of inadequate sensitivity and should be replaced; however, this may result in apparent changes in CDI rates that would need to be explained in national surveillance statistics...

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..Furthermore, in the presence of an OMP deficiency, the level of expression of a plasmid-mediated class C beta-lactamase is an important factor in determining whether E. coli isolates are fully resistant to carbapenems...

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..K. These guidelines will help clinicians choose appropriate therapy and point to areas where further research is needed. This review summarizes the main recommendations and discusses their implementation into clinical practice...