Zorggroep Kans

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To determine whether bacteriological analysis of a wound swab is supportive in the clinical assessment of infection of a chronic wound. Patients attending an outpatient wound clinic who had endured a chronic wound for more than 3 weeks were clinically assessed for infection. In addition, standardized wound swabs were taken according to the Levine technique and the microbiological findings of the swabs compared with the clinical assessment of the wounds. There was no significant relationship between the clinical assessments of the chronic wounds and the qualitative or quantitative bacteriological results of the swabs. Microbiological analysis of wound swabs taken from chronic wounds to support clinical assessment of the wounds is waste of time and money. It may be preferable to assess chronic wounds clinically, however, validation studies of these signs and symptoms are needed.

Laparoscopic surgery is considered to induce less peritoneal trauma than conventional surgery. The peritoneal plasmin system is important in the processes of peritoneal healing and adhesion formation. The present study assessed the peritoneal fibrinolytic response to laparoscopic and conventional colonic surgery. Twenty-four patients scheduled for a right colonic resection were enrolled in the trial. Twelve underwent conventional surgery and 12 were operated laparoscopically. Biopsies of the parietal peritoneum were taken at standardized moments during the procedure. Tissue concentrations of tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA) and its specific activity (tPA-activity), urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA), and plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 (PAI-1) were measured, using commercial assays. After mobilization of the colon, peritoneal levels of tPA antigen and activity were significantly higher in the laparoscopic group (p < 0.005) due to a decrease in the conventional group (p < 0.05). At the end of the procedure, the concentrations of tPA antigen and activity significantly (p < 0.05) decreased in the laparoscopic group to levels comparable with the conventional group. Neither uPA antigen nor PAI-1 antigen changed throughout the procedures. Both conventional and laparoscopic surgery inflict a decrease in tPA antigen and its specific activity. Peritoneal hypofibrinolysis initiates more rapidly during conventional, compared to laparoscopic, surgery, but at the conclusion of the surgery, the effect was the same.

A case of right middle lobe torsion occurring after a right upper lobectomy is described. HR-CT angiography was successful in identifying the obstructed right middle lobe bronchus and the avascular nature of the infected and displaced right middle lobe. This detailed information, obtainable from present day multislice HR-CT scanners with the right CT protocols, seems to diminish the need for further confirmation by other methods.

Bacterial infections are a well-known complication of traumatic amputations. In cases involving contact with soil or water contaminated with manure, one also must be aware of infections with fungi, particularly Scedosporium spp. We report on an immunocompetent trauma patient with an infection caused by a recently described Scedosporium species, S. aurantiacum. Case report and literature review. In a 36-year-old healthy man, entrapment of the right leg resulted in a traumatic amputation just below the knee and contamination of the wound with manure. Six weeks after the initial surgical debridement, he developed a phlegmon. Cultures yielded Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and treatment with ciprofloxacin and clindamycin was started. After several weeks, a fistula developed, and roentgenograms demonstrated osteomyelitis. A pure culture of Scedosporium was grown from bone fragments and was identified as S. aurantiacum by sequencing of the rDNA internal transcribed spacer 1 region. Following debridement, the wound was drenched in 0.2% polyhexamethylene biguanide for four minutes. A pre-operative culture showed growth of S. aureus only. Postoperatively, clindamycin, ciprofloxacin, and voriconazole were started and continued for 12 weeks. At the last follow-up, 15 months after the trauma and nine months after cessation of the antimicrobial agents, the patient had no signs of osteomyelitis. To our knowledge, this is the first case of osteomyelitis caused by S. aurantiacum. The patient was treated successfully by a combination of surgery and voriconazole.