Author Archives: mdjkf
Kawasaki disease in a 13 month old diagnosed at post mortem
Guest posting: Dr Leah Clifton, NEWCASTLE DEPARTMENT OF FORENSIC MEDICINE, Forensic Pathology Registrar Kawasaki disease is characterized with acute systemic vasculitis, occurs predominantly in children between 6 months to 5 years of age. Patients with this disease recover well and the disease … Continue reading
Saving lives by routine cryptococcal antigen screening and pre-emptive fluconazole in patients with advanced HIV
Guest posting: Dr Melanie-Anne John, Microbiology Registrar, Pathology North, formerly Infectious Disease Department, Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal, RSA Cryptococcal meningitis (CCM) has a high mortality (20-50%) in patients with AIDS. CCM is preventable with fluconazole and … Continue reading
Posted in Fungi, Module-CNS infections, Module-Mycology
Tagged Cryptococcus, HIV, Infectious diseases, Meningitis
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Cytomegalovirus – congenital disease prevention & treatment
Excellent series of expert reviews in Microbiology Australia recently including: Congenital cytomegalovirus: the invisible problem- Prof. Bill Rawlinson Clinical and epidemiological features of congenital cytomegalovirus infection globally– Wendy J van Zuylen Therapeutics to prevent congenital cytomegalovirus during pregnancy: what is available … Continue reading
How well is your lab performing antimicrobial susceptibility testing?
Production of reliable AST results is critical for clinicians and their patients. AST results enable correct antibiotic therapy to be directed against the specific pathogen(s). Please review this brief presentations from our bacteriology scientist Fiona Oehme. EUCAST AST Quality Control F Courtney 2016 … Continue reading
Relative mortality risk from antibiotic use compared
Originally posted on AIMED – Let's talk about antibiotics:
Much time is spent discussing the development of antimicrobial resistance and changes to the microbiome but perhaps should we should also focus on the potential for patient mortality. Based on best current…
Must know Gram negative pathogens for medicine and pathology registrars/residents
By focusing your study on these organisms first, you will gain knowledge that is generalisable across most less common pathogens and diseases. Be systematic in your study – see proforma. Enterobacteriaceae : E. coli, Klebsiella sp, Proteus sp, Enterobacter sp, Salmonella … Continue reading
Posted in Bacteria (GNEG)
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Dientamoeba fragilis morphological diagnosis and clinical relevance
Dientamoeba fragilis measures 9-12 uM and have 1-2 nuclei (nearly half have only 1 nucleus). Important notice from RCPA 2015 concerning the (overall lack of) significance of Dientamoeba and Blastocystis detected in stool. [Multiplex faecal PCR assays often include these … Continue reading
Must know Gram positive bacterial pathogens for medical and pathology registrars/residents
By focusing your study on these organisms first, you will gain knowledge that is generalisable across most less common pathogens and diseases. Be systematic in your study – see proforma. Future postings will provide background on key emerging issues with each … Continue reading
Posted in Bacteria (GPOS), Microbiology
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ISBAR – an essential process for improving clinical handover and liaison by pathology services
Structured conversations between clinicians or between pathologists and clinicians are a good idea – poor communication risks patient safety and contributes to adverse outcomes. The ISBAR framework enables clear, focused and information relevant clinical communications.
Posted in Module - Blood cultures, Quality management
Tagged Blood cultures, Liaison
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Maximising the value of blood cultures
Originally posted on AIMED – Let's talk about antibiotics:
Blood cultures give a critically important window on bacterial and fungal sepsis, providing direct patient treatment guidance and reliable antimicrobial susceptibility data that are used to construct cumulative antibiograms and empirical treatment guidelines.…
Microbiology and Infectious Diseases postgraduate teaching (PRIDA) 