Chapters authored
The Emerging Problems of Carbapenem-Resistant Gram- Negative Bacillary Pneumonia
Carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative organisms are increasingly isolated from lower respiratory tract infections. Limited treatment options are the main problems for physicians and clinical microbiologists who have to face such clinical cases. Bacteriological diagnosis, starting with accurate Gram smear performed from properly collected specimens and ending with antibiotic susceptibility testing, is essential. Morphological characters of bacterial cells provide important clues about the nature of infection, prior to bacterial isolation and identification. Attempts to find complementary options for the respiratory contamination and treatment of carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacillary pneumonia led us to test the susceptibility of 21 essential oils. Among them, Thymus vulgaris, Eugenia caryophyllata, Origanum vulgare, Melaleuca alternifolia and Aniba rosaeodora essential oils proved to be efficient against Acinetobacter baumannii carbapenem-resistant strain and Escherichia coli ATCC 25922. In an attempt to evaluate the magnitude of environmental spreading of the carbapenemase genes, 40 carbapenemase sequences of different organisms were compared. Carbapenemases show striking similarities inside each beta-lactamase class (A, D, and B), no matter their origin—environmental organisms or clinical isolates. Class B carbapenemases are most widely distributed, metallo-beta-lactamases being present in bacteria as well in Archaea.
Part of the book: Contemporary Topics of Pneumonia
Are Herbal Products an Alternative to Antibiotics?
Medicinal plants have been widely used in the management of infectious diseases and by now, many of the ancient remedies have proven their value through scientific methodologies. Although the mechanisms underlying most plant-derived remedies are not well understood, the success of herbal medicine in curing infectious diseases shows that many plants have beneficial effects in various bacterial, fungal, viral or parasitic infections. The modern methodologies in the isolation, purification and characterization of the active compounds, has been a great impact for advancing in vitro and in vivo research, this step being crucial for further application in clinical trials. Many plant-derived compounds, for example, quinine and artemisinin, have been already successfully used in healing life-threatening infectious disease. The main limitations of plant medicine healing are lack of standardization and reproducibility of plant-derived products. Despite the paucity of clinical trials evaluating their efficacy, phytotherapy, adult plant uses and gemmotherapy, the use of embryonic stem cells should be reconsidered as valuable resources in finding new active compounds with sustained antimicrobial activity.
Part of the book: Bacterial Pathogenesis and Antibacterial Control