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The objective of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of inflammatory markers as a diagnostic and prognostic approach in neonatal calves with septicaemia. The study material consisted of 13 neonatal calves with septicaemia (septicaemic calves, SC) and ten healthy neonatal calves (control calves, CC). Blood samples were collected for biochemical, haematological and microbiological analyses. In addition, faecal samples were collected for microbiological and virological analyses. Three of neonatal calves with septicaemia were positive for E. coli (E. coli O157 serotype) by microbiological examination, but all neonatal calves with septicaemia were negative for rota-and coronaviruses. By haematological examination, there were no significant differences between SC and CC for white blood cell (WBC) and neutrophil (NEU) counts (P > 0.05). NEU counts were higher on day 0 than on day 15 in SC (P < 0.05). Red blood cell (RBC) counts and packed cell volume (PCV) values were higher on day 0 in the SC than in the CC (P < 0.05). By biochemical analyses, tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), procalcitonin (PCT), haptoglobin (Hp), and fibrinogen (Fb) concentrations were higher on day 0 in the SC than in the CC (P < 0.05). After treatment (on day 15), the serum IL-6, PCT, Hp, and Fb concentrations were significantly decreased in the SC compared to the CC (P < 0.05). The serum iron (Fe) concentrations were lower on day 0 in the SC than in the CC (P < 0.05), and were higher on day 15 than on day 0 in the SC (P < 0.05). The study revealed that inflammatory markers could be used for determining the diagnosis and prognosis in neonatal calves with septicaemia.

Objective: Infections are one of the most important and potentially serious complications of burn wounds. Quantitative biopsy cultures are useful for showing that a burn wound infection is not present, but these cultures are not useful for showing that an infection is present. Swab cultures are used to diagnosis surface colonization and may not accurately reflect the organism(s) causing the wound infection. Materials and Methods:To perform a comparison of surface swab and biopsy cultures for isolated microorganisms from burn wounds, 160 biopsy/surface swab pairs were collected from 160 patients.Results: Seventy-seven patients (48.1%) showed positive microorganism cultures from the burn wounds; 19.3 percent had both positive surface cultures and significant bacterial counts from the biopsy cultures, whereas 28.8 percent of the patients had only positive surface cultures. There was moderate agreement (41%) between the results of surface swab and quantitative biopsy cultures used to diagnose burn wound infections. Pseudomonas aeruginosa (45.5%) was the most predominantly isolated bacteria from the wounds, and there was good concordance between the results of the surface swab and quantitative biopsy culture samples (78%). Coagulase-negative Staphylococci (CNS) and Escherichia coli strains were only isolated from the surface swab samples because they are colonizing bacteria. The univariate analysis revealed that there were significant associations between the results of the positive biopsy cultures and the total surface body area, open flame burns, prolonged hospitalization and female gender (p<0.05). Conclusion:Surface swab and quantitative biopsy cultures have a high rate of concordance in predicting P. aeruginosa invasion and the colonization of E. coli and CNS strains in burn wounds.Key Words: Burn wound, Surface swab culture, Quantitative biopsy culture Özet Amaç: Yanık yarası enfeksiyonları; yanığın çok önemli ve ciddi komplikasyonlarından birisidir. Kantitatif biyopsi kültürleri yanık alanında bir yara enfeksiyonu bulunmadığını desteklemek için yararlıdır, ancak bir enfeksiyon olup olmadığını göstermek için kullanışlı değildir. Sürüntü kültürleri yüzeyel kolonizasyonun tanısı amacıyla kullanılır ve gerçekten yara enfeksiyonuna neden mikroorganizma(ları) yansıt-mayabilir. Gereç ve Yöntem:Yanık yarasından izole edilen mikroorganizmalar baz alınarak yüzeyel sürüntü ve kantitatif biyopsi kültür sonuçlarını karşılaştırmak amacıyla, 160 hastadan eş zamanlı olarak sürüntü ve biyopsi örnekleri alındı. Bulgular: Yetmişyedi (%48.1) hastanın yanık yaralarından mikroorganizma izole edildi. Bu hastaların %19.3'ünün hem biyopsi kültürle-rinde anlamlı sayılarda mikroorganizma, hem de sürüntü kültürü pozitifliği saptanırken, %28.8'inde sadece sürüntü örneği kültürlerinde üreme tespit edildi. Yanık yarasının mikroorganizmalarca invazyonunun gösterilmesinde, yüzeyel sürüntü ve kantitatif biyopsi kültürleri arasında ki uyum orta derecede idi (%41). Pseudomonas aeruginosa en sık izole edilen mikroorganizma olup (%45.5), b...

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections are usually found in hospital settings and, frequently, in patients with open wounds. One of the most critical virulence factors affecting the severity and recurrence of infections is the biofilm; increasing antibiotic resistance due to biofilm formation has led to the search for alternative compounds to antibiotics. The present study aimed to use boric acid and potassium metaborate against MRSA infection in a fibroblast wound model. For this purpose, a two-part experiment was designed: First, MRSA strains were used for the test, and both boric acid and potassium metaborate were prepared in microdilution. In the second step, an MRSA wound model was prepared using a fibroblast culture, and treatments with boric acid and potassium metaborate were applied for 24 h. For the evaluation of the effects of treatment, cell viability assay (MTT assay), analysis of redox stress parameters, including total oxidant status and total antioxidant capacity analyses, lactate dehydrogenase analysis and immunohistochemical staining were performed. In addition, IL-1β and IL-10 gene expression levels were assayed. According to the results, potassium metaborate was more effective and exhibited a lower toxicity to fibroblast cells compared to boric acid; moreover, potassium metaborate decreased the level of prooxidant species and increased the antioxidant status more effectively than boric acid. The IL-1β level in the bacteria group was high; however, boric acid and potassium metaborate significantly decreased the expression levels of inflammatory markers, exhibiting the potential to improve the resolution of the lesion. On the whole, the findings of the present study suggest that boric acid and potassium metaborate may be effective on the tested microorganisms.

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