• 대한임상검사과학회지
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• 제43권3호
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• pp.124-132
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• 2011

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of the photosensitizer photogem with light-emitting diode (LED) on vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE). Two VRE strains isolated from the feces of patients. that was identificated Enterococcus faecium (vanA) and Enterococcus gallinarum (vanC1) using traditional biochemical tests and confirmed VRE genotyping from using polymerase chain reaction. In addition, three strains were used Enterococcus. faecalis CDC-286 (vanA), E. faecalis CDC-583 (vanB) and E. gallinarum CDC-42 (vanC1). To examine the antimicrobial effect of photogem mediated photodynamic therapy (PDT) against, CFU quantification and Disk diffusion antimicrobial susceptibility test were evaluated. The effects of Photodynamic therapy was not associated with genotype. Photogem mediated PDT perfectly inhibited the colony formation of E. faecalis CDC-286. The number of viable bacteria decreased greatly after PDT application with photogem $50{\mu}g/mL$ and energy density of $15J/cm^2$. The diameter of inhibition zone was increased to after PDT more than before PDT. The case of vancomycin disc on E. faecalis CDC-583 and E. galinanum-Patient were changed from resistant to intermediate resistant, from intermediate resistant to susceptable. These results demonstrate that lethal photosensitization of VRE can be achieved using photogem plus 630 nm LED irradiation.

• 대한의생명과학회지
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• 제5권1호
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• pp.95-100
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• 1999

일반적으로 임상검사실에서 vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE)를 검출하는 일은 어렵고, 시간이 많이 들며, 검체처리 비용도 많이 든다. 따라서 본 실험은 임상검체에서 분리된 세균으로부터 VRE를 신속하게 확인하고, 진단하기 위한 방법으로서 다중 중합효소 연쇄반응을 확립하였다. 본 실험에 사용된 primer는 장구균에 특이 한 유전자인 vanA, vanB, vanC-1, vanC-2/3 각각의 염기서열을 기초로 primer를 제작하고, 다중 중합효소 연쇄 반응을 실시하여 임상검체로부터 분리된 VRE 유전자의 type및 분포율을 조사하고자 하였다. 국내에서 분리된 75주의 장구균을 대상으로 다중 중합효소 연쇄반응을 실시한 결과 36주의 분리균주에서 vancomycin에 대해 높은 저항성을 보이는 vanA 유전자를 가진 것으로 나타났다. 그리고 18주에서는 vancomycin에 낮은 저항성을 내성을 보이는 vanC-1 또는 vanC-2/3 유전자를 보유한 것으로 나타났다. 따라서 본 실험에서 확립한 다중 중합효소 연쇄 반응 기법은 신속한 VRE 진단 방법으로 이용할 수 있을 것이다.

• 한국임상약학회지
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• 제9권1호
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• pp.1-14
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• 1999

Vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE) have recently emerged in Korean hospitals, as well as in those of other countries. VRE have been partially attributed to the overuse and misuse of vancomycin. The mecbanisms of VRE resistance are related to VanA, VanB, and VanC. Both VanA and VanB produce abnormal ligase enzymes to form D-ala-D-lactate termini in E. faecium and E. faecalis, instead of D-ala-D-ala termini. Meanwhile, Van C produces D-ser-D-ala termini in E. gallinarum and E. casseliflavus. These abnormal termini have a low affinity to vancomycin. As a result, VRE avoid the activity of vancomycin by these mechanisms. Unfortunately, there is no approved therapy for the treatment of VRE. Thus, available but uncommonly prescribed antibiotics (due to their toxicity or unproven efficacy) may become possible options. They include chloramphenicol, novobiocin, fosfomycin, and bacitracin. The combination therapy of available agents may also be the other options. They include high doses of a penicillin- or ampicillin-aminoglycoside combination, high doses of an ampicillin/sulbactam and aminoglyoosidcs combination, an ampicillin and vancomycin combination, and a ciprofloxacin, aminoglycosides, and rifampin combination. With respect to the near future, many types of investigational agents will most likely expand their treatment options for VRE. Teicoplanin, a glycopeptide, can be used for VanB- and VanC-related VRE. LY333328, a new generation of glycopeptide, is effective in treating VanA as well as VanB and VanC. RP59500 (quinupristin/dalfopristin), a streptogramin, is effective in treating vancomycin-resistant E. faecium. New generation quinolones (especially clinatloxacin) are potential options for the treatment of VRE, even though they cannot work as effectively against VRE as they can against Staphylococci. Both glycylcyclines (a new generation of tetracyclines) and ketolides (a new generation of macrolides) show good activity against Enterococci, regardless of vancomycin susceptibility. Oxazolidinones (i. e. eperezolid and 1inezolid) and everninomicins (i. e. SCH27899) are new groups of antibiotics, which also demonstrate good activity against VRE. It is imperative that clinical pharmacists take the responsibility of investigating new treatment options for VRE in order to combat this growing problem throughout the world.

• 약학회지
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• 제50권2호
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• pp.78-83
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• 2006

VISA and VRE are the main causes of surgical infection, urinary tract infections and bacteremia in hospitals. In this study; we selected VISA (Vancomycin Intermediate resistant Staphylococcus aureus) and VRE (Vancomycin Resistant Enterococcus) isolated from the clinical isolates. One of the isolated strains indicated the high resistance to severel anti-biotics (Vancomycin, Teicoplanin, Mupirocin, Synercid, Ciprofloxacin, Gentamicin, Lincomycin, Cefotaxim, Meropenem). Antimicrobial activity of Bifidobacterium spp. against VISA and VRE were measured. About $10^4$ cells of VISA or VRE were mixed with 1,5 and 9 ml of Bifidobacterium and the final volume was adjusted to 10 ml with brain heart infusion (BHI) broth. The cell suspension was incubated for 3, 6, 9, and 24 hr, serially diluted and then plated on BHI agar plate. As numbers of Bifidobacterium were increased viable cell count of VISA and VRE decreased. The strongest antimicrobial activity of the Bifidobacterium was observed after 9hr incubation in any mixture, almost completely inhibiting the growth of VISA and VRE.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제24권3호
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• pp.427-430
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• 2014

We developed a novel immunochromatographic assay (ICA) (EZ-Step VanA rapid kit; Dinona, Korea) for the detection of VanA ligase from vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE). Of eight monoclonal antibodies screened by ELISAs, the VanA ligase ICA constructed with 1H9 plus 3G11 showed the greatest reactivity. The detection limit of the kit was $6.3{\times}10^6$ CFU per test. Of 127 vancomycin-resistant microorganisms, 100 vanA VRE were positive in the VanA ligase ICA, and 27 non-vanA vancomycin-resistant isolates were negative. These results were consistent with those of the PCR analyses. Thus, our ICA is a reliable and easy-to-use immunological assay for detecting VanA-producing VRE in clinical laboratories.

• 대한임상검사과학회지
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• 제45권1호
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• pp.1-4
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• 2013

Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) have emerged as important healthcare-associated infection since last two decades. ChromID VRE agar (cIDVA) is useful for VRE rectal swab screening. We investigated all VRE were isolated on the cIDVA. A total of 363 rectal swabs of 85 patients to test VRE screening were inoculated into bile-esculin (B-E) broth with $6{\mu}g/mL$ vancomycin. After 24 hours incubation, we subcultured B-E broths were changed to black onto cIDVA. All isolates were identified by the MICROSCAN and VITEK2. The vanA gene and vancomycin minimal inhibition concentration (MIC) were detected by PCR and E-test respectively. 277 E. faecium (84.7%), 16 E. faecalis (4.9%), 25 E. avium (7.6%), 8 E. gallinarum (2.4%) and 1 E. raffinosus (0.3%) were isolated. 10.3% of VRE detected on cIDVA were other than E. faecium and E. faecalis that presented various color from colorless to pale violet. All isolates contained vanA and vancomycin MIC were > $256{\mu}g/mL$. VRE isolates other than E. faecium and E. faecalis should be objective to the contact precautions for healthcare-associated infection control if they possess vanA gene. Due to emerging enterococci carrying vanA such as E. avium, E. gallinarum, and E. raffinosus, VRE surveillance should be expanded to all isolates on chromogenic agar.

• BMB Reports
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• 제40권6호
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• pp.881-887
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• 2007

It is a hot clinical issue whether newly approved antimicrobial agents such as daptomycin, linezolid, quinupristin/dalfopristin (synercid) and tigecycline are active enough to be used for infections caused by vancomycin resistant bacteria. We performed susceptibility tests for mupirocin, which is in widespread clinical use in Korea, and four new antimicrobials, daptomycin, linezolid, quinupristin/dalfopristin and tigecycline, against vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium isolated from Korean patients in 1998 and 2005 to evaluate and compare the in vitro activity of these antimicrobials. Among these agents, quinupristin/dalfopristin, which is rarely used in hospitals in Korea, showed relatively high resistance to several vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) isolated in 2005. Likewise, daptomycin, linezolid and tigecycline have not yet been in clinical use in Korea. However, our results showed that most of the 2005 VRE isolates were already resistant to linezolid and daptomycin (highest minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value >$100{\mu}g$/ml). Compared with the other four antimicrobial agents tested in this study, tigecycline generally showed the greatest activity against VRE. However, four strains of 2005 isolates exhibited resistance against tigecycline (MIC >$12.5{\mu}g$/ml). Almost all VRE were resistant to mupirocin, whereas all E. faecium isolated in 1998 were inhibited at concentrations between $0.8\sim1.6{\mu}g$/ml. In conclusion, resistances to these new antimicrobial agents were exhibited in most of VRE strains even though these new antibiotics have been rarely used in Korean hospitals.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• 제39권2호
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• pp.141-143
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• 2006

Vancomycin-resistant enterococci[VRE] are rare cause of meningitis, occurring in immunocompromised patients, severely ill, hospitalized patient, and patients who have undergone neurosurgical procedures. Resistance to vancomycin has increased in frequency during the past few years. Limited therapeutic options are available for VRE infectionsandtheoptimumtherapy has not been established. We report a case of VRE meningitis that was successfully treated with administration of quinupristin-dalfopristin [Synercid] by both intravenous and intraventricular routes. A brief review of the literature is provided, which indicates that optimal management with Synercid should include daily intraventricular doses of at least 2mg and intravenous 0.5mg/kg every 8 hours. We also review the previously reported cases of VRE meningitis.

• 대한족부족관절학회지
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• 제22권1호
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• pp.38-43
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• 2018

Purpose: Treatment of diabetic foot infection due to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) remains challenging. Applying vancomycin-impregnated cement is one of the best methods of treatment. Vancomycin-impregnated cement has been used worldwide; however, to date, there is a limited number of studies regarding its use. We evaluated the duration of antimicrobial activity of vancomycin-impregnated cement stored at room temperature after manufacturing. Materials and Methods: The vancomycin-impregnated cement was manufactured by mixing 1 g of vancomycin with 40 g of polymer and adding 17.90 g of liquid monomer. The cement dough was shaped into flat cylinders with diameter and height of 6 mm and 2 mm, respectively. Another cement of the same shape without mixing vancomycin was prepared as the negative control. All manufactured cements were sterilized with ethylene oxide gas and stored at room temperature. Each cement was placed on Mueller Hinton agar plate lawned with standard MRSA strain. Standard vancomycin disk and gentamicin disk were placed together. After 24 hours, the diameter of inhibition zone was measured, and if the diameter was less than 15 mm, vancomycin-impregnated cement was regarded as a loss of antimicrobial activity. The study was repeated every 2 weeks until vancomycin-impregnated cements lost their antimicrobial activity. Results: Vancomycin-impregnated cement stored for a duration of 16 weeks created a 14 mm inhibition zone, while vancomycin disk created a 15 mm inhibition zone. Vancomycin-impregnated cement stored for a duration of 17 weeks created 7 mm and 9 mm inhibition zones, while vancomycin disk created 16 mm and 15 mm inhibition zones, respectively. Conclusion: We found a decrease of antimicrobial activity in vancomycin-impregnated cements after 16 weeks. After 17 weeks, they showed definite loss of antimicrobial activity. Therefore, we recommend not using vancomycin-impregnated cement spacers that has been stored for more than 16 weeks at room temperature.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• 제43권6호
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• pp.307-310
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• 2008

Limited therapeutic options are available for vancomycin intermediate-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis (VISE) infections and no optimum therapy has been established. We report a case of VISE skull osteomyelitis that was successfully treated with linezolid. The patient was a 53-year-old man who presented with headache, nausea and dysphasia. Brain computerized tomography (CT) demonstrated a subdural hematoma in the left hemisphere. Craniotomy and hematoma evacuation was performed and he showed good recovery despite a scalp wound infection caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The organism isolated from the scalp wound was sensitive to vancomycin. The patient was treated with intravenous vancomycin for 44 days. However, he showed a high fever, persistent positive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis (MRSE) blood cultures, and a deteriorating clinical status. He underwent infected skull bone flap removal and linezolid treatment for 35 days. During one year of follow up, he has not had any further episodes of osteomyelitis or fever. Linezolid has shown to be effective agent to eradiate osteomyelitis caused by VISE.