Introduction Surveillance of nosocomial infections (NIs) is an essential part of quality patient care; however, there are few reports of National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) surveillance in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) and none in developing countries. The purpose of this study was to report the incidence of NIs, causative organisms, and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns in a large cohort of neonates admitted to the NICU during a 16-year period. Methods The patients were followed 5 times per week from birth to discharge or death, and epidemiological surveillance was conducted according to the NHSN. Results From January 1997 to December 2012, 4,615 neonates, representing 62,412 patient-days, were admitted to the NICU. The device-associated infection rates were as follows: 17.3 primary bloodstream infections per 1,000 central line-days and 3.2 pneumonia infections per 1,000 ventilator-days. A total of 1,182 microorganisms were isolated from sterile body site cultures in 902 neonates. Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) (34.3%) and Staphylococcus aureus (15.6%) were the most common etiologic agents isolated from cultures. The incidences of oxacillin-resistant CoNS and Staphylococcus aureus were 86.4% and 28.3%, respectively. Conclusions The most important NI remains bloodstream infection with staphylococci as the predominant pathogens, observed at much higher rates than those reported in the literature. Multiresistant microorganisms, especially oxacillin-resistant staphylococci and gram-negative bacilli resistant to cephalosporin were frequently found. Furthermore, by promoting strict hygiene measures and meticulous care of the infected infants, the process itself of evaluating the causative organisms was valuable.

OBJETIVO: Determinar níveis de anticorpos IgA, IgE, IgG e subclasses (IgG1, IgG4) específicos a C. albicans no soro e lavado vaginal de mulheres com ou sem candidíase vulvovaginal para avaliar o papel destes anticorpos na imunopatogênese desta doença. MÉTODOS: Foram selecionadas 30 mulheres com sintomas clínicos de candidíase vulvovaginal (15 com cultura de secreção vaginal positiva para C. albicans, 11 com cultura negativa e quatro com cultura positiva para Candida não-albicans) e 12 mulheres controles assintomáticas (nove com cultura negativa). Amostras de soro e lavado vaginal foram obtidas para a detecção de anticorpos anti-C. albicans por ELISA. RESULTADOS: Pacientes sintomáticas com cultura positiva apresentaram níveis de IgA específicas significativamente maiores no lavado vaginal e menores no soro do que aquelas com cultura negativa. Níveis séricos de IgE específica foram extremamente baixos em relação ao lavado vaginal. Altos níveis de IgG total específica foram encontrados no soro e lavado vaginal em ambos os grupos, independente da presença do fungo. Níveis de IgG1 e IgG4 específicas foram significativamente maiores somente no lavado vaginal de mulheres sintomáticas e cultura positiva, com relação IgG1/IgG4 ligeiramente maior, indicando que a resposta de anticorpos IgG1 possa estar predominantemente envolvida na resolução da infecção fúngica. CONCLUSÕES: Nossos resultados indicam resposta acentuada de IgA, IgG1 e IgG4 anti-C. albicans no lavado vaginal de mulheres sintomáticas com cultura positiva, sugerindo importante papel destes anticorpos na resposta imune local estimulada pela presença do fungo.

PURPOSE: To determine the levels of IgA, IgE, IgG and subclasses (IgG1, IgG4) antibodies specific to C. albicans in serum and vaginal washes from women with or without vulvovaginal candidiasis in order to evaluate the role of these antibodies in the immunopathogenesis of the disease. METHODS: Thirty women with clinical symptoms of vulvovaginal candidiasis (15 positive vaginal culture to C. albicans, 11 negative culture and 4 positive culture to non-C. albicans) and 12 asymptomatic control women were selected. Serum and vaginal wash samples were obtained for the detection of anti-C. albicans antibodies by ELISA. RESULTS: Symptomatic patients with positive culture showed significantly higher levels of specific IgA in vaginal washes and lower in serum than those with negative culture. Specific serum IgE levels were very low compared to vaginal IgE. High levels of total specific IgG were found in serum and vaginal washes in both groups, regardless the fungal presence or absence. Specific IgG1 e IgG4 levels were significantly higher only in vaginal washes from symptomatic patients with positive culture, with a slightly higher IgG1/IgG4 ratio, indicating that the IgG1 antibody response may be predominantly involved in the fungal clearance. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate a pronounced antibody response of IgA, IgG1 and IgG4 to C. albicans in vaginal washes in symptomatic patients with positive culture, suggesting a important role of these antibodies in the local immune response triggered by the presence of the fungus.