RESUMO
Little is known about the diversity of parasites of the deep-sea fish of the world's oceans. Here, a new species of monogenean parasite of the deep-sea skate Gurgesiella furvescens is described. Specimens of parasites were obtained from the skin of two specimens of the dusky finless skate, G. furvescens (Rajidae), in the vicinity of Valparaiso (33°S, 72°W), central Chile, from midwater trawl fishing at depths of 350-450 m. Both morphological and molecular analyses were conducted to provide a full description of the new species, named Acanthocotyle gurgesiella. For the molecular analyses, nuclear large subunit (LSU) rDNA and the mitochondrial gene cytochrome c oxidase 1 (COI) were used. From the morphological analysis and a comparison with the known species of the genus, A. gurgesiella can be identified by a combination of morphological characteristics, including the number of testes, number of radial rows of sclerites in the pseudohaptor, aperture of the genital pore and shape of the vitelline follicles. The results from the DNA analysis indicated that A. gurgesiella has a genetic divergence of 3.2-3.7% (LSU rDNA gene) from A. urolophi, the only congener species for which molecular data are available.
Assuntos
Doenças dos Peixes/parasitologia , Rajidae/parasitologia , Trematódeos/genética , Trematódeos/isolamento & purificação , Animais , Chile/epidemiologia , DNA Mitocondrial , DNA Ribossômico , Doenças dos Peixes/epidemiologia , Oceanos e Mares , Filogenia , Trematódeos/anatomia & histologia , Trematódeos/classificaçãoRESUMO
The present work analyzes the effects of dietary chia seeds during postnatal life in offspring exposed to a sucrose-rich diet (SRD) from utero to adulthood. At weaning, chia seed (rich in α-linolenic acid) replaced corn oil (rich in linoleic acid) in the SRD. At 150 days of offspring life, anthropometrical parameters, blood pressure, plasma metabolites, hepatic lipid metabolism and glucose homeostasis were analyzed. Results showed that chia was able to prevent the development of hypertension, liver steatosis, hypertriglyceridemia and hypercholesterolemia. Normal triacylglycerol secretion and triacylglycerol clearance were accompanied by an improvement of de novo hepatic lipogenic and carnitine-palmitoyl transferase-1 enzymatic activities, associated with an accretion of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in the total composition of liver homogenate. Glucose homeostasis and plasma free fatty acid levels were improved while visceral adiposity was slightly decreased. These results confirm that the incorporation of chia seed in the diet in postnatal life may provide a viable therapeutic option for preventing/mitigating adverse outcomes induced by an SRD from utero to adulthood.
Assuntos
Sacarose Alimentar/efeitos adversos , Dislipidemias/prevenção & controle , Fígado Gorduroso/prevenção & controle , Efeitos Tardios da Exposição Pré-Natal/prevenção & controle , Salvia/química , Ácido alfa-Linolênico/administração & dosagem , Animais , Medicamentos de Ervas Chinesas/administração & dosagem , Medicamentos de Ervas Chinesas/farmacologia , Grão Comestível/química , Ácidos Graxos não Esterificados/sangue , Feminino , Glucose/metabolismo , Homeostase/efeitos dos fármacos , Gravidez , Ratos , Ratos Wistar , Desmame , Ácido alfa-Linolênico/farmacologiaRESUMO
The South American subcontinent supports one of the world's most diverse and commercially very important ichthyofauna. In this context, the study of South American fish parasites is of increased relevance in understanding their key roles in ecosystems, regulating the abundance or density of host populations, stabilizing food webs and structuring host communities. It is hard to estimate the number of fish parasites in South America. The number of fish species studied for parasites is still low (less than 10%), although the total number of host-parasite associations (HPAs) found in the present study was 3971. Monogeneans, with 835 species (1123 HPAs, 28.5%), and trematodes, with 662 species (1127 HPAs, 30.9%), are the more diverse groups. Data gathered from the literature are useful to roughly estimate species richness of helminths from South American fish, even though there are some associated problems: the reliability of information depends on accurate species identification; the lack of knowledge about life cycles; the increasing number of discoveries of cryptic species and the geographically biased number of studies. Therefore, the closest true estimations of species diversity and distribution will rely on further studies combining both molecular and morphological approaches with ecological data such as host specificity, geographical distribution and life-cycle data. Research on biodiversity of fish parasites in South America is influenced by problems such as funding, taxonomic impediments and dispersion of research groups. Increasing collaboration, interchange and research networks in the context of globalization will enable a promising future for fish parasitology in South America.
Assuntos
Biodiversidade , Doenças dos Peixes/parasitologia , Peixes/parasitologia , Helmintíase Animal/parasitologia , Helmintos/isolamento & purificação , Parasitos/isolamento & purificação , Animais , Peixes/classificação , Helmintos/classificação , Helmintos/genética , Helmintos/fisiologia , Modelos Biológicos , Parasitos/classificação , Parasitos/genética , Parasitos/fisiologia , América do SulRESUMO
The metazoan parasites of 403 specimens of the southern ray's bream Brama australis from three localities in southern Chile (Lebu 36° 70' S; 73° 40' W, Calbuco 41° 50' S; 73° 08' W and Punta Arenas 53° 10' S; 70° 50' W) were recorded. More than 23 400 parasite specimens belonging to 12 taxa were registered. Metazoan parasites were dominated by the copepod Hatschekia conifera, constituting 97% of the total number of parasites; the larval cestode Hepatoxylon trichiuri was the second most important parasite (2·1% of the total number of parasites). The remaining 10 species constituted <1% of the metazoan parasites. Parasitological evidence, based on univariate and multivariate analysis, does not support the existence of discrete stocks in the studied zone.
Assuntos
Doenças dos Peixes/parasitologia , Parasitos/classificação , Perciformes/parasitologia , Animais , Aquicultura , Cestoides/fisiologia , Chile , Copépodes/fisiologia , Parasitos/isolamento & purificaçãoRESUMO
PURPOSE: The present study analyzes the effect of the replacement of dietary casein by soy protein on the mechanisms underlying dyslipidemia, liver steatosis and altered glucose and lipid metabolism in the skeletal muscle which developed in rats fed long-term a sucrose-rich diet (SRD). METHODS: Wistar rats were fed a SRD for 4 months. From months 4 to 8, half the animals continued with the SRD, and the other half were fed a SRD in which the source of protein casein was replaced by soy. The control group received a diet with cornstarch as source of carbohydrate. RESULTS: Compared to SRD-fed animals, the rats fed soy showed: A--in the liver: reduction of triglyceride and cholesterol storage and decreased steatosis; normalization of mature forms of the protein mass levels of SREBP-1 and the activities of lipogenic enzymes, while the protein mass level of PPAR-α and fatty acid oxidase activity increased. B-in the gastrocnemius muscle: normalization of the enhanced lipid storage and the altered glucose oxidation, improving glucose phosphorylation; decreasing protein mass level of nPKCθ in the membrane fraction; reversion of the impaired insulin-stimulated glucose transporter Glut-4, and glucose-6-phosphate and glycogen concentrations. Besides, dyslipidemia and glucose homeostasis returned to control values. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides new information concerning some key mechanisms related to the effect of dietary soy on hepatic lipid metabolism and insulin action in the skeletal muscle in the presence of pre-existing dyslipidemia and insulin resistance induced by a SRD.
Assuntos
Sacarose Alimentar/efeitos adversos , Dislipidemias/dietoterapia , Resistência à Insulina , Fígado/metabolismo , Músculo Esquelético/metabolismo , Proteínas de Soja/administração & dosagem , Animais , Glicemia/metabolismo , Colesterol/sangue , Sacarose Alimentar/administração & dosagem , Ácidos Graxos não Esterificados/sangue , Fígado Gorduroso/dietoterapia , Transportador de Glucose Tipo 4/metabolismo , Glucose-6-Fosfato/metabolismo , Glicogênio/metabolismo , Insulina/sangue , Metabolismo dos Lipídeos , Masculino , PPAR alfa/metabolismo , Ratos , Ratos Wistar , Proteína de Ligação a Elemento Regulador de Esterol 1/metabolismo , Triglicerídeos/sangue , Aumento de PesoRESUMO
Two new species, Encotyllabe cheilodactyli and Encotyllabe antofagastensis (Monogenea: Capsalidae), have been found in the pharyngeal plates of Cheilodactylus variegatus and Anisotremus scapularis, respectively, in northern Chile (23°38'N, 70°24'W). Descriptions of the new species were based on morphometric and molecular evidence. Both species differ from previously described species of the genus by a combination of characteristics, including the size and relative position of the testes and the shapes of the major and small hamulus. In addition, E. cheilodactyli is unique among the known species of Encotyllabe due to the testes crossing the equatorial line of the body proper, and E. antofagastensis is unique among the known species of Encotyllabe due to its penis structure and anatomy leading to the genital pore. The analysis of the cytochrome c oxidase I gene as well as morphometric analyses demonstrated that the specimens belonged to 2 different species.
Assuntos
Doenças dos Peixes/parasitologia , Platelmintos/classificação , Infecções por Trematódeos/veterinária , Animais , Chile , Doenças dos Peixes/epidemiologia , Peixes , Análise Multivariada , Oceano Pacífico/epidemiologia , Platelmintos/anatomia & histologia , Platelmintos/genética , Prevalência , Infecções por Trematódeos/epidemiologia , Infecções por Trematódeos/parasitologiaRESUMO
This work reports the effect of dietary Salba (chia) seed rich in n-3 α-linolenic acid on the morphological and metabolic aspects involved in adipose tissue dysfunction and the mechanisms underlying the impaired glucose and lipid metabolism in the skeletal muscle of rats fed a sucrose-rich diet (SRD). Rats were fed a SRD for 3 months. Thereafter, half the rats continued with SRD while in the other half, corn oil (CO) was replaced by chia seed for 3 months (SRD+chia). In control group, corn starch replaced sucrose. The replacement of CO by chia seed in the SRD reduced adipocyte hypertrophy, cell volume and size distribution, improved lipogenic enzyme activities, lipolysis and the anti-lipolytic action of insulin. In the skeletal muscle lipid storage, glucose phosphorylation and oxidation were normalized. Chia seed reversed the impaired insulin stimulated glycogen synthase activity, glycogen, glucose-6-phosphate and GLUT-4 protein levels as well as insulin resistance and dyslipidemia.
Assuntos
Tecido Adiposo/efeitos dos fármacos , Suplementos Nutricionais , Dislipidemias/dietoterapia , Músculo Esquelético/efeitos dos fármacos , Salvia/química , Sementes/química , Ácido alfa-Linolênico/administração & dosagem , Adipócitos/efeitos dos fármacos , Adipócitos/metabolismo , Adipócitos/patologia , Tecido Adiposo/metabolismo , Tecido Adiposo/patologia , Animais , Tamanho Celular , Óleo de Milho/administração & dosagem , Dislipidemias/induzido quimicamente , Dislipidemias/metabolismo , Dislipidemias/patologia , Glucose/metabolismo , Transportador de Glucose Tipo 4/metabolismo , Glucose-6-Fosfato/metabolismo , Glicogênio Sintase/metabolismo , Insulina/farmacologia , Resistência à Insulina , Metabolismo dos Lipídeos/efeitos dos fármacos , Masculino , Músculo Esquelético/metabolismo , Músculo Esquelético/patologia , Fosforilação Oxidativa/efeitos dos fármacos , Ratos , Ratos Wistar , Sementes/metabolismo , Sacarose/administração & dosagem , Sacarose/efeitos adversosRESUMO
The absence of the larval Anisakis simplex s. l. in samples from central Chile but heavy infections in fish from southern localities suggest the existence of two stocks of Strangomera bentincki, one closely associated with the central coast of Chile (landing port San Antonio and Talcahuano, c. 33° 30' S-36° 40' S) and the other associated with southern Chile (landing port Puerto Montt, c. 41° 30' S). Results confirm the usefulness of metazoan parasites, like A. simplex s. l. as biological markers.
Assuntos
Anisakis/isolamento & purificação , Peixes/classificação , Animais , Biomarcadores , Chile , Classificação/métodos , Peixes/parasitologiaRESUMO
The aims of the present study were to compare, using multivariate analyses, the degree of similarity of the endoparasite fauna of five fish species belonging to the order Gadiformes: Merluccius gayi, Merluccius australis, Macruronus magellanicus (Gadoidei) and Micromesistius australis and Nezumia pulchella (Macrouroidei), from the southern and central Chilean coast, and to evaluate whether the composition of the endoparasite fauna was determined by phylogenetic or ecological relationships. We employed our database of Merluccius australis, M. magellanicus and Micromesistius australis, which was complemented with published information for M. magellanicus, Merluccius australis, Micromesistius australis, M. gayi and N. pulchella. A higher number of endoparasite species was recorded for Merluccius australis, Micromesistius australis and M. magellanicus, namely Anisakis sp. and Hepatoxylon trichiuri, which is the most prevalent parasite among these hosts. Aporocotyle wilhelmi and Hysterothylacium sp. were detected only in M. gayi, whereas Lepidapedon sp. was found exclusively in N. pulchella. These results suggest that fish ecology rather than host phylogeny was the most important factor for the determination of similarity in parasite composition. This result could be explained by the similar trophic patterns of hosts and by the predominance of generalist larval species among these fish parasite communities.
Assuntos
Doenças dos Peixes/parasitologia , Gadiformes/parasitologia , Especificidade de Hospedeiro , Parasitos/fisiologia , Animais , Chile , Ecologia , Gadiformes/classificação , Gadiformes/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Parasitos/classificação , Parasitos/isolamento & purificação , FilogeniaRESUMO
Examination of 248 adult specimens of whitemouth croaker Micropogonias furnieri from five localities along the Brazilian coast revealed 8735 parasites belonging to 41 metazoan species. Samples from Ceará to Bahia and Rio de Janeiro to Santa Catarina showed a high level of correct assignation (92 and 87%, respectively) and cross assignation (i.e. almost all specimens misidentified in Ceará were assigned to Bahia and almost all specimens misidentified in Bahia were classified as Ceará), so samples were pooled in the northern and south-eastern samples, and Rio Grande do Sul was considered a southern area. Eight parasite species were characteristic of the northern localities, five species were found just in the area associated with south-eastern localities and two species were characteristic of the southern area providing first evidence of stock discreteness. The multivariate discriminant analysis successfully discriminated three groups of localities associated with three stocks of M. furnieri in Brazil: a northern stock associated with Ceará and Bahia, a south-eastern stock related to Rio de Janeiro and Santa Catarina and a southern stock in the area of Rio Grande do Sul, which could be considered as the northern limit of the stock associated with the Common Fishing Zone of Uruguay and Argentina.
Assuntos
Parasitos/isolamento & purificação , Perciformes/parasitologia , Animais , Brasil , Análise Multivariada , Perciformes/classificação , Especificidade da EspécieRESUMO
Two species of Proctoeces Odhner, 1911 have been described in marine organisms from Chile: P. humboldti George-Nascimento & Quiroga (1983), parasitizing the gonads of keyhole limpets (Fissurella spp.), and P. chilensis Oliva (1984), an intestinal parasite of Sicyases sanguineus (Teleostei); both species were subsequently considered as P. lintoni Siddiqi & Cable (1960). To assist in the resolution of the taxonomic identification of Proctoeces species in marine organisms from Chile, phylogenetic studies using DNA sequences from the V4 region of the SSU rRNA gene were performed. Several specimens of P. lintoni were isolated from keyhole limpets (Fissurella spp.) and clingfish (S. sanguineus) from Bahia San Jorge (23°40'S) and Bahia Concepción (36°50'S). Phylogenetic analyses were conducted using three different approaches: a neighbour-joining (NJ), a maximum likelihood (ML) and Bayesian inference (BI). The phylogenetic analysis confirms that specimens of Proctoeces obtained from keyhole limpets and those specimens from the clingfish are in fact the same species. We prefer to consider our specimens as Proctoeces cf. lintoni, as the morphology of Proctoeces appears to be of doubtful value and genetic information about P. lintoni Siddiqi & Cable (1960) is not available. In addition, our results strongly suggest that there are at least three species in this genus.
Assuntos
Doenças dos Peixes/parasitologia , Gastrópodes/parasitologia , Enteropatias Parasitárias/veterinária , Trematódeos/classificação , Trematódeos/genética , Infecções por Trematódeos/veterinária , Animais , Chile , DNA de Helmintos/análise , DNA de Helmintos/isolamento & purificação , Peixes/parasitologia , Genes de RNAr , Enteropatias Parasitárias/parasitologia , Filogenia , Análise de Sequência de DNA , Especificidade da Espécie , Infecções por Trematódeos/parasitologiaRESUMO
Two new species, Choricotyle scapularis and Choricotyle isaciencis (Monogenea: Diclidophoridae), are described from the gills of haemulid fishes, Anisotremus scapularis and Isacia conceptionis, respectively, in San Jorge Bay, northern Chile (23 degrees 42'S, 70 degrees 24'W); they are compared with the known species in the genus. Diagnostic characters for C. scapularis includes the number of hooks in the male copulatory organ, a developed isthmus, the shape of the haptor, and the number of testes. The diagnostic characters for C. isaciensis include the presence of an oval accesory sclerite in the clamps, the number of testes, the number of hooks in the male copulatory organ, and the relative clamp peduncle size.
Assuntos
Doenças dos Peixes/parasitologia , Brânquias/parasitologia , Perciformes/parasitologia , Platelmintos/classificação , Infecções por Trematódeos/veterinária , Animais , Chile , Platelmintos/anatomia & histologia , Infecções por Trematódeos/parasitologiaRESUMO
Nested structure is a pattern originally described in island biogeography to characterize how a set of species is distributed among a set of islands. In parasite communities, nestedness has been intensively studied among individual fish from a locality. However, nested patterns among parasite assemblages from different host populations (localities) have scarcely been investigated. We recorded the occurrence of parasites in 9 fish species widely distributed along the southeastern Pacific coast to determine whether the ecto- and endoparasite assemblages of marine fishes show a nested structure associated with host distributional range. Nestedness was tested using Brualdi-Sanderson index of discrepancy (BR); and 5 null models incorporated in a 'Nestedness' programme (Ulrich, 2006). The ecto- and endoparasite richness do not show similar patterns of latitudinal gradients among fish hosts, with 33-66% of analysed ectoparasite assemblages, and 25-75% of endoparasite assemblages showing nested structures through the host distributional range. For ectoparasites, species richness gradients and nested structure (when present) might be associated with decreased host densities or could reflect negative environmental conditions in the distributional border of the host species, whereas for endoparasites might be caused by geographical breaks of prey or changes in prey availability (intermediate hosts). The sampled extension of the distributional range of the host species, as well as the lack of specificity of some parasites, could influence the detection of nestedness.
Assuntos
Ectoparasitoses/veterinária , Doenças dos Peixes/parasitologia , Peixes/parasitologia , Interações Hospedeiro-Parasita , Parasitos , Animais , Comportamento Animal , Ecologia , Ectoparasitoses/parasitologia , Doenças dos Peixes/epidemiologia , Peixes/classificação , Oceano Pacífico , Parasitos/classificação , Parasitos/fisiologia , Perciformes/classificação , Perciformes/parasitologia , Peru , Densidade Demográfica , Especificidade da EspécieRESUMO
We assessed the impact of antibiotic administration prior to sample collection on the bacterial resistance rates from patients with nosocomial infection. Every individual susceptibility report was assessed in real time at the bedside of the patient by a team composed of infectious diseases and internal medicine specialists as well as clinical microbiologists for clinical significance and appropriateness of the specimen. The report also stated the kind, source and origin of the infection, history of administration of any antibiotic during the last month prior to sample collection. To evaluate the impact of previous antibiotic administration, resistance rates were calculated separately among the group of patients with and without history of antibiotic treatment. A crude univariate analysis was performed to assess the significance of the differences between groups for every species-antibiotic pair. Patients who had received ciprofloxacin showed significantly higher rates of Escherichia coli resistant to ciprofloxacin, broad-spectrum cephalosporins and gentamicin. A higher rate of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus was observed in patients who were given gentamicin. A stratified analysis showed that the previous antibiotic administration continued to be a risk factor for increased resistance rates regardless of the hospital ward or the source of the infection. This study demonstrates the influence of previous antibiotic administration on bacterial resistance rates although this fact is barely taken into account by the laboratory when constructing the cumulative susceptibility data. Real time clinical validation of the individual susceptibility reports, performed by a multidisciplinary team prior to the data entering, might be a suitable approach to get more reliable susceptibility rates to guide the rational selection of antimicrobial empirical therapy in patients with hospital-acquired infections who have been given antimicrobial treatment prior to specimen collection.
Assuntos
Antibacterianos/uso terapêutico , Infecções Bacterianas/tratamento farmacológico , Infecção Hospitalar/tratamento farmacológico , Farmacorresistência Bacteriana , Humanos , Fatores de RiscoRESUMO
The understanding of the patterns and processes underlying the structure of parasite communities has progressed significantly in the last years; however, much of the evidence available to date on parasite community comes from unconfirmed studies. In this study the ectoparasite communities of 2 related rockfishes, Sebastes capensis and Helicolenus lengerichi, from the southern Chilean coast (ca. 40 degrees S) were examined to determine whether their specific compositions are similar, structured in non-random ways, and repeatable among years. From 2001 to 2004, 189 specimens of S. capensis and 101 of H. lengerichi were examined, 10 and 9 parasite species were recorded in S. capensis and H. lengerichi, respectively. Component ectoparasite communities of these hosts were taxonomically similar (60%), but the abundances and prevalences of their parasites differed significantly among years and between hosts. The most prevalent species were Lepeophtheirus chilensis, and Microcotyle sp. for S. capensis, and Microcotyle sp., Juanetia continentalis, and Interniloculus chilensis for H. lengerichi. Infracommunities of S. capensis showed higher species richness and parasite numbers than those of H. lengerichi. The similarity among infracommunities (measured as parasite abundance) varied significantly among years both within and between hosts. Despite this, temporal nestedness patterns were observed in infracommunities of these hosts, suggesting that their ectoparasite communities are structured and might be predictable in time, at least in the southern Chilean coast where they share the same habitat.
Assuntos
Ectoparasitoses/veterinária , Doenças dos Peixes/parasitologia , Parasitos/classificação , Animais , Biodiversidade , Tamanho Corporal/fisiologia , Chile/epidemiologia , Análise Discriminante , Ectoparasitoses/epidemiologia , Ectoparasitoses/parasitologia , Doenças dos Peixes/epidemiologia , Peixes , Platelmintos/classificação , Platelmintos/isolamento & purificação , Prevalência , Fatores de TempoRESUMO
We recently published on the impact of a four-phase hospital-wide intervention program designed to optimize the quality of antibiotic use, where a multidisciplinary team (MDT) could modify prescription at the last phase. Because health care quality was changing during the last 5 years (late 1999 to early 2004), we developed certain indicators to monitor the quality of our intervention over time. Different periods were defined as baseline (pre-intervention), initial intervention-active control, pre-crisis control, crisis control, post-crisis control and end of crisis control. Major indicators were rates of prescription modification by the MDT; prescription for an uncertain infection and a novel index formula (RIcarb) to estimate the rationale for carbapenem use. We assessed 2115 antimicrobial prescriptions. Modification of prescription rate was 30% at the beginning and decreased thereafter up to stable levels. Rate of prescriptions ordered for cases of both uncertain infection and unknown source of infection decreased significantly after intervention (i.e. from baseline to active control). In contrast, a doubling of culture-directed prescriptions was observed between these periods. RIcarb values lower and higher than 60% (modal, cut-off) were assumed as carbapenem overuse and underuse, respectively. Overuse was observed at the pre-intervention, while pronounced underuse was shown during the crisis (RIcarb, 45% and 87%, respectively). The present study demonstrates that certain indicators, other than the widely adopted impact outcomes, are a suitable tool for monitoring the quality of a continuous, long-term, active intervention on antimicrobial prescribing practice, especially when applied in a changing healthcare setting.
Assuntos
Antibacterianos/farmacologia , Antibacterianos/uso terapêutico , Guias de Prática Clínica como Assunto , Padrões de Prática Médica/estatística & dados numéricos , Garantia da Qualidade dos Cuidados de Saúde , Indicadores de Qualidade em Assistência à Saúde , Carbapenêmicos/uso terapêutico , Atenção à Saúde/normas , Atenção à Saúde/tendências , Prescrições de Medicamentos/estatística & dados numéricos , Farmacorresistência Bacteriana , Hospitais com 100 a 299 Leitos , Humanos , Relações Interprofissionais , Estudos LongitudinaisRESUMO
The present multicenter study reports the results of a clinical trial, designed on the basis of a pharmacodynamic study published previously (Bantar et al., J. Chemother 2000; 12: 223-227) to assess the efficacy of amoxicillin/sulbactam (875 mg/125 mg), given orally twice-a-day for 7 days in the treatment of patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Eighty-four evaluable subjects older than 19 years with clinical symptoms and features suggestive of CAP, consulting from June 2000 to March 2002 and meeting the PORT risk class I through III, were enrolled in the study. Mean age (y +/- standard deviation) was 46.7 +/- 16.3 and 62% of the patients had some co-morbidity predisposing for CAP. Several individuals (77.4%) fell into a low-risk class (i.e. PORT I or II) and 22.6% of patients belonged to a moderate-risk class at the start of treatment. Six patients (6.45%) had pneumococcal bacteremia. Streptococcus pneumoniae was the organism most frequently isolated (61.9% of all the patients in whom an etiologic diagnosis was made), followed by Haemophilus influenzae. Clinical success was observed in 97.6% of the patients (confidence interval 95%, 94.3%-100%). Almost all the individuals with clinical success became afebrile within the first 3 days of therapy. Ten patients (11.8%) reported mild or moderate adverse events (especially diarrhea) possibly related to the antimicrobial therapy, but this did not lead to withdrawal from the trial. The results of this study suggest that amoxicillin/sulbactam (875 mg/125 mg) is an efficacious and well tolerated option for treating patients with CAP belonging to a low-moderate risk class and support the use of a short, oral (7-day) b.i.d. regimen.
Assuntos
Amoxicilina/administração & dosagem , Quimioterapia Combinada/administração & dosagem , Pneumonia Bacteriana/tratamento farmacológico , Sulbactam/administração & dosagem , Administração Oral , Adulto , Idoso , Infecções Comunitárias Adquiridas/tratamento farmacológico , Esquema de Medicação , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Estudos Prospectivos , Fatores de Tempo , Resultado do TratamentoRESUMO
The metazoan parasite fauna of Hippoglossina macrops (n = 123) from northern Chile (30 degrees S) is quantitatively described for the first time, and the role of host age and sex was evaluated. Twelve parasite species were recovered, including 5 ectoparasites (2 Monogenea, 2 Copepoda and 1 Piscicolidae) and 7 endoparasites (1 Digenea, 3 Cestoda, 2 Acanthocephala, and 1 Nematoda). The copepod Holobomolochus chilensis, the monogenean Neoheterobothrium sp., the adult acanthocephalan Floridosentis sp. and the hirudinean, Gliptonobdella sp. are new geographical and host records. The most prevalent ectoparasitic species were the monogenean, Neoheterobothrium sp. and the copepod, H. chilensis. Among endoparasites, the acanthocephalans Floridosentis sp. and Corynosoma australe were most prevalent and abundant. Prevalence and mean intensity of infection for most parasitic species were not affected by host sex, however the prevalence of Floridosentis sp. was significantly greater in males. Intensity of infection was positively correlated with host age for Neoheterobothrium sp., and negatively correlated for Floridosentis sp. and H. chilensis. The helminth species richness of the host H. macrops was lower compared to related flatfishes from the Northern Hemisphere. The relationship of the helminth fauna of H. macrops, its feeding habits and ecological habitats are discussed.
Assuntos
Linguados/parasitologia , Fatores Etários , Animais , Chile , Feminino , Interações Hospedeiro-Parasita/fisiologia , Masculino , Parasitos/fisiologia , Fatores SexuaisRESUMO
The fellodistomid Proctoeces lintoni is a common parasite of the gonads of key-hole limpets Fissurella spp. (Archaeogastropoda). It has also been found in the mantle of Octopus vulgaris and as an intestinal parasite of haemulid and gobiesocid fishes. Fissurella crassa, a host for progenetic P. lintoni, can be found from Huarmey, Peni (10 degrees S) to Chiloé, Chile (42 degrees S). Proctoeces lintoni has been found parasitizing fishes and molluscs from Callao, Peni (12 degrees S) to Valdivia, Chile (39 degrees S). Progenesis is thought to be a latitude-dependent phenomenon, and high progenesis is expected at higher latitude. In the present article, the association between latitude and progenesis was examined over a latitudinal gradient of about 3,000 km. Data suggest that progenesis of P. lintoni infecting F. crassa was not associated with latitude. Low levels of progenesis found in the Peruvian population could be a consequence of parasite-induced mortality rather than of low latitude, as would be predicted by the latitude dependence hypothesis.