Annals of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Determination of Enterococcal Virulence Factors Expression and Impact of Biofilm Formation on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Pattern

Kinjal Prashant Patel — 2022-08-22

Introduction: Enterococcus spp. has become recognized as a significant cause of hospital-acquired infections. Two main virulence factors namely gelatinase and hemolysin of Enterococci have been proved to cause severe infections. In addition, biofilm formation is causing infection by enhancing the persistence of Enterococci in medical indwelling devices. Therefore, the study aimed to evaluate the presence of hemolysin, gelatinase, and biofilm formation in Enterococcus spp. and the impact of biofilm on antimicrobial susceptibility patterns.

Materials & Methods: Total 104 Enterococcal isolates obtained from different clinical samples were included in the study for expression of virulence factors. All isolates were evaluated for biofilm formation by the tissue culture plate method. Hemolysin production was checked by using 5% sheep blood agar and gelatinase production by peptone yeast extract agar containing 3% gelatin. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was done by the Vitek2 compact automated system.

Results: Out of 104 isolates, 1(1%) were strong biofilm producers while 4(3.85% %) and 54(52%) were moderate and weak biofilm producers respectively. Hemolysin production was observed in 19(18%) isolates and gelatinase production was universal.

Conclusion: Biofilm-producing strains showed higher resistance to beta-lactam drugs and high-level aminoglycosides. Hence, amongst three virulence factors, studying biofilm formation can be an important tool to develop a hospital’s antibiotic policy and other virulence factors can be helpful to understand the pathogenesis of infection caused by Enterococcus spp. as well as for antimicrobial usage strategies.

Diagnostic Utility of Galectin-3 in Papillary Lesions of Thyroid

Raga Sruthi Dwarampudi — 2022-08-22

Introduction: Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the most common malignant neoplasm of the neck. Most cases of PTC are diagnosed based on pathologic criteria. However, few thyroid lesions that mimic nuclear features or the architecture of PTC pose diagnostic problems. Papillary projections may be encountered in benign papillary hyperplasia of multinodular goiter, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, and Graves’ disease. For this reason, the approach to these challenging lesions should include immunohistochemistry. Galectin-3(Gal-3) is an immunohistochemical marker that shows positivity in PTC. The present study was undertaken to investigate whether strong galectin-3 expression is an essential hallmark of PTC or papillary thyroid hyperplasia.

Material and Methods: Gal-3 expression was sought by immunohistochemistry in 33 cases of papillary patterns (on microscopy) of thyroid specimens received at our institution. The results obtained were statistically analysed.

Result and Conclusion: Of the 33 cases studied, 17 were PTC, and 16 were papillary hyperplasia. Immunohistochemical stain with Galectin -3 revealed a statistically significant P – value, which proves the tendency for Galectin -3 expression is higher in PTC than in papillary hyperplasia.

Hemangioma with Basophilic Bodies- A Diagnostic Challenge

Archana N Rijhsinghani — 2022-08-22

The main location of hemangiomas is the head and neck, followed by the trunk and limbs. We present an unusual case of hemangioma with basophilic bodies, which created a diagnostic dilemma. This case had a scalp swelling which was excised and sent for histological examination. It turned out to be a hemangioma on microscopy, however, showed some basophilic structures on the surface of the lesion which were difficult to decode. This case gives us a lesson that only turning pages of a book doesn’t suffice, knowing a detailed clinical history followed by analysis of the same helps in final conclusive diagnosis.