Transplacental/Perinatal Babesiosis

Abstract

in gastric tissue. McNul ty and Wise s reported that Christensen 2% urea broth had a sensitivity of 88% for diagnosing C. pyloridis in 112 patients. Morris et al. 9 have used a commercially available Campylobacter-like organism to diagnose c. pyloridis infection within 24 hours, with a 96% sensitivity in 70 patients. Our study demonstrated that the Stuart urease broth is a simple, efficient, and inexpensive method for the rapid identification of C. pyloridis. It is not necessary to grind the biopsy specimen before placing it into the broth; in fact, our preliminary dat~i suggest that such grinding decreases the sensitivity of this test. An additional advantage of the Stuart broth is that the biopsy material can be removed after the testing for urease activity and cultured for C. pyloridis. There is evidence that patients with C. pyloridisassociated gastroduodenal disease represent an important subset of gastroduodenal disease that does not respond to standard therapy. Eradication of the organism and healing of the gastric lesions have been reported after treatment with a combination of antibiotics and orally administered bismuth. A rapid diagnostic test performed at endoscopy would determine the incidence of C. pyloridis gastroduodenal disease in the pediatric population, and help the physician plan immediate therapy. Thus far, definitive diagnosis of C. pyloridis-associated gastritis has required careful histologic examination of the gastric mucosa using hematoxylin and eosin stain; the microscopic visualization of the organisms is enhanced with Warthin-Starry silver stain. Stuart urease test broth allows for rapid and accurate diagnosis of C. pyloridi~ associated gastritis.