Clinical Microbiology Newsletter RSS feed: Current Issue. Highly respected for its ability to keep pace with advances in this fast moving field, Clinical Microbiology Newsletter has quickly become a “benchmark” for anyone in the lab. Twice a month the newsletter reports on changes that affect your work, ranging from articles on new diagnostic techniques, to surveys of how readers handle blood cultures, to editorials questioning common procedures and suggesting new ones. Clinical Microbiology Newsletter brings you: – minireviews on pathogenesis, diagnosis, epidemiology, therapy of infectious diseases – practical and brief articles on laboratory techniques – indispensable updates on important clinical problems – editorials and opinions on controversial issues in laboratory medicine – helpful tips on improving the laboratory workplace – instructive case reports that describe or resolve difficult or unusual clinical cases. In these days of cost containment and high expectations, Clinical Microbiology Newsletter can help you streamline procedures and improve results. http://www.cmnewsletter.com/?rss=yesElsevier Inc.en © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Clinical Microbiology Newsletter0196-439934415 February 2012 © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. healthpermissions@elsevier.comhttp://www.cmnewsletter.com/article/PIIS0196439912000049/abstract?rss=yesAbstract: Cystic fibrosis (CF) microbiology occupies a unique niche in the clinical microbiology laboratory. It is notable for the diversity of potential pathogens, the labor-intensive nature of culture evaluation, and the complexity of organism identification and susceptibility testing. This article provides an update of the major CF pathogens and offers a practical laboratory guide that addresses some of the issues encountered with these cultures. Part I of this two-part article reviews the new and most current information gathered from the literature since 2006 with respect to Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Burkholderia cepacia complex, and other glucose non-fermenting gram-negative rods. Part II of this article will complete the review of the key organisms associated with CF infections, including Staphylococcus aureus, nontuberculous mycobacteria, and fungi. Issues regarding susceptibility testing will also be addressed. Finally, a practical laboratory guide will be provided to address some of the confounding issues associated with CF microbiology. Practical Laboratory Aspects of Cystic Fibrosis Microbiology: an Update, Part IDeanna L. Kiska, Scott W. Riddell10.1016/j.clinmicnews.2012.01.003Clinical Microbiology Newsletter 34, 4 (2012)2012-02-15Clinical Microbiology Newsletter2012-02-15344S0196-4399(12)X0003-52731http://www.cmnewsletter.com/article/PIIS0196439912000050/abstract?rss=yesThe clinical presentation of cutaneous fungal infections caused by members of the genus Scytalidium is similar to the clinical manifestation of disease caused by the dermatophyte fungi, except that infections caused by Scytalidium spp. respond poorly to conventional antifungal therapy. Members of the genus Scytalidium are endemic in tropical regions of the world, and their occurrence in Spain is rare. However, in recent years, the number of cases described in Spain and other areas of non-endemicity has been increasing. This increase in reported cases is allegedly due to more frequent travel by individuals to areas of endemicity in the world. We describe a case of cutaneous infection caused by Scytalidium hyalinum in a 32-year-old patient who was born and raised in Sierra Leone but resided in Spain for the last 10 years. He sought medical attention in our dermatology department for the evaluation of skin lesions that were initially thought to be a contact dermatitis caused by exposure to a chemical irritant.Cutaneous Lesions Caused by Scytalidium hyalinum Resembling DermatophycosisGema Fernández-Rivas, M. Jose Fuente, Rosa Guinovart, Aida Ramirez, Mireya Alcayde, Vicente Ausina10.1016/j.clinmicnews.2012.01.004Clinical Microbiology Newsletter 34, 4 (2012)2012-02-15Clinical Microbiology Newsletter2012-02-15344S0196-4399(12)X0003-53133http://www.cmnewsletter.com/article/PIIS0196439912000062/abstract?rss=yesThe editors would like to receive interesting case reports from our readers for possible publication in the Newsletter. Submitted case reports should contain (i) a brief clinical history summarizing the symptoms and course of the illness, (ii) a description of how the organism(s) was cultured and differentiated from closely associated organisms, and (iii) the results of susceptibility tests for the isolate(s).Call for Submissions10.1016/j.clinmicnews.2012.01.005Clinical Microbiology Newsletter 34, 4 (2012)2012-02-15Clinical Microbiology Newsletter2012-02-15344S0196-4399(12)X0003-53434