Scholars@Duke
Lizzie Johnson Harrell

Lizzie Johnson Harrell

Research Professor Emeritus of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology
Molecular Genetics and Microbiology
lizzie.harrell@duke.edu
Duke Box 3879, Durham, NC 27710
237 Clin Res Labs, Durham, NC 27710

Selected Publications

Trends in antimicrobial resistance among Bacteroides species and Parabacteroides species in the United States from 2010-2012 with comparison to 2008-2009.

Journal Article Anaerobe · February 2017 The susceptibility trends for Bacteroides fragilis and related species against various antibiotics were determined using data from 3 years of surveillance (2010-2012) on 779 isolates referred by 7 medical centers. The antibiotic test panel included imipene ... Full text Link to item Cite

Update on resistance of Bacteroides fragilis group and related species with special attention to carbapenems 2006-2009.

Journal Article Anaerobe · August 2011 The susceptibility trends for the species of the Bacteroides fragilis group against various antibiotics were determined using data from 4 years [2006-2009] on 1957 isolates referred by 8 medical centers participating in a National Survey for the Susceptibi ... Full text Link to item Cite

Lessons learned from the anaerobe survey: historical perspective and review of the most recent data (2005-2007).

Journal Article Clin Infect Dis · January 1, 2010 BACKGROUND: The rationale and lessons learned through the evolution of the National Survey for the Susceptibility of Bacteroides fragilis Group from its initiation in 1981 through 2007 are reviewed here. The survey was conceived in 1980 to track emerging a ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Antibiotic resistance in urinary isolates of Escherichia coli from college women with urinary tract infections.

Journal Article Antimicrob Agents Chemother · March 2009 Featured Publication Of 176 urine isolates from female students positive for Escherichia coli, 29.6% were trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole resistant and none were nitrofurantoin resistant. Among students with a history of urinary tract infection (UTI) (n = 119), resistance to cip ... Full text Link to item Cite

Analysis of two- and three-year trends in antimicrobial resistance in intensive care units using unit-specific antibiograms.

Journal Article Scand J Infect Dis · 2008 Unit-specific antibiograms serve as useful guides to clinicians and infection control personnel. We compared trends in antimicrobial resistance in intensive care units using traditional 2-y unit-specific antibiogram data and 3 y of data. Three-y unit-speci ... Full text Link to item Cite

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus outbreak in an intensive care nursery: potential for interinstitutional spread.

Journal Article Pediatr Infect Dis J · August 2007 Featured Publication BACKGROUND: After surveillance surveys documented the absence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in our intensive care nursery, an outbreak of MRSA infection occurred there during a 7-month period in 2005. METHODS: Control measures inclu ... Full text Link to item Cite

Genetic relatedness of Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates from paired blood and respiratory specimens.

Journal Article J Clin Microbiol · June 2007 Featured Publication To assess the relatedness of Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates recovered concurrently from blood and respiratory tract specimens from patients with pneumonia, we analyzed 24 paired isolates by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), serotyping, and antimi ... Full text Link to item Cite

National survey on the susceptibility of Bacteroides fragilis group: report and analysis of trends in the United States from 1997 to 2004.

Journal Article Antimicrob Agents Chemother · May 2007 Featured Publication The susceptibility trends for the species of the Bacteroides fragilis group against various antibiotics from 1997 to 2004 were determined by using data for 5,225 isolates referred by 10 medical centers. The antibiotic test panel included ertapenem, imipene ... Full text Link to item Cite

Diagnosis of human congenital cytomegalovirus infection by amplification of viral DNA from dried blood spots on perinatal cards.

Journal Article J Mol Diagn · May 2006 Congenital human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection affects 1% of children and is the most common infectious cause of sensorineural hearing loss. Due to the difficulty of diagnosing deafness and other neurological disorders in infants, affected individuals m ... Full text Link to item Cite

Predictors of mortality in patients with bloodstream infection due to ceftazidime-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae.

Journal Article Antimicrob Agents Chemother · May 2006 Featured Publication Bloodstream infection (BSI) due to multidrug-resistant Klebsiella is associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to identify predictors of in-hospital mortality among patients with BSI due to ceftazidime-resistant (CAZ- ... Full text Link to item Cite

Clinical profile and strain relatedness of recurrent enterococcal bacteremia.

Journal Article Scand J Infect Dis · 2005 Featured Publication We defined the molecular epidemiology of recurrent enterococcal bacteremia using pulsed field gel electrophoresis. We identified 27 patients, comprising 60 episodes; strain relatedness was demonstrated in 8 patients with isolates separated by up to 6 y. Ca ... Full text Link to item Cite

Multicenter evaluation of use of penicillin and ampicillin as surrogates for in vitro testing of susceptibility of enterococci to imipenem.

Journal Article J Clin Microbiol · August 2004 Imipenem is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treatment of infections caused by Enterococcus faecalis. However, there are no NCCLS guidelines for testing susceptibility of enterococci against imipenem. To assess whether or not amp ... Full text Link to item Cite

Emergence of fluoroquinolone resistance among Bacteroides species.

Journal Article J Antimicrob Chemother · August 2003 BACKGROUND: Several newer generation fluoroquinolones have demonstrated good in vitro activity against Bacteroides species; particularly when first introduced. However, resistance of Bacteroides to quinolones appears to be increasing. MATERIALS AND METHODS ... Full text Link to item Cite

Comparison of microscan broth microdilution, synergy quad plate agar dilution, and disk diffusion screening methods for detection of high-level aminoglycoside resistance in enterococcus species.

Journal Article J Clin Microbiol · June 2003 We compared the dried MicroScan microdilution panel, Synergy Quad plate agar dilution, and high-potency disk diffusion screening methods for the detection of high-level aminoglycoside resistance in 815 enterococcal bloodstream isolates. Agreement between t ... Full text Link to item Cite

Sequential emergence of antibiotic resistance in enterococcal bloodstream isolates over 25 years.

Journal Article Antimicrob Agents Chemother · November 2002 Featured Publication We determined the antibiotic susceptibilities of 1,785 enterococcal bloodstream isolates collected over 25 years. Antibiotic resistance emerged at a greater rate in Enterococcus faecium than in other enterococcal species, and E. faecium isolates became pro ... Full text Link to item Cite

National survey on the susceptibility of Bacteroides Fragilis Group: report and analysis of trends for 1997-2000.

Journal Article Clin Infect Dis · September 1, 2002 The results of a multicenter US survey using the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards currently recommended methodology for measuring in vitro susceptibility of 2673 isolates of Bacteroides fragilis group species were compared from 1997 to ... Full text Link to item Cite

Multicenter study of in vitro susceptibility of the Bacteroides fragilis group, 1995 to 1996, with comparison of resistance trends from 1990 to 1996.

Journal Article Antimicrob Agents Chemother · October 1999 Antimicrobial resistance, including plasmid-mediated resistance, among the species of the Bacteroides fragilis group is well documented. An analysis of the in vitro susceptibility of B. fragilis group species referred between 1995 and 1996 as well as durin ... Full text Link to item Cite

United States geographic bacteria susceptibility patterns. 1997 ASCP Susceptibility Testing Group.

Journal Article Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis · October 1999 Antimicrobial drug resistance in bacterial pathogens continues, with 1997 seeing reports of Staphylococcus aureus no longer fully susceptible to vancomycin occurring in the United States. To better deal with this rapidly developing problem, we present the ... Full text Link to item Cite

Recurrent Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia: pulsed-field gel electrophoresis findings in 29 patients.

Journal Article J Infect Dis · May 1999 To identify risk factors for relapse among 309 prospectively identified cases of Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia, patients with recurrent S. aureus bacteremia were identified, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) was performed on isolates from both ... Full text Link to item Cite

Infective endocarditis due to Staphylococcus aureus: 59 prospectively identified cases with follow-up.

Journal Article Clin Infect Dis · January 1999 Fifty-nine consecutive patients with definite Staphylococcus aureus infective endocarditis (IE) by the Duke criteria were prospectively identified at our hospital over a 3-year period. Twenty-seven (45.8%) of the 59 patients had hospital-acquired S. aureus ... Full text Link to item Cite

United States geographic bacteria susceptibility patterns

Journal Article AMERICAN JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PATHOLOGY · February 1, 1998 Link to item Cite

Microscopic screening of respiratory specimens submitted for culture: A re-evaluation

Journal Article Clinical Infectious Diseases · December 1, 1997 Clinical laboratories examine respiratory specimens microscopically to screen out poor quality collections and optimize the clinical utility of cultures. This study evaluated the accuracy and clinical impact of screening at a large, tertiary-care medical c ... Cite

Mycoplasma hominis pneumonia complicating bilateral lung transplantation: case report and review of the literature.

Journal Article Chest · November 5, 1997 Mycoplasma hominis is a commensal of humans. The organism has been predominantly associated with infections of the genitourinary tract. Extragenital infections have been described in neonates, in women during the postpartum period, and in immunocompromised ... Full text Link to item Cite

Analysis of trends in antimicrobial resistance patterns among clinical isolates of Bacteroides fragilis group species from 1990 to 1994.

Journal Article Clin Infect Dis · December 1996 Antimicrobial resistance, including plasmid-mediated resistance, among Bacteroides fragilis group species is well documented. A 5-year (1990-1994) prospective, eight-center survey of 3,177 clinical isolates of Bacteroides species was undertaken to review t ... Full text Link to item Cite

Assessment of similarity among coagulase-negative staphylococci from sequential blood cultures of neonates and children by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis.

Journal Article J Infect Dis · November 1996 One of the criteria used to determine the clinical importance of coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) is isolation of the bacteria from sequential blood cultures. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis was used to characterize sequential blood isolates of CoN ... Full text Link to item Cite

Contrasting methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus colonization in Veterans Affairs and community nursing homes.

Journal Article Am J Med · January 1996 PURPOSE: To compare the prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) nares colonization, the patterns of MRSA acquisition, and the risk for subsequent MRSA infection between a hospital-based, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) nursing ... Full text Link to item Cite

Multilaboratory evaluation of screening methods for detection of high-level aminoglycoside resistance in enterococci. National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards Study Group on Enterococci.

Journal Article J Clin Microbiol · November 1995 Since the early 1970s, the synergistic activity of an aminoglycoside with a cell wall-active agent has been predicted by determining the ability of an enterococcus to grow in the presence of high levels of the aminoglycoside (usually > or = 2,000 microgram ... Full text Link to item Cite

Genetic variability of Bacillus anthracis and related species.

Journal Article J Clin Microbiol · July 1995 We evaluated the abilities of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and sequences of intergenic spacer regions (ISRs) between two highly conserved genes, 16S-23S rDNA and gyrB-gyrA ISRs, to detect variation in strains of Bacillus anthracis as well as two ... Full text Link to item Cite

Subcultures of BACTEC-positive but gram or acridine orange stain-negative NR 6A and 7A blood culture bottles are unnecessary.

Journal Article Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis · November 1994 A prospective study was done to assess the comparative use of acridine orange and Gram stains for detecting false-positive BACTEC blood culture bottles, thereby eliminating unnecessary subcultures. A total of 1049 NR 6A and 7A bottles that were instrument- ... Full text Link to item Cite

SUSCEPTIBILITY VARIATIONS IN BACTEROIDES-FRAGILIS - A NATIONAL SURVEY

Journal Article INFECTIOUS DISEASES IN CLINICAL PRACTICE · January 1, 1994 Link to item Cite

A case-control study of nosocomial ampicillin-resistant enterococcal infection and colonization at a university hospital.

Journal Article Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · November 1993 OBJECTIVE: To assess risk factors for colonization and nosocomial infection with ampicillin-resistant enterococci (ARE). DESIGN: Patients with ampicillin-resistant enterococci were compared retrospectively by logistic regression analysis with controls harb ... Full text Link to item Cite

The North American component (the United States and Canada) of an International Comparative MIC trial monitoring ofloxacin resistance.

Journal Article Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis · 1993 Common lots of reference MIC (minimum inhibitory concentration) method reagents were used to monitor ofloxacin, a newer fluoroquinolone, and 13 other drugs against 3200 recent clinical isolates in February-April 1992. Five medical centers in the United Sta ... Full text Link to item Cite

Controlled evaluation of BACTEC PLUS 27 and Roche Septi-Chek anaerobic blood culture bottles.

Journal Article J Clin Microbiol · January 1992 Becton Dickinson Diagnostic Instrument Systems (Sparks, Md.) recently introduced BACTEC high-volume aerobic and anaerobic bottles that accept up to 10 ml of blood for use on their nonradiometric blood culture instruments. Both bottles contain 25 ml of tryp ... Full text Link to item Cite

Controlled evaluation of BACTEC Plus 26 and Roche Septi-Chek aerobic blood culture bottles.

Journal Article J Clin Microbiol · May 1991 Blood culture bottles that accept up to 10 ml of blood have recently been introduced for the BACTEC nonradiometric blood culture system. The new formulation, designated BACTEC Plus, contains 25 ml of tryptic soy broth, 0.05% sodium polyanetholesulfonate, a ... Full text Link to item Cite

Helicobacter pylori-like microorganisms and chronic active gastritis in ferrets.

Journal Article Am J Gastroenterol · July 1990 To determine the prevalence and histology of Helicobacter pylori (HP) associated gastritis in young ferrets, we examined 36 normal 2- to 4-month old ferrets. Identification of HP-like microorganisms included Warthin Starry stains of tissue sections, rapid ... Link to item Cite

Rahnella aquatilis, an unusual gram-negative rod isolated from the bronchial washing of a patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

Journal Article J Clin Microbiol · July 1989 Rahnella aquatilis, a rare enteric gram-negative rod which is usually found in fresh water, was isolated from the bronchial washing of a patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Although few clinical isolates have been reported, this is the second ... Full text Link to item Cite

Pseudomonas putrefaciens bacteremia.

Journal Article Rev Infect Dis · 1989 Pseudomonas putrefaciens is an unusual cause of human disease. Since 1978 only five cases of bacteremia due to this organism have been reported. Within 12 recent months four cases of bacteremia due to P. putrefaciens were seen - two occurred in patients wi ... Link to item Cite

Laboratory identification of Rhodococcus equi from a patient with AIDS

Journal Article Laboratory Medicine · January 1, 1989 Full text Cite

Bioluminescence screening for bacteriuria.

Journal Article J Clin Microbiol · April 1985 A rapid screening test (45 min) for bacteriuria was evaluated in 1,000 clinical urine specimens. The test procedure is based upon firefly luciferase analysis of bacterial ATP and uses the Lumac kit and Lumac M2010 Biocounter (3M Co., St. Paul, Minn.). The ... Full text Link to item Cite

Anaerobic resistance of clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus to aminoglycosides.

Journal Article Antimicrob Agents Chemother · December 1978 The anaerobic minimum inhibitory concentration of six aminoglycosides (amikacin, gentamicin, kanamycin, netilmicin, sisomicin, and tobramycin) averaged over 10-fold greater than the aerobic minimum inhibitory concentration for 50 clinical isolates of Staph ... Full text Link to item Cite

Agar shake tube technique for simultaneous determination of aerobic and anaerobic susceptibility to antibiotics.

Journal Article Antimicrob Agents Chemother · October 1977 The broth dilution method of determining the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of antibiotics has been adapted to an agar shake tube technique with semisolid media. This permits the simultaneous determination of the aerobic and anaerobic MICs for facu ... Full text Link to item Cite

Effect of anaerobiosis on antimicrobial susceptibility of staphylococci.

Journal Article Antimicrob Agents Chemother · June 1977 The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 12 antibiotics was determined for four strains of staphylococci (representing the three major species) under aerobic and anaerobic conditions by using the broth dilution method. Nine of the antibiotics showed n ... Full text Link to item Cite