The CARBA-MAP study: national mapping of carbapenemases in Spain (2014-2018).

Introduction: Infections caused by carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) and carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, including isolates producing acquired carbapenemases, constitute a prevalent health problem worldwide. The primary objective of this study was to determine the distribution of the different carbapenemases among carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE, specifically Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterobacter cloacae complex, and Klebsiella aerogenes) and carbapenemase-producing P. aeruginosa (CPPA) in Spain from January 2014 to December 2018. Methods: A national, retrospective, cross-sectional multicenter study was performed. The study included the first isolate per patient and year obtained from clinical samples and obtained for diagnosis of infection in hospitalized patients. A structured questionnaire was completed by the participating centers using the REDCap platform, and results were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 29.0.0. Results: A total of 2,704 carbapenemase-producing microorganisms were included, for which the type of carbapenemase was determined in 2692 cases: 2280 CPE (84.7%) and 412 CPPA (15.3%), most often using molecular methods and immunochromatographic assays. Globally, the most frequent types of carbapenemase in Enterobacterales and P. aeruginosa were OXA-48-like, alone or in combination with other enzymes (1,523 cases, 66.8%) and VIM (365 cases, 88.6%), respectively. Among Enterobacterales, carbapenemase-producing K. pneumoniae was reported in 1821 cases (79.9%), followed by E. cloacae complex in 334 cases (14.6%). In Enterobacterales, KPC is mainly present in the South and South-East regions of Spain and OXA-48-like in the rest of the country. Regarding P. aeruginosa, VIM is widely distributed all over the country. Globally, an increasing percentage of OXA-48-like enzymes was observed from 2014 to 2017. KPC enzymes were more frequent in 2017-2018 compared to 2014-2016. Discussion: Data from this study help to understand the situation and evolution of the main species of CPE and CPPA in Spain, with practical implications for control and optimal treatment of infections caused by these multi-drug resistant organisms.

Evidence of exhausted lymphocytes after the third anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccine dose in cancer patients.

Introduction: Evidence is scant regarding the long-term humoral and cellular responses Q7 triggered by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) mRNA vaccines in cancer patients after repeated booster doses. The possibility of T-cell exhaustion following these booster doses in this population has not yet been fully studied and remains uncertain. Methods: In this single-center prospective observational study, we explored the specific humoral and cellular response to S1 antigen in 36 patients with solid malignancies at baseline, and after the second and third doses of the mRNA-1273 vaccine. Results: A dual behavior was observed: 24 (66.7%) patients showed partial specific IFN-γ response after the second dose that was further enhanced after the third dose; and 11 (30.5%) already showed an optimal response after the second dose and experienced a marked fall-off of specific IFN-γ production after the third (4 patients negativization), which might suggest T cell exhaustion due to repetitive priming to the same antigen. One (2.8%) patient had persistently negative responses after all three doses. Seroconversion occurred in all patients after the second dose. We then studied circulating exhausted CD8+ T-cells in 4 patients from each of the two response patterns, those with increase and those with decrease in cellular response after the third booster. The patients with decreased cellular response after the booster had a higher expression of PD1+CD8+ and CD57+PD1+CD8+ exhausted T cells compared with those with an increased cellular response both in vivo and in vitro. The proportion of PD1+CD8+ and CD57+PD1+CD8+ exhausted T cells inversely correlated with IFN-γ production. Discussion: Our preliminary data show that the two-dose SARS-CoV-2 vaccine regimen was beneficial in all cancer patients of our study. An additional booster seems to be beneficial in suboptimal vaccine seroconverters, in contrast to maximal responders that might develop exhaustion. Our data should be interpreted with caution given the small sample size and highlight the urgent need to validate our results in other independent and larger cohorts. Altogether, our data support the relevance of immunological functional studies to personalize preventive and treatment decisions in cancer patients.

Adverse drug reactions to the three doses of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2) mRNA-1273 vaccine in a cohort of cancer patients under active treatment of a tertiary hospital in Madrid, Spain.

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccines efficacy and safety have been tested in phase 3 studies in which cancer patients were not included or were underrepresented. Methods: The objective of this study is to evaluate the safety profile of the mRNA-1273 vaccine across cancer patients and its relationship to patients' demographics. This retrospective cohort study included patients 18-years or older with solid malignancies receiving active treatment in our hospital who had received the three-dose schedule of the mRNA9 1273 vaccine and whose side effects after each dose were recorded. Patient electronic medical records were reviewed retrospectively to collect data between April 19, 2021, and December 31, 2021. Patients with documented previous infection by SARS-Cov-2 were excluded from the study. Results: A total of 93 patients met the inclusion criteria. Local adverse drug reactions (ADRs) were reported more frequently after the first and second dose than after the third (41.9%, 43% and 31.1% of the patients respectively), while systemic ADRs followed the opposite pattern (16.1%, 34.4% and 52.6% of the patients respectively). We found a statistically significant association between sex and systemic ADRs after the third dose. Cochran-Armitage test showed a statistically significant linear trend, p = 0.012, with a higher Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) score associated with a lower proportion of patients suffering from systemic side effects. A logistic regression showed that women had 5.79 times higher odds to exhibit systemic ADRs after the third dose (p=0.01) compared to males. Increasing age was associated with a decreased likelihood of exhibiting ADRs (p=0.016). Conclusion: The mRNA-1273 vaccine shows a tolerable safety profile. The likelihood of ADRs appears to be associated with gender and age. Its association with ECOG scores is less evident. Further studies are needed to elucidate this data in cancer patients.

Coordinated assistance plan for the elimination of hepatitis C virus at the centro de ayuda integral al drogodependiente (CAID (Comprehensive Care Centre for Drug Addicts)). / Plan asistencial coordinado para la eliminación del virus de la hepatitis C en el centro de ayuda integral al drogodependiente (CAID).

INTRODUCTION: The drug-injecting population has a high prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) and high risk of transmission. It is a priority to establish an agile diagnostic and treatment plan. OBJECTIVES: 1) Assess the effectiveness of a new coordinated care plan of referral from the Comprehensive Care Centre for Drug Addicts (CAID) to specialised care and 2) Determine the prevalence of HCV, clinical characteristics, effectiveness and safety of treatment in this population. METHODS: 1,300 serologies requested by the CAID between 1998 and 2018 were retrospectively analysed, the seroprevalence of HCV was calculated and the efficiency of the traditional CAID-specialised care referral system was evaluated. A care plan was designed and coordinated among specialists involved in diagnosis and treatment. Since October 2018, 11 patients have been included in the new plan and the performance of both referral systems was compared. RESULTS: With the traditional system, 48.2% (83/172) of the patients were lost. 14.5% (172/1,300) presented positive HCV serology, compared to the general population OR = 19; 95% CI 14.3-25. The prevalence of active infection was 80.3% (90/112). The prevalence of active infection was 80.3% (90/112). Of the 11 patients referred by the new plan, 76.9% (8/11) had active infection and 100% (8/8) were treated with Direct Antiviral Agents successfully. CONCLUSIONS: The new coordinated CAID-specialised care plan presents high effectiveness in comparison with the traditional referral system. The seroprevalence and prevalence of active infection in the CAID population is very high. Treatments with Direct Antiviral Agents are effective and safe.

[Article on SEIMC Procedure No.42: Environmental microbiological monitoring]. / Control microbiológico ambiental.

The inanimate hospital environment is rarely implicated in infection transmission, except among vulnerable patients. Some authors argue against the use of environmental surveillance cultures because the tests can be expensive and time consuming, and because they should not be used instead of quality control and good practices in disinfection and maintenance procedures. Routine environmental sampling is not usually advised, except in situations where sampling is directed by epidemiologic principles, and results can be applied to adopt infection control measures. The incidence of health-care associated infections can be minimised by appropriate maintenance of medical equipment such as endoscope cleaning and disinfection, adherence to water-quality standards for haemodialysis, and to ventilation standards for specialised care environments such as isolation units, or operating rooms. This paper reviews the current knowledge on surveillance cultures in these settings in order to prevent iatrogenic infections in operating and isolation rooms, haemodialysis and endoscope reprocessing units, and cultures related to nosocomial infection outbreaks.