Prolonged suppressive antibiotic therapy for prosthetic joint infection in the elderly: a national multicentre cohort study.

During prosthetic joint infection (PJI), optimal surgical management with exchange of the device is sometimes impossible, especially in the elderly population. Thus, prolonged suppressive antibiotic therapy (PSAT) is the only option to prevent acute sepsis, but little is known about this strategy. We aimed to describe the characteristics, outcome and tolerance of PSAT in elderly patients with PJI. We performed a national cross-sectional cohort study of patients >75 years old and treated with PSAT for PJI. We evaluated the occurrence of events, which were defined as: (i) local or systemic progression of the infection (failure), (ii) death and (iii) discontinuation or switch of PSAT. A total of 136 patients were included, with a median age of 83 years [interquartile range (IQR) 81-88]. The predominant pathogen involved was Staphylococcus (62.1%) (Staphylococcus aureus in 41.7%). A single antimicrobial drug was prescribed in 96 cases (70.6%). There were 46 (33.8%) patients with an event: 25 (18%) with an adverse drug reaction leading to definitive discontinuation or switch of PSAT, 8 (5.9%) with progression of sepsis and 13 died (9.6%). Among patients under follow-up, the survival rate without an event at 2 years was 61% [95% confidence interval (CI): 51;74]. In the multivariate Cox analysis, patients with higher World Health Organization (WHO) score had an increased risk of an event [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.5, p = 0.014], whereas patients treated with beta-lactams are associated with less risk of events occurring (HR = 0.5, p = 0.048). In our cohort, PSAT could be an effective and safe option for PJI in the elderly.

[Regional audit on fluoroquinolones usage in the hospital and the community: are these antibiotics over-used?]. / Audit régional de l'usage des fluoroquinolones à l'hôpital et en ville : y a-t-il une surconsommation de ces antibiotiques ?

AIM OF THE STUDY: The ecological impact of an over-use or a mis-use of fluoroquinolones (FQs) appears of great importance according to published data. With the objective to set up a regional antibiotic stewardship program, we conducted a regional audit on FQs usage. MATERIAL AND METHODS: [corrected] Ninety general practionners and 15 health care facilities participated to this prospective study. Overall, 511 prescriptions were evaluated (276 from hospital physicians and 235 [46%] from general practionners). The compliance of FQs prescription with national recommendations and with a regional referential was assessed. This regional referential was established in order to preserve FQs. RESULTS: Only 14,3% of the prescriptions complied with the regional referential, even if the choice of FQs were in accordance with national recommendations in 56,8% of the prescriptions. Urinary tract infections (mostly non-complicated) were the most common indication for FQs prescription. CONCLUSION: Analysis of FQs prescriptions shows that there is a significant potential for FQs preservation in Franche-Comté.

[Impact of regional guidelines on the management of urinary tract infections with antibiotics]. / Impact d'un guide régional pour la prise en charge des infections urinaires sur les pratiques d'antibiothérapies.

AIM AND METHOD: We assessed the impact of a committed guideline at the end of the first quarter 2008 on the management of urinary tract infection (UTI) with antibiotic prescription (fluoroquinolone, fosfomycin, and nitrofurantoin), by analysing reimbursement data for ambulatory care provided by the regional health insurance agency. RESULTS: During the survey, we observed a 13.2% decrease of norfloxacin prescriptions between the first quarter 2008 and the first quarter 2009. The (fosfomycin+nitrofurantoin)/norfloxacin ratio increased between the third quarter 2007 and the first quarter 2009 from 0.55 to 0.72 and from 0.82 to 1.13 for general practitioners and hospital physicians respectively. The global number of patients treated with these antibiotics remained stable during the period. The number of fluoroquinolone prescription was stable between the first quarter 2008 and the first quarter 2009 with 28,427 DDD and 28,363 DDD, respectively; while the number of single dose rise in the same time from 151 DDD to 427.5 DDD, respectively. DISCUSSION: The three messages which seem to be essential for an optimal use of fluoroquinolones in UTIs are: no treatment for bacterial colonisation (asymptomatic bacteriuria) except for specific cases, no indication for fluoroquinolones in non-complicated acute cystitis and for elderly women, UTI is complicated only if it occurs in women with co-morbidities regardless of age. CONCLUSION: Our indicators suggest that our guideline had an impact on the prescription of fluoroquinolones for uncomplicated acute cystitis.

Respiratory changes in aortic blood velocity as an indicator of fluid responsiveness in ventilated patients with septic shock.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether the respiratory changes in peak velocity (Vpeak) of aortic blood flow could be related to the effects of volume expansion on cardiac index. DESIGN: Prospective clinical study. SETTING: Medical ICUs of a university hospital (20 beds) and of a nonuniversity hospital (15 beds). PATIENTS: Nineteen sedated septic shock patients who were receiving mechanical ventilation and who had preserved left ventricular (LV) systolic function. INTERVENTION: Volume expansion. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: Analysis of aortic blood flow by transesophageal echocardiography allowed beat-to-beat measurement of Vpeak before and after volume expansion. Maximum values of Vpeak (Vpeakmax) and minimum values of Vpeak (Vpeakmin) were determined over one respiratory cycle. The respiratory changes in Vpeak (Delta Vpeak) were calculated as the difference between Vpeakmax and Vpeakmin divided by the mean of the two values and were expressed as a percentage. The indexed LV end-diastolic area (EDAI) and cardiac index were obtained at the end of the expiratory period. The volume expansion-induced increase in cardiac index was > or = 15% in 10 patients (responders) and < 15% in 9 patients (nonresponders). Before volume expansion, Delta Vpeak was higher in responders than in nonresponders (20 +/- 6% vs 10 +/- 3%; p < 0.01), while EDAI was not significantly different between the two groups (9.7 +/- 3.7 vs 9.7 +/- 2.4 cm(2)/m(2)). Before volume expansion, a Delta Vpeak threshold value of 12% allowed discrimination between responders and nonresponders with a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 89%. Volume expansion-induced changes in cardiac index closely correlated with the Delta Vpeak before volume expansion (r(2) = 0.83; p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Analysis of respiratory changes in aortic blood velocity is an accurate method for predicting the hemodynamic effects of volume expansion in septic shock patients receiving mechanical ventilation who have preserved LV systolic function.

[Acute respiratory distress syndrome in the initial phase of myocardial infarction in adults]. / Le syndrome de déstresse respiratoire aiguë de l'adulte à la phase initiale de l'infarctus du myocarde.

Four patients developed an acute respiratory distress syndrome characterised by clinical and radiological signs of pulmonary oedema, a protein-rich oedema, severe hypoxemia refractory to oxygen therapy, contrasting with normal left ventricular filling pressures and indicating increased permeability of the alveolo-capillary membrane, 24 to 72 hours after the onset of acute myocardial infarction. After having excluded the usual causes of the acute respiratory distress syndrome, the authors suggest that acute myocardial infarction, especially when extensive, may cause a lesion of the alveolo-capillary membrane by an unknown mechanism. Treatment consisted in mechanical ventilation with positive expiratory pressures in 3 cases and with continuous positive pressure during spontaneous respiration in the third patient and in relay with controlled ventilation in the other two. These techniques of ventilation improved the hypoxemia and led to complete cure in all cases without evolution to pulmonary fibrosis. In addition to mechanical ventilation, all patients were given systematic antibiotic therapy because of the possibility of an infectious etiology while waiting for the results of microbiological and serological testing and because of the high risk of superinfection which plays an essential part in the outcome of the condition. The immediate response to treatment was favourable in all cases. One patient died suddenly of cardiogenic shock two weeks after this episode. The other patients are still alive 39, 38 and 20 months after infarction. The importance of the diagnosis of the acute respiratory distress syndrome in the acute phase of myocardial infarction resides in its therapeutic implications which are quite different to those of cardiogenic shock.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)