Knee arthroscopy prospective observational study of patient information.

INTRODUCTION: Arthroscopy is especially well suited to outpatient implementation, as procedures are less heavy for the patient. Few studies, however, have focused on patient information and understanding in arthroscopic and outpatient surgery. The aim of the present study was to perform a prospective assessment of the information received by the patient concerning outpatient arthroscopic surgery. The study hypothesis was that there is room for improvement in information. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective descriptive observational cohort study was made of the means of information available to patients, their understanding of arthroscopic surgery and their satisfaction with the information delivered. Inclusion criteria consisted in scheduled outpatient arthroscopic surgery in whatever joint. RESULTS: Fifty consecutive patients responded to the study questionnaire. Forty-eight (96%) considered that the surgeon had provided sufficient oral information. Twenty-nine (58%) considered that they had received sufficient written information. Forty-four (88%) reported searching on the Internet. Twelve (24%) had sought testimony and advice from someone who had undergone similar surgery. Eighteen (36%) had sought information from their community physician. Four (8%) had called back or taken a new appointment with the surgeon to get more information. Five (10%) attributed lack of information to lack of time in the preoperative consultation. Three (6%) considered the information to have been too technical for good understanding of the procedure. DISCUSSION: The present study showed that this cohort, which was relatively young compared to patients undergoing implantation, was notably autonomous in their search for information. They mainly sought information in general-public medical information websites, rather than from their community physician or specialist. CONCLUSION: It is important to improve patient information, and specific tools should be implemented ahead of outpatient arthroscopic surgery. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Four observational studies.

Can the use of older-generation beta-lactam antibiotics in livestock production over-select for beta-lactamases of greatest consequence for human medicine? An in vitro experimental model.

Though carbapenems are not licensed for use in food animals in the U.S., carbapenem resistance among Enterobacteriaceae has been identified in farm animals and their environments. The objective of our study was to determine the extent to which older-generation ß-lactam antibiotics approved for use in food animals in the U.S. might differentially select for resistance to antibiotics of critical importance to human health, such as carbapenems. Escherichia coli (E. coli) strains from humans, food animals, or the environment bearing a single ß-lactamase gene (n = 20 each) for blaTEM-1, blaCMY-2, and blaCTX-M-* or else blaKPC/IMP/NDM (due to limited availability, often in combination with other bla genes), were identified, along with 20 E. coli strains lacking any known beta-lactamase genes. Baseline estimates of intrinsic bacterial fitness were derived from the population growth curves. Effects of ampicillin (32 µg/mL), ceftriaxone (4 µg/mL) and meropenem (4 µg/mL) on each strain and resistance-group also were assessed. Further, in vitro batch cultures were prepared by mixing equal concentrations of 10 representative E. coli strains (two from each resistance gene group), and each mixture was incubated at 37°C for 24 hours in non-antibiotic cation-adjusted Mueller-Hinton II (CAMH-2) broth, ampicillin + CAMH-2 broth (at 2, 4, 8, 16, and 32 µg/mL) and ceftiofur + CAMH-2 broth (at 0.5, 1, 2, 4, and 8µg/mL). Relative and absolute abundance of resistance-groups were estimated phenotypically. Line plots of the raw data were generated, and non-linear Gompertz models and multilevel mixed-effect linear regression models were fitted to the data. The observed strain growth rate distributions were significantly different across the groups. AmpC strains (i.e., blaCMY-2) had distinctly less robust (p < 0.05) growth in ceftriaxone (4 µg/mL) compared to extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) producers harboring blaCTX-M-*variants. With increasing beta-lactam antibiotic concentrations, relative proportions of ESBLs and CREs were over-represented in the mixed bacterial communities; importantly, this was more pronounced with ceftiofur than with ampicillin. These results indicate that aminopenicillins and extended-spectrum cephalosporins would be expected to propagate carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae in food animals if and when Enterobacteriaceae from human health care settings enter the food animal environment.