[Influenzae and pneumococcal vaccination rate in an internal medicine ward]. / Couverture vaccinale antigrippale et antipneumococcique dans un service de médecine interne.

INTRODUCTION: Vaccination against influenza virus and Streptococcus pneumoniae is a global health priority and authorities, on the basis of recent publications, have recently updated French recommendations. The aim of this study was to describe the influenzae and pneumococcal vaccination's rate in an internal medicine ward. MATERIAL AND METHODS: All patients consecutively hospitalized during a 10 week-period in an internal medicine ward were included. The reasons for non-vaccination and the impact of an educational program for corrective measures were reported. RESULTS: Overall, 198 consecutive patients were included; 93 (47%) were immunocompromised; 142 (71.2%) had an indication for pneumococcal vaccination and 171 (86.4%) for influenza vaccination but only 16.2% and 55% of them were vaccinated against these microorganisms, respectively. Prior pneumococcal vaccination was more frequently observed in immunocompromised patients than in non-immunocompromised patients (21.1 versus 6.4%; P=0.029), but no significant difference was observed for influenza vaccine. Corrective measures were initiated in 46 patients (39%), non-immunized against S. pneumoniae. CONCLUSION: These results underline the very low prevalence of pneumococcal vaccination rate in at-risk hospitalized patients, as compared with influenza, despite recent recommendations.

[Liver abscess]. / Abcès hépatiques.

Liver abscess is a rare and severe infection. Incidence increases because of aging of population, advances in liver and biliary surgery including liver transplantation, and immunodeficiency factors. Diagnosis depends mainly on imaging and needle aspiration for microbiological identification. Treatment is based on antibiotics, percutaneous or surgical drainage, and control of the primary source.

Characteristics of vertebral osteomyelitis after liver transplantation.

We performed a retrospective single-centre 1:3 case-control study to investigate the characteristics of vertebral osteomyelitis (VO) occurring in orthotopic liver transplant (OLT) recipients between 2000 and 2012. Nine cases were identified in 752 OLT recipients (1.2%), with a median time from OLT to VO of 12 weeks. In comparison with 27 VO not occurring in OLT patients (controls), VO occurring in OLT recipients was characterized by decreased levels of inflammation biomarkers (average C-reactive protein 65.1 mg·L(-1) vs. 167 mg·L(-1), p 0.02; average white blood cell count 4.8 × 10(9)·L(-1) vs. 12.9 × 10(9)·L(-1), p < 0.001), higher rate of fungal infections (3/9 vs. 0/27, p 0.01), lower rate of bacterial infections (3/9 vs. 25/27, p 0.001) and decreased proportion of positive blood cultures (1/9 vs. 16/27, p 0.02) despite a trend towards higher rate of multifocal infection. Microbiologic outcomes were similar between the two groups. Overall, VO in OLT patients was more difficult to diagnose as a result of altered inflammation response and specific microbial epidemiology of causal microorganisms.

[Starvation ketosis in a breastfeeding woman]. / Cétose de jeûne chez une femme allaitante.

INTRODUCTION: Bovine ketosis is a rare cause of metabolic acidosis. It is a starvation ketosis that appears in lactating woman. CASE REPORT: A 29-year-old woman had a previous gastric surgery one month ago while breastfeeding her 6-month child. She presented to emergency with dyspnea, fatigue, weight loss and anorexia. The explorations revealed a serious metabolic acidosis with a high anion gap, for which all other causes have been eliminated. CONCLUSION: A restrictive diet in lactating patients is a major risk of ketosis or bovine ketosis. Medico-surgical treatment of obesity during lactation seems unreasonable. Breastfeeding should be systematically sought before a medical and surgical management of obesity. With the spread of bariatric surgery, starvation ketosis is a cause of metabolic acidosis not to ignore.

[Efficacy of the sparfloxacin-ethambutol combination in a case of cerebral tuberculosis]. / Efficacité de l'association de sparfloxacine et d'éthambutol dans un cas de tuberculome cérébral.

INTRODUCTION: Treatment of cerebral tuberculomas demands the combination of rifampicin, isoniazid, pyrazinamide and ethambutol. The place of fluoroquinolones remains to be defined. EXEGESIS: A 36-year-old woman presented with a cerebral tuberculoma. Treatment with an antituberculous quadritherapy regimen was begun, but because of serious side effects, isoniazid and rifampicin weren't withdrawn during the fourth month. Sparfloxacin and ethambutol biotherapy was then started and continued for 12 months, which led to the disappearance of the cerebral lesion. CONCLUSION: Our observation proves that sparfloxacin is an alternative for cerebral tuberculoma treatment in case of intolerance or resistance to first-line antituberculosis drugs.

[Recurrent Kikuchi's disease in a patient with discoid lupus]. / Maladie de Kikuchi récidivante chez une patiente atteinte de lupus discoïde.

INTRODUCTION: Histiocytic necrotizing lymphadenitis, also called Kikuchi-Fujimoto's disease (KD), usually occurs in young women and is characterized by localized lymphadenitis (mostly cervical) usually associated with fever. Diagnosis relies on histopathological and immunohistochemical analysis of involved lymph node. KD is considered to be the clinical expression of an inadequate immunological reaction, resulting in a self-limited hyperstimulation of the lymphoid tissue, trigerred by an antigenic infectious stimulation. The clinical course is usually benign with a spontaneous remission of symptoms. Recurrence is very rarely observed. KD may be associated with systemic lupus erythematosus, whereas the association with chronic discoid lupus has only been rarely reported. EXEGESIS: We report a case of KD recurrence, 9 years after the initial diagnosis, in a young eurasian woman, with a chronic discoid lupus erythematosus. CONCLUSION: KD is a benign disease with a spontaneously good outcome. Recurrence may rarely occur many years after the initial diagnosis but needs a new histopathological confirmation. Systemic or even cutaneous lupus erythematosus may be associated with KD. Although unfrequent, this association suggests that both diseases could share a common pathogenesis.

[Intermittent prolonged fever triggered by efforts]. / Fièvre prolongée intermittente survenant à l'effort.

INTRODUCTION: Fever of unknown origin is a common reason for care in internal medicine. The wide variety of possible etiologies makes it difficult to standardize the diagnostic work-up that has to be primarily guided by the interview and physical examination. CASE REPORT: We report a case of prolonged fever having as main characteristics to be intermittent and triggered by efforts. The diagnosis of cerebrospinal fluid shunt infection with Propionibacterium acnes was finally made. In reaching this conclusion, many tests were needed, including renal explorations with biopsy showing an aspect of shunt nephritis. CONCLUSION: Prolonged fever of unknown origin in a patient having prosthetic material should raise the suspicion of prosthesis infection (especially if the fever is associated with efforts).

[Totally implanted access port-related infections: features and management]. / Complications infectieuses liées aux chambres implantables: caractéristiques et prise en charge.

Totally implanted access port-related infections are responsible for their own morbidity and mortality. Main risk factors of totally implanted access port-related infections are total parenteral nutrition, young age, difficulties during insertion, poor general status and neutropenia. Recent guidelines defined intravascular catheter-related infections. This relies on a strict clinical and microbiological work-up including simultaneous culture of blood drawn from the catheter and a peripheral vein. The search for local or general complications is mandatory: clinical and possibly echographic assessments are therefore needed. Depending on the context and the type of microorganism, this evaluation may include transoesophageal echocardiography and search for suppurative thrombosis in case of catheter-related bloodstream infection caused by Staphylococcus aureus. Indeed, intravascular complications in this setting are frequent. Catheter removal is mandatory in case of local complication (tunnel infection or port pocket abscess), septic thrombosis, infective endocarditis, osteomyelitis, septic shock or infection related to specific pathogens (S. aureus, Candida spp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa). Otherwise, retention of the catheter might be proposed given results from recent studies including antibiotic lock therapy associated with systemic antibiotic. Future studies must focus on defining more precisely the factors associated with salvage therapy failure including host, pathogens virulence factors and biofilm formation.

Imaging does not predict the clinical outcome of bacterial vertebral osteomyelitis.

OBJECTIVES: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) are useful for initial assessment of bacterial spondylodiscitis. However, clinical relevance of imaging changes during treatment is less well-documented. METHODS: Between October 1997 and March 2005, 29 patients with documented bacterial spondylodiscitis were prospectively enrolled. They had clinical, biological and imaging examinations (MRI and/or CT) at M0 and M3, and in 22 cases, at M6. RESULTS: Mean age was 58 yrs. Antimicrobial chemotherapy lasted an average of 98 days. The median follow-up was 18 months, including 12 months after the completion of treatment. Infection was cured in every patient. Biological markers of inflammation returned to normal at M3. Six patients had painful and/or neurological sequelae. Decreased disc height was a consistent and early sign, and remained stable during the follow-up. Vertebral oedema, present in 100% of cases initially, persisted in 67 and 15% of cases at M3 and M6, respectively. Discal abscesses and paravertebral abscesses, present in 65 and 39% of cases initially, persisted in, respectively, 42 and 9% of cases at M3 and in 18 and 3% of cases at M6. Epidural abscesses were present at diagnosis in 30% of cases, and had always disappeared by M3. Imaging abnormalities found at M0 and M3 did not differ between patients with and without late neurological or painful sequelae. CONCLUSIONS: Imaging abnormalities often persist in patients with bacterial spondylodiscitis despite a favourable clinical and biological response to antibiotic treatment. They are not associated with relapses, neurological sequelae or persistent pain. Imaging controls are not necessary when bacterial spondylodiscitis responds favourably to treatment.

Lactobacillus septic arthritis.

Lactobacillus is a Gram positive bacteria found in the mouth, gastrointestinal and female genital tract. Serious infections due to Lactobacillus are becoming increasingly common. We present a 49-year-old diabetic patient with Lactobacillus septic arthritis. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case. Usually, Lactobacillus is implicated with bacteremia, endocarditis and more rarely pneumonia, meningitis and endovascular infection, and half of the cases are reported in immunocompromised patients. As in our patient, diabetes mellitus is a comorbid condition which has been clearly noted. Our finding suggests that further studies are necessary to establish the significance of Lactobacillus as an etiologic agent of septic arthritis.

Influence of resistance to streptogramin A type antibiotics on the activity of quinupristin-dalfopristin in vitro and in experimental endocarditis due to Staphylococcus aureus.

We evaluated the activity of quinupristin-dalfopristin (Q-D) against three clinical strains of Staphylococcus aureus susceptible to Q (MIC, 8 microg/ml) and Q-D (MICs, 0.5 to 1 microg/ml) but displaying various levels of susceptibility to D. D was active against S. aureus HM 1054 (MIC, 4 microg/ml) and had reduced activity against S. aureus RP 13 and S. aureus N 95 (MICs, 32 and 64 microg/ml, respectively). In vitro, Q-D at a concentration two times the MIC (2xMIC) produced reductions of 4.3, 3.9, and 5.8 log(10) CFU/ml after 24 h of incubation for HM 1054, RP 13, and N 95, respectively. Comparable killing was obtained at 8xMIC. Q-D-resistant mutants were selected in vitro at a frequency of 2 x 10(-8) to 2 x 10(-7) for the three strains on agar containing 2xMIC of Q-D; no resistant bacteria were detected at 4xMIC. Rabbits with aortic endocarditis were treated for 4 days with Q-D at 30 mg/kg of body weight intramuscularly (i.m.) three times a day (t.i.d.) or vancomycin at 50 mg/kg i.m. t.i.d. In vivo, Q-D and vancomycin were similarly active and bactericidal against the three tested strains compared to the results for control animals (P < 0.01). Among animals infected with RP 13 and treated with Q-D, one rabbit retained Q-D-resistant mutants that were resistant to Q and to high levels of D (MICs, 64, >256, and 8 microg/ml for Q, D, and Q-D, respectively). We conclude that the bactericidal activity of Q-D against strains with reduced susceptibility to D and susceptible to Q-D is retained and is comparable to that of vancomycin. Acquisition of resistance to both Q and D is necessary to select resistance to Q-D.

Activities of the combination of quinupristin-dalfopristin with rifampin in vitro and in experimental endocarditis due to Staphylococcus aureus strains with various phenotypes of resistance to macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin antibiotics.

We evaluated the activities of quinupristin-dalfopristin (Q-D), alone or in combination with rifampin, against three strains of Staphylococcus aureus susceptible to rifampin (MIC, 0.06 microg/ml) and to Q-D (MICs, 0.5 to 1 microg/ml) but displaying various phenotypes of resistance to macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin antibiotics: S. aureus HM1054 was susceptible to quinupristin and dalfopristin (MICs of 8 and 4 microg/ml, respectively); for S. aureus RP13, the MIC of dalfopristin was high (MICs of quinupristin and dalfopristin for strain RP13, 8 and 32 microg/ml, respectively); and S. aureus HM1054R was obtained after conjugative transfer of macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin B constitutive resistance to HM1054, and the MIC of quinupristin for this strain was high (MICs of quinupristin and dalfopristin, 64 and 4 microg/ml, respectively). In vitro time-kill curve studies showed an additive effect [corrected] between Q-D and rifampin, at a concentration of four times the MIC, against the three strains. Rabbits with aortic endocarditis were treated 4 days with Q-D, rifampin, or their combination. In vivo, the combination was highly bactericidal and synergistic against strains susceptible to quinupristin (HM1054 and RP13) and sterilized 94% of the animals. In contrast, the combination was neither synergistic nor bactericidal against the quinupristin-resistant strain (HM1054R) and did not prevent the emergence of mutants resistant to rifampin. We conclude that the in vivo synergistic and bactericidal activity of the combination of Q-D and rifampin against S. aureus is predicted by the absence of resistance to quinupristin but not by in vitro combination studies.

Association between nasal carriage of Staphylococcus aureus and infection in liver transplant recipients.

We reviewed the records of 87 patients who underwent liver transplantation and who were screened by use of nasal swabs on the day before surgery. Twenty-four patients harbored methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA), and 8 harbored methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). MSSA infection occurred in 3 (12.5%) of 24 MSSA carriers and in 2 (3.2%) of 63 noncarriers (nonsignificant). In contrast, MRSA infection occurred more frequently in MRSA carriers (7 [87.5%] of 8) than in MRSA noncarriers (8 [10.1%] of 79; P<.001). Nasal carriage of MRSA is associated with a very high risk of MRSA infection in liver transplant recipients.