Establishment of multicenter COVID-19 therapeutics preclinical test system in Republic of Korea.

Throughout the recent COVID-19 pandemic, South Korea led national efforts to develop vaccines and therapeutics for SARS-CoV-2. The project proceeded as follows: 1) evaluation system setup (including Animal Biosafety Level 3 (ABSL3) facility alliance, standardized nonclinical evaluation protocol, and laboratory information management system), 2) application (including committee review and selection), and 3) evaluation (including expert judgment and reporting). After receiving 101 applications, the selection committee reviewed pharmacokinetics, toxicity, and efficacy data and selected 32 final candidates. In the nonclinical efficacy test, we used golden Syrian hamsters and human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 transgenic mice under a cytokeratin 18 promoter to evaluate mortality, clinical signs, body weight, viral titer, neutralizing antibody presence, and histopathology. These data indicated eight new drugs and one repositioned drug having significant efficacy for COVID-19. Three vaccine and four antiviral drugs exerted significant protective activities against SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis. Additionally, two anti-inflammatory drugs showed therapeutic effects on lung lesions and weight loss through their mechanism of action but did not affect viral replication. Along with systematic verification of COVID-19 animal models through large-scale studies, our findings suggest that ABSL3 multicenter alliance and nonclinical evaluation protocol standardization can promote reliable efficacy testing against COVID-19, thus expediting medical product development.

Clinical impact of COVID-19 in patients with carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii bacteraemia.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on treatment outcomes in critically ill patients with carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) bloodstream infection (BSI). This single-centre, retrospective cohort study was conducted in a 1,048-bed university-affiliated tertiary hospital in the Republic of Korea from January 2021 to March 2022. The study participants included consecutive hospitalised adult patients (aged ≥18 years) in the intensive care unit with CRAB monomicrobial BSI. During the study period, a total of 70 patients were included in our study, and 24 (34.3%) were diagnosed with COVID-19. The 28-day mortality rate was 64.3%. In the multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression analysis, diagnosis of COVID-19 (hazard ratio (HR), 2.91; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.45-5.87), neutropenia (HR, 2.76; 95% CI: 1.04-7.29), Pitt bacteraemia score (per point; HR, 1.30; 95% CI: 1.19-1.41), and appropriate definite antibiotic therapy (HR, 0.31; 95% CI: 0.15-0.62) were independent predictors of 28-day mortality in patients with CRAB BSI. In conclusion, our findings suggested that COVID-19 has a negative prognostic impact on patients with CRAB BSI. Further study is needed to investigate the specific mechanisms of how COVID-19 worsens the prognosis of CRAB infection.

Clinical prediction rule for identifying older patients with toxigenic clostridioides difficile at the time of hospital admission.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to develop and validate a clinical prediction rule to screen older patients at risk of being toxigenic Clostridioides difficile carriers at the time of hospital admission. METHODS: This retrospective case-control study was performed at a university-affiliated hospital. Active surveillance using a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for the toxin genes of C. difficile was conducted among older patients (≥ 65 years) upon admission to the Division of Infectious Diseases of our institution. This rule was drawn from a derivative cohort between October 2019 and April 2021 using a multivariable logistic regression model. Clinical predictability was evaluated in the validation cohort between May 2021 and October 2021. RESULTS: Of 628 PCR screenings for toxigenic C. difficile carriage, 101 (16.1%) yielded positive findings. To establish clinical prediction rules in the derivation cohort, the formula was derived using significant predictors for toxigenic C. difficile carriage at admission, such as septic shock, connective tissue diseases, anemia, recent use of antibiotics, and recent use of proton-pump inhibitors. In the validation cohort, the sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of the prediction rule, based on a cut-off value of ≥ 0.45, were 78.3%, 70.8%, 29.5%, and 95.4%, respectively. CONCLUSION: This clinical prediction rule for identifying toxigenic C. difficile carriage at admission may facilitate the selective screening of high-risk groups. To implement it in a clinical setting, more patients from other medical institutions need to be prospectively examined.

A Model-Based Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Long-Acting Monoclonal Antibody (Tixagevimab and Cilgavimab: Evusheld) Preventive Treatment for High-Risk Populations Against SARS-CoV-2 in Korea.

BACKGROUND: Tixagevimab and cilgavimab (Evusheld) administration is a recommended strategy for unvaccinated patients with immunocompromised conditions and severe allergic reaction conditions to protect high-risk individuals and control the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic. We estimated the cost-effectiveness of Evusheld in key risk populations: 1) immunocompromised (vaccinated/unvaccinated), 2) severe allergic reaction, and 3) unvaccinated elderly high-risk groups. METHODS: Based on the estimated target risk group population, we used a model of COVID-19 transmission to estimate the size of the risk group population for whom Evusheld treatment may help prevent symptomatic COVID-19 (and deaths) in 2022. We projected Evusheld intervention costs, quality-adjusted life year (QALY) lost, cost averted and QALY gained by reduced COVID-19 incidence, and incremental cost-effectiveness (cost per QALY gained) in each modeled population from the healthcare system perspective. RESULTS: Our study demonstrated that Evusheld treatment for COVID-19 infection in South Korea is highly cost-effective for unvaccinated risk groups ($18,959 per QALY gained for immunocompromised and $23,978 per QALY gained for high-risk elderly groups) and moderately cost-effective among individuals who are vaccinated immunocompromised ($46,494 per QALY gained), or have severe allergic reactions ($45,996 per QALY gained). Evusheld's cost-effectiveness may be subject to risk-group-specific COVID-19 disease progression and Evusheld efficacy and cost, which may change in future epidemic scenarios. CONCLUSION: As the COVID-19 variants and risk group-specific durable efficacy, toxicity (and/or resistance) and optimal dosing of Evusheld remain uncertain, better empirical estimates to inform these values in different epidemiological contexts are needed. These results may help decision-makers prioritize resources toward more equitable and effective COVID-19 control efforts.

Nationwide Trends in Non-COVID-19 Infectious Disease Laboratory Tests in the Era of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Korea.

The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has brought significant changes to infectious disease management globally. This study explored changes in clinical microbiological testing trends and their implications for infectious disease incidence and medical utilization during the pandemic. We collected nationwide claims for monthly clinical microbiology tests from January 2018 to March 2022 using the National Health Insurance Service database. Seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average models were employed to make predictions for each disease based on the baseline period (January 2018 to January 2020). The results showed a significant decrease in general bacterial and fungal cultures, respiratory infectious disease-related, and inflammatory markers, while the representatives of tests for vector-borne diseases, healthcare-associated infections, and chronic viral infections remained stable. The study highlights the potential of clinical microbiological testing trends as an additional surveillance tool and offers implications for future infectious disease management and surveillance strategies in pandemic settings.

Correlation Between Third Dose of COVID-19 Vaccines and Regional Case Fatality Rates During the Omicron Wave in Korea.

This study seeks to find the correlation between case fatality rates (CFRs) and third-dose vaccination coverage in 244 counties (si/gun/gu) of South Korea during the omicron variant wave. Multivariate regression analyses report that the higher third-dose vaccination rates were correlated with lower regional CFRs, when controlling for age structure. If the third-dose vaccination rate of a county is higher by 10%, it would have a CFR lower by 0.05% (95% confidence interval, 0.03-0.08%). As the number of cumulative confirmed cases in South Korea was 16,353,495 as of April 20, 2022, a lower CFR by 0.03-0.08% is equivalent to 4,394-12,448 lives (8.6-24.4 per 100,000) spared. County-specific characteristics, such as age structure, intensive care unit availability, and the level of non-pharmaceutical interventions may also affect the extent of this correlation. The conclusion implicates the potential role of coronavirus disease 2019 vaccines in reducing the pressure on the regional healthcare capacity.

Characteristics of Klebsiella pneumoniae Isolates from Stool Samples of Patients with Liver Abscess Caused by Hypervirulent K. pneumoniae.

BACKGROUND: Hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae (hvKP) has been the most significant pathogen for liver abscesses in East Asia including the Republic of Korea (ROK). Although gastrointestinal colonization of K. pneumoniae may cross the intestinal barrier to invade the liver, characteristics of gastrointestinal carriage K. pneumoniae of hvKP liver abscess patients in the ROK are not well known. METHODS: Characteristics of K. pneumoniae isolated from stool samples and liver aspirate samples of patients with hvKP liver abscess at a tertiary care hospital in the ROK between 2017 and 2018 were evaluated. RESULTS: Out of 37 patients with hvKP liver abscess, 11 patients were noted to have K. pneumoniae isolated from stool samples and were enrolled for analysis. The median age was 71 years. For hvKP isolates from the liver aspirate samples, the most common serotype was K1 (72.7%) followed by K2 (27.3%). For K. pneumoniae isolates from the stool sample, the majority was non-K1/K2 serotype (72.7%). Among non-K1/K2 serotype isolates, high variability of sequence type (ST; ST15, ST307, ST37, ST273, ST2622, and ST42) with high rate of presence of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (100.0%) was noted. The concordance rate of the K. pneumoniae isolates between the liver aspirate samples and the stool samples from the primary hvKP liver abscess was low (27.3%). CONCLUSION: This study suggests that significant heterogeneity of K. pneumoniae colonizing intestinal tract of the hvKP liver abscess patients. Further studies involving a larger number of hvKP liver abscess patients with continuing surveillance are needed to define the changing epidemiology and the role of gastrointestinal K. pneumoniae in the hvKP liver abscess patients in the ROK.

Anidulafungin Versus Micafungin in the Treatment of Candidemia in Adult Patients.

BACKGROUND: Echinocandins are recommended for the treatment of invasive candidiasis and candidemia. However, there are few studies comparing anidulafungin and micafungin in terms of efficacy and safety. The objective of this study was to evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety between anidulafungin and micafungin treatment for adult patients with candidemia. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study performed on adult candidemia patients diagnosed from January 2006 through December 2018 at a tertiary medical center. The study subjects included adult patients ≥ 19 years with candidemia who were only treated with anidulafungin or micafungin for ≥ 3 days. Clinical characteristics were collected and analyzed. Hepatotoxicity was assessed according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events Version 5.0. RESULTS: A total of 98 patients with candidemia were treated with anidulafungin (n = 52, 53.1%) or micafungin (n = 46, 46.9%). There were no significant differences in age, sex, source of candidemia, and comorbidities between the anidulafungin and micafungin groups. Although there were more patients with abnormal baseline liver function test (LFT) in the anidulafungin group, the rate of clinical response (51.9% vs. 46.7%), mycological response (76.9% vs. 67.4%), and mortality (30-day mortality 26.9% vs. 21.7% and 90-day mortality 78.8% vs. 73.9%) was similar between the anidulafungin and micafungin groups. Also, there was no significant difference in terms of hepatotoxicity, even among the patients with abnormal baseline LFT between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that clinical efficacy and safety may be similar between anidulafungin and micafungin treatment for adult patients with candidemia.

Breakthrough invasive fungal diseases during voriconazole treatment for aspergillosis: A 5-year retrospective cohort study.

Breakthrough invasive fungal diseases (bIFDs) during voriconazole treatment are concerning, as they are associated with high rates of mortality and pathogen distribution. To evaluate the prevalence, incidence, patient characteristics, including IFD events, and overall mortality of bIFDs during voriconazole treatment for invasive aspergillosis (IA). We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of consecutive patients who had undergone voriconazole treatment for IA and who had bIFD events between January 2011 and December 2015. Eleven bIFD events occurred in 9 patients. The prevalence and incidence of bIFDs were 2.25% (9/368) and 0.22 cases per year, respectively. Overall mortality was 44.4% (4/9). The severity of the illness and persistence of immunodeficiency, mixed infection, and low concentration of the treatment drug at the site of infection were identified as possible causes of bIFDs. Seven of 11 events (63.6%) required continued voriconazole treatment with drug level monitoring. In 4 (36.3%) cases, the treatment was changed to liposomal amphotericin B. Two cases resulted in surgical resection (18.2%). Clinicians should be aware that bIFDs during voriconazole treatment for IA can occur, and active therapeutic approaches are required in these cases.

Incidence and risk factors for carbapenem- and multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii bacteremia in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation recipients.

BACKGROUND: Bacteremia with multidrug-resistant (MDR) Acinetobacter baumannii with carbapenem resistance is an important healthcare-associated infection that increases morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients. The aim of this study was to assess the annual incidence and clinical characteristics of such bacteremia and to identify the risk factors for infection in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) recipients. METHODS: A retrospective cohort and case-control study was conducted in 483 HSCT recipients between January 2005 and December 2011 at a single tertiary center. Thirty-eight control HSCT patients without evidence of post-transplant infection were matched with 19 patients with bacteremia due to MDR A. baumannii in a 2:1 ratio. RESULTS: The total incidence of carbapenem-resistant-MDR A. baumannii bacteremia was 0.52 cases/10,000 patient-days. In most cases (17 of 19, 89.5%), bacteremia developed after engraftment. Pneumonia was the origin of bacteremia in all patients. Eighteen (94.7%) patients with bacteremia and 3 (8.3%) without bacteremia died. In multivariate regression analyses, the duration between admission and HSCT (odds ratio (OR) 2.19 per 1-day increase, p = 0.030) and a history of care in an intensive care unit after HSCT (OR 32.2, p = 0.021) were independent risk factors for the development of carbapenem-resistant-MDR A. baumannii bacteremia. CONCLUSIONS: We report that carbapenem-resistant-MDR A. baumannii bacteremia in HSCT recipients is a fatal infectious complication and mainly develops after engraftment.

Pooled nucleic acid testing to identify antiretroviral treatment failure during HIV infection in Seoul, South Korea.

BACKGROUND: There have been various efforts to identify less costly but still accurate methods for monitoring the response to HIV treatment. We evaluated a pooling method to determine if this could improve screening efficiency and reduce costs while maintaining accuracy in Seoul, South Korea. METHODS: We conducted the first prospective study of pooled nucleic acid testing (NAT) using a 5 minipool + algorithm strategy versus individual viral load testing for patients receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) between November 2011 and August 2012 at an urban hospital in Seoul, South Korea. The viral load assay used has a lower level of detection of 20 HIV RNA copies/ml, and the cost per assay is US$ 136. The 5 minipool +algorithm strategy was applied and 43 pooled samples were evaluated. The relative efficiency and accuracy of the pooled NAT were compared with those of individual testing. RESULTS: Using the individual viral load assay, 15 of 215 (7%) plasma samples had more than 200 HIV RNA copies/ml. The pooled NAT using the 5 minipool + algorithm strategy was applied to 43 pooled samples; 111 tests were needed to test all samples when virologic failure was defined at HIV RNA ≥ 200 copies/ml. Therefore, 104 tests were saved over individual testing, with a relative efficiency of 0.48. When evaluating costs, a total of US$ 14,144 was saved for 215 individual samples during 10 months. The negative predictive value was 99.5% for all samples with HIV RNA ≥ 200 copies/ml. CONCLUSIONS: The pooled NAT with 5 minipool + algorithm strategy seems to be a very promising approach to effectively monitor patients receiving ART and to save resources.

Atmosphere particulate matter and respiratory diseases during COVID-19 in Korea.

We aimed to examine the impact of COVID-19 non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) on the relationship between air pollutants and hospital admissions for respiratory and non-respiratory diseases in six metropolitan cities in South Korea. This study compared the associations between particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) and hospital admission for respiratory and non-respiratory diseases before (2016-2019) and during (2020) the implementation of COVID-19 NPIs by using distributed lag non-linear models. In the Pre-COVID-19 period, the association between PM10 and admission risk for asthma and COPD showed an inverted U-shaped pattern. For PM2.5, S-shaped and inverted U-shaped changes were observed in asthma and COPD, respectively. Extremely high and low levels of PM10 and extremely low levels of PM2.5 significantly decreased the risk of admission for asthma and COPD. In the Post-COVID-19 outbreak period, the overall cumulative relationship between PM10 and PM2.5 and respiratory diseases and the effects of extreme levels of PM10 and PM2.5 on respiratory diseases were completely changed. For non-respiratory diseases, PM10 and PM2.5 were statistically insignificant for admission risk during both periods. Our study may provide evidence that implementing NPIs and reducing PM10 and PM2.5 exposure during the COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to reducing hospital admissions for environment-based respiratory diseases.

Assessment of quality of care for hospitalized non-COVID-19 older adult patients with pneumonia before and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: There is limited research into the clinical implications of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic for non-COVID-19 pneumonia in older adults, as well as their quality of care or outcomes. This study aims to assess the process and outcome quality of care for hospitalized older adult patients with pneumonia before and after the pandemic. METHODS: A retrospective cohort of older adult patients (age ≥ 65) hospitalized for non-COVID pneumonia were recruited from five Korean hospitals (January 20, 2019, to January 19, 2021). The quality of care before and after the COVID-19 pandemic was evaluated. RESULTS: A total of 7356 hospitalization episodes of older adult pneumonia were identified, and 978 cases (552 pre-pandemic and 426 during the pandemic) were analyzed. The pneumonia severity score was higher during the pandemic, and the waiting time from the emergency room to admission was also longer. Furthermore, the pneumonia mortality rate during the pandemic was higher than that in the pre-pandemic period (in-hospital mortality: 10.1% vs. 18.1%; 90-day mortality: 11.6% vs. 22.3%). A significantly higher mortality risk was observed during the pandemic than in the period prior (adjusted odds ratio: 1.74, 95% confidence interval: 1.14-2.63). CONCLUSIONS: While the quality of care for hospitalized pneumonia has been maintained during the pandemic, there has been an increase in mortality rates. Further investigations are needed to understand the underlying causes of this increase.

Age-related antibody response to Orthopoxviruses and implications for public health measures: Insights from a South Korean study.

BACKGROUND: After the eradication of smallpox, there have been no specific public health measures for any Orthopoxviruses (OPXVs). Therefore, it is necessary to countermeasure OPXV infections after Mpox (formerly monkeypox) occurrences, such as the latest global outbreak in 2022-2023. This study aimed to provide crucial insights for the development of effective public health policy making against mpox in populations residing in regions where the virus is not prevalent. METHODS: This study used enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) to examine smallpox and mpox antibodies in Koreans with three different age groups. We analyzed 56 sera obtained from a tertiary care hospital in South Korea between September 2022 and April 2023. Plasma levels of antibodies against the viral proteins of smallpox (variola cytokine response-modifying protein B) and MPXV (A29) were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. RESULTS: Plasma samples from participants in their early 40 s and older exhibited higher reactivity to viral antigens than those from younger participants. Furthermore, there was a strong positive correlation in antibody positivity for the two different viruses across the sera. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of low antibody levels in participants ˂40 years may hinder their ability to defend against OPXV. Therefore, it is imperative to implement effective public health measures to mitigate the transmission of OPXV within the community. These findings serve as fundamental information for devising strategies to combat mpox efficiently, particularly in regions where the virus is not prevalent.

Clinical and molecular predictors of mortality in patients with carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii bacteremia: A retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: To investigate the virulence profiles and identify clinical and microbiological predictors of mortality in patients with carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii) bacteremia. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study enrolled adult patients with carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii (CRAB). Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify the predictors of 30-day mortality. All isolates were subjected to real-time polymerase chain reaction for virulence factors and genotyped using multilocus sequence typing. RESULTS: Among the 153 patients with CRAB bacteremia, 66 % received appropriate definitive antibiotic therapy. The in-hospital and 30-day mortality rates were 58.3 and 23.5 %, respectively. Ultimately, we enrolled 125 patients with CRAB bacteremia in the analysis, excluding early mortality cases. All CRAB isolates carried blaOXA-23 and blaOXA-51. The clinical strains belonged to 10 sequence types (STs), and the major genotypes were ST191, ST195, ST451, and ST784. The distribution of virulence factors included surface adhesion (Ata, 84.8 %; ChoP, 7.2 %), biofilm formation (OmpA, 76.8 %), killing of host cells (AbeD, 99.2 %), toxins (LipA, 99.2 %), and conjugation (BfmR, 90.4 %). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, hemodialysis due to acute kidney injury and moderate to severe thrombocytopenia were significant risk factors associated with 30-day mortality. However, microbiological factors were not significant predictors. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical factors such as hemodialysis due to acute renal injury and moderate to severe thrombocytopenia have a greater influence on mortality in CRAB bacteremia compared with microbiological factors.

Characterization of the Outer Membrane Vesicles of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Exhibiting Growth Inhibition against Acinetobacter baumannii.

We investigated the Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) and their effect on Acinetobacter baumannii (AB) growth in vitro. The inhibitory effects of PA on AB were assessed using a cross-streak assay. The OMVs were extracted through high-speed centrifugation, tangential flow filtration, and ultracentrifugation and characterized by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and nanoparticle tracking assays (NTAs). Proteomic analysis was conducted to compare the OMVs of different PA strains. PA022 exhibited more pronounced inhibition of AB growth compared with PA ATCC 27853. TEM confirmed the presence of OMVs in both PA022 and PA ATCC 27853, revealing phospholipid bilayer structures. The NTA revealed similar sizes and concentrations. Proteomic analysis identified 623 and 538 proteins in PA022 and PA ATCC 27853 OMVs, respectively, with significant proportions of the outer membrane and extracellular proteins, respectively. Importantly, PA022 OMVs contained six known virulence factors and motility-associated proteins. This study revealed the unique characteristics of PA OMVs and their inhibitory effects on AB growth, shedding light on their role in bacterial interactions. Proteomic analysis provides valuable insights into potential pathogenic functions and therapeutic applications against bacterial infections.

The prevention and response to infectious diseases in long-term care facilities in Korea: a nationwide survey.

Objectives: Long-term care facilities (LTCFs) are communal environments for patients with chronic diseases or older adults, making them particularly susceptible to significant harm during infectious disease outbreaks. Nonetheless, LTCFs have historically been subject to less stringent infection prevention and control (IPC) mandates. This study aimed to assess the current state of LTCFs and to develop an IPC system tailored for these facilities following the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods: We conducted an online survey of 11,366 LTCFs in Korea from December 30, 2022 to January 20, 2023, to evaluate the components of IPC in LTCFs. The infectious diseases targeted for IPC included COVID-19, influenza, and scabies. Additionally, we compared institution-based and home-based long-term care insurance facilities. Results: Overall, 3,537 (31.1%) LTCFs responded to the survey, comprising 1,819 (51.4%) institution-based and 1,718 (48.6%) home-based facilities. A majority (87.4%, 2,376/2,720) of these facilities experienced COVID-19 outbreaks. However, only 42% of home-based facilities, in contrast to 90.6% of institution-based facilities, were equipped to manage concurrent COVID-19 cases. Similarly, while 92.1% of institution-based facilities were capable of managing influenza, only 50.5% of home-based facilities could do the same. The incidence of scabies was significantly higher in institution-based facilities than in home-based ones (26.1% vs. 4.3%). Additionally, 88.7% of institution-based facilities managed scabies cases effectively, compared to only 42.1% of home-based facilities. Conclusion: Approximately half of the LTCFs had a basic capacity to respond to infectious diseases. However, there were differences in response capabilities between institution-based facilities and home-based facilities.

A comparison of the predicted risk for cardiovascular disease between HIV-infected and uninfected persons in Korea.

BACKGROUND: The introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has extended the life expectancy of persons infected with the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). However, cardiovascular disease (CVD) is currently an increasing concern for HIV-infected persons. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional case-control study to evaluate and compare the 10-y cardiovascular risk of HIV-infected Koreans who had been receiving HAART for over 6 months and age- and sex-matched uninfected persons who visited a health promotion center, by calculating Framingham risk scores (FRS). RESULTS: The average 10-y risk for cardiovascular events (FRS) was 7.07% (2-45) in the HIV group and 6.87% (1-37) in the control group (p = 0.77), corresponding to the very low risk group. Among HIV patients, the FRS was above 10% (low to moderate cardiovascular risk) in 19.9% of the patients, and above 20% (high risk) in 1.7% of the patients. In the healthy control group, the FRS was above 10% in 16.8% and above 20% in 2.7% (p = 0.57). The FRS was not significantly different for HIV-infected patients treated with protease inhibitor (PI)-based HAART and those treated with non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI)-based HAART (7.26 ± 6.3 and 6.81 ± 4.4, respectively, p = 0.69). CONCLUSIONS: The predicted cardiovascular risk of HIV-infected Koreans on HAART by FRS equation was low and similar to that of age- and sex-matched healthy control persons. However, the possibility remains that actual cardiovascular events could be underestimated. The next step for predicting the cardiovascular risk is to calculate the Data Collection of Adverse Events of Anti-HIV Drugs (D:A:D) equation risks.

Clinical Characteristics of Nocardiosis: a Multicenter Retrospective Study in Korea.

BACKGROUND: Nocardiosis is a rare, but potentially life-threatening condition. It is difficult to diagnose, and bacterial culture identification can be time consuming. We investigated the characteristics of nocardiosis and the suitability of the treatment approach in Korea. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective study was conducted at 5 medical institutions between 2011 and 2021. We reviewed the medical records of patients with microbiologically confirmed nocardiosis. Appropriate antibiotic selection was defined as follows: (1) selecting antibiotics according to the species, (2) if the species of Nocardia was unknown, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole-based therapy or linezolid-based therapy was administered, and (3) selection of antibiotics using the antibiotic susceptibility test. The appropriate treatment periods for antibiotics were defined as treatment maintained from 3 to 12 months, depending on involvement of the organs. Descriptive analysis and Fisher exact test were used. Statistical significance was set at P-values of <0.05. RESULTS: Thirty patients were enrolled. Of these patients, 18 (60.0%) were male. The median age was 70.5 years. Among the diagnosed patients, 12 (40.0%) had an immunocompromised status. Eight (30.0%) patients received optimal treatment for the appropriate treatment period. Appropriate dosing duration was observed in 3 of the 12 (25.0%) immunocompromised patients. There was no significant difference between the presence or absence of immunosuppression and the adequacy of treatment for nocardiosis (P = 1.000). Skin and soft tissue (14 patients) were most frequently involved in this study. Nocardia species (spp.) were isolated from culture at a median of 6.0 days. There were 7 cases with N. farcinica (23.3%). CONCLUSION: We found that 60.0% of the patients with nocardiosis did not have an immunocompromised status. Further, 26.7% of the total patients received adequate treatment for nocardiosis. The reasons for suboptimal management of nocardiosis in Korea are presumed to be diagnostic difficulties, lack of awareness about nocardiosis, and difficulties in selecting antibiotics for Nocardia spp. among clinicians. The lack of antibiotic susceptibility tests for Nocardia spp. could be the source of these problems. Nocardiosis should be suspected in cases of recurrent infections with skin and soft tissue, musculoskeletal, or respiratory system involvement with or without an immunocompromised status. Clinical microbiological support is required for the diagnosis and selection of antibiotics in Korea. High clinical index of suspicion and clinical microbiological support are required for the accurate diagnosis of nocardiosis in Korea.

Gram-Negative Bacteria's Outer Membrane Vesicles.

Outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) are spherical bilayered nanoparticles derived from the outer layer of Gram-negative bacteria. Bacteria communicate with nearby bacteria, their environment, and the cells of their host by secreting OMVs, which are essential for their survival. OMVs also play a critical role in bacterial pathogenesis since they are loaded with virulence factors, toxins, and enzymes. OMVs may modulate the immune response of the host by initiating inflammation through cytokine production and activating the innate immune response. OMVs also contribute to the resistance of bacteria to antibiotics by carrying antibiotic-degrading enzymes and acting as natural protection barriers. Concerns have also been raised regarding OMVs mediating the transfer of antibiotic resistance. Due to their advantageous properties, OMVs are attractive platforms for vaccine discovery and drug delivery research. In this review, we discuss the fundamental structure and biogenesis mechanisms of OMVs as well as their multifaceted roles in bacterial infection pathogenesis and host immune responses. We also discuss application examples of OMVs.