Cefoxitin-based combination for ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae endocarditis.

BACKGROUND: Endocarditis due to extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Enterobacteriaceae is a rare but challenging condition. Its treatment relies on carbapenems alone or in combination, and no alternative has been described to date. The cephamycin cefoxitin has been used for treatment of mild ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae infections. CASE PRESENTATION: We report two patients with nosocomial endocarditis due to ESBL-producing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae who underwent clinical failure or adverse event, respectively, during treatment with imipenem-cilastatin. The first patient was subsequently treated with cefoxitin combined with ciprofloxacin with a favorable outcome. In the second patient, the endocarditis relapsed following a 6-week treatment with cefoxitin and fosfomycin. In time-kill assays, the cefoxitin/ciprofloxacin and cefoxitin/fosfomycin combinations showed synergistic effect. CONCLUSION: These cases illustrate that cefoxitin is an interesting alternative to carbapenems, even in severe infections such as endocarditis. Pharmacokinetic optimization and combination with another synergistic antibiotic should be considered whenever possible.

[Persistent otorrhoea caused by cerebrospinal fluid leakage]. / Chronisch loopoor door liquorlekkage.

Persistent otorrhoea is a common issue for both children and adults, which can be caused by leakage of cerebrospinal fluid from the lateral skull base. Bacterial superinfection of the chronically humid middle ear, arising from continuous cerebrospinal fluid leakage, may contribute to an atypical clinical presentation. That is, otogenous cerebrospinal fluid leakage may mimic serious otitis media with concomitant conductive hearing loss, leading to a serious diagnostic delay in some patients. On the basis of three cases with cerebrospinal fluid leakage, resulting in persistent otorrhoea, we underline the importance of its timely diagnosis and treatment.

Long-term contamination of sink drains by carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales in three intensive care units: characteristics and transmission to patients.

This study aimed to describe the contamination of sink drains (SDs) with carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE) in three intensive care units (ICUs), and to assess the risk of transmission to hospitalized patients. All SDs were sampled monthly for CPE screening by culture. Rectal screening for CPE carriage was conducted weekly for hospitalized patients. CPE were isolated from 22% of SD samples. Some SDs remained colonized with the same strain for several months. No CPE acquisition occurred among hospitalized patients during the study. Certain strategies, such as systematic sampling of SDs in ICUs for screening for contamination by CPE, should be discouraged apart from during outbreaks.

Assessment of physicians' resilience level during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We aim to assess physicians' level of resilience and define factors that improve or decrease the resilience level during the COVID-19 pandemic. Physicians from hospitals located in areas with different COVID-19 caseload levels, were invited to participate in a national e-survey between April and May 2020. Study participants were mainly emergency physicians, and anaesthesiologists, infectious disease consultants, and intensive care. The survey assessed participant's characteristics, factors potentially associated with resilience, and resilience using the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (RISC-25), with higher scores indicative of greater resilience. Factors associated with the resilience score were assessed using a multivariable linear regression. Of 451 responding physicians involved in the care of COVID-19 patients, 442 were included (98%). Age was 36.1 ± 10.3 years and 51.8% were male; 63% worked in the emergency department (n = 282), 10.4% in anesthesiology (n = 46), 9.9% in infectious disease department (n = 44), 4.8% in intensive care unit (n = 21) or other specialties (n = 49). The median RISC-25 score was at 69 (IQR 62-75). Factors associated with higher RISC scores were anesthesia as a specialty, parenthood, no previous history of anxiety or depression and nor increased anxiety. To conclude, this study is the first to characterize levels of resilience among physicians involved in COVID-19 unit. Our data points to certain protective characteristics and some detrimental factors, such as anxiety or depression, that could be amenable to remediating or preventing strategies to promote resilience and support caregivers in a pandemic.

Extended-spectrum ß-lactamase Enterobacteriaceae (ESBLE) in intensive care units: strong correlation with the ESBLE colonization pressure in patients but not same species.

Sink drains of six intensive care units (ICUs) were sampled for screening contamination with extended-spectrum ß-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBLE). A high prevalence (59.4%) of sink drain contamination was observed. Analysing the data by ICU, the ratio 'number of ESBLE species isolated in sink drains/total number of sink drains sampled' was highly correlated (Spearman coefficient: 0.87; P = 0.02) with the ratio 'number of hospitalization days for patients with ESBLE carriage identified within the preceding year/total number of hospitalization days within the preceding year'. Concurrently, the distribution of ESBLE species differed significantly between patients and sink drains.

Antibiotics and chronic kidney disease: Dose adjustment update for infectious disease clinical practice.

Antibiotic prescription in chronic kidney disease patients poses a twofold problem. The appropriate use of antibacterial agents is essential to ensure efficacy and to prevent the emergence of resistance, and dosages should be adapted to the renal function to prevent adverse effects. SiteGPR is a French website for health professionals to help with prescriptions to chronic kidney disease patients. A working group of infectious disease specialists and nephrology pharmacists reviewed the indications, dosing regimens, administration modalities, and dose adjustments of antibiotics marketed in France for patients with renal failure. Data available on the SiteGPR website and detailed in the present article aims to provide an evidence-based update of infectious disease recommendations to health professionals managing patients with chronic kidney disease.

Oral cavity reconstruction with the masseter flap.

The purpose of this report is to highlight how an unusual, outdated, unpopular and overlooked reconstructive method such as the masseter flap can be a reliable, straightforward and effective solution for oral reconstruction in selected cases. We report the transposition of the masseter crossover flap in two previously pre-treated patients presenting a second primary oral squamous cell carcinoma; excellent functional results with satisfactory cosmetic appearance were obtained in both cases. In the literature, only 60 cases of oral cavity and oropharyngeal reconstructions using the masseter flap have been reported. The possible clinical utility of this flap, even in modern head and neck reconstructive surgery, is presented and discussed. We believe that the masseter flap should enter in the armamentarium of every head and neck surgeon and be kept in mind as a possible solution since it provides an elegant and extremely simple procedure in suboptimal cases for microvascular reconstruction.

Head and neck reconstruction with pedicled flaps in the free flap era.

Nowadays, the transposition of microvascular free flaps is the most popular method for management of head and neck defects. However, not all patients are suitable candidates for free flap reconstruction. In addition, not every defect requires a free flap transfer to achieve good functional results. The aim of this study was to assess whether pedicled flap reconstruction of head and neck defects is inferior to microvascular free flap reconstruction in terms of complications, functionality and prognosis. The records of consecutive patients who underwent free flap or pedicled flap reconstruction after head and neck cancer ablation from 2006 to 2015, from a single surgeon, in the AOUC Hospital, Florence Italy were analysed. A total of 93 patients, the majority with oral cancer (n = 59), were included, of which 64 were pedicled flap reconstructions (69%). The results showed no significant differences in terms of functional outcome, flap necrosis and complications in each type of reconstruction. Multivariate regression analysis of flap necrosis and functional impairments showed no associated factors. Multivariate regression analysis of complicated flap healing showed that only comorbidities remained an explaining factor (p = 0.019). Survival analysis and proportional hazard regression analysis regarding cancer relapse or distant metastasis, showed no significant differences in prognosis of patients concerning both types of reconstruction. In this retrospective, non-randomised study cohort, pedicled flaps were not significantly inferior to free flaps for reconstruction of head and neck defects, considering functionality, complications and prognosis.

Detecting intrinsic muscle weakness of the hallux as an addition to early-stage screening of the feet in patients with diabetes.

AIMS: Present-day screening of the diabetic foot involves the Semmes Weinstein Monofilament Test for evaluating loss of sensibility, while testing for intrinsic muscle weakness is not implied. Just as with the early detection of sensibility loss, early detection of intrinsic muscle weakness might have important implications for the prevention of both ulceration and deformity in patients with diabetes. The purpose of this study is to investigate the prevalence of patients with diabetes presenting intrinsic muscle weakness of the hallux, but with a normal sensibility of the sole of the foot. METHODS: A cross-sectional study design was applied. Intrinsic muscle function of the hallux was measured with the Paper Grip Test, while sensibility of the sole of the foot was measured with the Semmes Weinstein Monofilament Test 5.07/10-g. RESULTS: In a period of three months a total of 266 patients with diabetes (mean age 60, 134 females (50%), 177 type 2 diabetes mellitus (67%)) met the inclusion criteria and were examined for both intrinsic muscle weakness of the hallux and sensibility of the soles of the feet. The results showed that intrinsic muscle weakness was present more frequent in patients with impaired sensibility (P=0.001), also 20% of the population had intrinsic muscle weakness in the presence of normal sensibility. Multivariate regression analysis showed that only age is associated with patients with diabetes presenting normal sensibility but impaired intrinsic muscle function (P=0.017). CONCLUSIONS: The Paper Grip Test could have added value to current physical examination of the feet in patients with diabetes.