An outbreak of Ralstonia pickettii bloodstream infection and clinical outcomes.

INTRODUCTION: Ralstonia pickettii infections are rare and may be mistaken for other bacteria. This study aims to report a hospital outbreak of R. pickettii at a tertiary hospital, which was initially misidentified as Ralstonia insidiosa, along with its clinical consequences. METHODOLOGY: A bacteraemia outbreak occurred between August 14 and October 4, 2019, infecting 22 patients admitted to diverse intensive care units. All isolates were identified with the use of the automated VITEK 2 Compact system and were then subjected to a microbial identification system, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). Bacterial identification and genomic DNA typing was made using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Investigation covered all potential sources of the outbreak. RESULTS: An index patient and five additional patients developed fever while receiving care. Blood cultures of these patients yielded R. insidiosa by the VITEK 2 Compact system. Culture isolates were then submitted to a reference centre for confirmation by the MALDI-TOF MS system, where the bacterium turned out to be R. pickettii. No pathogen was isolated in the commercial products except for three samples of unopened sterile distilled water. Despite its discontinuation, 16 new cases were identified, in which blood cultures grew R. pickettii by the MALDI-TOF MS system. Attempts to uncover the source of the outbreak failed. Clinical manifestation was confined to fever in all the patients. CONCLUSIONS: During this outbreak, R. pickettii infections ran a relatively mild course without clinical deterioration or mortality, possibly due to low virulence.

Survival in rhino-orbito-cerebral mucormycosis: An international, multicenter ID-IRI study.

BACKGROUND: Mucormycosis is an emerging aggressive mold infection. This study aimed to assess the outcome of hospitalized adults with rhino-orbito-cerebral mucormycosis (ROCM). The secondary objective was to identify prognostic factors in this setting. METHODS: This study was an international, retrospective, multicenter study. Patients' data were collected from 29 referral centers in 6 countries. All qualified as "proven cases" according to the EORTC/MSGERC criteria. RESULTS: We included 74 consecutive adult patients hospitalized with ROCM. Rhino-orbito-cerebral type infection was the most common presentation (n = 43; 58.1%) followed by rhino-orbital type (n = 31; 41.9%). Twenty (27%) had acquired nosocomial bacterial infections. A total of 59 (79.7%) patients (16 in combination) received appropriate antifungal treatment with high-doses of liposomal amphotericin B. Fifty-six patients (75.7%) underwent curative surgery. Thirty-five (47.3%) required intensive care unit admission (27; 36.5% under mechanical ventilation). Hospital survival was 56.8%, being reduced to 7.4% in patients with invasive mechanical ventilation. A multivariate binary backward logistic regression model identified confusion at admission (OR 11.48), overlapping hospital-acquired infection (OR 10.27), use of antifungal treatment before diagnosis (OR 10.20), no surgical debridement (OR 5.92), and the absence of prior sinusitis (OR 6.32) were independently associated with increased risk for death. CONCLUSION: Today, ROCM still has high mortality rate. Improving source control, rational therpy, and preventing nosocomial infections may improve survival in this severe infection.

Antibiotic Resistance and Bacteria in Urinary Tract Infections in Pediatric Patients.

Objective: Antibiotic resistance against bacterial pathogens associated with urinary tract infections (UTI) is rapidly increasing worldwide. In this study, we aimed at determining the causative microorganisms in children under 17 years of age diagnosed with UTI in our hospital and the antibiotic resistance rates of these causes. Methods: We isolated and retrospectively analyzed 4801 urine samples of children under 17 years old who presented with bacterial growth in their urine cultures. The isolated bacteria and their antibiotic resistance profiles were statistically analyzed. Results: Most (2001/77.2%) of 2592 patients included in the study were female and the mean age and median interquartile range (IQR) was 55 (12-98) months. Except for the neonatal period, the female gender was predominant in all age groups (p<0.0001). The most frequently isolated bacteria included Escherichia coli (67.7%), Klebsiella spp. (10.7%), and Enterococcus spp. (8.8%). The most and least resistant antibiotics were ampicillin (66.6%) and meropenem (0.3%) for E. coli, respectively. Although resistance of E. faecalis to ampicillin and ciprofloxacin is at a low level, E. faecium is much more resistant to these antibiotics (p<0.0001). Conclusion: It is important that each center determines its own resistant antibiotics so as to guide empirical treatment. Re-evaluating each antibiotic that is started to be used empirically according to the results of culture and sensitivity in addition to switching to a suitable antibiotic would be very effective in reducing resistance rates.

Probable viremia and positive placental swabs for SARS-CoV-2 in a preterm pregnant woman with mild COVID-19.

This study aimed to report a case of mild novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in a pregnant woman with probable viremia, as reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing of endometrial and placental swabs for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was positive. A 26-year-old multigravida at 35 weeks 2 days of gestation, who had extensive thigh and abdominal cellulitis, tested SARS-CoV-2 positive by RT-PCR performed on samples from the endometrium and maternal side of the placenta. However, other samples (amniotic fluid, fetal side of the placenta, umbilical cord, maternal vagina, and neonatal nasopharynx) tested negative for SARS-CoV-2. This is one of the rare reports of probable SARS-CoV-2 viremia with the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in the endometrium and placenta, but not leading to vertical transmission and neonatal infection. Because knowledge about transplacental transmission and results is very limited, we conclude that more RT-PCR tests on placental and cord blood samples are needed in order to safely make definite conclusions.

[The Identification of Acinetobacter baumannii Blood Isolates by MALDI-TOF MS, ARDRA and blaOXA-51-like Gene-Specific Real-Time PCR]. / Acinetobacter baumannii Kan Izolatlarinin MALDI-TOF MS, ARDRA ve blaOXA-51-benzeri Gene Özgül Gerçek Zamanli Polimeraz Zincir Reaksiyonu ile Tanimlanmasi.

The Acinetobacter calcoaceticus-Acinetobacter baumannii (Acb) complex consists of phenotypically very similar nosocomial species; A.baumannii, Acinetobacter nosocomialis, Acinetobacter pittii, Acinetobacter seifertii and Acinetobacter djikshoorniae and one environmental species A.calcoaceticus. The rapid and accurate identification of the members of Acb complex is critical as these nosocomial pathogens can show differences in antimicrobial susceptibility and clinical outcomes. The conventional phenotypic methods are slow, unreliable and less efficient for the differentiation of Acb complex species, including the A.baumannii species within the Acb complex. Although various molecular methods are available, such as amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis (ARDRA) and blaOXA-51-like gene specific PCR, they are usually inconvenient for the routine diagnostic laboratories. Recently, matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) offers an opportunity for rapid, cost-effective and convenient bacterial identification in routine diagnostic procedures conducted in clinical laboratory. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the diagnosis performance of MALDI-TOF MS system to identify blood isolates of A.baumannii. A total of 180 nonduplicate carbapenem resistant Acb complex (strain numbers; TR1-TR60) and A.baumannii (TR61-TR180) blood isolates were collected from the intensive care units of the three university hospitals in Turkey from January 2016 to December 2016. All isolates were evaluated by using blaOXA-51-like gene specific real time (Rt-PCR) analysis, ARDRA (restriction enzymes-AluI, CfoI, MboI, MspI, RsaI) method and MALDI-TOF MS (VITEK® MS, bioMérieux, France) system. All the strains except TR10, TR31, TR35 and TR52 were identified as A.baumannii by ARDRA method. Out of 177 of all the isolates, presence of blaOXA-51-like gene was found except for TR10, TR31 and TR52 isolates. However, TR31 without the presence of blaOXA-51-like gene was identified as A.pittii using the ARDRA. Totally 176 isolates which were identified as A.baumannii by both of the methods, ARDRA and Rt-PCR- blaOXA-51-like, were accepted as a reference for the evaluation of the diagnosis performance capacity of the MALDI-TOF MS. Overall, for all 176 isolates tested, the sensitivity obtained with the MALDI-TOF MS were 99.4% with 75% specificity. The accuracy value of the method was determined as 98.9% for the identification of A.baumannii to the species level. MALDI-TOF MS is increasingly used in diagnostic microbiology for the routine identification of bacteria to the genus, species or subspecies level with high rates of sensitivity and specificity. In future, by expanding the database, MALDI-TOF MS system would possibly become the ideal method for routine diagnostic laboratories that could potentially identify more species and even determine some characteristics of antimicrobial resistance and virulence determinants.

Specific risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 transmission among health care workers in a university hospital.

AIM: To investigate the specific risk factors for novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) transmission among health care workers (HCWs) in a tertiary care university hospital. METHODS: Upper respiratory samples of HCWs were tested for SARS-CoV-2 by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. A case-control study was conducted to explore the possible risk factors that lead to SARS-CoV-2 transmission to HCWs. RESULTS: Of 703 HCWs screened between March 20 and May 20, 2020, 50 (7.1%) were found to be positive for SARS-CoV-2. The positivity rates for SARS-CoV-2 among physicians, nurses, cleaning personnel, and the other occupations were 6.3%, 8.0%, 9.1%, and 2.6%, respectively. The infection rate was 8.3% among HCWs who worked in COVID-19 units and 3.4% among those who did not work in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) units (RR = 2.449, confidence interval = 1.062-5.649, P= .027). The presence of a SARS-CoV-2 positive person in the household (P = .016), inappropriate use of personnel protective equipment while caring for patients with COVID-19 infection (P = .003), staying in the same personnel break room as an HCW without a medical mask for more than 15 minutes (P = .000), consuming food within 1 m of an HCW (P = .003), and failure to keep a safe social distance from an HCW (P = .003) were statistically significant risk factors for infection. CONCLUSION: HCWs have a high risk for SARS-CoV-2 transmission while providing care to COVID-19 patients. Transmission may also occur in nonmedical areas of the hospital while speaking or eating. Periodic screening of HCWs for SARS-CoV-2 may enable early detection and isolation of infected HCWs.

Effect of initial antifungal therapy on mortality among patients with bloodstream infections with different Candida species and resistance to antifungal agents: A multicentre observational study by the Turkish Fungal Infections Study Group.

This study aimed to describe the effect of initial antifungal therapy on patient mortality and to detail the current distribution and resistance patterns of Candida spp. among patients with candidaemia. A prospective observational study was performed among consecutive patients with candidaemia from 10 Turkish medical centres between January 2015 and November 2018. The primary outcome was 10-day mortality. Species were identified using MALDI-TOF/MS. A total of 342 patients with candidaemia were included, of which 175 (51.2%) were male and 68 (19.9%) were aged <18 years. The most common species were Candida albicans (47.4%), Candida parapsilosis (26.6%), Candida tropicalis (9.6%) and Candida glabrata (7.6%). Among all Candida spp., the 10-day case fatality rate (CFR) was 32.2%. The CFR was highest in patients with C. albicans (57.3%) and lowest in patients with C. parapsilosis (21.8%). The resistance rate to fluconazole was 13% in C. parapsilosis, with no significant effect on mortality. No resistance to echinocandins was detected. In the multivariate analysis, being in the ICU [OR = 2.1 (95% CI 1.32-3.57); P = 0.002], renal failure [OR = 2.4 (1.41-3.97); P = 0.001], total parenteral nutrition [OR = 2 (1.22-3.47); P = 0.006], C. albicans infection [OR = 1.7 (1.06-2.82); P = 0.027] and echinocandin as primary agent [OR = 0.6 (0.36-0.99); P = 0.047] were significantly associated with mortality. Candidaemia is a deadly infection. Fluconazole resistance is emerging, although it was not significantly related to mortality. Using an echinocandin as the primary agent could be life-saving.

An outbreak of candidemia due to Candida parapsilosis in an adult intensive care unit.

Candida spp. is one of the most common causes of nosocomial bloodstream infections, and Candida parapsilosis is an emerging pathogen that is associated with nosocomial outbreaks. We aimed to characterize an outbreak of candidemia due to C. parapsilosis in our hospital's adult intensive care unit to investigate the clonal relationship of isolates. This is a retrospective study designed to investigate an outbreak of C. parapsilosis bloodstream infections (BSIs) which developed during an 11-week period from July to October 2012. Thirteen outbreak isolates and five isolates from the previous five sporadic cases were included in the study. Identification and antifungal susceptibilities of the isolates were determined by using MALDI-TOF MS (VITEK MS, bioMérieux, France) and by Etest (bioMérieux, France) on RPMI 1640-2% glucose agar (bioMérieux, France) at the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory. Clonal relationships were investigated by repetitive sequence-based PCR (rep-PCR) (DiversiLab, bioMérieux, Marcy L'Étoile, France). The mean age of the cases, seven of which were female, was 61 years. The mean Candida score was 3, the mean length of stay in the intensive care unit (ICU) before infection developed was 33 days. A microbiological cure was obtained in nine (69.2%) patients with appropriate antifungals and catheter removal. Six patients died in a mean of 24 days. All of these isolates were obtained from blood culture, three being also obtained from CVC tips culture. Sixteen isolates were C. parapsilosis, and two isolates were C. orthopsilosis. All of the isolates were susceptible to amphotericin B, voriconazole, and caspofungin. Three isolates were resistant to fluconazole, and two isolates were dose-dependent susceptible to fluconazole. Out of the 13 outbreak isolates and five previous isolates, 11 and three, respectively, showed the same rep-PCR genotypic profile (genotype 1). Two isolates were the second same genotypic profile (genotype 2), and two isolates were the third same genotypic profile (genotype 3). The outbreak was under control in 11 weeks. The sporadic cases occurred in a subsequent three-month period. Our study shows that if C. parapsilosis isolates are present in a unit, it can become colonized in the unit and can spread clonally and rapidly, being able to cause a nosocomial outbreak. Moreover, even one isolate of C. parapsilosis in a unit can trigger an outbreak. Molecular typing methods are essential in order to illustrate the epidemiology of hospital outbreaks. Early detection of outbreaks is crucial for the implementation of infection control measures such as disinfection and isolation.

The effect of colistin resistance and other predictors on fatality among patients with bloodstream infections due to Klebsiella pneumoniae in an OXA-48 dominant region.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of colistin resistance and other predictors on fatality among patients with Klebsiella pneumoniae bloodstream infections (Kp-BSI) and to describe the effect of amikacin and tigecycline on the outcome in an OXA-48 dominant country. METHOD: This was a retrospective study performed among patients >16 years of age in a tertiary hospital with 465 beds. All cases had ≥1 positive blood culture for K. pneumoniae 48 h after admission. RESULTS: Among 210 patients with Kp-BSI, the 30-day mortality rate after isolation of the microorganism was 58%. The rate of carbapenem resistance was higher (64% vs. 38%, p < 0.001) and the colistin minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was elevated (7 vs. 4, p < 0.029) among the patients who died. Among the colistin-resistant K. pneumoniae, the rates of OXA-48, ST101, and NDM-1 were 78%, 67%, and 35%, respectively. Amikacin was added to the treatment of 13 patients with carbapenem and colistin-resistant Kp-BSI and 77% survived (p < 0.001). Tigecycline was added to the treatment of 24 patients with carbapenem and colistin-resistant Kp-BSI, and the 30-day mortality rate was 71% (p = 0.576). In the multivariate analysis, carbapenem resistance (odds ratio (OR) 5.2, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.47-10.9, p < 0.001) and increasing APACHE II score (OR 1.19, 95% CI 1.12-1.26, p < 0.001) were significantly associated with 30-day mortality. The addition of amikacin to the treatment regimen (OR 0.05, 95% CI 0.01-0.23, p < 0.001) was significantly beneficial. CONCLUSIONS: Carbapenem resistance, increasing MIC of colistin, and the lungs as the source of the infection were significantly associated with 30-day mortality. The empirical use of combined active aminoglycosides was found to be beneficial in the treatment of colistin-resistant K. pneumoniae infections.

The First Enterobacter cloacae Co-Producing NDM and OXA-48 Carbapenemases and Interhospital Spread of OXA-48 and NDM-Producing Klebsiella pneumoniae in Turkey.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae. METHODS: A total of 54 carbapenem nonsusceptible Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) isolates were recovered from clinical samples sent to the Dr. Lutfi Kirdar Kartal Training and Research Hospital from the period 2011 through 2014. Forty-four isolates were Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) and the other 10 were Enterobacter cloacae (CREC).The isolate identifications and antibiotic sensitivity tests were performed using a Vitek2 automatic system. The clonality of isolates was determined using rep-PCR Diversilab. Presence of blaOXA-48, blaNDM, blaVIM, blaIMP, and blaKPC genes were screened using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with specific primers. RESULTS: CRKP were isolated from blood, urine, wounds, catheter tips, and tracheal aspirate samples; a total 44 isolates were evaluated. All isolates were nonsusceptible to ertapenem/imipenem or meropenem. Eighteen percent of the isolates were resistant to colistin. CREC were isolated from blood, urine, cerebrospinal fluid and sputum; a total of 10 isolates were evaluated. They were resistant to all carbapenems and 90% were resistant to cefoperazone/sulbactam and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, and 50 - 70% isolates were resistant to gentamicin, amikacin, and ciprofloxacin. Thirty-three (75%) OXA-48 producing CRKP were identified. Thirteen (29.5%) were positive and two (4.5%) NDM-producing K. pneumoniae were co-producing OXA-48. Of the ten CREC strains tested, eight were positive for blaNDM, one isolate was positive for blaVIM and another for blaIMP genes. rep-PCR typing revealed the presence of a clonal dissemination in CRKP and CREC in the hospital. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this is the first identification of blaNDM in E. cloacae isolates in Turkey. These findings describe an interhospital spread of CRKP-producing OXA-48 and NDM carbapenemases that started in 2011. Continuous monitoring is necessary to better understand their dissemination in the hospital, which probably occurred as a result of transmission from an environmental reservoir. These findings emphasize the need for intensive surveillance and precautions.

[Fosfomycin susceptibility of urinary Escherichia coli isolates producing extended-spectrum beta-lactamase according to CLSI and EUCAST recommendations]. / CLSI ve EUCAST önerilerine göre genislemis spektrumlu beta-laktamaz üreten Escherichia coli idrar izolatlarinda fosfomisin duyarliligi

The increasing rate of antibiotic resistance in Escherichia coli, the most common pathogen of urinary tract infections (UTIs), leads to difficulties in choosing appropriate antibiotic treatment and achieving treatment success. The aim of this study was to investigate in vitro activity of fosfomycin, presented as a favorable choice for the treatment of UTIs caused especially by extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing strains. A total of 244 E.coli strains, of them 118 were ESBL positive and 126 were negative, isolated from urine samples of inpatients and outpatients between May 2011-May 2012, were included in the study. Antibiotic susceptibilities of the isolates were determined by disk diffusion method (DDM) and ESBL production was confirmed by double-disc diffusion method according to the CLSI (Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute) recommendations. Minimum inhibitor concentration (MIC) values for fosfomycin were detected by E-test method. Fosfomycin zone diameters and MIC values of isolates were interpreted according to the breakpoints of both CLSI and EUCAST (European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing). Susceptibilities of ESBL positive and negative isolates to fosfomycin and other antibiotics, and the results of fosfomycin susceptibility tests obtained by different methods were compared. The correlation between fosfomycin zone diameters and MIC values was calculated. In the study, the resistance rates of ESBL-producing isolates to ciprofloxacin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, gentamicin and amikacin were detected as 67%, 51%, 51% and 19%, respectively, while those rates were as 9%, 21%, 4% and 11%, respectively in non-ESBL producers. The difference between the two groups were found statistically significant (p< 0.001). Fosfomycin resistance of ESBL-producing and non-producing isolates were 3% and 1%, respectively, indicating no significant difference between the two groups (p= 0.356). According to fosfomycin MIC breakpoints defined by CLSI, 98.3% of ESBL-producing isolates and 100% of non-producing isolates were found susceptible to fosfomycin. According to EUCAST recommendations 98.3% of ESBL-producing isolates and 99.2% of non-producing isolates were found susceptible to fosfomycin. There was no significant difference between ESBL-positive and -negative strains according to CLSI and EUCAST recommendations (p= 0.233 and p= 0.611, respectively). When the methods were compared with each other, there were significant differences between DDM and CLSI-MIC or EUCAST-MIC (p= 0.033 and p= 0.049, respectively) and between CLSI-MIC and EUCAST-MIC (p< 0.001). There was a weak reverse linear correlation between fosfomycin zone diameters and MIC values (r= -0.138, p= 0.032). It was concluded that fosfomycin which had a high activity against ESBL-producing isolates was an appropriate alternative antibiotic in the treatment of UTIs.