Central venous catheter contamination rate in suspected sepsis patients: an observational clinical study.

BACKGROUND: More than 160,000 central-line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) are estimated for Europe each year, leading to about 25,000 deaths. AIM: To characterize the contamination of administration sets in suspected CLABSI cases in the intensive care unit (ICU). METHODS: In ICU patients (from February 2017 to February 2018) with suspected CLABSI, all sampled central venous catheters (CVCs) were examined in four segments (from CVC tip to connected tubing systems) for contamination. A risk factor analysis using binary logistic regression was performed. FINDINGS: Fifty-two consecutively sampled CVCs with 1004 elements were analysed with 45 elements being positive for at least one micro-organism (4.48%). There was a significant association with the duration of catheterization (P = 0.038, N = 50) with a daily increase of contamination risk by 11.5% (odds ratio: 1.115). The mean number of CVC manipulations was 40 within 72 h (standard deviation: 20.5), with no association with contamination risk (P = 0.381). The contamination risk of the CVC segments decreased from proximal to distal. Non-replaceable components of the CVC had a high risk (14 times higher; P = 0.01). A significant positive correlation was detected between positive tip cultures and microbial growth in the administration set (r(49) = 0.437; P = 0.001). CONCLUSION: Although only a minority of CLABSI-suspect patients had positive blood cultures, the contamination rate of CVCs and administration set was high, possibly indicating a relevant underreporting. The finding of identical species in adjacent segments underlines the role of upward or downward spread of micro-organisms within the tubes; therefore, aseptic tasks should be emphasized.

Polymicrobial pneumococcal bacteraemia: a case-control study.

Polymicrobial bacteraemia involving Streptococcus pneumoniae and other bacteria (e.g. Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Haemophilus influenza, viridans streptococci, Salmonella spp.) occurred in 3.4% of our pneumococcal bacteraemia cases. Compared with 308 controls (monomicrobial bacteraemia), the 77 polymicrobial cases included more males (83 vs 62%, p = 0.001), had serious underlying diseases (100 vs 80%, p < 0.001), abdominal infection (18 vs 5%, p < 0.001), nosocomial infection (33 vs 8%, p < 0.001), shock (40 vs 13%, p < 0.001), and higher mortality (52 vs 18%, p < 0.001). Clinicians must be aware that some patients with pneumococcal bacteraemia may have other bacteria in their blood, which would confer higher mortality and may lead to inappropriate or incomplete antibiotic therapy.

Multilocus sequence typing and CTX-M characterization of ESBL-producing E. coli: a prospective single-centre study in Lower Saxony, Germany.

The increasing prevalence of extended-spectrum ß-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Gram-negative bacteria is a serious threat for current healthcare settings. In this study we investigated the molecular epidemiology of ESBL-producing E. coli at the University Medical Center Göttingen in Lower Saxony, Germany. All E. coli isolates with an ESBL phenotype were collected during a 6-month period in 2014. Multilocus sequence typing and CTX-M characterization were performed on 160 isolates. Of the ESBL-producing isolates 95·6% were CTX-M positive. Compared to recent Germany-wide studies, we found CTX-M-1 to occur in higher frequency than CTX-M-15 (44·4% vs. 34·4%). CTX-M-14 and CTX-M-27 were detected at 9·4% and 5·0%, respectively. The globally dominant sequence type (ST) 131, which is often associated with CTX-M-15, occurred at a relatively low rate of 24%. Major non-ST131 sequence types were ST101 (5%), ST58 (5%), ST10 (4·4%), ST38 (4·4%), ST410 (3·8%) and ST453 (3·1%). Several of these major sequence types were previously shown to be associated with livestock farming. Together, our study indicates that E. coli lineage distribution in individual healthcare settings can significantly differ from average numbers obtained in nationwide studies.

[Endophthalmitis, liver abscess, and cerebral and pulmonary emboli in a 48-year-old Vietnamese man]. / Endophthalmitis, Leberabszess sowie zerebrale und pulmonale Embolien bei einem 48-jährigen Vietnamesen.

We present the case of a 48-year-old Vietnamese man with endophthalmitis, liver abscess, and pulmonary and cerebral septic emboli. Klebsiella pneumoniae was isolated as the causative organism; there were no laboratory findings suggestive of invasive fungal infection. Klebsiella pneumoniae invasive syndrome is a rare disease in Germany. This case report exemplifies the necessity of a dedicated diagnostic approach that takes into consideration factors such as ethnic origin and accompanying diseases of the patient.

Trends in mortality and antibiotic resistance among HIV-infected patients with invasive pneumococcal disease.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to describe trends and risk factors for mortality and changes in antibiotic resistance, serotypes and clones among HIV-infected patients with invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD). METHODS: A prospective study of 199 episodes of IPD occurring in a cohort of 4011 HIV-infected patients was carried out. Predictors of mortality included clinical and microbiological data. The 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) for children was introduced in late 2001. Time periods were classified for mortality studies as pre- (1986-1996), early (1997-2001) and late (2002-2007) highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) era, and for serotype studies as pre-PCV7 (1986-2001) and PCV7 (2002-2007) era. RESULTS: Of 199 IPD episodes, 71 (36%) occurred in HIV-infected patients with associated comorbidities (mainly liver cirrhosis; 52 of 71), which increased in recent years. The incidence of IPD decreased from the pre-HAART era to the early HAART era and then remained stable in the late HAART era (24.1, 8.4 and 7.4 episodes per 1000 patient-years, respectively). Rates of 30-day mortality have risen over the three periods (8, 19 and 25%, respectively; P = 0.017). In multiple logistic regression analysis, predictors of mortality were shock at presentation [odds ratio (OR) 7.01; 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.05-23.87] and associated comorbidities (OR 4.27; 95% CI 1.53-11.92). In the PCV7 era, IPD caused by non-PCV7 serotypes increased, and resistance to betalactams decreased. The most frequent genotypes were Spain(9V)-ST156, Spain(23F)-ST81, ST88(19F), Sweden(1)-ST304 and Spain(6B)-ST90. CONCLUSIONS: In the late HAART era, the incidence of IPD has not significantly decreased. Mortality from IPD has risen in association with an increase in comorbidities such as liver cirrhosis. New vaccination strategies are needed to diminish the burden of IPD in the HIV-infected population.

Epidemiology and clinical features of vivax malaria imported to Europe: sentinel surveillance data from TropNetEurop.

BACKGROUND: Plasmodium vivax is the second most common species among malaria patients diagnosed in Europe, but epidemiological and clinical data on imported P. vivax malaria are limited. The TropNetEurop surveillance network has monitored the importation of vivax malaria into Europe since 1999. OBJECTIVES: To present epidemiological and clinical data on imported P. vivax malaria collected at European level. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Data of primary cases of P. vivax malaria reported between January 1999 and September 2003 were analysed, focusing on disease frequency, patient characteristics, place of infection, course of disease, treatment and differences between network-member countries. RESULTS: Within the surveillance period 4,801 cases of imported malaria were reported. 618 (12.9%) were attributed to P. vivax. European travellers and immigrants were the largest patient groups, but their proportion varied among the reporting countries. The main regions of infection in descending order were the Indian subcontinent, Indonesia, South America and Western and Eastern Africa, as a group accounting for more than 60% of the cases. Regular use of malaria chemoprophylaxis was reported by 118 patients. With 86 (inter-quartile range 41-158) versus 31 days (inter-quartile range 4-133) the median symptom onset was significantly delayed in patients with chemoprophylaxis (p < 0.0001). Common complaints were fever, headache, fatigue, and musculo-skeletal symptoms. All patients survived and severe clinical complications were rare. Hospitalization was provided for 60% and primaquine treatment administered to 83.8% of the patients, but frequencies varied strongly among reporting countries. CONCLUSIONS: TropNetEurop data can contribute to the harmonization of European treatment policies.

Age as a risk factor for severe manifestations and fatal outcome of falciparum malaria in European patients: observations from TropNetEurop and SIMPID Surveillance Data.

Previous studies have indicated that age is a risk factor for severe falciparum malaria in nonimmune patients. The objectives of this study were to reevaluate previous findings with a larger sample and to find out how strongly clinical outcomes for elderly patients differ from those for younger patients. Results of adjusted analyses indicated that the risks of death due to falciparum malaria, of experiencing cerebral or severe disease in general, and of hospitalization increased significantly with each decade of life. The case-fatality rate was almost 6 times greater among elderly patients than among younger patients, and cerebral complications occurred 3 times more often among elderly patients. Antimalarial chemoprophylaxis was significantly associated with a lower case-fatality rate and a lower frequency of cerebral complications. Women were more susceptible to cerebral complications than were men. Our study provides evidence that falciparum malaria is more serious in older patients and demonstrates that clinical surveillance networks are capable of providing quality data for investigation of rare events or diseases.

[Estrogen and progesterone receptors of primary breast carcinoma and their axillary lymph node metastases--immunohistochemical investigations of routine formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue]. / Ostrogen- und Progesteronrezeptorausstattung primärer Mammakarzinome und ihrer axillären lymphonodalen Metastasen--Immunhistochemische Untersuchungen am routinemässig formalinfixierten paraffineingebetteten Gewebe.

OBJECTIVE: The estrogen- (ER) and progesterone receptors (PR) of 27 pre- and 33 postmenopausal primary breast carcinomas with 320 axillary lymphonodal metastases were investigated in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Special interest was devoted to the comparison of the receptor equipment between the axillary lymphonodal metastases and the appertained primary carcinoma. ER-antibody D5 and PR-antibody NCL-PGR were used for investigation. RESULTS: ER-positive carcinomas of premenopausal women and ER-respectively PR-positive carcinomas of postmenopausal women corresponded significantly more frequent to receptor-positive lymphonodal metastases. Carcinomas with receptor-positive metastases were mostly ER-positive and PR-negative. About all receptor-positive metastases had the same combination of receptors. In cases of high numbers of lymphonodal metastases these were in general more often receptor-negative. Respectively, the receptor-positive metastases numbered lower than the receptor-negative. Immunohistochemical receptor-negative primary carcinomas can inherit receptor-positive lymphonodal metastases. CONCLUSIONS: Immunohistochemical investigations render it possible to determine ERs and PRs not only in primary carcinomas but in lymphonodal metastases, too. Eventually the prognostic factors "ER" and "PR" will be used more often in the determination of therapeutic decisions.