Prescription of Antibiotics for Adults with Acute Infectious Diarrhea in Korea: A Population-based Study.

BACKGROUND: Acute infectious diarrhea (AID) is a commonly observed condition globally. Several studies recommend against the use of empiric antibiotic therapy for AID, except in some cases of travelers' diarrhea. However, many physicians prescribe antimicrobial agents for AID. We aimed to determine the rate of antibiotic use and the associated prescription patterns among adults with AID. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This population-based, retrospective epidemiological study was performed using Korean National Health Insurance claims data from 2016 to 2017. The study population comprised adults (age ≥18 years) who had visited clinics with AID-related complaints. Exclusion criteria were the presence of Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, and other non-infectious forms of colitis. Patients who underwent surgery during admission were also excluded. RESULTS: The study population comprised 1,613,057 adult patients with AID (767,606 [47.6%] men). Young patients (age 18 - 39 years) accounted for 870,239 (54.0%) of the study population. Overall, 752,536 (46.7%) cases received antibiotic prescriptions. The rate of antibiotic administration tended to be higher among elderly patients (age ≥65 years) than among younger patients (49.5% vs. 46.4%, P <0.001). The antibiotics most frequently prescribed in both monotherapy and combination regimens were fluoroquinolones (29.8%), rifaximin (26.8%), second-generation cephalosporins (9.2%), third-generation cephalosporins (7.3%), trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (5.5%), and ß-lactam/ß-lactamase inhibitors (5.3%). Patients who visited tertiary care hospitals had lower rates of antibiotic therapy (n = 14,131, 41.8%) than did those visiting private clinics (n = 532,951, 47.1%). In total, 56,275 (62.3%) admitted patients received antibiotic therapy, whereas outpatients had lower rates of antibiotic prescription (n = 694,204, 46.0%). CONCLUSION: This study revealed differences between the antibiotics used to treat AID in Korea and those recommended by the guidelines for AID treatment. Multifaceted efforts are necessary to strengthen physicians' adherence to published guidelines.

A case report of seronegative cat scratch disease, emphasizing the histopathologic point of view.

Cat scratch disease, necrotizing granulomatous lymphadenitis caused by Bartonella henselae, usually benign and self-limited. However, various clinical manifestations and no pathognomonic histopathologic features can lead to misinterpretations and diagnostic disputes. We report a case of cat scratch disease in a 39-yr-old male patient with fever and left axillary lymphadenitis. He had a history of cat bite on the left hand dorsum. On excision, the lymph node showed follicular hyperplasia, stellate microabscesses with a rim of granulomatous inflammation. Warthin-Starry silver staining showed many clumps of silver-stained bacilli within the necrotic foci. Serological tests were negative. Diagnosis was established by PCR analysis. VIRTUAL SLIDES: The virtual slides for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/1877499238123059.

Etiology and outcome of iliopsoas muscle abscess in Korea; changes over a decade.

OBJECTIVES: Iliopsoas muscle abscess (IPA) is considered a rare disease whose etiology has changed depending on the country and antibiotic selection pressure. This study evaluates the changes in etiology, clinical outcome, and risk factors for mortality for IPA. METHODS: We reviewed the medical records of a total of 116 patients with IPA who were admitted to 4 university hospitals in Korea over the 11 years, and compared the etiology between 2001 and 2006 (period 1, n = 44) and 2007­2012 (period 2, n = 72). RESULTS: Among 75 cases with a definitive microbial diagnosis, the predominant etiological organisms were Staphylococcus aureus (45.3%), followed by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (14.7%) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (9.3%). The percentage of MRSA in period 2 increased remarkably compared to period 1, from 25% to 44.4%, and incidence of M. tuberculosis from 7.1% to 19.1%, although these were not statistically significant. The overall mortality was 6.8% in period 1, and 13.9% in period 2, and sepsis as an initial manifestation (OR 293.5, CI 7.1­12,034.4, P = 0.003) and serum creatinine level (OR 0.43, CI 0.23­0.80, P = 0.008) were independent predictors of mortality. Invasive procedure improved the prognosis in cases with microbiologic confirmed pyogenic psoas abscess (46/50 [92%] vs. 9/14 [64.3%], P = 0.008). CONCLUSION: The incidence of MRSA as a cause of IPA is on the increase. Although the overall prevalence of tuberculosis is decreasing, tuberculosis is still an important cause of IPA. Initial clinical status and invasive intervention can lead to favorable outcomes.