Suction drainage fluid culture during septic orthopaedic surgery, a retrospective study.

We evaluated the usefulness of suction drainage fluid culture after septic orthopaedic surgery to predict early surgical reintervention. We conducted a retrospective observational study, at the Groupe Hospitalier Paris Saint-Joseph between 2014 and 2019. All the patients undergoing septic orthopaedic surgery, with perioperative samples and a postoperative suction drainage device, were enrolled. We compared the group with positive or negative postoperative drainage fluid cultures, respectively, on surgical outcome. We included 246 patients. The drainage fluid culture was positive in 42.3% of the cases. Early surgical reintervention concerned 14.6% of the cases (n = 36), including 61.1% of patients with positive drainage fluid culture (n = 22/36). The risk factors associated with positive drainage fluid cultures were the debridement of the infected site (without orthopaedic device removal), an infection located at the spine, perioperative positive cultures to Staphylococcus aureus. The complete change of the orthopaedic device, and coagulase-negative staphylococci on the preoperative samples, was associated with negative drainage fluid cultures. Positive drainage fluid culture was predictive of early surgical reintervention, and coagulase-negative staphylococci in the preoperative samples and knee infection were predictive of surgical success. Postoperative drainage fluid cultures were predictive of early surgical reintervention. Randomized multicentric studies should be further conducted.

Clinical diagnostic and therapeutic aspects of 221 consecutive anorectal Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae sexually transmitted infections among men who have sex with men.

OBJECTIVES: Proctitis caused by Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) are known as sexually transmitted infections (STI). This study describes their clinical, diagnostic and therapeutic aspects. METHODS: Between 01/2013-03/2015, all MSM consulting for proctitis at proctology Institute-Saint-Joseph's Hospital, Paris, were included. Demographic, past-medical history, STI status and medical treatment were collected. Detection of CT/NG was performed by Transcription-Mediated Amplification (TMA) and antimicrobial susceptibilities for Ng by agar diffusion method. RESULTS: On 441 rectal samples collected, 221 (50.1%) were positive: 109 Ct (49.3%), 70 Ng (31.7%), 42 positive for both etiologies (19%). Among Ng infections, no resistance was detected to azithromycin and ceftriaxone. However, 84 strains (43.2%) were resistant to fluoroquinolones. More than one episode was diagnosed for 10 (5.1%) and 12 (6.2%) patients with CT and NG infections respectively. Anal abscesses were found for 27 (13.9%) patients, and 14 (7.2%) of them underwent surgery for anal fistula. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of CT/NG anorectal infections described is high on symptomatic patients, and a significant level of abscess was reported. These results confirm the interest of the association of recommended antibiotics excluding quinolones. Prospective studies would be relevant on complicated forms of anorectal infections.

Infective endocarditis: Clinical presentation, etiology, and early predictors of in-hospital case fatality.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to assess the clinical presentation, microbial etiology and outcome of patients presenting with infective endocarditis (IE). PATIENTS AND METHODS: We conducted a four-year retrospective study including all patients presenting with IE. RESULTS: We included 121 patients in the study. The median age was 74.8years. Most patients had native valve IE (57%). Staphylococcus aureus accounted for 24.8% of all IE. Surgery was indicated for 70 patients (57.9%) but actually performed in only 55 (44.7%). Factors associated with surgery were younger age (P=0.002) and prosthetic valve IE (P=0.001). Risk factors associated with in-hospital mortality were diabetes mellitus (OR=3.17), chronic renal insufficiency (OR=6.62), and surgical indication (OR=3.49). Mortality of patients who underwent surgery was one sixth of that of patients with surgical indication who did not have the surgery (P<0.001).

Spondylodiscitis due to anaerobic bacteria about a case of Parvimonas micra infection.

Parvimonas micra is a rare isolate in clinical specimens. We report a case of spondylodiscitis caused by P. micra, a rarely reported Gram positive cocci. The case was an elderly patient with joint surgery and ischaemic heart disease history. Infection resolved after adequate antibiotic therapy.

Prevalence of low-virulence Listeria monocytogenes strains from different foods and environments.

Various studies have demonstrated variations in the levels of virulence of different L. monocytogenes strains. In our laboratory, a plaque-forming assay followed by subcutaneous footpad inoculation of mice enabled us to estimate the prevalence of the low-virulence strains. This value fell from 16.3% to 1.7% with bacteria collected before 1994 and after 1997 respectively. This could be related to the modification in 1997 of the reference method EN ISO 11 290-1 of Listeria detection which recommended the use of polymyxin-acriflavine-LiCl-ceftazidime-aesculin-mannitol (PALCAM) medium. The aim of this study was to determine whether the percentage of low-virulence strains detected has changed due to the modification of the detection method recommending the use of the ALOA medium. After analyzing 380 L. monocytogenes strains, no increase in the percentage of low-virulence strains could be detected. The prevalence reached only 2.6% (ten of the 380 strains tested). The low virulence of L. monocytogenes strains was not related to rare serotypes and was also observed in serotypes usually involved in human disease. Low-virulence strains were found in dairy, meat, ready-to-eat products and also in the environment, highlighting the absence of one specific source. These results are discussed in terms of detection methods and the definition of low virulence.

Comparison of the in vitro efficacies of moxifloxacin and amoxicillin against Listeria monocytogenes.

Listeria monocytogenes is a facultative intracellular bacterium that causes severe infections associated with a high mortality rate. Moxifloxacin presents extended activity against gram-positive bacteria and has recently been suggested to be a potential alternative in the treatment of listeriosis. We evaluated the in vitro efficacy of moxifloxacin against L. monocytogenes using a combination of epidemiological and experimental approaches. The median MIC of moxifloxacin for a large collection of L. monocytogenes strains of various origins (human, food, and environment) was 0.5 microg/ml (MIC range, 0.064 to 1 microg/ml). No differences were observed, irrespective of the origin of the strains. Moreover, no cross-resistance with fluoroquinolones was detected in strains that have been reported to be resistant to ciprofloxacin. The in vitro activities of moxifloxacin and amoxicillin were compared by time-kill curve and inhibition of intracellular growth experiments by using a model of bone marrow-derived mouse macrophages infected by L. monocytogenes EGDe. Both moxifloxacin and amoxicillin were bactericidal in broth against extracellular forms of L. monocytogenes. However, moxifloxacin acted much more rapidly, beginning to exert its effects in the first 3 h and achieving complete broth sterilization within 24 h of incubation. Moxifloxacin has a rapid bactericidal effect against intracellular reservoirs of bacteria, whereas amoxicillin is only bacteriostatic and appears to prevent cellular lysis and the subsequent bacterial spreading to adjacent cells. No resistant bacteria were selected during the in vitro experiments. Taken together, our results suggest that moxifloxacin is an interesting alternative to the reference treatment, combining rapid and bactericidal activity, even against intracellular bacteria.