Extended use of point-of-care technology versus usual care for in-home assessment by acute community nurses in older adults with signs of potential acute respiratory disease: an open-label randomised controlled trial protocol.

BACKGROUND: Due to ageing-related physiological changes, diagnosing older adults is challenging. Delayed disease recognition may lead to adverse health outcomes and increased hospitalisation, necessitating the development of new initiatives for timely diagnosis and treatment of older adults. Point-of-care technology, such as focused lung ultrasound scan and bedside analysis of blood samples (leucocytes with differential count, electrolytes, and creatinine) conducted in the patients' home, may support clinical decision-making, and potentially reduce acute hospital admissions. We present the protocol for a randomized controlled trial, which aims at assessing the effect of focused lung ultrasound scan and bedside blood analysis during in-home assessments among older adults with signs of potential acute respiratory disease on hospital admissions. METHOD: We will use a parallel open-label, individually randomised controlled trial design in an acute community healthcare setting. The trial will initiate on October 2022 and is expected to end one year later. The study population will include older adults (65 + year), with at least one of the following inclusion criteria: Cough, dyspnoea, fever, fall, or rapid functional decline. Expected study sample will comprise 632 participants. Participants in the control group will receive usual care, while the intervention group will undergo extended point-of-care technology (focused lung ultrasound scan and bedside venous blood analysis), in addition to usual care. The primary outcome is acute hospital admission within 30 days follow-up. Secondary outcomes include readmissions, mortality, length of hospital stay, hospital-free days, complications during hospital admission, treatment initiations or changes, functional level, re-referrals to the acute community healthcare service, and contacts to the primary care physician. A tertiary outcome is the diagnostic accuracy of Acute Community Nurses for conducting focused lung ultrasound compared with a specialist. Outcomes will be analysed as intention-to-treat. DISCUSSION: To our knowledge, this is the first randomised controlled trial examining the effect of extended use of point-of-care technology conducted in an in-home setting. We expect that the results may contribute to the development of new interventions aiming to improve timely diagnostics, treatment decisions, and reduce acute hospital admissions. TRIAL REGISTRATION: www. CLINICALTRIALS: org NCT05546073 (Date of registration: September 19th, 2022).

Improving diagnostics using extended point-of-care testing during in-home assessments of older adults with signs of emerging acute disease: a prospective observational non-randomised pilot and feasibility study.

BACKGROUND: Delayed recognition of acute disease among older adults hinders timely management and increases the risk of hospital admission. Point-of-Care testing, including Focused Lung Ultrasound (FLUS) and in-home analysis of biological material, may support clinical decision-making in suspected acute respiratory disease. The aim of this study was to pilot test the study design for a planned randomised trial, investigate whether in-home extended use of point-of-care testing is feasible, and explore its' potential clinical impact. METHODS: A non-randomised pilot and feasibility study was conducted during September-November 2021 in Kolding Municipality, Denmark. A FLUS-trained physician accompanied an acute community nurse on home-visits to citizens aged 65 + y with signs of acute respiratory disease. The acute community nurses did a clinical assessment (vital signs, capillary C-reactive protein and haemoglobin) and gave a presumptive diagnosis. Subsequently, the physician performed FLUS, venipuncture with bedside analysis (electrolytes, creatinine, white blood cell differential count), nasopharyngeal swab (PCR for upper respiratory pathogens), and urine samples (flow-cytometry). Primary outcomes were feasibility of study design and extended point-of-care testing; secondary outcome was the potential clinical impact of extended point-of-care testing. RESULTS: One hundred consecutive individuals were included. Average age was 81.6 (SD ± 8.4). Feasibility of study design was acceptable, FLUS 100%, blood-analyses 81%, PCR for upper respiratory pathogens 79%, and urine flow-cytometry 4%. In addition to the acute community nurse's presumptive diagnosis, extended point-of-care testing identified 34 individuals with a condition in need of further evaluation by a physician. CONCLUSION: Overall, in-home assessments with extended point-of-care testing are feasible and may aid to identify and handle acute diseases in older adults.

Attainment of Target Antibiotic Levels by Oral Treatment of Left-Sided Infective Endocarditis: A POET Substudy.

BACKGROUND: In the POET (Partial Oral Endocarditis Treatment) trial, oral step-down therapy was noninferior to full-length intravenous antibiotic administration. The aim of the present study was to perform pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic analyses for oral treatments of infective endocarditis to assess the probabilities of target attainment (PTAs). METHODS: Plasma concentrations of oral antibiotics were measured at day 1 and 5. Minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were determined for the bacteria causing infective endocarditis (streptococci, staphylococci, or enterococci). Pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic targets were predefined according to literature using time above MIC or the ratio of area under the curve to MIC. Population pharmacokinetic modeling and pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic analyses were done for amoxicillin, dicloxacillin, linezolid, moxifloxacin, and rifampicin, and PTAs were calculated. RESULTS: A total of 236 patients participated in this POET substudy. For amoxicillin and linezolid, the PTAs were 88%-100%. For moxifloxacin and rifampicin, the PTAs were 71%-100%. Using a clinical breakpoint for staphylococci, the PTAs for dicloxacillin were 9%-17%.Seventy-four patients at day 1 and 65 patients at day 5 had available pharmacokinetic and MIC data for 2 oral antibiotics. Of those, 13 patients at day 1 and 14 patients at day 5 did only reach the target for 1 antibiotic. One patient did not reach target for any of the 2 antibiotics. CONCLUSIONS: For the individual orally administered antibiotic, the majority reached the target level. Patients with sub-target levels were compensated by the administration of 2 different antibiotics. The findings support the efficacy of oral step-down antibiotic treatment in patients with infective endocarditis.

Evaluation of point-of-care multiplex polymerase chain reaction in guiding antibiotic treatment of patients acutely admitted with suspected community-acquired pneumonia in Denmark: A multicentre randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Rapid and accurate detection of pathogens is needed in community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) to enable appropriate antibiotics and to slow the development of antibiotic resistance. We aimed to compare the effect of point-of-care (POC) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detection of respiratory pathogens added to standard care with standard care only (SCO) on antibiotic prescriptions after acute hospital admission. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We performed a superiority, parallel-group, open-label, multicentre, randomised controlled trial (RCT) in 3 Danish medical emergency departments (EDs) from March 2021 to February 2022. Adults acutely admitted with suspected CAP during the daytime on weekdays were included and randomly assigned (1:1) to POC-PCR (The Biofire FilmArray Pneumonia Panel plus added to standard care) or SCO (routine culture and, if requested by the attending physician, target-specific PCR) analysis of respiratory samples. We randomly assigned 294 patients with successfully collected samples (tracheal secretion 78.4% or expectorated sputum 21.6%) to POC-PCR (n = 148, 50.4%) or SCO (146, 49.6%). Patients and investigators owning the data were blinded to the allocation and test results. Outcome adjudicators and clinical staff at the ED were not blinded to allocation and test results but were together with the statistician, blinded to data management and analysis. Laboratory staff performing standard care analyses was blinded to allocation. The study coordinator was not blinded. Intention-to-treat and per protocol analysis were performed using logistic regression with Huber-White clustered standard errors for the prescription of antibiotic treatment. Loss to follow-up comprises 3 patients in the POC-PCR (2%) and none in the SCO group. Intention-to-treat analysis showed no difference in the primary outcome of prescriptions of no or narrow-spectrum antibiotics at 4 h after admission for the POC-PCR (n = 91, 62.8%) odds ratio (OR) 1.13; (95% confidence interval (CI) [0.96, 1.34] p = 0.134) and SCO (n = 87, 59.6%). Secondary outcomes showed that prescriptions were significantly more targeted at 4-h OR 5.68; (95% CI [2.49, 12.94] p < 0.001) and 48-h OR 4.20; (95% CI [1.87, 9.40] p < 0.001) and more adequate at 48-h OR 2.11; (95% CI [1.23, 3.61] p = 0.006) and on day 5 in the POC-PCR group OR 1.40; (95% CI [1.18, 1.66] p < 0.001). There was no difference between the groups in relation to intensive care unit (ICU) admissions OR 0.54; (95% CI [0.10, 2.91] p = 0.475), readmission within 30 days OR 0.90; (95% CI [0.43, 1.86] p = 0.787), length of stay (LOS) IRR 0.82; (95% CI [0.63, 1.07] p = 0.164), 30 days mortality OR 1.24; (95% CI [0.32, 4.82] p = 0.749), and in-hospital mortality OR 0.98; (95% CI [0.19, 5.06] p = 0.986). CONCLUSIONS: In a setting with an already restrictive use of antibiotics, adding POC-PCR to the diagnostic setup did not increase the number of patients treated with narrow-spectrum or without antibiotics. POC-PCR may result in a more targeted and adequate use of antibiotics. A significant study limitation was the concurrent Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic resulting in an unusually low transmission of respiratory virus. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04651712).

Carrier prevalence of Clostridioides difficile in emergency departments and the association of prior antibiotic consumption: a combined cross-sectional and nested case-control study.

INTRODUCTION: Clostridioides difficile infection is an urgent public health threat, and the incidence has been increasing over the last decades. Knowledge of the prevalence of C. difficile in acutely admitted patients and risk factors for colonization with C. difficile assists emergency departments (EDs) in prioritizing preventive initiatives. This national study aimed to describe prevalence and risk factors for C. difficile carriers acutely admitted to EDs, focusing on the impact of earlier antibiotic prescription. METHODS: We conducted a nationwide analytic cross-sectional study with prospective data collection combined with a nested case-control study with retrospective data collection. All adults visiting one of eight Danish EDs were interviewed and examined for C. difficile. Using a national register, we collected the antibiotic history within the 2 years prior to enrolment. The primary outcome was the prevalence of C. difficile colonization, and secondary outcomes were related to risk factors and prior antibiotic prescription. Multivariate analyses examined the association between earlier antibiotic prescription and C. difficile colonization. RESULTS: Of 5019 participants, 89 were colonized with C. difficile (prevalence of 1.8%). A significant and exposure-dependent association was found for penicillins [DDD/person-year(PY) > 20; OR 4.93 (95% CI 2.22-10.97)] and fluoroquinolones [DDD/PY > 20; OR 8.81 (95% CI 2.54-30.55)], but not macrolides. Timing of the prescription did not affect the association. CONCLUSIONS: One out of 55 patients visiting a Danish ED were colonized with C. difficile. Risk factors for colonization included high age, comorbidity and prior prescription of fluoroquinolones and penicillins.

Rifampicin reduces plasma concentration of linezolid in patients with infective endocarditis.

BACKGROUND: Linezolid in combination with rifampicin has been used in treatment of infective endocarditis especially for patients infected with staphylococci. OBJECTIVES: Because rifampicin has been reported to reduce the plasma concentration of linezolid, the present study aimed to characterize the population pharmacokinetics of linezolid for the purpose of quantifying an effect of rifampicin cotreatment. In addition, the possibility of compensation by dosage adjustments was evaluated. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Pharmacokinetic measurements were performed in 62 patients treated with linezolid for left-sided infective endocarditis in the Partial Oral Endocarditis Treatment (POET) trial. Fifteen patients were cotreated with rifampicin. A total of 437 linezolid plasma concentrations were obtained. The pharmacokinetic data were adequately described by a one-compartment model with first-order absorption and first-order elimination. RESULTS: We demonstrated a substantial increase of linezolid clearance by 150% (95% CI: 78%-251%), when combined with rifampicin. The final model was evaluated by goodness-of-fit plots showing an acceptable fit, and a visual predictive check validated the model. Model-based dosing simulations showed that rifampicin cotreatment decreased the PTA of linezolid from 94.3% to 34.9% and from 52.7% to 3.5% for MICs of 2 mg/L and 4 mg/L, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: A substantial interaction between linezolid and rifampicin was detected in patients with infective endocarditis, and the interaction was stronger than previously reported. Model-based simulations showed that increasing the linezolid dose might compensate without increasing the risk of adverse effects to the same degree.

Empirical antibiotic treatment for community-acquired pneumonia and accuracy for Legionella pneumophila, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, and Clamydophila pneumoniae: a descriptive cross-sectional study of adult patients in the emergency department.

BACKGROUND: Many factors determine empirical antibiotic treatment of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). We aimed to describe the empirical antibiotic treatment CAP patients with an acute hospital visit and to determine if the current treatment algorithm provided specific and sufficient coverage against Legionella pneumophila, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, and Clamydophila pneumoniae (LMC). METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional, multicenter study of all adults with an acute hospital visit in the Region of Southern Denmark between January 2016 and March 2018 was performed. Using medical records, we retrospectively identified the empirical antibiotic treatment and the microbiological etiology for CAP patients. CAP patients who were prescribed antibiotics within 24 h of admission and with an identified bacterial pathogen were included. The prescribed empirical antibiotic treatment and its ability to provide specific and sufficient coverage against LMC pneumonia were determined. RESULTS: Of the 19,133 patients diagnosed with CAP, 1590 (8.3%) patients were included in this study. Piperacillin-tazobactam and Beta-lactamase sensitive penicillins were the most commonly prescribed empirical treatments, 515 (32%) and 388 (24%), respectively. Our analysis showed that 42 (37%, 95% CI: 28-47%) of 113 patients with LMC pneumonia were prescribed antibiotics with LMC coverage, and 42 (12%, 95% CI: 8-15%) of 364 patients prescribed antibiotics with LMC coverage had LMC pneumonia. CONCLUSION: Piperacillin-tazobactam, a broad-spectrum antibiotic recommended for uncertain infectious focus, was the most frequent CAP treatment and prescribed to every third patient. In addition, the current empirical antibiotic treatment accuracy was low for LMC pneumonia. Therefore, future research should focus on faster diagnostic tools for identifying the infection focus and precise microbiological testing.

Partial Oral versus Intravenous Antibiotic Treatment of Endocarditis.

BACKGROUND: Patients with infective endocarditis on the left side of the heart are typically treated with intravenous antibiotic agents for up to 6 weeks. Whether a shift from intravenous to oral antibiotics once the patient is in stable condition would result in efficacy and safety similar to those with continued intravenous treatment is unknown. METHODS: In a randomized, noninferiority, multicenter trial, we assigned 400 adults in stable condition who had endocarditis on the left side of the heart caused by streptococcus, Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aureus, or coagulase-negative staphylococci and who were being treated with intravenous antibiotics to continue intravenous treatment (199 patients) or to switch to oral antibiotic treatment (201 patients). In all patients, antibiotic treatment was administered intravenously for at least 10 days. If feasible, patients in the orally treated group were discharged to outpatient treatment. The primary outcome was a composite of all-cause mortality, unplanned cardiac surgery, embolic events, or relapse of bacteremia with the primary pathogen, from the time of randomization until 6 months after antibiotic treatment was completed. RESULTS: After randomization, antibiotic treatment was completed after a median of 19 days (interquartile range, 14 to 25) in the intravenously treated group and 17 days (interquartile range, 14 to 25) in the orally treated group (P=0.48). The primary composite outcome occurred in 24 patients (12.1%) in the intravenously treated group and in 18 (9.0%) in the orally treated group (between-group difference, 3.1 percentage points; 95% confidence interval, -3.4 to 9.6; P=0.40), which met noninferiority criteria. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with endocarditis on the left side of the heart who were in stable condition, changing to oral antibiotic treatment was noninferior to continued intravenous antibiotic treatment. (Funded by the Danish Heart Foundation and others; POET ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01375257 .).

Self-assessed health status and associated mortality in endocarditis: secondary findings from the POET trial.

PURPOSE: Self-assessed poor health status is associated with increased risk of mortality in several cardiovascular conditions, but has not been investigated in patients with endocarditis. We examined health status and mortality in patients with endocarditis. METHODS: This is a re-specified substudy of the randomized POET endocarditis trial, which included 400 patients. Patients completed the single-question self-assessed health status from the Short-Form 36 questionnaire at time of randomization and were categorized as having poor or non-poor (excellent/very good, good, or fair) health status. Self-assessed health status and all-cause mortality were examined by a Cox regression model. RESULTS: Self-assessed health status was completed by 266 (67%) patients with a mean age of 68.0 years (± 11.8), 54 (20%) were females, and 86 (32%) had one or more major concurrent medical conditions besides endocarditis. The self-assessed health status distribution was poor (n = 21, 8%) and non-poor (n = 245, 92%). The median follow-up was 3.3 years and death occurred in 9 (43%) and 48 (20%) patients reporting poor and non-poor health status, respectively, and mortality rates [mortality/100 person-years, 95% confidence interval (CI)] were 18.1 (95% CI 9.4-34.8) and 5.4 (95% CI 4.1-7.2), i.e., the crude hazard ratio for death was 3.4 (95% CI: 1.7-7.0, p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Self-assessed poor health status compared with non-poor health status as assessed by a single question was associated with a threefold increased long-term mortality in patients with endocarditis. POET ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01375257. TRIAL REGISTRY: POET ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01375257.

Azole resistance in Aspergillus fumigatus. The first 2-year's Data from the Danish National Surveillance Study, 2018-2020.

BACKGROUND: Azole resistance complicates treatment of patients with invasive aspergillosis with an increased mortality. Azole resistance in Aspergillus fumigatus is a growing problem and associated with human and environmental azole use. Denmark has a considerable and highly efficient agricultural sector. Following reports on environmental azole resistance in A. fumigatus from Danish patients, the ministry of health requested a prospective national surveillance of azole-resistant A. fumigatus and particularly that of environmental origin. OBJECTIVES: To present the data from the first 2 years of the surveillance programme. METHODS: Unique isolates regarded as clinically relevant and any A. fumigatus isolated on a preferred weekday (background samples) were included. EUCAST susceptibility testing was performed and azole-resistant isolates underwent cyp51A gene sequencing. RESULTS: The azole resistance prevalence was 6.1% (66/1083) at patient level. The TR34 /L98H prevalence was 3.6% (39/1083) and included the variants TR34 /L98H, TR34 3 /L98H and TR34 /L98H/S297T/F495I. Resistance caused by other Cyp51A variants accounted for 1.3% (14/1083) and included G54R, P216S, F219L, G54W, M220I, M220K, M220R, G432S, G448S and Y121F alterations. Non-Cyp51A-mediated resistance accounted for 1.2% (13/1083). Proportionally, TR34 /L98H, other Cyp51A variants and non-Cyp51A-mediated resistance accounted for 59.1% (39/66), 21.2% (14/66) and 19.7% (13/66), respectively, of all resistance. Azole resistance was detected in all five regions in Denmark, and TR34 /L98H specifically, in four of five regions during the surveillance period. CONCLUSION: The azole resistance prevalence does not lead to a change in the initial treatment of aspergillosis at this point, but causes concern and leads to therapeutic challenges in the affected patients.

Human genetic variation in GLS2 is associated with development of complicated Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia.

The role of host genetic variation in the development of complicated Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (SAB) is poorly understood. We used whole exome sequencing (WES) to examine the cumulative effect of coding variants in each gene on risk of complicated SAB in a discovery sample of 168 SAB cases (84 complicated and 84 uncomplicated, frequency matched by age, sex, and bacterial clonal complex [CC]), and then evaluated the most significantly associated genes in a replication sample of 240 SAB cases (122 complicated and 118 uncomplicated, frequency matched for age, sex, and CC) using targeted sequence capture. In the discovery sample, gene-based analysis using the SKAT-O program identified 334 genes associated with complicated SAB at p<3.5 x 10-3. These, along with eight biologically relevant candidate genes were examined in the replication sample. Gene-based analysis of the 342 genes in the replication sample using SKAT-O identified one gene, GLS2, significantly associated with complicated SAB (p = 1.2 x 10-4) after Bonferroni correction. In Firth-bias corrected logistic regression analysis of individual variants, the strongest association across all 10,931 variants in the replication sample was with rs2657878 in GLS2 (p = 5 x 10-4). This variant is strongly correlated with a missense variant (rs2657879, p = 4.4 x 10-3) in which the minor allele (associated here with complicated SAB) has been previously associated with lower plasma concentration of glutamine. In a microarray-based gene-expression analysis, individuals with SAB exhibited significantly lower expression levels of GLS2 than healthy controls. Similarly, Gls2 expression is lower in response to S. aureus exposure in mouse RAW 264.7 macrophage cells. Compared to wild-type cells, RAW 264.7 cells with Gls2 silenced by CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing have decreased IL1-ß transcription and increased nitric oxide production after S. aureus exposure. GLS2 is an interesting candidate gene for complicated SAB due to its role in regulating glutamine metabolism, a key factor in leukocyte activation.

Colonization with multiresistant bacteria in acute hospital care: the association of prior antibiotic consumption as a risk factor.

BACKGROUND: Antibiotic resistance poses a worldwide threat and knowledge concerning risk factors for colonization with multiresistant bacteria (MRB) is limited. OBJECTIVES: To examine the impact of prior antibiotic consumption on MRB colonization, with focus on type of antibiotic and timeline between antibiotic prescription and MRB colonization. METHODS: A nationwide case-control study was conducted and adults visiting emergency departments were invited to participate. All patients were swabbed in the throat, nose and rectum, and analysed for colonization with ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL-E), MRSA, carbapenemase-producing enterobacteria and VRE. Antibiotic history 2 years prior to enrolment was collected at an individual level through a national register. Multivariate analyses were performed to examine the association between antibiotic consumption and MRB status. A subgroup analysis of ESBL-E-colonized cases was made. RESULTS: We included 256 patients colonized with MRB and 4763 controls. In the 2 years prior to study inclusion, 77% of cases and 68% of controls had at least one antibiotic prescription (P = 0.002). We found a significant increase in risk of colonization with ESBL-E if penicillins (OR = 1.58-1.65) or fluoroquinolones (OR = 2.25-6.15) were prescribed. The analysis of all MRB-colonized patients showed similar results. An assessment of the timeline showed a significant increase in risk of colonization up to 2 years after exposure to penicillins, fluoroquinolones and macrolides. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of ESBL-E colonization was related to fluoroquinolone, macrolide and penicillin consumption for at least 2 years after antibiotic treatment.

Prevalence of infective endocarditis in patients with positive blood cultures: a Danish nationwide study.

AIMS: Increasing attention has been given to the risk of infective endocarditis (IE) in patients with certain blood stream infections (BSIs). Previous studies have been conducted on selected patient cohorts, yet unselected data are sparse. We aimed to investigate the prevalence of IE in BSIs with bacteria typically associated with IE. METHODS AND RESULTS: By crosslinking nationwide registries from 2010 to 2017, we identified patients with BSIs typically associated with IE: Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis), Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), Streptococcus spp., and coagulase negative staphylococci (CoNS) and examined the concurrent IE prevalence. A trend test was used to examine temporal changes in the prevalence of IE. In total 69 021, distributed with 15 350, 16 726, 19 251, and 17 694 BSIs were identified in the periods of 2010-2011, 2012-2013, 2014-2015, and 2016-2017, respectively. Patients with E. faecalis had the highest prevalence of IE (16.7%) followed by S. aureus (10.1%), Streptococcus spp. (7.3%), and CoNS (1.6%). Throughout the study period, the prevalence of IE among patients with E. faecalis and Streptococcus spp. increased significantly (P = 0.0005 and P = 0.03, respectively). Male patients had a higher prevalence of IE for E. faecalis, Streptococcus spp., and CoNS compared with females. A significant increase in the prevalence of IE was seen for E. faecalis, Streptococcus spp., and CoNS with increasing age. CONCLUSION: For E. faecalis BSI, 1 in 6 had IE, for S. aureus BSI 1 in 10 had IE, and for Streptococcus spp. 1 in 14 had IE. Our results suggest that screening for IE seems reasonable in patients with E. faecalis BSI, S. aureus BSI, or Streptococcus spp. BSI.

Clinical value of FDG-PET/CT in bacteremia of unknown origin with catalase-negative gram-positive cocci or Staphylococcus aureus.

INTRODUCTION: Bacteremia is associated with high mortality, especially when the site of infection is unknown. While conventional imaging usually focus on specific body parts, FDG-PET/CT visualizes hypermetabolic foci throughout the body. PURPOSE: To investigate the ability of FDG/PET-CT to detect the site of infection and its clinical impact in bacteremia of unknown origin with catalase-negative Gram-positive cocci (excluding pneumococci and enterococci) or Staphylococcus aureus (BUOCSA). METHODS: We retrospectively identified 157 patients with 165 episodes of BUOCSA, who subsequently underwent FDG-PET/CT. Data were collected from medical records. Decision regarding important sites of infection in patients with bacteremia was based on the entire patient course and served as reference diagnosis for comparison with FDG-PET/CT findings. FDG-PET/CT was considered to have high clinical impact if it correctly revealed site(s) of infection in areas not assessed by other imaging modalities or if other imaging modalities were negative/equivocal in these areas, or if it established a new clinically relevant diagnosis, and/or led to change in antimicrobial treatment. RESULTS: FDG-PET/CT detected sites of infection in 56.4% of cases and had high clinical impact in 47.3%. It was the first imaging modality to identify sites of infection in 41.1% bacteremia cases, led to change of antimicrobial therapy in 14.7%, and established a new diagnosis unrelated to bacteremia in 9.8%. Detection rate and clinical impact were not significantly influenced by duration of antimicrobial treatment preceding FDG-PET/CT, days from suspicion of bacteremia to FDG-PET/CT-scan, type of bacteremia, or cancer. CONCLUSION: FDG-PET/CT appears clinically useful in BUOCSA. Prospective studies are warranted for confirmation.

Cross sectional study of multiresistant bacteria in Danish emergency departments: prevalence, patterns and risk factors for colonization (AB-RED project).

BACKGROUND: Multiresistant bacteria (MRB) is an increasing problem. Early identification of patients with MRB is mandatory to avoid transmission and to target the antibiotic treatment. The emergency department (ED) is a key player in the early identification of patients who are colonized with MRB. There is currently sparse knowledge of both prevalence and risk factors for colonization with MRSA, ESBL, VRE, CPE and CD in acutely admitted patients in Western European countries including Denmark. To develop evidence-based screening tools for identifying carriers of resistant bacteria among acutely admitted patients, systematic collection of information on risk factors and exposures is required. Since a geographical variation is suspected, it is desirable to include emergency departments across the country. The aim of this project is to provide a comprehensive overview of prevalence and risk factors for MRSA, ESBL, VRE, CPE and CD colonization in patients admitted to Danish ED's. The objectives are to describe the prevalence and demography of resistance, co-infections, to identify risk factors for carrier state and to develop and validate a screening tool for identification of carriers. METHODS: Multicenter descriptive and analytic cross-sectional survey from January-May 2018 of around 10.000 acutely admitted patients > 18 years in 8 EDs for carrier state and risk factors for antibiotic resistant bacteria. Information about the background and possible risk factors for carrier status together with swabs from the nose, throat and rectum is collected and analyzed for MRSA, ESBL, VRE, CPE and CD. The prevalence of the resistant bacteria are calculated at hospital level, regional level and national level and described with relation to residency, sex, age and risk factors. A screening model for identification of carrier stage of resistant bacteria is developed and validated. DISCUSSION: The study will provide the prevalence of colonized patients with resistant bacteria on arrival to the ED and variation in demographic patterns, and will develop a clinical tool to identify certain risk groups. This will enable the clinician to target antibiotic treatments and to reduce the in-hospital spreading of resistant bacteria. This knowledge is important for implementing and evaluating antimicrobial stewardships, screening and infection control strategies. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov : NCT03352167 (registration date: 20. November 2017).

Automated image analysis for quantification of filamentous bacteria.

BACKGROUND: Antibiotics of the ß-lactam group are able to alter the shape of the bacterial cell wall, e.g. filamentation or a spheroplast formation. Early determination of antimicrobial susceptibility may be complicated by filamentation of bacteria as this can be falsely interpreted as growth in systems relying on colorimetry or turbidometry (such as Vitek-2, Phoenix, MicroScan WalkAway). The objective was to examine an automated image analysis algorithm for quantification of filamentous bacteria using the 3D digital microscopy imaging system, oCelloScope. RESULTS: Three E. coli strains displaying different resistant profiles and differences in filamentation kinetics were used to study a novel image analysis algorithm to quantify length of bacteria and bacterial filamentation. A total of 12 ß-lactam antibiotics or ß-lactam-ß-lactamase inhibitor combinations were analyzed for their ability to induce filamentation. Filamentation peaked at approximately 120 min with an average cell length of 30 µm. CONCLUSION: The automated image analysis algorithm showed a clear ability to rapidly detect and quantify ß-lactam-induced filamentation in E. coli. This rapid determination of ß-lactam-mediated morphological alterations may facilitate future development of fast and accurate AST systems, which in turn will enable early targeted antimicrobial therapy. Therefore, rapid detection of ß-lactam-mediated morphological changes may have important clinical implications.

First clinical description of Eggerthia catenaformis bacteremia in a patient with dental abscess.

We present a case of Eggerthia catenaformis bacteremia originating from a dental abscess and imitating necrotizing fasciitis in a previously healthy adult. The isolates were easily identified by MALDI-TOF MS. The clinical course, surgical and antibiotic treatment as well as the successful outcome are reported.

Community-acquired pneumonia: use of clinical characteristics of acutely admitted patients for the development of a diagnostic model - a cross-sectional multicentre study.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to describe the clinical characteristics of adults with suspected acute community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) on hospitalisation, evaluate their prediction performance for CAP and compare the performance of the model to the initial assessment of the physician. DESIGN: Cross-sectional, multicentre study. SETTING: The data originated from the INfectious DisEases in Emergency Departments study and were collected prospectively from patient interviews and medical records. The study included four Danish medical emergency departments (EDs) and was conducted between 1 March 2021 and 28 February 2022. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 954 patients admitted with suspected infection were included in the study. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME: The primary outcome was CAP diagnosis assessed by an expert panel. RESULTS: According to expert evaluation, CAP had a 28% prevalence. 13 diagnostic predictors were identified using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression to build the prediction model: dyspnoea, expectoration, cough, common cold, malaise, chest pain, respiratory rate (>20 breaths/min), oxygen saturation (<96%), abnormal chest auscultation, leucocytes (<3.5×109/L or >8.8×109/L) and neutrophils (>7.5×109/L). C reactive protein (<20 mg/L) and having no previous event of CAP contributed negatively to the final model. The predictors yielded good prediction performance for CAP with an area under the receiver-operator characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.85 (CI 0.77 to 0.92). However, the initial diagnosis made by the ED physician performed better, with an AUC of 0.86 (CI 84% to 89%). CONCLUSION: Typical respiratory symptoms combined with abnormal vital signs and elevated infection biomarkers were predictors for CAP on admission to an ED. The clinical value of the prediction model is questionable in our setting as it does not outperform the clinician's assessment. Further studies that add novel diagnostic tools and use imaging or serological markers are needed to improve a model that would help diagnose CAP in an ED setting more accurately. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT04681963.