Trauma-Induced Clostridium cadaveris Septic Arthritis of the Knee in an Immunocompetent Young Patient: A Case Report.

BACKGROUND Clostridium cadaveris is a motile, anaerobic, gram-positive, spore-forming bacillus usually found in soil. However, rare cases of opportunistic infections have been documented in immunosuppressed individuals. This report details the case of an immunocompetent young patient who developed septic arthritis of the knee after a traumatic injury involving a rusty nail. The aim of this paper is to provide a comprehensive literature review, shed light on the potential occurrence of Clostridium cadaveris septic arthritis, and explore its management. CASE REPORT A young patient with no medical history presented a traumatic inoculation leading to septic arthritis on a native knee by Clostridium cadaveris. The patient underwent 2 surgical debridements after an initial bad evolution under probabilistic antibiotic therapy. Bacteriological long-growing cultures and antibiotic testing were employed to guide antibiotic therapy selection. The patient had a favorable clinical outcome with no residual knee complications, with laboratory results showed good evolution. A review of the literature showed that Clostridium cadaveris septic arthritis in immunocompetent patients is very rare. The management and subsequent results emphasize the potential impact of the initial emergency room treatment on patient outcomes, especially concerning seemingly benign traumas. CONCLUSIONS This case report highlights the necessity of rapid diagnosis of the cause of septic arthritis, particularly in children, to prevent joint and tissue damage, and the rare diagnosis of knee arthritis with Clostridium cadaveris. This report expands understanding of osteoarticular infections and enhances the need for rapid diagnosis and early treatment, when managing cases with atypical presentations.

Proximal row carpectomy versus four-corner arthrodesis: a retrospective comparative study.

BACKGROUND: Four-corner arthrodesis with scaphoid excision (FCA) and proximal row carpal resection (PRC) are frequently performed in wrists with post-traumatic Scaphoid Non- Union Advanced Collapse (SNAC)/Scapho-Lunate Advanced Collapse (SLAC) osteoarthritis. The aim of this study was to compare the clinical outcomes of these two procedures. METHODS: This single-center, retrospective cohort study included all patients who had PRC or FCA between January 1st, 2009 and January 1st, 2019 and who were followed up. Follow-up included: mobility (radial deviation, ulnar deviation, flexion, extension), strength (grip test, pinch test), function (QuickDash, patient-rated wrist evaluation [PRWE]), subjective mobility, and global satisfaction scores. RESULTS: Among 25 patients included, 11 had PRC and 14 had FCA with a mean follow-up of 69.5 months [12-132]. Radial deviation was 18° versus 14° (p = 0.7), ulnar deviation was 21° versus 22° (p = 0.15), flexion was 39° versus 30° (p = 0.32), extension was 32.5° versus 29.5° (p = 0.09), grip test compared to the controlateral side was 72% versus 62% (p = 0.53), Quick Dash score was 12.5 versus 17.6 (p = 0.84), PRWE was 18.7 versus 17.6 (p = 0.38), subjective mobility was 7.8 versus 7.5 (p = 0.23), and satisfaction score was 8.7 versus 9 (p = 0.76), respectively, in the FCA group and the PRC group. Re-operation rates were 14% patients in the FCA group and 0% in the PRC group. CONCLUSION: This study found no significant difference between FCA and PRC on strength, mobility, and function in patients with post-traumatic SLAC or SNAC stage II wrist arthritis. Both FCA and PRC seem to be reliable surgical techniques with good outcomes with more revision in the FCA group.

Conception and validation of A 3d printed learning model of supra condylar fracture of children.

The supracondylar fracture of the child is a common fracture. Its physiology, physiopathology and treatment use periosteum. As far as we know, there is no 3D printed model of this typical fracture in children with periosteum. The purposes of the research are to present the concept of an educational 3D printed supra condylar model with periosteum of the child and its expert validation. Materials and methods: The basis for the paediatric elbow model was a 3D scan of a four-year-old girl. Once the data had been extracted, the models were constructed using 3D Slicer®, Autodesk fusion 360® and Ultimaker Cura® software's. The Creality 3D Ender 6 SE Printer® used PLA filaments to print bone and TPU for periosteum. Printing took place at the University Hospital and the steps were modelled by hand. 3D printed bones and 3D printed periosteum were manually assembled. Participants: Expert validation with twelve paediatric orthopaedic surgeons took place in three University hospitals of the North of France. Results: Four Lagrange and Rigault 3D printed models of supracondylar fractures with periosteum were obtained with 200 h of design, printing and manual assembly based on a four-year-old elbow. According to the paediatric orthopaedic surgery experts, the size of the model is very good, but the model itself is of little interest compared to the information provided by the reconstruction of a 3D scanner. In total, with 9 out of 12 questions scoring higher than 8/10, the model was considered to be a good model for informing parents and teaching students. Conclusions: This study details the design of the first 3D-printed supra condylar fracture model in children with a full-size physeal and periosteum. The model has been validated by paediatric orthopaedic surgery experts.

Surgical treatment of congenital pseudarthrosis of the clavicle: A series of 10 cases.

INTRODUCTION: Congenital pseudarthrosis of the clavicle (CPC) is a rare congenital malformation. We describe the outcomes of surgical treatment of CPC in a series of 10 patients. The hypothesis was that surgical treatment is an acceptable solution that will lead to satisfactory healing in asymptomatic patients. The aims were to determine if 1) surgical treatment of CPC will produce a satisfactory union rate, 2) surgical treatment causes complications and impacts the postoperative outcomes and 3) risk factors can be identified that affect the success of the surgical care. METHODS: Ten patients with CPC who were treated by resection and bone grafting were included in this case series. The CPC was always in the right clavicle. All patients except one were asymptomatic preoperatively. The mean age at the time of the procedure was 5.1 years (range, 1.7-13.4). The initial fixation consisted of a K-wire in 9 patients and a plate in 1 patient. Iliac crest autograft was harvested in all patients. The mean length of postoperative immobilization was 10 weeks (range, 6-18 weeks). RESULTS: At a mean follow-up of 29 months (range, 3-129 months), all patients were pain-free and had full range of motion. Bone union was achieved in 70% (7/10) after revision at a mean of 3.8 months (range, 1.1-13.3). Three clavicles did not heal, two of which had been revised surgically. Four patients suffered a complication: three cases of K-wire migration and one case of infection. Among them, two patients had the fixation changed to a plate while preserving the graft, while the fixation device was removed in two patients, one of whom was undergoing revision for infection. The patients who had complications were all under 5 years of age at the time of surgery (mean 3.7 years; range 1.7-5 years). CONCLUSION: Surgical treatment of CPC generates a moderate union rate with a complication risk that is not insignificant. Age at the time of surgery appears to affect the outcomes. Thus, we propose waiting until the patient is at least 5 years of age before implementing surgical treatment. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: IV, Retrospective study.

Spontaneous Bacterial Peritonitis: The Incremental Value of a Fast and Direct Bacterial Identification from Ascitic Fluids Inoculated in Blood Culture Bottles by MALDI-TOF MS for a Better Management of Patients.

Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) is a severe infection that requires fast and accurate antibiotic therapy to improve the patient outcome. Direct bacterial identification using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry from ascitic fluid inoculated in blood culture bottles (BCBs) could therefore improve patients' management. We evaluated the impact of the implementation of this method for the treatment of patients. Our identification protocol was performed on 136 positive BCBs collected from 61 patients between December 2018 and December 2020. The therapeutic impact of our protocol was evaluated using a before (2015-2016) and after (2019-2020) case-control study in two populations of 41 patients diagnosed with SBP and treated with antibiotics. The decrease in time to first identification and the optimization of antibiotic therapy following communication of the identification result were evaluated. Our protocol allowed us to identify 78% of bacteria in ascitic fluids. The transmission of the direct identification allowed the introduction or adaption of the antibiotic therapy early in 37% of SBP, with a mean decrease in time to first antibiotic change of 17 h. Our direct identification protocol for positive inoculated ascitic fluids is fast, reliable and inexpensive. Its routine integration into a microbiology laboratory allows the early introduction of appropriate antibiotic therapy and improves the management of patients with SBP.

Evaluation of an Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing Method on Enterobacterales-Positive Blood Cultures in Less Than 8 h Using the Rapid Mueller-Hinton Diffusion Method in Conjunction with the SIRscan 2000 Automatic Reading Device.

Enterobacterales bloodstream infections are life-threatening and require rapid, targeted antibiotherapy based on antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST). A new method using Muller-Hinton Rapid-SIR (MHR-SIR) agar (i2a, Montpellier, France) allows complete direct AST (dAST) to be read from positive blood culture bottles (BCBs) for all Enterobacterales species after 6-8 h of incubation. We evaluated (i) the performance of dAST from positive BCBs on MHR-SIR agar using two different inoculum protocols; (ii) the categorical agreement between dAST results obtained with MHR-SIR agar vs. those obtained with Muller-Hinton (MH) agar; and (iii) the ability of the MHR-SIR medium to detect ß-lactam resistant Enterobacterales. Finally, we estimated the saved turnaround time (TAT) with MHR-SIR compared with MH agar in our 24/7 laboratory. Our results showed that the most suitable inoculation protocol for dAST on MHR-SIR agar was 1 drop of BCB/5 mL H2O. For monomicrobial Enterobacterales BCBs, dAST performed on MHR-SIR medium showed 99.3% categorical agreement with AST on MH agar. Furthermore, MHR-SIR agar allows early detection of ß-lactam resistance mechanisms, including AmpC hyperproduction, extended-spectrum ß-lactamase, and carbapenemase. Finally, TAT reduction in our 24/7 laboratory was 16 h, enabling a significantly faster provision of antibiotic advice.

Study of the latency of transcranial motor evoked potentials in spinal cord monitoring during surgery for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.

OBJECTIVE: An increase in the latency of a motor evoked potential might be as significant as a decrease in amplitude to predict a significant and clinically symptomatic neurological injury in spinal surgery for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. The aim of the study was to investigate the impact of monitoring of latency of motor evoked potentials during spinal surgery for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis by describing intraoperative data. METHODS: Preoperative recordings of 50 patients undergoing posterior spinal fusion for idiopathic scoliosis were studied. Latencies of appearance of the motor evoked potential curves on the right and left side were recorded for each group of muscles at several key moments during the procedure (basal, before the first implant, before and after corrective maneuvers). RESULTS: Mean latencies were approximately the same in each muscle group on the right and the left side, before and after correction. There was no significant increase in latency during surgery. Overall results showed that the measured latency did not differ significantly between the two age groups (p=0.07). Negative correlation between height and the means of latencies was recorded in the abductor pollicis brevis and abductor digiti minimi (r=0.4; p=0.009), rectus femoris (r=0.4; p=0.01), tibialis anterior (r=0.4; p=0.007), and abductor hallucis (r=0.5; p=0.0004). No significant correlation was found between age and intraoperative parameters. CONCLUSION: Intraoperative latency could be a reliable intraoperative monitoring criteria with low variability, that might be used to predict postoperative motor deficits in surgery for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.

Combined bacterial and fungal targeted amplicon sequencing of respiratory samples: Does the DNA extraction method matter?

BACKGROUND: High-throughput sequencing techniques are used to analyse the diversity of the respiratory microbiota in health and disease. Although extensive data are available regarding bacterial respiratory microbiota, its fungal component remains poorly studied. This is partly due to the technical issues associated with fungal metagenomics analyses. In this study, we compared two DNA extraction protocols and two fungal amplification targets for combined bacterial and fungal targeted amplicon sequencing analyses of the respiratory microbiota. METHODS: Six sputa, randomly selected from routine samples in Mondor Hospital (Creteil, France) and treated anonymously, were tested after bacterial and fungal routine culture. Two of which were spiked with Aspergillus Fumigati and Aspergillus Nigri (105 conidia/mL). After mechanical lysis, DNA was extracted using automated QIAsymphony® extraction (AQE) or manual PowerSoil® MoBio extraction (MPE). DNA yield and purity were compared. DNA extracted from spiked sputa was subjected to (i) real-time PCR for Aspergillus DNA detection and (ii) combined metagenomic analyses targeting barcoded primers for fungal ITS1 and ITS2, and bacterial V1-V2 and V3-V4 16S regions. Amplicon libraries were prepared using MiSeq Reagent V3 kit on Illumina platform. Data were analysed using PyroMIC© and SHAMAN software, and compared with culture results. RESULTS: AQE extraction provided a higher yield of DNA (AQE/MPE DNA ratio = 4.5 [1.3-11]) in a shorter time. The yield of Aspergillus DNA detected by qPCR was similar for spiked sputa regardless of extraction protocol. The extraction moderately impacted the diversity or relative abundances of bacterial communities using targeted amplicon sequencing (2/43 taxa impacted). For fungi, the relative abundances of 4/11 major taxa were impacted and AQE results were closer to culture results. The V1-V2 or V3-V4 and ITS1 or ITS2 targets assessed similarly the diversity of bacterial and fungal major taxa, but ITS2 and V3-V4 detected more minor taxa. CONCLUSION: Our results showed the importance of DNA extraction for combined bacterial and fungal targeted metagenomics of respiratory samples. The extraction protocol can affect DNA yield and the relative abundances of few bacterial but more fungal taxa. For fungal analysis, ITS2 allowed the detection of a greater number of minor taxa compared with ITS1.

Diagnostic challenge of gastrointestinal infection due to lactose-fermenting Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar 4,5:I:.

Here, we describe a case of a nontyphoidal Salmonella disease caused by a Salmonella enterica serovar 4,5:i:- (monophasic Salmonella typhimurium) which acquired a Lac operon. This lactose-fermenting bacterium presents a major challenge for phenotypical detection of Salmonella. Only specific agar plates or molecular techniques allow reliable detection.

Functional and phylogenetic alterations in gut microbiome are linked to graft-versus-host disease severity.

Acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) is the main complication of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Changes in gut microbiota composition have been associated with subsequent aGVHD, and reconstitution of healthy microbiota is currently being explored as a therapeutic approach. However, the specific actors in the intestinal ecosystem involved in the pathologic process at the time of aGVHD onset are not yet fully known. We prospectively collected stool samples from patients who underwent allogeneic HSCT. Patients sampled at aGVHD onset were compared with non-GVHD patients. To identify phylogenetic and functional signatures of the disease process, we determined fecal short-chain fatty acid (SFCA) profiles and used high-throughput DNA sequencing and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction to assess the microbiota composition. Microbiota alterations were highly specific of gastrointestinal (GI) aGVHD severity. Bacterial biomass and α-diversity were lower in severe aGVHD. We identified several bacterial signatures associated with severe aGVHD at disease onset; a negative correlation was observed with anaerobic bacteria of the Lachnospiraceae, especially the Blautia genus, and Ruminococcaceae families. In parallel, in severe aGVHD patients, we showed a dramatic decrease in the levels of the main SFCAs: acetate (75.8%), propionate (95.8%), and butyrate (94.6%). Mild aGVHD patients were characterized by conserved levels of propionate and Blautia propionate producers. Butyrate was significantly decreased in all GI aGVHD stages, representing a potential diagnostic marker of the disease. Specific microbiota and metabolic alterations were thus associated with aGVHD severity and may be useful for diagnostic and pathophysiologic purposes.