Role of Coccidioides Antigen Testing in the Cerebrospinal Fluid for the Diagnosis of Coccidioidal Meningitis.

BACKGROUND: Coccidioidal meningitis (CM), a common cause of chronic meningitis in endemic area, is usually diagnosed by detection of anti-Coccidioides antibodies in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and findings may be negative in up to one-third of cases. CSF cultures and cytology are infrequently positive. Antigen detection has been used for the diagnosis of other forms of coccidioidomycosis and meningitis caused by other mycoses. The purpose of this study was to assess the diagnostic utility of CSF Coccidioides antigen (CAg) detection for the diagnosis of CM. METHODS: The medical records of patients with clinically suspected meningitis, in whom CSF was tested for Coccidioides antibodies and CAg, were retrospectively reviewed, and CSF CAg testing was prospectively conducted in patients with CM. All specimens were submitted for CAg testing. RESULTS: Thirty-six patients with 42 episode of CM were studied. The sensitivity and specificity of CAg were 93% and 100%, respectively. Cultures of CSF were positive in 7%, antibodies were demonstrated by immunodiffusion in 67% and complement fixation in 70%, and immunoglobulin M and G antibodies were demonstrated by enzyme immunoassay in 8% and 85%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Testing CSF for CAg is a useful addition to diagnostic methods in suspected CM and complements testing with CSF antibodies and culture.

Reduction in the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia: a multidisciplinary approach.

BACKGROUND: We report the process implemented in our institution by a task force focused on the reduction of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). METHODS: Retrospective cohort study of all adults admitted to one of our 4 adult ICUs, intubated on invasive mechanical ventilation. We implemented a ventilator bundle in April of 2007; we report the incidence of VAP in 2008, and, after adjustment in the process (oral care performed by respiratory therapists), the incidence in 2009. The primary outcome was reduction of the microbiologically confirmed VAP rate over a 2 year period. Other outcomes were duration of mechanical ventilation, antibiotic days, ICU and hospital stay, and mortality. RESULTS: During the study period, 2,588 patients received invasive mechanical ventilation in the adult ICUs. The VAP rate during 2008 was 4.3/1,000 ventilator days, and the 2009 rate was 1.2/1,000 ventilator days. The 2008 to 2009 VAP rate ratio was significantly greater than 1 (rate ratio 3.6, 95% CI 1.8-8.0, P < .001). Antibiotic days were less in 2009 versus 2008 (Hodges-Lehmann estimate of difference between 2008 and 2009, 1.0, 95% CI 0.0-1.0, P = .002). The median stay in the ICU was unchanged, and in the hospital was decreased in 2009 (Hodges-Lehmann estimate of difference between 2008 and 2009, 1.0, 95% CI 0.0-1.0, P < .001). The hospital mortality was 26.1%, and there was no difference between the 2 years. Adherence with the ventilator bundle was above 92% during the study period, but the oral care adherence improved from 33% to 97% after respiratory therapists assumed oral care. CONCLUSIONS: Reduction of the incidence of VAP occurred with an intervention that included respiratory therapists doing oral care in patients receiving invasive mechanical ventilation. Oral care done by respiratory therapists may be associated with reduction of VAP.

Maternal Sepsis and Septic Shock.

The year 2015 marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of Ignaz Semmelweis, the Hungarian physician who identified unhygienic practices of physicians as a major cause of childbed fever or puerperal sepsis. Although such practices have largely disappeared as a factor in the development of chorioamnionitis and postpartum or puerperal endometritis, it is appropriate that this article on sepsis in pregnancy acknowledges his contributions to maternal health. This review describes the incidence and mortality of sepsis in pregnancy, methods to identify and define sepsis in this population, including scoring systems, causes, and sites of infection during pregnancy and parturition and management guidelines.

Severe alcohol withdrawal syndrome: Evolution of care and impact of adjunctive therapy on course and complications of 171 intensive care unit patients.

This single site retrospective observational study assessed the evolution of sedation therapy for severe alcohol withdrawal syndrome in the intensive care unit. Patient records for 2 intervals were reviewed: Interval 1, which included 87 intensive care unit patients admitted January 2005 through September 2007, for whom benzodiazedpine monotherapy was utilized; and Interval 2, January 2010 through December 2010, for whom 54 of 84 (64.3%) intensive care unit patients, including all those intubated, received adjunctive agents, including dexmedetomidine or propofol. Clinical management was similar for both intervals, as well as prevalence of alcohol withdrawal syndrome versus total adult hospital admissions and comorbid conditions. Overall, respiratory failure (53 versus 39%), seizures (36 versus 18%), and pneumonia (51 versus 38%) were less frequent during Interval 2 (all p < .05), with lower benzodiazedpine basal dose requirements for those given adjunctive therapy. However, if instances of pneumonia or respiratory failure related to seizures prior to intensive care unit admission are excluded, the prevalence of these complications was similar (p = ns) for Interval 1 and Interval 2. Intensive care unit and hospital length of stay were not altered by adjunctive therapy, which was typically employed for more severely affected patients. High intensity sedation with adjunctive drugs led to few cardiovascular adverse events and may have facilitated management, but did not alter intensive care unit course of severe alcohol withdrawal syndrome.

Hypoventilation syndromes.

The hypoventilation syndromes represent a variety of disorders that affect central ventilatory control, respiratory mechanics, or both. Obesity hypoventilation syndrome is a clinically important disorder with serious cardiovascular and metabolic consequences if unrecognized. Hypoventilation in asthma and COPD is caused by mechanical challenges imparted by airflow obstruction and increase in dead space. In neuromuscular disease, respiratory muscle weakness results in hypoventilation. Decreases in thoracic volume and limited expansion of the chest highlight the restrictive ventilatory impairments seen in hypoventilation associated with chest wall disorders. Despite the mechanism, effective hypoventilation treatment targets the underlying disease and use of noninvasive ventilation.