Risk factors for recurrent Clostridium difficile infection in a tertiary hospital in Israel.

To estimate the rate and identified risk factors for recurrent Clostridium difficile infection (rCDI) in Israel. We conducted a retro-prospective case-control study of all adult (age ≥ 18 years) patients with an initial episode of CDI (iCDI) at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2014. We collected demographic, clinical, and epidemiological information for patients who were classified as recurrent (cases) and non-recurrent (control) groups. In total, 648 patients with iCDI were identified in the study. During the 36-month study period, 82 (12.7%) patients had at least one rCDI identified. We identified several factors as independent variables significantly associated with recurrent CDI: functional disability, severity of the initial infection, continuous non-Clostridium difficile antibiotic treatment with third-generation cephalosporins or clindamycin, and iCDI treatment with metronidazole and vancomycin; however, neutropenia had high measure of effect as a predictor for rCDI (adjusted odds ratio, 7.9; 95% confidence interval, 1.27-49.58; p = 0.026). The identification of the main modifiable risk factors for recurrent CDI, continuous non-Clostridium difficile antibiotics after diagnosis of the initial infection, and antibiotic treatment with third-generation cephalosporins or clindamycin are critical in reducing the spread of recurrent infection with Clostridium difficile in hospital.

Emergence of VIM-producing Aeromonas caviae in Israeli hospitals.

OBJECTIVES: Resistance to carbapenems in Aeromonas species is rare and mediated mostly by the chromosomal cphA gene. Our aims were to describe the molecular characteristics of the first cases of VIM-producing Aeromonas caviae isolated from human samples. METHODS: Carbapenem-resistant Aeromonas (CRA) spp. were isolated from rectal surveillance cultures. Bacterial identification was done by dnaJ sequencing. Detection of metallo-carbapenemase and other ß-lactamase genes was done by PCR. Molecular typing was done by PFGE. The genetic environment of the blaVIM gene was determined by sequencing. RESULTS: Five CRA were isolated from surveillance cultures in 2010-13; four were from Shaare Zedek Medical Center and one was from Laniado Hospital. All five isolates were identified as A. caviae and comprised four different pulsotypes. MICs ranged from 0.5 to 8 mg/L for imipenem and from 0.25 to 8 mg/L for meropenem. All isolates were resistant to gentamicin, susceptible to amikacin and ciprofloxacin (except one), and were positive for carbapenemase production in the modified Hodge and Carba NP tests. The carbapenemase genes blaVIM-1 and blaVIM-35 were located inside a class I integron with two different sizes to its variable region. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first report of blaVIM in A. caviae from human samples and the first report of VIM-producing Gram-negative bacteria in Israel. This finding is alarming as this species may spread via water or sewage systems. Although infection due to Aeromonas spp. is rare, the presence of the gene on a mobile element is of concern due to the potential for dissemination to clinically important Gram-negative pathogens.

Epidemiological and microbiological characteristics of an outbreak caused by OXA-48-producing Enterobacteriaceae in a neonatal intensive care unit in Jerusalem, Israel.

This study describes the course of an OXA-48-producing Enterobacteriaceae (OPE) outbreak that started in March 2012 in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in Jerusalem, Israel. During the peak of the outbreak (January to August 2012), there were 49 patients who had proven or suspected acquisition of OPE in the NICU, including 16 with invasive infections, out of a total of 156 patients who were hospitalized during that period. Three children hospitalized in the pediatric ICU were identified as carriers of OPE. Three patients with a previous stay in the affected NICU were identified as OPE carriers upon admission to another hospital. The Ministry of Health was notified and then intervened in July 2012. Intervention included cohorting colonized patients, conducting frequent rectal-culture surveillance, and improving the implementation of infection control practices. As a result, the incidence of OPE acquisition declined to 5 cases in the first 4 months, followed by no new cases in the next 3 months. Thirty-one patient-unique isolates were available for analysis: 29 Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates, all belonging to a single clone (sequence type 39 [ST39]), and 2 isolates from Enterobacter cloacae. All isolates possessed the blaOXA-48 and blaCTX-M-14 genes, which are located on the same plasmid. This plasmid, similar to the global blaOXA-48-harboring vector, has now acquired blaCTX-M-14, leading to resistance to all ß-lactam agents.

[Apnea after general anesthesia for revision of uterus in parturient with K-variant of the butyrylcholinesterase enzyme (BChE)].

A 30 years old parturient was admitted to the operating theatre for revision of uterus after spontaneous labor because of hemorrhage. She underwent general anesthesia induced by rapid sequence induction (RSI) technique. Apnea for 45 minutes was observed after succinylcholine administration. Biochemistry laboratory tests from the operation day showed very low butyrylcholinesterase activity, and a repeated test after one month showed normal enzyme activity and inhibitors within the normal range. Genetic tests revealed heterozygosity for the K variant of BChE. This may explain the increased sensitivity to succinylcholine during pregnancy.

Incidence and Risk Factors for Community and Hospital Acquisition of Clostridium difficile Infection in the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center.

OBJECTIVES To estimate the incidence and identified risk factors for community-acquired (CA) and hospital-acquired (HA) Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) METHODS We conducted 2 parallel case-control studies at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center from January 1, 2011, to December 31, 2014. We identified persons with CDI, determined whether infection was community or hospital acquired, and calculated incidence rates from 2007 to 2014. We collected demographic, clinical, and epidemiological information for CDI cases and hospitalized control cases and estimated the odds ratio with 95% confidence interval using conditional logistic regression. RESULTS In total, 1,563 CDI cases were identified in the study. The incidence rate of CA-CDI and HA-CDI increased by 1.6-fold and 1.2-fold, respectively, during 2012-2014. However, the incidence rate of CA-CDI was 0.84 per 100,000 (95% CI, 0.52-1.30), the rate for HA-CDI was 4.7 per 10,000 patient days (95% CI, 4.08-5.38), respectively, in 2014. We identified several factors as independent variables significantly associated with HA-CDI: functional disability, presence of nasogastric tube, antibiotic use, chemotherapy, infection by extended-spectrum ß-lactamases, and mean of albumin values. Risk factors independently associated with CA-CDI were close contact with a family member who had been hospitalized in the previous 6 months, inflammatory bowel disease, and home density index (adjusted odds ratio, 25.7; 95% confidence interval, 3.99-165.54; P=.001). CONCLUSIONS The identification of the main modifiable risk factors for HA-CDI (antibiotic exposure and hypoalbuminemia) and for CA-CDI (close contact with a family member who had been hospitalized in the previous 6 months) is likely to optimize prevention efforts; these factors are critical in preventing the spread of CDI. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2017;38:912-920.

Molecular types and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of Clostridium difficile isolates in different epidemiological settings in a tertiary care center in Israel.

The aims of this prospective study were to examine the correlation between the molecular types and the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of Clostridium difficile isolates with the source of acquisition and the occurrence of C. difficile infections (CDI) in a tertiary center in Israel. All available isolates from community-acquired (CA) CDI episodes (n=43) and matching numbers of isolates from community-onset, hospital acquired (CO-HA, n=67) and HA-CDI (n=56) and 32 cases of recurrent CDI were typed and tested for susceptibility to vancomycin and metronidazole. The most common types were SlpA hr-02 (21%), SlpA hr-05/PCR-ribotype-014 (12%), PCR-ribotype-027 (10%) and SlpA cr-02 (10%). The PCR-ribotype-027 was most common in the CO-HA group and the hr-05 type was more common in the CA group. Non-susceptibility to metronidazole and/or vancomycin was found in 4/7 of re-infection isolates. Our study shows that CA-CDI is uncommon and is caused by similar strains as HA-CDI, albeit with different rates.

A national survey of the molecular epidemiology of Clostridium difficile in Israel: the dissemination of the ribotype 027 strain with reduced susceptibility to vancomycin and metronidazole.

Our goals were to study the molecular epidemiology and antimicrobial susceptibilities of C. difficile strains in Israel. Microbiology laboratories serving 6 general hospitals (GH) and 10 long-term care facilities (LTCF) were asked to submit all stool samples in January-February 2014 that tested positive for C. difficile. Toxigenic C. difficile isolates were recovered in 208 out of 217 samples (95.8%), of which 50 (23.6%) were from LTCFs. Ribotype 027 was the most common type overall, identified in 65 samples (31.8%), and was the predominant strain in the 3 GHs with the highest incidence of C. difficile infections. Other common strains were slpA types cr-02 (n = 45) and hr-02 (n = 18). The proportions of vancomycin and metronidazole MIC values >2mg/L were high in ribotype 027 (87.7% and 44.6%, respectively) and slpA-cr-02 strains (88.8% and 17.8%, respectively). This study demonstrates that the ribotype 027 strain has disseminated across Israel and is now the most common strain.