Ureteral Stent Colonization and Urinary Tract Infection in Children Undergoing Minimally Invasive Pyeloplasty.

INTRODUCTION: Minimally invasive pyeloplasty (MIP), namely, laparoscopic and robot-assisted interventions, has gained popularity in recent years. Double-J ureteral stents are frequently inserted during surgery. Foreign bodies in the urinary tract are considered as risk factor for developing urinary tract infection (UTI). This study aimed to specify the bacteria cultured from urine and stents responsible for UTI in children with indwelling ureteral stents undergoing MIP. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed medical records of 30 children (22 boys and 8 girls) who had undergone MIP between 2014 and 2017. Median age at surgery was 2.7 years (interquartile range [IQR]: 0.5-7.9). Urine cultures were obtained before surgery, before stent removal, 1 month after stent removal, and if UTI was suspected. Stents were removed 4 to 8 weeks after surgery and cultured. Patients' demographics, types of stents, and surgical details were recorded. RESULTS: Median stent indwelling time was 5.09 weeks (IQR: 4-6). Postoperative febrile UTI developed in 4/30 (13%) patients. Afebrile UTI occurred in another 4/30 (13%) patients. Stent cultures were positive in 19/30 (63%) patients. Stent and urinary cultures were identical in only one patient. Three of four patients with preoperative asymptomatic bacteriuria developed postoperative UTI. There was no association between UTI, gender, stent diameter, and duration of indwelling catheter. CONCLUSION: After MIP, febrile UTI and afebrile UTI occurred in about one quarter of patients. Pathogens isolated postsurgically from urinary cultures were unrelated to those colonizing the stents. Therefore, routine stent culturing is of low clinical significance. Moreover, small-caliber stents and longer indwelling periods were not risk factors for UTI. Optimizing antibiotic treatment for children with preoperative UTI may potentially prevent morbidity after surgery.

Comparison of Sense of Humor and Burnout in Surgeons and Internal Medicine Physicians.

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to evaluate humor styles in surgeons and internists and investigate the association between humor and burnout. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of physicians in surgical and medicine departments was conducted, assessing sense of humor and burnout using the Humor Styles Questionnaire and the Emotional Exhaustion subscale of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey for Medical Personnel. RESULTS: For 131 surgeons and 72 internists, no differences in humor styles were found. A sense of personal accomplishment was more common among surgeons (P = 0.03) and rates of burnout were lower for surgeons (P = 0.02). Physicians with a higher-than-average score in affiliative and self-enhancing humor were less likely to suffer from burnout (P < 0.0001 and P = 0.03, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Surgeons and internists have similar styles of humor. Surgeons suffer less from burnout. Affiliative and self-enhancing humor styles are associated with reduced burnout.

Time to Resolution of Infection in COVID-19 Patients: the Experience of a Tertiary Medical Center in Israel.

With the spread of coronavirus disease, reports have indicated that young patients are usually asymptomatic with a short convalescence period. The current study compared the time to resolution of infection in symptomatic and asymptomatic patients. Seventy-six patients aged 44.4 ± 23.3 years were admitted to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) unit during the study period. Data were collected from patient records. Throat and nasal swabs for COVID-19 were collected for reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Time to resolution of infection was defined as the number of days from the date of the first COVID-19 positive outcome to the second consecutive negative PCR results. Most patients showed COVID-19 signs and symptoms (71.1%) between 1 and 6 days, and the rest were asymptomatic. No association was found between the time to resolution of infection and the presence of COVID-19 signs and symptoms (symptomatic: median [Md] 10.0, 95% confidence interval [CI] 8.4-11.6; asymptomatic: Md 15.0, 95% CI 10.5-15.5; P = 0.54). Age was not correlated with the number of COVID-19 signs and symptoms (r = 0.13, P = 0.37) or with the time to resolution of infection (r = 0.06, P = 0.58). In patients with mild to moderate symptoms, the time to resolution of infection from COVID-19 is not different from that in asymptomatic patients.

The green man enigma: Unique presentation of toxicology in the emergency department.

We describe a case report of hypertensive crisis induced by a combination of amphetamine and Marwitt's Kidney Pills. Diagnosis was delayed because of nonspecific physical findings including chest pain, abdominal pain, coughing, and diarrhea. This was confounded by puzzling physical examination findings, including green-colored urine and fingernails. Diagnosis was aided with point-of-care ultrasound, which presented a picture of acute cardiac insufficiency, pulmonary congestion, and bilateral effusions. Laboratory values on admission indicated acute multiorgan injury. Detailed patient history revealed chronic consumption of "Kidney," an over-the-counter drug available in Thailand with the primary ingredient methylene blue and used for a myriad of renal and genitourinary conditions. The patient also had a history of amphetamine use, which ultimately initiated his acute presentation.

Hyper-Activation of Endogenous GLP-1 System to Gram-negative Sepsis Is Associated With Early Innate Immune Response and Modulated by Diabetes.

BACKGROUND: Culture-positive gram-negative sepsis induces greater magnitude of early innate immunity /inflammatory response compared with culture-negative sepsis. We previously demonstrated increased activation of anti-inflammatory Glucagon Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) hormone in initial phase of sepsis more pronounced in diabetes patients. However, whether GLP-1 system is hyperactivated during the early innate immune response to gram-negative sepsis and modulated by diabetes remains unknown. OBJECTIVES: Total and active GLP-1, soluble Dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (sDPP-4) enzyme, and innate immunity markers presepsin (sCD14) and procalcitonin (PCT) in plasma were determined by ELISA on admission and after 2 to 4 days in 37 adult patients with and without type 2 diabetes and gram-negative or culture-negative sepsis of different severity. RESULTS: Severe but not non-severe sepsis was associated with markedly increased GLP-1 system response, which correlated with PCT and the organ dysfunction marker lactate. Culture-positive gram-negative bacteria but not culture-negative sepsis induced hyper-activation of GLP-1 system, which correlated with increased innate immune markers sCD14, PCT, and lactate. GLP-1 inhibitory enzyme sDPP-4 was down regulated by sepsis and correlated negatively with sCD14 in gram-negative sepsis. Diabetic patients demonstrated increased GLP-1 response but significantly weaker innate immune response to severe and gram-negative sepsis. CONCLUSIONS: Early stage of gram-negative sepsis is characterized by endogenous GLP-1 system hyperactivity associated with over activation of innate immune response and organ dysfunction, which are modulated by diabetes. Total GLP-1 may be novel marker for rapid diagnosis of gram-negative sepsis and its severity.

To check or not to check. Rectal ESBL colonization in hospitalized elderly patients.

BACKGROUND: The worldwide spread of extended-spectrum-beta-lactamase (ESBL) producing bacteria has affected health care. ESBL confers resistance to the majority of beta-lactam antibiotics. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We intended to quantify the rates of rectal ESBL-positive and negative patients that eventually developed fever and urinary tract infection (UTI). All rectal ESBL-positive patients were to be initially treated with the conventional antibiotics that have anti-ESBL activity (amikacin or ertapenem), while ESBL-negative patients were given ceftriaxone. RESULTS: Most patients were rectal ESBL-positive (60.7%). Fever was in 51% patients; 67.8% of them developed signs and symptoms of UTI. Most patients with UTI were urinary ESBL-positive (79%), most rectal ESBL-negative patients were urinary ESBL-negative (75%), (χ2 = 18.5, df = 1, P < .001). Overall mortality was higher in the febrile group (39, 34.8%) versus the afebrile (1, 0.9%) (χ2 = 42, df = 1, P < .001). The mortality rate in the febrile group was significantly higher in the rectal ESBL-positive patients (χ2 = 7.5, df = 1, P = .006). DISCUSSION: The direct correlation of rectal ESBL-positive and negative and respectively urinary ESBL-positive and negative patients' advocate for the use of antibiotics with anti-ESBL activity as an empiric treatment of rectal ESBL-positive patients with suspected UTI. CONCLUSION: In our opinion, it is worthwhile to identify rectal ESBL-positivity on hospital admission.

Active surveillance cultures in critically ill patients: pathogens, patterns, and correlation with eventual bloodstream infections.

BACKGROUND: The role of routine active surveillance cultures (ASCs) in predicting consequent bloodstream infections is unclear. OBJECTIVES: To determine prospectively whether routine screening ASCs obtained on admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) can predict the causative agent of subsequent bloodstream infections. METHODS: We prospectively studied a cohort of 100 mechanically ventilated patients admitted consecutively to a 16-bed ICU. On admission, ASCs were obtained from four sites: skin cultures (swabs) from the axillary region, rectal swabs, nasal swabs, and deep tracheal aspirates. Thereafter, cultures were obtained from all four sites daily for the next 5 days of the ICU stay. RESULTS: Of the 100 recruited patients 31 (31%) had culture-proven bacteremia; the median time to development of bacteremia was 5 days (range 1-18). Patients with bacteremia had a longer median ICU stay than patients without bacteremia: 14 days (range 2-45) vs. 5 days (1-41) (P < 0.001). ICU and 28 day mortality were similar in patients with and without bacteremia. Most ASCs grew multiple organisms. However, there was no association between pathogens growing on ASCs and eventual development of bacteremia. CONCLUSIONS: ASCs obtained on ICU admission did not identify the causative agents of most subsequent bacteremia events. Therefore, bloodstream infections could not be related to ASCs.