Case Report: Neurobrucellosis Presenting as Malignancy.

Neurobrucellosis, caused by Brucella species, is a zoonotic infection that may involve the central nervous system. Although uncommon, it can manifest as a solitary intracranial mass. We report a case of neurobrucellosis in a 25-year-old woman from Peru who presented with headache, weight loss, and right-side hemiparesis and paresthesia. A contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging scan revealed an intracerebral mass in the left temporal lobe. Serum testing subsequently were positive. Brain biopsy demonstrated non-necrotizing granulomas without malignant cells. Neurobrucellosis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of brain space occupying lesions in endemic countries.

Lemierre-like syndrome after soft tissue infection due to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: A case report and literature review.

RATIONALE: Lemierre-like syndrome (LLS) is characterized by bacteremia, septic thrombophlebitis of the internal jugular vein, and metastatic abscesses. In contrast to classic Lemierre syndrome, sources of infection are not related to oropharyngeal infections, as are frequent soft tissue infections. In recent years, Staphylococcus aureus has been identified as an emergent pathogen that causes this syndrome. The mortality rate of LLS caused by this pathogen is approximately 16%. Timely diagnosis, antibiotic treatment, and infection control are the cornerstones to treat LLS. Anticoagulant therapy as adjuvant treatment remains controversial. PATIENT CONCERNS: A 31-year-old woman from California, United States (US), was admitted to the emergency room with a history of 2 days of fever and severe throbbing pain in the left cervical region. Thorax and neck CT tomography revealed confluent cavities suggestive of septic embolism in the lungs and a filiform thrombus in the lumen of the left internal jugular vein, with moderate swelling of the soft and muscular tissues. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was isolated from the blood culture. DIAGNOSIS: The thrombus in the internal jugular vein associated with cellulitis in the neck and multiple cavitary lesions in the lungs support the diagnosis of LLS caused by MRSA with septic embolization. INTERVENTIONS: During treatment, the patient received vancomycin IV for 25 days and returned to the US with linezolid orally. In addition, assisted video-thoracoscopy and bilateral mini-thoracotomy with pleural decortication were performed for infectious source control, where 1700cc of purulent pleural fluid was drained. OUTCOMES: The patient was discharged with optimal evolution. LESSONS: LLS should be suspected in patients with skin and soft tissue infections who develop thrombosis or metastatic infections. MRSA infections should be considered in patients from areas where this pathogen is prevalent.

Cerebrospinal fluid shunting for the management of cryptococcal meningitis: a scoping review.

Objective: This scoping review aimed to describe studies that evaluate the management of cryptococcal meningitis (CM) using cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunts, types of shunts used, and clinically relevant patient outcomes. Methods: We searched in the following databases: PubMed, Web of Science/Core collection, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and clinicaltrials.gov on 1 April 2022. We included two-arm and one-arm cohort studies that evaluated clinically relevant patient outcomes. Case reports were used to describe the type of CSF shunts used and the rationale behind its selection. The selection and extraction processes were independently performed by two authors. Results: This study included 20 cohort studies and 26 case reports. Only seven cohort studies compared two groups. Ventriculoperitoneal shunt was the most commonly used type of shunt (82.1%). The main indications for placing a shunt were persistently high opening pressure (57.1%) and persisting neurological symptoms or deterioration (54.3%). Cohort studies suggest that patients with shunt showed improvement in some outcomes such as neurological symptoms and hospital stay length. The most common shunt complications were post-operative fever (1-35.6%) and shunt obstruction (7-16%). Conclusion: CSF shunts may improve some clinically relevant outcomes in patients with CM, but the evidence is very uncertain.

Mycotic aneurysms due to Trichosporon asahii in a patient with ulcerative colitis under immunosuppression.

Yeast fungi of the genus Trichosporon spp. can colonize the gastrointestinal tract in humans. In recent decades, the pathogenic role of Trichosporon asahii has been increasingly acknowledged especially in the setting of neutropenic patients with hematological malignancies. However, non-neutropenic patients who are immunosuppressed for other reasons are also at risk of developing invasive forms of this mycosis. We present the case of a 62-year-old male, with a history of ulcerative colitis under immunosuppressive treatment and previous exposure to antibiotics for various bacterial infections, who was admitted to the emergency department with a mycotic aneurysm of the abdominal aorta and left common iliac secondary to T. asahii infection. A multidisciplinary approach of the case (both early medical and surgical interventions) allowed the patient's favorable outcome. The patient was followed for more than two years with no evidence of relapse. We postulate that the diagnosis of invasive Trichosporonosis should be considered in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) under immunosuppressive treatment and with prior exposure to antibiotics.

Antimicrobial resistance patterns of the Enterobacteriaceae family isolated from urinary tract infections from a Peruvian high-Andean region / Patrones de resistencia antimicrobiana de la familia enterobacteriaceae aisladas de infecciones del tracto urinario de una región alto-andina peruana

Background: Antibiotic resistance is considered to be the next worldwide epidemic. Urinary tract infections (UTI) are the second most common cause of infection, which also has the highest resistance frequency. Nevertheless, in high Andean regions, little is known about the antibiotic resistance. Objectives: Determine the antimicrobial resistance patterns of the enterobacteriaceae family isolated from urinary tract infections of a Peruvian Andean region. Material and Methods: Aretrospective cross-sectional review of 1717 records from the microbiology service of a private health institution from Puno - Peru, was done between the years 2014 and 2017. Antibiotic resistance by uropathogens was studied among different age groups. Statistical analysis included Chi2 test with a p<0.05. Poisson regression was used to calculate the prevalence ratio (PR) with a 95% confidence interval. Results: There was a wide distribution of antibiotic resistance among all the antibiotics, mainly in Escherichia coli and Proteus spp. The elderly had the highest prevalence of antibiotic resistance. As age increased, resistance to all drugs also increased (p<0.01). Furthermore, the elderly had a risk probabilityofresistanceof1.22,1.42,1.20and1.32topenicillins, cephalosporins, quinolones and other antibiotics respectively. Conclusion: The antimicrobial resistance patterns of the Peruvian Andean region were lower than national and international patterns.

Introducción: La resistencia a antibióticos es considerada la próxima epidemia mundial. Las infecciones del tracto urinario (ITU) son la segunda causa más común de infecciones y la que presenta mayor frecuencia de resistencia. Sin embargo, poco se ha reportado en regiones altos-andinas. Objetivo: Evaluar los patrones de resistencia antimicrobiana de la familia enterobacteriaceae aisladas de infecciones del tracto urinario de pacientes ambulatorios de una región altoandina peruana y sus factores asociados. Material y Métodos: Estudio transversal analítico retrospectivo, a partir de 1717 registros del Servicio de Microbiología de una institución de salud en la región Puno ­ Perú, entre los años 2014 al 2017. Se estudió la resistencia a antibióticos según uropatógeno en diferentes grupos etarios. Se empleó la prueba de Chi2 de Pearson y un modelo de regresión de Poisson para calcular la razón de prevalencias (RP). En todos los análisis se consideró un valor de p<0.05 como significativo y se estimaron intervalos de confianza al 95%. Resultados: Se presentó una amplia distribución de resistencia en todos los fármacos evaluados, siendo mayor en Escherichia coli y Proteus spp. El grupo etario, ≥ 60 años, presentó la mayor prevalencia de resistencia bacteriana. A medida que la edad aumentaba, la resistencia a todos los fármacos estudiados también aumentó (p <0.01). Así mismo, los pacientes ≥ 60 años presentaron mayor probabilidad de presentar resistencia bacteriana a penicilinas, cefalosporinas y quinolonas. Conclusión: El patrón de resistencia a los antibióticos utilizados en ITUs en la zona altoandina peruana incrementa con la edad.