Functional Independence Measure score is associated with mortality in critically ill elderly patients admitted to an intermediate care unit.

BACKGROUND: Age alone is not a robust predictor of mortality in critically ill elderly patients. Chronic health status and functional status before admission could be better predictors. This study aimed to determine whether functional status, assessed using the Functional Independence Measure (FIM), could be an independent predictor of mortality in a geriatric population admitted to an intermediate care unit (IMCU). METHODS: A monocentric, retrospective, observational study of all patients aged ≥75 years old admitted to Geneva University Hospitals' geriatric IMCU between 01.01.2012 and 31.05.2016. The study's primary outcome metrics were one-year mortality's associations with a pre-admission FIM score and other relevant prospectively recorded prognostic variables. RESULTS: A total of 345 patients were included (56% female, mean age 85 +/- 6.5 years). Mean FIM score was 66 +/- 26. One-year mortality was 57%. Dichotomized low (≤ 63) and high FIM (> 63) scores were associated with one-year mortalities of 68 and 44%, respectively. Logistic regression calculations found an association between pre-admission FIM score and one-year mortality (p <  0.0001), including variables usually associated with mortality (e.g., age, sex, comorbidities, mini-mental health state score, renal function). Multivariate survival analysis showed a significant difference between groups, with a hazard ratio of 0.29 (95% CI: 0.13-0.65) for patients with high FIM scores. CONCLUSIONS: In the present study, higher functional status, assessed using the FIM tool before admission to an IMCU, was significantly and independently associated with lower one-year mortality. This opens up perspectives on the potential value of FIM for establishing a finer prognosis and better triage of critically ill older patients.

Community-acquired pneumonia in the emergency department: an algorithm to facilitate diagnosis and guide chest CT scan indication.

OBJECTIVE: The aim was to create and validate a community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) diagnostic algorithm to facilitate diagnosis and guide chest computed tomography (CT) scan indication in patients with CAP suspicion in Emergency Departments (ED). METHODS: We performed an analysis of CAP suspected patients enrolled in the ESCAPED study who had undergone chest CT scan and detection of respiratory pathogens through nasopharyngeal PCRs. An adjudication committee assigned the final CAP probability (reference standard). Variables associated with confirmed CAP were used to create weighted CAP diagnostic scores. We estimated the score values for which CT scans helped correctly identify CAP, therefore creating a CAP diagnosis algorithm. Algorithms were externally validated in an independent cohort of 200 patients consecutively admitted in a Swiss hospital for CAP suspicion. RESULTS: Among the 319 patients included, 51% (163/319) were classified as confirmed CAP and 49% (156/319) as excluded CAP. Cough (weight = 1), chest pain (1), fever (1), positive PCR (except for rhinovirus) (1), C-reactive protein ≥50 mg/L (2) and chest X-ray parenchymal infiltrate (2) were associated with CAP. Patients with a score below 3 had a low probability of CAP (17%, 14/84), whereas those above 5 had a high probability (88%, 51/58). The algorithm (score calculation + CT scan in patients with score between 3 and 5) showed sensitivity 73% (95% CI 66-80), specificity 89% (95% CI 83-94), positive predictive value (PPV) 88% (95% CI 81-93), negative predictive value (NPV) 76% (95% CI 69-82) and area under the curve (AUC) 0.81 (95% CI 0.77-0.85). The algorithm displayed similar performance in the validation cohort (sensitivity 88% (95% CI 81-92), specificity 72% (95% CI 60-81), PPV 86% (95% CI 79-91), NPV 75% (95% CI 63-84) and AUC 0.80 (95% CI 0.73-0.87). CONCLUSION: Our CAP diagnostic algorithm may help reduce CAP misdiagnosis and optimize the use of chest CT scan.

Accuracy of comprehensive PCR analysis of nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs for CT-scan-confirmed pneumonia in elderly patients: a prospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to assess the accuracy of PCR detection of viruses and bacteria on nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs (NPS) for the diagnosis of pneumonia in elderly individuals. METHODS: We included consecutive hospitalized elderly individuals suspected of having pneumonia. At inclusion, NPS were collected from all participants and tested by PCR for the presence of viral and bacterial respiratory pathogens (index test, defined as comprehensive molecular testing). Routine diagnostic tests (blood and sputum culture, urine antigen detection) were also performed. The reference standard was the presence of pneumonia on a low-dose CT scan as assessed by two independent expert radiologists. RESULTS: The diagnosis of pneumonia was confirmed in 127 of 199 (64%) included patients (mean age 83 years, community-acquired pneumonia in 105 (83%)). A pathogen was identified by comprehensive molecular testing in 114 patients (57%) and by routine methods in 22 (11%). Comprehensive molecular testing was positive for viruses in 62 patients (31%) and for bacteria in 73 (37%). The sensitivity and specificity were 61% (95% CI 53%-69%) and 50% (95% CI 39%-61%) for comprehensive molecular testing, and 14% (95% CI 82%-21%) and 94% (95% CI 86%-98%) for routine testing, respectively. Positive likelihood ratio was 2.55 for routine methods and 1.23 for comprehensive molecular testing. CONCLUSION: Comprehensive molecular testing of NPS increases the number of pathogens detected compared with routine methods, but results are poorly predictive of the presence of pneumonia. Hence, comprehensive molecular testing is unlikely to impact clinical decision-making (NCT02467192). CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION: NCT02467192.

Antimicrobial consumption and impact of antimicrobial stewardship programmes in long-term care facilities.

BACKGROUND: Antimicrobials are among the most frequently prescribed drugs in long-term care facilities (LTCFs). Implementation of antimicrobial stewardship programmes (ASPs) is often challenging because of scarce data in this setting. OBJECTIVES: This narrative review aimed to provide data about antibiotic consumption in LTCFs and the need, implementation, and organization of ASPs in this setting. SOURCE: PubMed was searched for studies assessing antimicrobial consumption and implementation of ASPs in LTCFs. The search was restricted to articles published in English in the last 10 years. Experts belonging to the ESCMID Study Group for Infections in the Elderly (ESGIE) reviewed the selected studies and evaluated the studies on ASPs according to the GRADE approach. Moreover, the quality of reporting has been assessed according to TREND and CONSORT checklists for quasi-experimental and cluster randomized clinical trials (cRCT), respectively. CONTENT: Data on antibiotic consumption in LTCFs show great variability in LTCFs across and within countries. Reasons for this variability are difficult to analyse because of the differences in the types of LTCFs, their organization, and the population cared-for in the different LTCFs. However, studies show that the use of antibiotics among elderly patients in LTCFs, especially in cases of asymptomatic bacteriuria and influenza-like syndromes, is often inappropriate. High-quality cRCTs and low to moderate quality quasi-experimental studies show that educational interventions direct at nurse and physicians are effective in reducing unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions. IMPLICATIONS: There is an urgent need for ASPs tailored for LTCFs. Multifaceted organized educational interventions, involving both clinicians and nursing staff, should be advocated and require institutional intervention by health authorities. Future studies assessing the impact of well-defined ASPs in LTCFs should produce compelling evidence in this setting.

Efficacy of indefinite chronic oral antimicrobial suppression for prosthetic joint infection in the elderly: a comparative study.

BACKGROUND: During prosthetic joint infection (PJI), surgical management is sometimes impossible and indefinite chronic oral antimicrobial suppression (ICOAS) may be the only option. The outcomes of elderly patients who benefited from ICOAS with strictly palliative intent were evaluated. METHODS: A national retrospective cohort study was performed in France, involving patients aged >75 years with a PJI who were managed with planned life-long ICOAS from 2009 to 2014. Patients who experienced an event were compared to those who did not. An event was defined as a composite outcome in patients undergoing ICOAS, including local or systemic progression of the infection, death, or discontinuation of antimicrobial therapy because of an adverse drug reaction. RESULTS: Twenty-one patients were included, with a median age of 85 years (interquartile range 81-88 years). Eight of the 21 patients experienced an event: one had an adverse drug reaction, three had systemic progression of sepsis, and two had local progression. Two of the 21 patients died. No death was related to ICOAS or infection. There was no significant difference between the population with an event and the population free of an event with regard to demographic, clinical, and microbiological characteristics (p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: ICOAS appeared to be an effective and safe option in this cohort.

Prolonged suppressive antibiotic therapy for prosthetic joint infection in the elderly: a national multicentre cohort study.

During prosthetic joint infection (PJI), optimal surgical management with exchange of the device is sometimes impossible, especially in the elderly population. Thus, prolonged suppressive antibiotic therapy (PSAT) is the only option to prevent acute sepsis, but little is known about this strategy. We aimed to describe the characteristics, outcome and tolerance of PSAT in elderly patients with PJI. We performed a national cross-sectional cohort study of patients >75 years old and treated with PSAT for PJI. We evaluated the occurrence of events, which were defined as: (i) local or systemic progression of the infection (failure), (ii) death and (iii) discontinuation or switch of PSAT. A total of 136 patients were included, with a median age of 83 years [interquartile range (IQR) 81-88]. The predominant pathogen involved was Staphylococcus (62.1%) (Staphylococcus aureus in 41.7%). A single antimicrobial drug was prescribed in 96 cases (70.6%). There were 46 (33.8%) patients with an event: 25 (18%) with an adverse drug reaction leading to definitive discontinuation or switch of PSAT, 8 (5.9%) with progression of sepsis and 13 died (9.6%). Among patients under follow-up, the survival rate without an event at 2 years was 61% [95% confidence interval (CI): 51;74]. In the multivariate Cox analysis, patients with higher World Health Organization (WHO) score had an increased risk of an event [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.5, p = 0.014], whereas patients treated with beta-lactams are associated with less risk of events occurring (HR = 0.5, p = 0.048). In our cohort, PSAT could be an effective and safe option for PJI in the elderly.

[Subcutaneous antibiotic administration in elderly patients]. / Antibiothérapie par voie sous-cutanée chez le patient âgé.

Although off-label, subcutaneous (SC) antibiotic administration is not infrequent, particularly among geriatric and palliative-care patients for whom other routes of administration are difficult to establish. Subcutaneous ceftriaxone is the most frequently prescribed antibiotic and it has been approved by some local committees given its favorable pharmacological parameters and relatively low subcutaneous toxicity. Yet pharmacologic and clinical data are lacking. No study has demonstrated non-inferiority of the subcutaneous route in comparison to other parenteral routes of administration. Randomized controlled trials are needed to assess the efficacy and tolerability of subcutaneous antibiotic administration given its frequent use in an aging population.

[Pneumonia in the elderly: are there any specificities? ]. / Pneumonie chez Le sujet âgé: y a-t-il des spécificités?

Pneumonia is one of the leading causes of death in the elderly. Streptococcus pneumoniae is the leading etiological agent, but the identification of a pathogen remains infrequent despite advances in microbiological methods. Antibiotic resistant organisms should be considered as potential causal agents in recently hospitalized patients and patients with recent antibiotic exposure and influenza during the flu season. The clinical diagnosis is difficult due to frequent atypical presentation. Prognostic scores are not always appropriate to predict the need for hospitalization in very old patients. Studies on the role of low-dose chest CT for the diagnosis, management and prevention should help improve the management of this disease in the future.

Q fever and Mediterranean spotted fever associated with hemophagocytic syndrome: case study and literature review.

BACKGROUND: Hemophagocytosis during Q fever (QF) and Mediterranean spotted fever (MSF) is rare and only a few cases have been reported. We aimed to investigate the characteristics, outcome, and treatment of QF/MSF-associated hemophagocytosis. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed all patients with a diagnosis of QF or MSF and suspected hemophagocytic syndrome (HS), according to Henter's criteria, between 2002 and 2011, and compared the latter to patients without HS or with lymphoma-associated HS. RESULTS: Seventeen patients with HS (median age 42 years, range 5-68 years; five females (29%)) with QF (n=8) and MSF (n=9) were included in this study. When comparing patients with QF- and MSF-associated HS with patients without HS (n=11), HS-associated signs (splenomegaly, ferritinemia, hypertriglyceridemia, and cytopenia) were significantly more frequent in patients with histological HS (p<0.05), along with a greater number of Henter's criteria. Despite the presence of HS-associated signs, treatment was similar in these two subgroups, including the time to recovery and the outcome. When compared to lymphoma-associated HS (n=10), the outcome in QF/MSF-associated HS was significantly different, with mortality in 70% of lymphoma patients versus none in QF- and MSF-associated HS (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Hemophagocytosis is a rare occurrence during the course of QF and MSF. The presence of profound cytopenia is quite unusual in QF and MSF and should bring to mind the presence of associated HS. Nevertheless, hemophagocytic syndrome is associated with a good outcome in this condition.

[Treatment duration of extra-pulmonary tuberculosis: 6 months or more? TB-INFO database analysis]. / Durée de traitement des tuberculoses extrapulmonaires : six mois ou plus ? Analyse de la base de données TB-INFO.

PURPOSE: The recommended duration of pulmonary tuberculosis therapy is 6 months. For extrapulmonary tuberculosis, treatment duration depends on tuberculosis involvement and HIV status. The objective of this study was to describe the main characteristics of a cohort of extrapulmonary tuberculosis patients, to compare patients with a 6-month treatment to those with more than a 6-month treatment, and to analyze the compliance of medical centres with recommended duration of treatment. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of 210 patients with extrapulmonary tuberculosis was carried from January 1999 to December 2006 in two hospitals in the north-east of Paris. These patients were treated with quadruple therapy during two months, followed by dual therapy during 4 months (n=77) or more (n=66). The characteristics of each group were compared by uni- and multivariate analysis. The primary endpoint was the rate of relapse or treatment failure at 24-month follow-up after treatment completion. RESULTS: No relapse was observed after 24 months of follow-up after the end of treatment in the two groups. In univariate analysis, patients with lymph node tuberculosis were more often treated for 6 months than at other sites of tuberculosis (respectively 61% versus 40.9%; P=0.02); the decision of treatment duration was related to medical practices (79.2% treated 6 months in one hospital versus 20.7% in the other, P<0.001); patients living in private residence were more often treated during 6 months than patients living in residence (24.2% versus 10.3%, P=0.042). In multivariate analysis, only hospital (P=0.046), sex (P=0.007) and private residence were significantly different in each group. CONCLUSION: A period of 6 months seems to be sufficient to treat extrapulmonary tuberculosis (except for neuromeningeal localization).

[Non tuberculous mycobacterial infections]. / Les infections à mycobactéries non tuberculeuses.

PURPOSE: Non tuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) infections, also called atypical mycobacterial infections, are caused by environmental mycobacteria and usually occur in cases of general or local immunosupression. These infections usually concern the lungs, the lymphatic system, the skin or the bones tissues. They are sometimes disseminated. In spite of new efficient antibiotics, including macrolides, therapeutic failures are common and favoured by long treatments with their potential adverse effects and drug interactions. CURRENT KNOWLEDGE AND KEY POINTS: The prevalence of atypical mycobacterial infections is increasing and is also observed in internal medicine and geriatric wards. Their clinical expression can be varied. Nowadays, these infections are more and more frequent in non-infected HIV patients, whether immunosupressed or not. Concerning other localisations of atypical mycobacterial infections, iatrogenic causes seem to be increasing and cases of nosocomial transmissions have also been described. When a NTM is found in a sample, its role in the cause of an infection must be assessed with criterias distinguishing infection from colonisation. FUTURE PROSPECTS AND PROJECTS: For those who are not locally or generally immunosupressed, it is important to search for an immunological deficiency. Indeed, patients having congenital deficiencies occurring in the interferon and interleukine pathways can develop repeated NTM infections. Therefore, for pulmonary infections in treatment failure and for disseminated infections, an adjuvant treatment by interferon gamma could be proposed. New molecules have recently been tested and can be used in some atypical mycobacterial infections.

Hematogenous anaerobic vertebral osteomyelitis due to Bacteroides fragilis in a diabetic patient.

We report the case of a 70-year-old diabetic man with spontaneous vertebral osteomyelitis due to Bacteroides fragilis. Diagnosis was obtained on positive blood cultures. The port of entry remained unknown despite extensive investigation. A combination of metronidazole and clindamycin led to a clinical cure with no need for surgical débridement and no relapse after 9 months of follow-up.