Successful treatment of skin and soft tissue infection due to carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii by ampicillin-sulbactam and meropenem combination therapy.

In recent years, carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii infections have been responsible for outbreaks in medical facilities. A 35-year-old Japanese woman developed a skin and soft tissue infection due to carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii. The isolate was resistant to antibiotics other than ampicillin-sulbactam and colistin, suggesting drug resistance due to carbapenemase production by OXA-23. We selected a combination therapy consisting of intravenous ampicillin-sulbactam and meropenem. No changes were observed in aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, blood urea nitrogen, or serum creatinine during therapy, and carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii was not detected in wound exudates 3 days after therapy initiation. In our patient's case, combination therapy with ampicillin-sulbactam and meropenem was successful. Thus, combination therapy with ampicillin-sulbactam and meropenem is effective against skin and soft tissue infection due to carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii. Combination therapy with intravenous ampicillin-sulbactam and meropenem may be an option for skin and soft tissue infections due to carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii.

[A phase III study of the efficacy and safety of meropenem in patients with febrile neutropenia].

Efficacy, safety and pharmacokinetics of meropenem (MEPM) were assessed when 1 g (40 mg/kg for some of the pediatric patients) t.i.d. was administered every 8hours to 101 adult and 6 pediatric patients with febrile neutropenia (FN) as diagnosed based on the Japanese guideline for FN treatment. The efficacy rate evaluated as antifebrile effect up to Day 4 of treatment was 40.0% (40/100) in adult and 66.7% (4/6) in pediatric patients. The antifebrile effect in adult patients was analyzed after stratifying them according to their neutrophil counts up to Day 4. Treatment with MEPM produced an antifebrile effect not only in patients with higher neutrophil counts (> or = 500/mm3) but also in those with lower counts (< 100/mm3), and the efficacy rate was comparable between the two groups: 38.2% in the < 100/mm3 group and 29.4 to 55.6% in the > or = 500/mm3 group. The bacteriological efficacy of MEPM evaluated as disappearance rate on Days 3 to 5 and Day 7 was both 100% (8/8 and 4/4, respectively). The time above minimal inhibitory concentration (% T > MIC) in the treatment interval was greater than 90% in 9 out of 10 patients for whom likely causative organism was isolated and identified after MEPM treatment or for whom causative organism emerging after treatment was isolated and identified. The incidence of adverse events was 93.1% in adult and 83.3% in pediatric patients. There were three deaths and one serious adverse event reported among the adult patients; however, all these cases were assessed as not related to the study medication. The incidence of adverse drug reactions was 45.5% and 66.7%, respectively. All the observed adverse drug reactions were mild or moderate in severity and none of them was severe. Adverse drug reactions which were unknown from the previous MEPM clinical studies and investigation of the results of clinical experience include 'chest discomfort', 'blood uric acid decreased', 'lymphocyte deformation', 'blood uric acid increased', 'abnormal funduscopy', 'hypesthesia' and 'hemorrhagic cystitis'. All these events were mild or moderate in severity and resolved without requiring any action or after providing symptomatic treatment. There was no unknown adverse drug reaction that resulted in treatment discontinuation. No nervous system disorders such as convulsion and impaired consciousness were reported. The results show that monotherapy of MEPM 1 g (or 40 mg/kg for some of the pediatric patients) t.i.d. every 8 hours was effective, and was also safe and well tolerated in adult and pediatric patients with FN. Therefore, MEPM monotherapy is expected to be useful as the initial treatment for Japanese patients with FN.

[Lupus anticoagulant-hypoprothrombinemia syndrome with a false-positive test for coagulation factor inhibitors].

We report a case of a 1-year-old boy diagnosed with lupus anticoagulant-hypoprothrombinemia syndrome (LA-HPS), which is a rare disorder. His initial presentation of sinusitis was accompanied by hemorrhagic episodes including ecchymoses and epistaxis 6 months after antibiotic therapy. Laboratory results revealed prolonged prothrombin time (PT) and activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) that did not correct with mixing studies. Factors II, VIII, IX, X, XI, and XII activities were 20%, 44%, 42.5%, 59%, 4%, and 10%, respectively. The Bethesda inhibitor assay showed inhibitors against multiple coagulation factor. APTT, mixing studies, diluted Russell's viper venom time, and the Bethesda inhibitor assay detected LA. LA-HPS with a suspected false-positive test for coagulation factor inhibitors was diagnosed. Bleeding stopped and results of coagulation studies returned to normal without therapy 2 months after onset of the disease.

[Idiopathic hypereosinophilic syndrome in a child with fever and hepatomegaly].

Idiopathic hypereosinophilic syndrome (IHES) in children is a rare disorder. A 1-year-old girl presented to our hospital for evaluation of eosinophilia. At the onset, her white blood cell count in peripheral blood was 70,600/µl with 74% eosinophils. She had a high fever and mild hepatomegaly but had no remarkable evidence of organ involvement by CT, MRI and ultrasonography. She was diagnosed with IHES without any evidence of secondary eosinophilia, expression of the FIP1L1-PDGFRα fusion transcript, chromosomal abnormalities, and aberrant T-cell populations. The serum IgE, vitamin B12, IL-5 and TARC levels were normal. Systemic administration of corticosteroid and suplatast tosilate resolved the symptoms promptly and resulted in improvement of eosinophilia.