Efficacy and safety of clindamycin-based treatment for bone and joint infections: a cohort study.

Clindamycin has high bioavailability together with good diffusion in bone tissue and could represent an alternative antibiotic compound for the treatment of bone and joint infections (BJIs). However, data regarding the efficacy and safety of clindamycin for BJIs are limited. A monocentric cohort study based on our medical dashboard, which prospectively recorded 28 characteristics for all hospitalized patients since July 2005, was performed. BJIs were selected, and then, all mono-microbial BJI managed with clindamycin-based therapy were included. Remission was defined as the absence of clinical and/or microbiological relapse after treatment. The duration of follow-up without relapse was determined retrospectively using computerized medical records. For 10 years, 196 BJIs, of which 80 (41%) were device-associated infections, were treated with clindamycin-based therapy. The bacterial causative agent was Staphylococcus aureus in 130 cases (66%), coagulase-negative staphylococci in 29 cases (15%), streptococci in 31 cases (16%) and other bacteria in 6 cases (3%). When used in combination therapy, clindamycin was mainly paired with fluoroquinolones (31%) or rifampin (27%). The mean duration of clindamycin treatment was 7.4 ± 3.2 weeks (range, 1-24). An AE was recorded for 9 (4.5%) patients. Remission was recorded for 111 (57%) patients, with a mean duration of clinical follow-up of 28 ± 24 months. Treatment failure occurred in 22 (11%) patients, 50 patients (25%) were lost to follow-up, and 8 (4%) required long-term suppressive therapy. Among the assessable patients, clindamycin-based therapy was efficient in 111/133 cases (83%) and thus represents a reliable and safe alternative treatment option.

Medical table: A major tool for antimicrobial stewardship policy.

Infectious diseases are unpredictable, with heterogeneous clinical presentations, diverse pathogens, and various susceptibility rates to anti-infective agents. These features lead to a wide variety of clinical practices, which in turn strongly limits their evaluation. We have been using a medical table since 2005 to monitor the medical activity in our department. The observation of heterogeneous therapeutic practices led to drafting up our own antibiotic guidelines and to implementing a continuous evaluation of their observance and impact on morbidity and mortality associated with infectious diseases, including adverse effects of antibiotics, duration of hospital stay, use of intensive care, and deaths. The 10-year analysis of medical practices using the medical table is based on more than 10,000 hospitalizations. It shows simplified antibiotic therapies and a reduction in infection-related morbidity and mortality. The medical table is a major tool for antimicrobial stewardship, leading to constant benefits for patients.

Bacteraemic urinary tract infections may mimic respiratory infections: a nested case-control study.

Daily practice suggests that respiratory signs may be observed in bacteraemic urinary infections (BUI). Our objective was to search for an association between the presence of respiratory symptoms and the bacteraemic nature of urinary tract infections (UTI). A nested case-control study was carried out based on our computerised dashboard from January 2011 to June 2015. Cases were defined as patients with a BUI due to Enterobacteriaceae species, identified in blood and urine cultures. Controls had fever and a positive urinary sample but sterile blood cultures (NBUI) and a final diagnosis of urinary infection. Patients from the BUI group were 1:1 matched to the NBUI group according to four parameters: age, gender, cardiovascular and pulmonary comorbid conditions. Subjects with cognitive impairment limiting clinical accuracy and those with healthcare-associated infections were excluded. We compared systematically recorded respiratory and urinary symptoms between groups: signs on auscultation, dyspnoea, chest pain, cough and sputum, dysuria with burning, pollakiuria, flank or costovertebral angle tenderness and ischuria. One hundred BUI were compared to 100 NBUI, both groups exhibiting a similar rate for all considered comorbid conditions. In the BUI group, 58 % showed at least one respiratory sign vs. 20 % in the NBUI group, p < 0.001, while urinary signs were less frequent: 54 % vs. 71 %, p = 0.013. In the multivariate analysis, BUI was associated with the presence of abnormal pulmonary auscultation [adjusted odds ratio (AOR), 5.91; p < 0.001] and a trend towards less urinary symptoms (AOR, 1.58; p = 0.058). Patients with BUI presented with significantly more respiratory signs, which overshadowed urinary symptoms, compared to those with non-bacteraemic UTI. Such observations impact clinical decision-making.

Antiretroviral Regimens and CD4/CD8 Ratio Normalization in HIV-Infected Patients during the Initial Year of Treatment: A Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: As CD4/CD8 ratio inversion has been associated with non-AIDS morbidity and mortality, predictors of ratio normalization after cART need to be studied. Here, we aimed to investigate the association of antiretroviral regimens with CD4/CD8 ratio normalization within an observational cohort. METHODS: We selected, from a French cohort at the Nice University Hospital, HIV-1 positive treatment-naive patients who initiated cART between 2000 and 2011 with a CD4/CD8 ratio <1. Association between cART and ratio normalization (>1) in the first year was assessed using multivariate logistic regression models. Specific association with INSTI-containing regimens was examined. RESULTS: 567 patients were included in the analyses; the median CD4/CD8 ratio was 0.36. Respectively, 52.9%, 29.6% and 10.4% initiated a PI-based, NNRTI-based or NRTI-based cART regimens. About 8% of the population started an INSTI-containing regimen. 62 (10.9%) patients achieved a CD4/CD8 ratio ≥1 (N group). cART regimen was not associated with normalization when coded as PI-, NNRTI- or NRTI-based regimen. However, when considering INSTI-containing regimens alone, there was a strong association with normalization [OR, 7.67 (2.54-23.2)]. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest an association between initiation of an INSTI-containing regimen and CD4/CD8 ratio normalization at one year in naïve patients. Should it be confirmed in a larger population, it would be another argument for their use as first-line regimen as it is recommended in the recent update of the "Guidelines for the Use of Antiretroviral Agents in HIV-1-Infected Adults and Adolescents".

The features of infectious diseases departments and anti-infective practices in France and Turkey: a cross-sectional study.

The aim of this study was to assess the infectious diseases (ID) wards of tertiary hospitals in France and Turkey for technical capacity, infection control, characteristics of patients, infections, infecting organisms, and therapeutic approaches. This cross-sectional study was carried out on a single day on one of the weekdays of June 17-21, 2013. Overall, 36 ID departments from Turkey (n = 21) and France (n = 15) were involved. On the study day, 273 patients were hospitalized in Turkish and 324 patients were followed in French ID departments. The numbers of patients and beds in the hospitals, and presence of an intensive care unit (ICU) room in the ID ward was not different in both France and Turkey. Bed occupancy in the ID ward, single rooms, and negative pressure rooms were significantly higher in France. The presence of a laboratory inside the ID ward was more common in Turkish ID wards. The configuration of infection control committees, and their qualifications and surveillance types were quite similar in both countries. Although differences existed based on epidemiology, the distribution of infections were uniform on both sides. In Turkey, anti-Gram-positive agents, carbapenems, and tigecycline, and in France, cephalosporins, penicillins, aminoglycosides, and metronidazole were more frequently preferred. Enteric Gram-negatives and hepatitis B and C were more frequent in Turkey, while human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and streptococci were more common in France (p < 0.05 for all significances). Various differences and similarities existed in France and Turkey in the ID wards. However, the current scene is that ID are managed with high standards in both countries.

Audit of antibiotic therapy used in 66 cases of endocarditis.

OBJECTIVES: We wanted to assess the quality of antibiotic therapy prescribed for infective endocarditis in our ward. DESIGN: We conducted a retrospective audit of all adult patients with endocarditis hospitalized over a 3-year period in the Infectious Diseases Unit of the Nice University Hospital, France. The quality of antibiotic therapy was assessed using the 2004 European Society of Cardiology guidelines as a reference. Antibiotic therapy was considered as appropriate only if the five following items complied with guidelines: antibiotic, dose, route, interval of administration, and duration of antibiotic treatment. RESULTS: Sixty-six patients were included, 63years of age on average. Antibiotic therapy complied with guidelines in 14% of the cases. The most frequent causes of inappropriate therapy were: gentamicin prescribed as a single daily dose in 55% (27/49) of the cases, unnecessary prescriptions of rifampin in 72% (18/25) of the cases, and too long duration of gentamicin course for staphylococcal endocarditis in 32% (9/28) of the cases. Antibiotic therapy was switched from intravenous to oral route in 29% of the patients (n=19), 18±9 days after starting therapy on average. These endocarditis were mainly left-sided (n=12) and/or complicated (n=15). There was no significant association between mortality and inappropriate antibiotic therapy (14% if inappropriate vs. 22%, P=0.62) or between mortality and oral switch (0% if oral switch vs. 21%, P=0.052). CONCLUSIONS: Infective endocarditis antibiotic treatment rarely complied with the 2004 European guidelines, but this did not have a negative impact on mortality. Switching antibiotic therapy from intravenous to oral route was common, even for complicated left-sided endocarditis, and was associated with a favorable outcome in all cases.