Staphylococcus aureus endocarditis associated with injecting new psychoactive substances.

BACKGROUND: Staphylococcus aureus infective endocarditis (IE) associated with injection of new psychoactive substances (NPS) in Edinburgh from 2014 to 2016 was observed. We compared these infections with a series of S. aureus IE cases in a non-injecting population within Edinburgh. METHODS: NPS-associated S. aureus IE diagnosed between 1 January 2014 and 31 May 2016 in persons who inject drugs (PWID) were compared with a series of S. aureus IE cases from non-PWID. RESULTS: There was a fourfold increase in the annual incidence of S. aureus IE, mainly due to NPS use in PWID. A larger vegetation diameter was seen on echocardiogram in PWID vs non-PWID (median 1.7 cm vs 0.65 cm; p = 0.009) with more embolic complications in PWID (15 PWID vs 1 non-PWID; p = 2.1 x 10-7) but no difference in 90-day mortality (2 PWID vs 4 non-PWID; p = 0.39). CONCLUSIONS: NPS-associated S. aureus IE correlated with complications, such as deep organ embolic abscesses, that were different from non-PWID S. aureus IE. The alarming increase in incidence resolved with targeted public health and legislative measures.

Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia associated with injected new psychoactive substances.

Injecting drug use is often associated with deep-seated infection. In Lothian in Scotland there has been a recent increase in the use of injected new psychoactive substances (NPS). Patients who have injected NPS have presented with Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia (SAB) with life-threatening complications. We describe a unique case-series of 14 episodes of SAB in ten patients. Users of injected NPS had a significantly higher incidence of endocarditis and cavitating pulmonary lesions (P < 0·05) compared to those who inject only opiates. Cases of SAB in people who inject NPS have contributed to a significant rise in the overall incidence of SAB in people who inject drugs (P < 0·05) which has in turn impacted on the ability of Lothian to meet national targets for reducing the incidence of SAB.

Injectional anthrax at a Scottish district general hospital.

This retrospective, descriptive case-series reviews the clinical presentations and significant laboratory findings of patients diagnosed with and treated for injectional anthrax (IA) since December 2009 at Monklands Hospital in Central Scotland and represents the largest series of IA cases to be described from a single location. Twenty-one patients who fulfilled National Anthrax Control Team standardized case definitions of confirmed, probable or possible IA are reported. All cases survived and none required limb amputation in contrast to an overall mortality of 28% being experienced for this condition in Scotland. We document the spectrum of presentations of soft tissue infection ranging from mild cases which were managed predominantly with oral antibiotics to severe cases with significant oedema, organ failure and coagulopathy. We describe the surgical management, intensive care management and antibiotic management including the first description of daptomycin being used to treat human anthrax. It is noted that some people who had injected heroin infected with Bacillus anthracis did not develop evidence of IA. Also highlighted are biochemical and haematological parameters which proved useful in identifying deteriorating patients who required greater levels of support and surgical debridement.

Genotyping of Giardia isolates in Scotland: a descriptive epidemiological study.

Giardiasis, caused by the intestinal protozoan parasite Giardia intestinalis (synonyms: G. lamblia, G. duodenalis), is one of the most frequent parasites to infect the Scottish population. Transmission of the infective cysts in faecal matter is commonly via food and/or water. Giardia is subdivided into assemblages, where clinical and epidemiological differences have been described between assemblages A and B. This snapshot descriptive epidemiological study examines 30 positive cases of Giardia of which 72% (n = 21) were shown to be assemblage A, 14% (n = 4) assemblage B and 10% (n = 3) mixed assemblages (A and B). There was a 2:3 female:male ratio of affected individuals with foreign travel recorded in 22 of these cases. The commonest symptom was diarrhoea which was reported in 80% of cases followed by tiredness. Five cases required hospitalization emphasizing the importance of gaining a greater understanding of how Giardia assemblages influence clinical outcomes to assist in formulating guidelines to manage potential Giardia outbreaks.

Molecular epidemiology and genetic diversity of pneumococcal carriage among children in Beni State, Bolivia.

During 2007, a study of pneumococcal carriage in children was performed in two towns (Trinidad and Riberalta) in the Beni region of the Bolivian Amazon basin. Little has previously been reported regarding the epidemiology of pneumococcal carriage in Bolivia, and no multilocus sequence typing (MLST) of pneumococcal isolates from this region has previously been documented. A pneumococcal carriage rate of 34% was identified. Of 53 Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates that survived transportation for serotyping, antibiotic susceptibility testing and MLST, the commonest serotypes were 6A (9%), 34 (8%), 4 (6%), 9A (6%), 10A (6%), 19A (6%), 23F (6%) and 38 (6%); overall, 26 different serotypes were identified. Antibiotic susceptibility testing by Etest demonstrated high levels of susceptibility to penicillin (93%), erythromycin (98%), vancomycin (100%), chloramphenicol (100%), tetracycline (96%) and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (co-trimoxazole) (85%). MLST identified that the majority (57%) of viable isolates belonged to previously unrecognised sequence types that are currently unique to Bolivia.

A novel pneumococcus with a new association.

A case of severe invasive pneumococcal disease in a 68 year old female is described. She presented following a holiday in Turkey with an uncommon but well documented complication of Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteraemia; Austrian's triad of meningitis, pneumonia and endocarditis. She then progressed to develop an atypical variant of Guillain Barre syndrome, never previously documented in association with pneumococcal disease. The pneumococcus was identified as serotype 6A and genetic typing by multi-locus sequence typing showed it to be a unique genetic profile (ST4533). We hypothesise that ST4533 may have resulted from genetic re-assortment from streptococci which had colonised the patient in the United Kingdom and bacteria encountered in Turkey. The ability to associate uncommon genotypes with uncommon clinical presentations may improve understanding of the pathogenesis of this organism, and this highlights the need for international invasive pneumococcal disease surveillance.

Observations regarding historical accounts of pneumococcal diseases due to serotypes 1 and 3.

Surveillance of the serotypes causing invasive pneumococcal diseases in the UK has indicated increasing incidence of serotype 1- and serotype 3-related disease in recent years. The introduction of a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine to the paediatric vaccination schedule in 2006, which did not cover these serotypes, has been regarded as a contributing factor. Serotypes 1 and 3 were perhaps the most extensively studied pneumococcal serotypes in the early twentieth century when pneumococcal serotyping began. Such historical observations are pertinent to our understanding of contemporary disease manifestations for these serotypes as many parallels can be seen between their behaviour in the early twentieth century and the early twenty-first century. There are many relevant lessons to be learned from these pre-antibiotic era descriptions and the observations of our predecessors.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) related cryptococcal meningitis in rural central Thailand--treatment difficulties and prevention strategies.

In 2000, cryptococcal meningitis was a common HIV related opportunistic infection in central Thailand requiring inpatient management but few patients suffering from it could afford a full course of treatment once infection had occurred. Since then, the production of generic fluconazole and highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in Thailand (and national guidelines regarding their use) is reducing the incidence of this condition and such a strategy of prevention appears much more effective than treating established disease. There remains a continuing need for health education in the region and the removal of stigma associated with this disease so that earlier detection of HIV infection and the implementation of these national guidelines can have their greatest impact.