Surgeon reported treatment choices for AO type B and C thoracolumbar fractures without neurological deficits: An expert survey.

INTRODUCTION: Less invasive spine surgery (LISS) has become well-established for thoracolumbar burst fractures without neurological deficits. However, notable controversy persists regarding the adequacy of LISS for more unstable AO type B and C injuries, as it does not allow for formal open fusion. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this cross-sectional survey experienced spine surgeons of the Dutch Spine Society were invited to participate (56 participants). They were asked to indicate the most appropriate treatment for AO type B1, B2 (L1: A1 and L1: A3), B3 and C (L1: A4) injuries at level Th12-L1. Taking into account: age, AO N0-N1, or polytrauma. Specific agreement between participants was obtained applying Variation Ratio (VR). RESULTS: A significant level of overall agreement was observed for AO type-B1 injuries with 73.8% of participants opting for percutaneous short-segment fixation (VR 0.775). For AO type-B3 injuries, 79.4% of participants favored percutaneous long-segment fixation (VR 0.794). for AO type-B2 injuries, there was less overall agreement (VR 0.571-0.657). Nonetheless, when considering all AO type-B injuries combined, percutaneous fixation emerged as the most preferred treatment option with substantial agreement (VR 0.871-0.923). Conversely, for AO type-C injuries, there was less agreement among the participants (VI 0.411), 26.5% of them chose additional open spinal fusion. CONCLUSION: For all AO type-B injuries there was substantial agreement to treat these fractures with percutaneous techniques. For AO type-C injuries, the survey results do not support a consensus. Nevertheless, the responses raise important questions about the necessity of spinal fusion for such injuries.

Determinants of lenalidomide response with or without erythropoiesis-stimulating agents in myelodysplastic syndromes: the HOVON89 trial.

A randomized phase-II study was performed in low/int-1 risk MDS (IPSS) to study efficacy and safety of lenalidomide without (arm A) or with (arm B) ESA/G-CSF. In arm B, patients without erythroid response (HI-E) after 4 cycles received ESA; G-CSF was added if no HI-E was obtained by cycle 9. HI-E served as primary endpoint. Flow cytometry and next-generation sequencing were performed to identify predictors of response. The final evaluation comprised 184 patients; 84% non-del(5q), 16% isolated del(5q); median follow-up: 70.7 months. In arm A and B, 39 and 41% of patients achieved HI-E; median time-to-HI-E: 3.2 months for both arms, median duration of-HI-E: 9.8 months. HI-E was significantly lower in non-del(5q) vs. del(5q): 32% vs. 80%. The same accounted for transfusion independency-at-week 24 (16% vs. 67%), but similar in both arms. Apart from presence of del(5q), high percentages of bone marrow lymphocytes and progenitor B-cells, a low number of mutations, absence of ring sideroblasts, and SF3B1 mutations predicted HI-E. In conclusion, lenalidomide induced HI-E in patients with non-del(5q) and del(5q) MDS without additional effect of ESA/G-CSF. The identified predictors of response may guide application of lenalidomide in lower-risk MDS in the era of precision medicine. (EudraCT 2008-002195-10).

Resistance to local anaesthetics administered via epidural, intrathecal and pudendal injections.

A primigravida presented to our institution in established labour. Her past medical history included joint hypermobility, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, Raynaud's syndrome, fibromyalgia and gastroparesis. Two technically uneventful lumbar epidurals with bupivacaine and fentanyl provided no analgesia. The spinal element of a planned combined spinal and epidural was also ineffective, so alternative analgesia was offered. While this was being prepared, the obstetric team recommended an instrumental delivery. An attempted pudendal nerve block with lidocaine had no effect, and general anaesthesia was therefore provided for a lower segment caesarean delivery. We believe this is the first report of local anaesthetic resistance via three distinct routes of administration in a single patient. Resistance to local anaesthetics is unusual and is more common in patients with hypermobility spectrum disorders. This case demonstrates the unique experience of a patient with a hypermobility condition who had failed epidural, spinal and pudendal local anaesthetic. We suggest that patients with a hypermobility condition should be specifically assessed for local anaesthetic resistance as part of anaesthetic pre-assessment, to enable early planning.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare access and utilisation in South Sudan: a cross-sectional mixed methods study.

BACKGROUND: Indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on communities in fragile and conflict-affected settings may be severe due to reduced access and use of healthcare, as happened during the 2015 Ebola Virus Disease outbreak. Achieving a balance between short-term emergency response and addressing long-term health needs is particularly challenging in fragile and conflict-affected settings such as South Sudan, given the already significant barriers to accessing healthcare for the population. This study sought to characterise the effect of COVID-19 on healthcare access and South Sudan's healthcare response. This can inform efforts to mitigate the potential impacts of COVID-19 or other epidemiological threats, and contribute to understanding how these may be balanced for greater health system resilience in fragile contexts. METHODS: We conducted a mixed methods study in three of South Sudan's states, combining data from a cross-sectional quantitative household survey with qualitative interviews and Focus Group Discussions. RESULTS: Even though some fears related to COVID-19 were reported, we found these did not greatly dissuade people from seeking care and do not yield significant consequences for health system programming in South Sudan. The pillars of the response focused on risk communication and community engagement were effective in reaching communities through different channels. Respondents and participants reported behaviour changes that were in line with public health advice. We also found that the implementation of COVID-19 response activities sometimes created frictions between the national government and international health actors, and that COVID-19 caused a greater reliance on, and increased responsibility for, international donors for health planning. CONCLUSIONS: Given the fact that global priorities on COVID-19 are greatly shifting, power dynamics between international health agencies and the national government may be useful to consider in further COVID-19 planning, particularly for the vaccine roll-out. South Sudan must now navigate a period of transition where COVID-19 vaccine roll-out continues and other domestic health burdens are re-prioritised.

Harmful and benign work stress and work resilience: A Delphi-study in employees and experts

Background and objectivesIn this study, we introduce the concept of benign versus harmful work stress. Our objectives are to explore how to discern benign work stress from harmful work stress and to identify the factors that promote work resilience.MethodsAn online Delphi study with three rounds, incorporating open-ended questions and statements, was administered to mental health employees and experts. Statements were rated on a 7-point scale: an interquartile deviation (IQD ≤ 1) was considered as consensus.ResultsIn the first round 20 employees and 14 experts were included, in the second round 87 employees and 35 experts, and in the third round 53 employees and nine experts. There was consensus about seven characteristics of harmful stress, eight of benign work stress, 24 individual factors that promote resilience, and eight team factors that promote resilience.ConclusionConsensus was achieved about factors relevant to benign versus harmful work stress and resilience at work. (AU)

A framework for mapping and monitoring human-ocean interactions in near real-time during COVID-19 and beyond.

The human response to the COVID-19 pandemic set in motion an unprecedented shift in human activity with unknown long-term effects. The impacts in marine systems are expected to be highly dynamic at local and global scales. However, in comparison to terrestrial ecosystems, we are not well-prepared to document these changes in marine and coastal environments. The problems are two-fold: 1) manual and siloed data collection and processing, and 2) reliance on marine professionals for observation and analysis. These problems are relevant beyond the pandemic and are a barrier to understanding rapidly evolving blue economies, the impacts of climate change, and the many other changes our modern-day oceans are undergoing. The "Our Ocean in COVID-19″ project, which aims to track human-ocean interactions throughout the pandemic, uses the new eOceans platform (eOceans.app) to overcome these barriers. Working at local scales, a global network of ocean scientists and citizen scientists are collaborating to monitor the ocean in near real-time. The purpose of this paper is to bring this project to the attention of the marine conservation community, researchers, and the public wanting to track changes in their area. As our team continues to grow, this project will provide important baselines and temporal patterns for ocean conservation, policy, and innovation as society transitions towards a new normal. It may also provide a proof-of-concept for real-time, collaborative ocean monitoring that breaks down silos between academia, government, and at-sea stakeholders to create a stronger and more democratic blue economy with communities more resilient to ocean and global change.

Presymptomatic treatment of classic late-infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis with cerliponase alfa.

BACKGROUND: Neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis type 2 (CLN2 disease) is a rare rapidly progressive neurodegenerative disorder, resulting in early death. Intracerebroventricular enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) with cerliponase alfa is now available and has shown to delay disease progression in symptomatic patients. It is yet unknown if cerliponase alfa can prevent disease onset in presymptomatic patients. RESULTS: We evaluated the effect of 2 years of intracerebroventricular ERT in two siblings with CLN2 disease, one symptomatic (age 47 months) and one presymptomatic (age 23 months) at treatment start, using the CLN2 Clinical Rating Scale (CLN2 CRS), Gross Motor Function Measure-66 (GMFM-66) for motor function, Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, 3rd Edition, Dutch (BSID-III-NL) for neurocognitive development, brain MRI, and visual evoked potentials (VEP), electroretinogram (ERG) and retinoscopy for visual function. On the CLN2 CRS patient 1 showed a decline from 3 to 2 in the combined motor and language score due to regression in language use (CLN2 CRS total score after 2 years of treatment: 8), whereas a decline of 2 or more points in the combined motor and language score would be expected without treatment. Patient 2 retained the maximum score of 3 in all 4 subdomains (CLN2 CRS total score after 2 years of treatment: 12). The GMFM-66 total score declined from 46 to 39 in patient 1 and showed an age-appropriate increase from 66 to 84 in patient 2. Cognitive-developmental age decreased from 24 to 11 months in patient 1, whereas an increase in cognitive-developmental age from 21 to 39 months was seen in patient 2. Cerebral and cerebellar atrophy observed on MRI in patient 1 at age 42 months (before treatment) was not observed in patient 2 at age 48 months (after 2 years of treatment). CONCLUSION: We show that cerliponase alfa is able to delay the onset of symptoms when treatment is started in a presymptomatic stage of CLN2 disease. Our results advocate the start of treatment at an early age before symptom onset, but should be confirmed in a larger cohort study.

Embryo blastulation and quality between days 5 and 6 of extended embryo culture.

PURPOSE: This study aims to know what proportion of culture day 5 pre-blastocyst-stage embryos develop into blastocysts by culture day 6 and what patient and cycle characteristics are associated with delayed blastocyst formation. METHODS: A retrospective observational cohort analysis was performed including a total of 9886 embryos from 1008 IVF cycles in 835 patients, who underwent treatment between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2018. Autologous fresh in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles at a single academic center were included in the analysis. Embryos were group-cultured using single-step culture media. Blastulation was defined as the presence of a new blastocyst. Usable blastulation was defined as the presence of a new good or excellent quality, expanded, hatching, or hatched blastocysts. RESULTS: The mean blastulation rate between days 5 and 6 of extended embryo culture was 30.9%. The mean percentage of embryos developing into usable blastocyst-stage embryos was 19.8%. The factors associated with blastulation on day 6 included the total number of embryos and the number of pre-blastocysts on day 5, as well as the use of ICSI. Age, the number of total embryos, those remained in culture and pre-blastocysts, as well as the blastulation rate on day 5 were associated with usable blastulation. CONCLUSION: It is important to know the usable blastocyst development rate between culture days 5 and 6 in order to adequately counsel patients debating whether to proceed with fresh ET on day 5 or forego ET with the expectation that embryos will be biopsied for PGT and/or cryopreserved on culture day 6. Our findings provide evidence to help guide patients in this difficult decision.

Sexual dimorphism of physical activity on cognitive aging: Role of immune functioning.

OBJECTIVE: Exercise is one of the most potent strategies available to support cognitive health with age, yet substantial variability exists. Sexual dimorphism is evident for brain and immune functioning, the latter being implicated as important pathway for exercise. We examined the moderating role of sex on the relationship between physical activity and systemic inflammatory and brain health outcomes in support of more personalized approaches to behavioral interventions. METHODS: Our discovery cohort included 45 typically aging women matched on age (±5y) and education (±2y) to 45 men (mean age = 72.5; Clinical Dementia Rating = 0) who completed self-reported current physical activity (Physical Activity Scale for Elderly), blood draw, neuropsychological evaluation, and brain MRI. An independent sample of 45 typically aging women and 36 men who completed the same measures comprised a replication cohort. Plasma was analyzed for 11 proinflammatory cytokine and chemokine markers via MesoScale Discovery. RESULTS: Discovery cohort: Reported physical activity did not differ between sexes (150 vs. 157, p = 0.72). There was a significant interaction between sex and physical activity on chemokine markers MDC, MIP-1b, MCP-4, and eotaxin-3 (ps < 0.03), with a similar trend for MCP-1 and INFγ (ps < 0.09). Men who reported greater activity demonstrated lower inflammatory markers, an effect attenuated-to-absent in women. An interaction between sex and physical activity was also observed for parahippocampal volumes (p = 0.02) and cognition (processing speed and visual memory; ps < 0.04). Again, the beneficial effect of physical activity on outcomes was present in men, but not women. Replication cohort analyses conferred a consistent effect of sex on the relationship between physical activity and immune markers; models examining neurobehavioral outcomes did not strongly replicate. Across cohorts, post-hoc models demonstrated an interaction between sex and activity-related inflammatory markers on total gray matter volume and visual memory. Men with higher inflammatory markers demonstrated poorer brain structure and function, whereas inflammatory markers did not strongly relate to neurobehavioral outcomes in women. CONCLUSIONS: Greater physical activity was associated with lower markers of inflammation in clinically normal older men, but not women - an effect consistently replicated across cohorts. Additionally, men appeared disproportionately vulnerable to the adverse effects of peripheral inflammatory markers on brain structure and function compared to women. Immune activation may be a male-specific pathway through which exercise confers neurobehavioral benefit.

Neural correlates of social influence on risk perception during development.

Studies have shown that adolescents are more likely than adults to take risks in the presence of peers than when alone, and that young adolescents' risk perception is more influenced by other teenagers than by adults. The current fMRI study investigated the effect of social influence on risk perception in female adolescents (aged 12-14) and adults (aged 23-29). Participants rated the riskiness of everyday situations and were then informed about the (alleged) risk ratings of a social influence group (teenagers or adults), before rating each situation again. The results showed that adolescents adjusted their ratings to conform with others more than adults did, and both age groups were influenced more by adults than by teenagers. When there was a conflict between the participants' own risk ratings and the ratings of the social influence group, activation was increased in the posterior medial frontal cortex, dorsal cingulate cortex and inferior frontal gyrus in both age groups. In addition, there was greater activation during no-conflict situations in the right middle frontal gyrus and bilateral parietal cortex in adults compared with adolescents. These results suggest that there are behavioral and neural differences between adolescents and adults in conflict and no-conflict social situations.

Multicenter randomized controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of frozen gloves for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy.

BACKGROUND: This study investigated the efficacy and tolerability of wearing frozen gloves (FGs) during chemotherapy to prevent chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) as reported by patients and influence on quality of life (QoL). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Cancer patients starting treatment with oxaliplatin, docetaxel or paclitaxel between February 2013 and May 2016 at the medical oncology department were eligible. Patients were randomized into groups wearing FGs on both hands during treatment and those not wearing FGs during treatment. Self-reported CIPN and QoL were measured with the European Organisation for the Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life (EORTC QLQ) CIPN20 and QLQ-C30 at four time points: baseline (t0), after three cycles (t1), end of chemotherapy (t2) and after 6 months (t3). RESULTS: The study included 180 patients with 90 patients in both arms. They mostly underwent treatment of colorectal or breast cancer. Thirty-one patients (34%) discontinued FGs, mainly due to discomfort. Intention-to-treat analyses showed no important differences in reported EORTC QLQ CIPN20 subscales between the FG group and control group; however, the analyses showed the patients experienced reduced tingling in fingers/hands [ß = -10.20, 95% confidence interval (CI) = -3.94 to -3.14, P = 0.005] and less trouble opening a jar or bottle due to loss of strength in hands (ß = -6.97, 95% CI = -13.53 to -0.40, P = 0.04) in the FG group compared with the control group. Per-protocol analyses showed similar results: reduced aching or burning pain in fingers/hands (ß = -4.37, 95% CI = -7.90 to -0.83, P = 0.02) and cramps in hands (ß = -3.76, 95% CI = -7.38 to -0.14, P = 0.04). Differences in tingling in fingers/hands at t1 were clinically relevant. In addition, those treated with FGs reported overall better QoL (ß = 4.79, 95% CI = 0.37 to 9.22, P = 0.03) and physical functioning (ß = 5.66, 95% CI = 1.59 to 9.73, P = 0.007) than the control. No difference in dose reductions was observed. CONCLUSIONS: No difference in CIPN subscales was reported between intervention arms. Wearing FGs might reduce some neuropathy symptoms in the hands, potentially resulting in a better QoL; however, one-third of the FG group discontinued the study before the end of treatment. Future studies should focus on the method of limb hypothermia to prevent CIPN. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NL39650.015.12.

Age at diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes in Germany: a nationwide analysis based on claims data from 69 million people.

AIM: For many European countries, including Germany, no valid estimates are available on age at diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes. Thus, we aimed to estimate the age at diagnosis in Germany. METHODS: Age at diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes in Germany was estimated based on Type 2 diabetes prevalence and incidence and the age distribution of the German population. Age- and sex-specific incidence and prevalence in 2014/2015, based on claims data from statutory health insurance (n= 69 000 000, ~85% of the German population), and the age pyramid for Germany in 2015 were used for the calculation. Age at Type 2 diabetes diagnosis was stratified by sex. CIs were estimated using bootstrap methods. In addition, the age range in which 50% of the population received a diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes was calculated (the interquartile range). RESULTS: The mean ± sd age at Type 2 diabetes diagnosis in 2015 was 61.0 ± 13.4 years (95% CI 60.9-61.0) in men. Women were diagnosed ~2 years later than men (mean age 63.4 ± 14.9 years; 95% CI 63.4-63.5). The age range in which 50% of the population was diagnosed with diabetes was 53-72 years for men and 54-76 years for women. CONCLUSIONS: The sex differences are mainly attributable to a higher incidence of Type 2 diabetes in men than women during middle age and the higher absolute number of women in the older ages. The early age at diabetes diagnosis compared to average life expectancy means that the risk of diabetes-related complications is increased.

Fibroblast growth factor 21 as a biomarker for long-term complications in organic acidemias.

BACKGROUND: There is increasing evidence that long-term complications in organic acidemias are caused by impaired mitochondrial metabolism. Currently, there is no specific biomarker to monitor mitochondrial dysfunction in organic acidemias. Serum fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF-21) is a biomarker for mitochondrial disease and could be a candidate to monitor mitochondrial function in the deleterious course of disease. METHODS: Data of 17 patients with classical organic acidemias (11 propionic acidemia (PA), four methylmalonic acidemia (MMA) and two isovaleric acidemia (IVA) patients) were included. The clinical course was evaluated; metabolic decompensations and long-term complications were correlated with plasma FGF-21 levels. Cardiomyopathy, prolonged QT interval, renal failure, and optic neuropathy were defined as long-term complications. RESULTS: Patients ages ranged from 16 months up to 32 years. Serious long-term complications occurred in eight patients (five PA and three MMA patients). In MMA and PA patients plasma FGF-21 levels during stable metabolic periods were significantly higher in patients with long-term complications (Mdn = 2556.0 pg/ml) compared to patients without (Mdn = 287.0 pg/ml). A median plasma FGF-21 level above 1500 pg/ml during a stable metabolic period, measured before the occurrence of long-term complications, had a positive predictive value of 0.83 and a negative predictive value of 1.00 on long-term complications in MMA and PA patients. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates the potential role of FGF-21 as a biomarker for long-term complications in classical organic acidemias, attributed to mitochondrial dysfunction.

Prevalence and molecular diversity of invasive Streptococcus dysgalactiae and Streptococcus pyogenes in a German tertiary care medical centre.

Prevalence of invasive ß-haemolytic streptococci (BHS) at a tertiary care hospital and molecular diversity of S. pyogenes and S. dysgalactiae was studied. Between 2012 and 2016, all blood culture sets (n = 55,839), CSF (n = 8413) and soft tissue (n = 20,926) samples were analysed for BHS positivity using HYBASE software. Molecular profiles of 99 S. pyogenes and S. dysgalactiae were identified by sequencing of M protein genes (emm types) and multiplex PCR typing of 20 other virulence determinants. Streptococci contributed to 6.2% of blood, 10.7% of CSF and 14.5% of soft tissue isolates, being among the most common invasive isolates. The overall rates of invasive S. pyogenes, S. agalactiae, S. dysgalactiae and S. pneumoniae were 2.4, 4.4, 2.1, and 5.3%. Whereas S. pneumoniae was 1.5% more common in CSF samples, BHS isolates were 2-fold and 11-fold higher in bacteraemia and invasive soft tissue infections. Genetic BHS typing revealed wide molecular diversity of invasive and noninvasive group A and group G BHS, whereas one emm-type (stG62647.0) and no other virulence determinants except scpA were detected in invasive group C BHS. BHS were important invasive pathogens, outpacing S. pneumoniae in bacteraemia and invasive soft tissue infections. The incidence of S. dysgalactiae infections was comparable to that of S. pyogenes even with less diversity of molecular virulence. The results of this study emphasise the need for awareness of BHS invasiveness in humans and the need to develop BHS prevention strategies.

Addressing Cultural Determinants of Health for Latino and Hmong Patients with Limited English Proficiency: Practical Strategies to Reduce Health Disparities.

We explored how addressing culture may improve patient-provider relationships and reduce health disparities for racial and ethnic individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP). We analyzed qualitative data collected to explore health disparities in preventive cancer screenings for Hmong and Spanish-speaking LEP patients in a large Midwest healthcare system. We interviewed 20 participants (10 from each group) and the audiotaped interviews were transcribed verbatim, then back translated focusing on meaning. Data was analyzed using content analysis. Two themes are: conversation is relational and quality time is valued. Good communication skills involve the amount of conversation, clear explanations, and engaging with the patient. Quality of time meant physical time spent with patient and the task-oriented nature of the encounter. Cultural literacy in healthcare practice helps to understand the whole patient rather than focusing on the symptoms of illness. Patients should not be treated in isolation of their culture. A patient-centered approach to care means physicians should not remain culturally neutral but be more culturally sensitive. We propose steps to reduce disparities by increasing the awareness of cultural literacy for physicians to improve patient-provider relationship.

Healthcare costs of Type 2 diabetes in Germany.

AIM: To describe for the first time the direct costs of Type 2 diabetes treatment by analysing nationwide routine data from statutory health insurance in Germany. METHODS: This cost-of-illness-study was based on a 6.8% random sample of all German people with statutory health insurance (4.3 out of 70 million people). The healthcare expenses show direct per capita costs from the payer perspective. Healthcare expenses for physicians, dentists, pharmacies, hospitals, sick benefits and other healthcare costs were considered. Per capita costs, cost ratios for people with Type 2 diabetes and without diabetes as well as diabetes-attributable costs were calculated. RESULTS: Per capita costs for people with Type 2 diabetes amounted to €4,957 in 2009 and €5,146 in 2010. People with Type 2 diabetes had 1.7-fold higher health expenses than people without diabetes. The largest differences in health expenses were found for prescribed medication from pharmacies (cost ratio diabetes/no diabetes: 2.2) and inpatient treatment (1.8). Ten percent of the total statutory health insurance expense, in total €16.1 billion, was attributable to the medical care of people with Type 2 diabetes. CONCLUSIONS: This nationwide study indicates that one in 10 Euros of healthcare expenses is spent on people with Type 2 diabetes in Germany. In the future, national statutory health insurance data can be used to quantify time trends of costs in the healthcare system.

Wohlfahrtiimonas chitiniclastica: current insights into an emerging human pathogen.

Since the first description of Wohlfahrtiimonas chitiniclastica in 2008, a number of well described case reports demonstrating its pathogenic role in humans have been published. Infections may be closely linked to flies, such as Wohlfahrtia magnifica, Lucilia sericata, Chrysomya megacephala or Musca domestica. These insects are potent vectors for the distribution of W. chitiniclastica causing local or systemic infections originating from wounds infested with fly larvae. However, other potential sources of transmission of W. chitiniclastica have been described such as soil or chicken meat. Infections in humans reported to date comprise wound infections, cellulitis, osteomyelitis and sepsis. This review summarizes all the literature available up to now and gives the current knowledge about this emerging human pathogen. Additionally, four patients with proven W. chitiniclastica infections treated at Dresden University Hospital between 2013 and 2015, are included. Special focus was placed on microbiological identification and antibiotic susceptibility testing of the pathogen.