Treatment of MRSA infections in India: Clinical insights from a Delphi analysis.

PURPOSE: International and Indian guidelines for the management of patients with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections are available, but the local guidelines are not MRSA-specific. This study aimed to provide clinical insights for the treatment of MRSA infections in India. METHODS: We used a three-step modified Delphi method to obtain insights. Ten experts comprising infectious disease specialists, microbiologists, pulmonologists, and critical care experts agreed to participate in the analysis. In round 1, a total of 161 statements were circulated to the panel and the experts were asked to 'agree' or 'disagree' by responding 'yes' or 'no' to each statement and provide comments. The same process was used for 73 statements in round 2. Direct interaction with the experts was carried out in round 3 wherein 35 statements were discussed. At least 80% of the experts had to agree for a statement to reach concordance. RESULTS: Eighty-eight statements in round 1, thirty-eight statements in round 2, and eight statements in round 3 reached concordance and were accepted without modification. The final document comprised 152 statements on the management of various syndromes associated with MRSA such as skin and soft tissue infections, bacteremia and endocarditis, pneumonia, bone and joint infections, and central nervous system infections. CONCLUSIONS: This analysis will assist clinicians in India to choose an appropriate course of action for MRSA infections.

Incidental chest computed tomography findings in asymptomatic Covid-19 patients. A multicentre Indian perspective.

In December 2019, an unprecedented outbreak of pneumonia of unknown etiology emerged called COVID-19. A vast number of people affected by this disease are asymptomatic and yet contagious with up to 79% of COVID-19 infections reportedly caused by undocumented infections. Surprisingly, these asymptomatic subjects are also known to quietly harbor pneumonia changes on CT scans. RT-PCR, the definitive test for COVID-19, maybe false negative in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia on CT. Incidental findings highly suspicious of COVID-19 pneumonia on CT chest of asymptomatic patients may increase as the community transmission of the virus rises and isolation restrictions are released. It is advisable to be aware of its appearances and the challenges associated with it.

A comparative assessment of clinical, pharmacological and antimicrobial profile of novel anti-methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus agent levonadifloxacin: Therapeutic role in nosocomial and community infections.

Staphylococcus aureus is of significant clinical concern in both community- and hospital-onset infections. The key to the success of S. aureus as a pathogen is its ability to swiftly develop antimicrobial resistance. Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) is not only resistant to nearly all beta-lactams but also demonstrates resistance to several classes of antibiotics. A high prevalence of MRSA is seen across worldwide. For many decades, vancomycin remained as gold standard antibiotic for the treatment of MRSA infections. In the past decades, linezolid, daptomycin, ceftaroline and telavancin received regulatory approval for the treatment of infections caused by resistant Gram-positive pathogens. Although these drugs may offer some advantages over vancomycin, they also have significant limitations. These includes vancomycin's slow bactericidal activity, poor lung penetration and nephrotxicity;linezolid therapy induced myelosuppression and high cost of daptomycin greatly limits their clinical use. Moreover, daptomycin also gets inactivated by lung naturally occurring surfactants. Thus, currently available therapeutic options are unable to provide safe and efficacious treatment for those patients suffering from hospital-acquired pneumonia, bloodstream infections (BSIs), bone and joint infections and diabetic foot infections (DFI). An unmet need also exists for a safe and efficacious oral option for switch-over convenience and community treatment. Herein, the review is intended to describe the supporting role of anti-staphylococcal antibiotics used in the management of S. aureus infections with a special reference to levonadifloxacin. Levonadifloxacin and its prodrug alalevonadifloxacin are novel benzoquinolizine subclass of quinolone with broad-spectrum of anti-MRSA activity. It has been recently approved for the treatment of complicated skin and soft-tissue infection as well as concurrent bacteraemia and DFI in India.