Trimetoprim-sulfametoxazole in ventilator-associated pneumonia: a cohort study.

To evaluate the effectiveness of trimetoprim-sulfametoxazole (TMP-SMX) for treatment of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). A retrospective cohort study including patients with VAP from 2011 to 2017. Two groups were analysed: TMP-SMX group, including patients who had received TMP-SMX (as first-line and as de-escalation), and No-TMP-SMX group, including patients who had not received TMP-SMX treatment. Primary clinical outcome was mortality at 30 days from starting the antibiotic treatment (T30). Secondary outcomes were mortality at end of treatment (EoT), day survival at T30, and acquisition of multidrug-resistant bacteria during hospitalization in intensive care unit. Eighty cases of VAP were included and devised into two groups: No-TMP-SMX (31/80; 39%) and TMP-SMX (49/80; 61%). Univariate analysis showed no significant differences were found when the TMP-SMX group was compared with the No-TMP-SMX group, except for frequency of male gender (p = 0.025). No significant statistical correlations between mortality at T30 and individual factors were detected by the multivariate model. No cases of either severe allergy or Clostridium difficile disease were reported in the TMP-SMX and No-TMP-SMX groups. TMP-SMX treatment was not associated with higher mortality at EoT and T30 in comparison with the No-TMP-SMX group. TMP-SMX had a good safety profile, in terms of ecology (acquisition of MDR bacteria and Clostridium difficile disease) and clinical management (no allergy events).

Detection of Fusobacterium nucleatum in culture-negative brain abscess by broad-spectrum bacterial 16S rRNA Gene PCR.

BACKGROUND: Fusobacterium nucleatum is a strict anaerobic microorganism commensal to the human oropharynx and gastrointestinal tract, which causes a wide spectrum of human diseases and it is an important pathogen in abscesses. CASE PRESENTATION: We report the case of a previously healthy 64-year-old woman with multiple abscesses due to Fusobacterium nucleatum, involving liver, pleura and brain. Fusobacterium was not recovered from blood cultures nor from culture of hepatic, pleural and brain drain fluid. The diagnosis was obtained by polymerase chain reaction amplification of bacterial deoxyribonucleic acid in brain abscess drain. CONCLUSIONS: Fusobacterium spp., should be considered in patients with any organ abscess, especially in case of invasive disease with multiple secondary site involving brain. MOLECULAR: techniques might be of special usefulness in cases that remain negative in culture to obtain the diagnosis and perform adequate treatment.