Mutation rate of AmpC-ß-lactamase-producing Enterobacterales and treatment in clinical practice: A word of caution.

In a retrospective multicenter study of 575 patients with bloodstream infections or pneumonia due to wild-type AmpC ß-lactamase-producing Enterobacterales, species with low in-vitro mutation rates for AmpC derepression were associated to fewer treatment failures due to AmpC overproduction (aHR 0.5, 95%CI 0.2-0.9). However, compared to cefepime/carbapenems using 3GC as definitive therapy remained associated with this adverse outcome (15% vs. 1%).

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on COPD Patient Mortality: A Nationwide Study in France.

Objectives: We investigated the mortality patterns of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients in France relative to a control population, comparing year 2020 to pre-pandemic years 2017-2019. Methods: COPD patient and sex, age and residence matched control cohorts were created from the French National Health Data System. Survival was analyzed using Cox regressions and standardized rates. Results: All-cause mortality increased in 2020 compared to 2019 in the COPD population (+4%), but to a lesser extent than in the control population (+10%). Non-COVID-19 mortality decreased to a greater extent in COPD patients (-5%) than in the controls (-2%). Death rate from COVID-19 was twice as high in the COPD population relative to the control population (547 vs. 279 per 100,000 person-years). Conclusion: The direct impact of the pandemic in terms of deaths from COVID-19 was much greater in the COPD population than in the control population. However, the larger decline in non-COVID-19 mortality in COPD patients could reflect a specific protective effect of the containment measures on this population, counterbalancing the direct impact they had been experiencing.

Direct and indirect impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the survival of kidney transplant recipients: A national observational study in France.

During the pandemic period, health care systems were substantially reorganized for managing COVID-19 cases. Corresponding consequences on persons with chronic diseases remain insufficiently documented. This observational cohort study investigated the direct and indirect impact of the pandemic period on the survival of kidney transplant recipients (KTR). Using the French National Health Data System, incident persons with end-stage kidney disease between 2015 and 2020, and who received a kidney transplant during this period were included and followed up from their transplantation date to December 31, 2021. The survival of KTR during the prepandemic and pandemic periods was investigated using Cox models with time-dependent covariates. There were 10 637 KTR included in the study, with 324 and 430 deaths observed during the prepandemic and pandemic periods, respectively. The adjusted risk of death during the pandemic period was similar to that observed during the prepandemic period (hazard ratio [HR] [95% confidence interval]: 0.92 [0.77-1.11]), COVID-19-related hospitalization was associated with an increased risk of death (HR: 10.62 [8.46-13.33]), and a third vaccine dose was associated with a lower risk of death (HR: 0.42 [0.30-0.57]). The pandemic period was not associated with an indirect higher risk of death in KTR with no COVID-19-related hospitalization.

Comments by Microbiologists for Interpreting Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing and Improving the Appropriateness of Antibiotic Therapy in Community-Acquired Urinary Tract Infections: A Randomized Double-Blind Digital Case-Vignette Controlled Superiority Trial.

In primary care, urinary tract infections (UTIs) account for the majority of antibiotic prescriptions. Comments from microbiologists on interpreting the antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) profile for urinalysis were made to improve the prescription of antibiotics. We aimed to explore the added value of these comments on the quality of antibiotic prescribing by a superior double-blind digital randomized case-vignette trial among French general practitioners (GPs). One case vignette with (intervention) or without (control) a 'comment' after AST was randomly assigned to GPs. Among 815 participating GPs, 64.7% were women, at an average age of 37 years. Most (90.1%) used a computerized decision support system for prescribing antibiotics. Empirical antibiotic therapy was appropriate in 71.9% (95% CI, 68.8-75.0) of the cases, without differences between arms. The overall appropriateness of targeted antibiotic therapy (primary outcome) was not significantly increased when providing 'comments': 83.4% vs. 79.9% (OR = 1.26, 95% CI, 0.86-1.85). With the multivariate analysis, the appropriateness was improved by 2-folds (OR = 2.38, 95% CI, 1.02-6.16) among physicians working in healthcare facilities. Among digital-affine young general practitioners, the adjunction of a 'comment' by a microbiologist to interpret urinalysis in community-acquired UTIs did not improve the overall level of appropriateness of the targeted antibiotic.

Effectiveness of third-generation cephalosporins or piperacillin compared with cefepime or carbapenems for severe infections caused by wild-type AmpC ß-lactamase-producing Enterobacterales: A multi-centre retrospective propensity-weighted study.

BACKGROUND: The optimal treatment regimen for infections caused by wild-type AmpC ß-lactamase-producing Enterobacterales remains controversial. This study compared the outcomes of bloodstream infections (BSI) and pneumonia according to the type of definitive antibiotic therapy: third-generation cephalosporin (3GC), piperacillin ± tazobactam, cefepime or carbapenem. METHODS: All cases of BSI and pneumonia caused by wild-type AmpC ß-lactamase-producing Enterobacterales over 2 years in eight university hospitals were reviewed. Patients who received definitive therapy consisting of either a 3GC (3GC group), piperacillin ± tazobactam (piperacillin group), or cefepime or a carbapenem (reference group) were included in this study. The primary endpoint was 30-day all-cause mortality. The secondary endpoint was treatment failure due to infection by emerging AmpC-overproducing strains. Propensity-score-based models were used to balance confounding factors between groups. RESULTS: In total, 575 patients were included in this study: 302 (52%) with pneumonia and 273 (48%) with BSI. Half (n=271, 47%) received cefepime or a carbapenem as definitive therapy, 120 (21%) received a 3GC, and 184 (32%) received piperacillin ± tazobactam. Compared with the reference group, 30-day mortality was similar in the 3GC [adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) 0.86, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.57-1.31)] and piperacillin (aHR 1.20, 95% CI 0.86-1.66) groups. The likelihood of treatment failure was higher in the 3GC (aHR 6.81, 95% CI 3.76-12.4) and piperacillin (aHR 3.13, 95% CI 1.69-5.80) groups. The results were similar when stratifying the analysis on pneumonia or BSI. CONCLUSION: Treatment of included BSI or pneumonia caused by wild-type AmpC ß-lactamase-producing Enterobacterales with 3GC or piperacillin ± tazobactam was not associated with higher mortality, but was associated with increased risk of AmpC overproduction leading to treatment failure compared with cefepime or a carbapenem.

SARS-CoV-2 in Nursing Homes: Analysis of Routine Surveillance Data in Four European Countries.

Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in nursing homes is poorly documented. Using surveillance data of 228 European private nursing homes, we estimated weekly SARS-CoV-2 incidences among 21,467 residents and 14,371 staff members, compared to that in the general population, between August 3, 2020, and February 20, 2021. We studied the outcomes of "episodes of introduction" where one case was first detected and computed attack rates, reproduction ratio (R), and dispersion parameter (k). Out of 502 episodes of SARS-CoV-2 introduction, 77.1% (95%CI, 73.2%-80.6%) led to additional cases. Attack rates were highly variable, ranging from 0.4% to 86.5%. The R was 1.16 (95%CI, 1.11-1.22) with k at 2.5 (95%CI, 0.5-4.5). The timing of viral circulation in nursing homes did not mirror that in the general population (p-values<0.001). We estimated the impact of vaccination in preventing SARS-CoV-2 transmission. Before vaccination's roll-out, a cumulated 5,579 SARS-CoV-2 infections were documented among residents and 2,321 among staff. Higher staffing ratio and previous natural immunization reduced the probability of an outbreak following introduction. Despite strong preventive measures, transmission likely occurred, regardless of building characteristics. Vaccination started on January 15, 2021, and coverage reached 65.0% among residents, and 42.0% among staff by February 20, 2021. Vaccination yielded a 92% reduction (95%CI, 71%-98%) of outbreak probability, and lowered R to 0.87 (95%CI, 0.69-1.10). In the post-pandemic era, much attention will have to be paid to multi-lateral collaboration, policy making, and prevention plans.

Hospital admissions and mortality for acute exacerbations of COPD during the COVID-19 pandemic: A nationwide study in France.

Background: A global reduction in hospital admissions for acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) was observed during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Large-scale studies covering the entire pandemic period are lacking. We investigated hospitalizations for AECOPD and the associated in-hospital mortality at the national level in France during the first 2 years of the pandemic. Methods: We used the French National Hospital Database to analyse the time trends in (1) monthly incidences of hospitalizations for AECOPD, considering intensive care unit (ICU) admission and COVID-19 diagnoses, and (2) the related in-hospital mortality, from January 2016 to November 2021. Pandemic years were compared with the pre-pandemic years using Poisson regressions. Results: The database included 565,890 hospitalizations for AECOPD during the study period. The median age at admission was 74 years (interquartile range 65-83), and 37% of the stays concerned women. We found: (1) a dramatic and sustainable decline in hospitalizations for AECOPD over the pandemic period (from 8,899 to 6,032 monthly admissions, relative risk (RR) 0.65, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.65-0.66), and (2) a concomitant increase in in-hospital mortality for AECOPD stays (from 6.2 to 7.6% per month, RR 1.24, 95% CI 1.21-1.27). The proportion of stays yielding ICU admission was similar in the pre-pandemic and pandemic years, 21.5 and 21.3%, respectively. In-hospital mortality increased to a greater extent for stays without ICU admission (RR 1.39, 95% CI 1.35-1.43) than for those with ICU admission (RR 1.09, 95% CI 1.05-1.13). Since January 2020, only 1.5% of stays were associated with a diagnosis of COVID-19, and their mortality rate was nearly three-times higher than those without COVID-19 (RR 2.66, 95% CI 2.41-2.93). Conclusion: The decline in admissions for AECOPD during the pandemic could be attributed to a decrease in the incidence of exacerbations for COPD patients and/or to a possible shift from hospital to community care. The rise in in-hospital mortality is partially explained by COVID-19, and could be related to restricted access to ICUs for some patients and/or to greater proportions of severe cases among the patients hospitalized during the pandemic.

Computerized decision support system (CDSS) use for surveillance of antimicrobial resistance in urinary tract infections in primary care.

BACKGROUND: Hospital-based surveillance of antimicrobial resistance may be irrelevant as a guide to antimicrobial use for urinary tract infections (UTIs) in primary care. OBJECTIVES: To highlight the value of online computerized decision support systems (CDSS) in providing information on the surveillance of antimicrobial resistance in community-acquired UTIs. METHODS: We collected the susceptibility profile for key antibiotics by type of UTI involving Escherichia coli from 2017 to 2020, using queries for UTI (Q-UTI) submitted to a French CDSS. We compared these results with those from the MedQual French surveillance system for community-acquired UTI and the European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Network (EARS-NET) for invasive infections. RESULTS: We collected 43 591 Q-UTI, of which 10 192 (23%) involved E. coli: 40% cystitis, 32% male-UTI, and 27% pyelonephritis. Resistance was 41.3% (95% CI, 40.3%-42.2%) for amoxicillin, 16.6% (95% CI, 15.9%-17.3%) for fluoroquinolones, 6.6% (95% CI, 6.1%-7.0%) for third-generation cephalosporins (3GC), and 5.7% (95% CI, 5.2%-6.1%) for aminoglycosides. Resistance to amoxicillin was lower than that reported in MedQual (42.7%, P value = 0.004), and in EARS-NET (55.2%, P value < 0.001). For fluoroquinolones, resistance was higher than in MedQual (12.0%, P value < 0.001) and EARS-NET (15.8%, P value = 0.041). In complicated pyelonephritis and male UTI, fluoroquinolone resistance peaked at ∼20%. For 3GC, all UTI had higher resistance than in MedQual (3.5%, P value < 0.001), but lower than in EARS-NET (9.5%, P value < 0.001). Aminoglycoside resistance was not reported by MedQual, and was lower than in EARS-NET (7.1%, P value < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: CDSS can inform prescribers in real-time about the ecology and surveillance of E. coli resistance in community-acquired UTI. In complicated upper UTIs, they can underline the risk of empirical use of fluoroquinolones and suggest preferential use of 3GC.

Outbreaks of COVID-19 in Nursing Homes: A Cross-Sectional Survey of 74 Nursing Homes in a French Area.

In this multi-centric cross-sectional survey conducted in nursing homes of the French Alps, from 1 March to 31 May 2020, we analyze the relationship between the occurrence of an outbreak of COVID 19 among residents and staff members. Out of 225 eligible nursing homes, 74 (32.8%) completed the survey. Among 5891 residents, the incidence of confirmed or probable COVID-19 was 8.2% (95CI, 7.5% to 8.9%), and 22 (29.7%) facilities had an outbreak with at least 3 cases. Among the 4652 staff members, the incidence of confirmed or probable COVID-19 was 6.3% (95CI, 5.6% to 7.1%). A strong positive correlation existed between residents and staff members for both numbers of cases (r2 = 0.77, p < 0.001) and the incidence (r2 = 0.76, p < 0.001). In univariate analyses, cases among the staff were the only factor associated with the occurrence of an outbreak among residents (OR = 11.2 (95CI, 2.25 to 53.6)). In bivariate analysis, this relationship was not influenced by any nursing home characteristics, nor the action they implemented to mitigate the COVID-19 crisis. Staff members were, therefore, likely to be a source of contamination and spread of COVID-19 among nursing home residents during the first wave of the pandemic.

Effect of Professional and Extra-Professional Exposure on Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 Infection among Healthcare Workers of the French Alps: A Multicentric Cross-Sectional Study.

We aimed to report SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence after the first wave of the pandemic among healthcare workers, and to explore factors associated with an increased infection rate. We conducted a multicentric cross-sectional survey from 27 June to 31 September 2020. For this survey, we enrolled 3454 voluntary healthcare workers across four participating hospitals, of which 83.4% were female, with a median age of 40.6 years old (31.8-50.3). We serologically screened the employees for SARS-CoV-2, estimated the prevalence of infection, and conducted binomial logistic regression with random effect on participating hospitals to investigate associations. We estimated the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection at 5.0% (95 CI, 4.3%-5.8%). We found the lowest prevalence in health professional management support (4.3%) staff. Infections were more frequent in young professionals below 30 years old (aOR = 1.59, (95 CI, 1.06-2.37)), including paramedical students and residents (aOR = 3.38, (95 CI, 1.62-7.05)). In this group, SARS-CoV-2 prevalence was up 16.9%. The location of work and patient-facing role were not associated with increased infections. Employees reporting contacts with COVID-19 patients without adequate protective equipment had a higher rate of infection (aOR = 1.66, (95 CI, 1.12-2.44)). Aerosol-generating tasks were associated with a ~1.7-fold rate of infection, regardless of the uptake of FFP2. Those exposed to clusters of infected colleagues (aOR = 1.77, (95 CI, 1.24-2.53)) or intra-familial COVID-19 relatives (aOR = 2.09, (95 CI, 1.15-3.80)) also had a higher likelihood of infection. This report highlights that a sustained availability of personal protective equipment limits the SARS-CoV-2 infection rate to what is measured in the general population. It also pinpoints the need for dedicated hygiene training among young professionals, justifies the systematic eviction of infected personnel, and stresses the need for interventions to increase vaccination coverage among any healthcare workers.

Prevalence of High-Risk Human Papillomavirus Infections before and after Cervical Lesion Treatment, among Women Living with HIV.

Even when receiving combination antiretroviral therapy, women living with HIV are at high risk of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and/or cervical lesions, including cancer. Using data from the PapilloV prospective cohort, we evaluated the prevalence of high-risk HPV (HR-HPV) infections after cervical lesion treatment and investigated factors associated with their carriage. Women were followed up for three years with annual Pap smear and HPV genotyping. We offered treatment to women presenting either a Pap smear with high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion or higher, and/or a biopsy showing cervical intraepithelial neoplasia II or III. We compared the prevalence of HR-HPV infection at the time of first treatment indication and at the end of follow-up among women who received treatment and those who did not. Overall, 46 women had treatment indication. HR-HPV prevalence significantly decreased from 67% to 27% (p value = 0.001) in the 30 women who received treatment, while it did not significantly decrease (from 56% to 38%) in the 16 women who did not (p value = 0.257). Due to lack of statistical power, the 40% relative difference in HR-HPV carriage between treated and untreated women was not significant. In women living with HIV, the treatment of a cervical lesion may be beneficial for clearing HR-HPV infections.

Hesitancy towards COVID-19 Vaccination among Healthcare Workers: A Multi-Centric Survey in France.

Vaccination programs against COVID-19 are being scaled up. We aimed to assess the effects of vaccine characteristics on vaccine hesitancy among healthcare workers in a multi-center survey conducted within French healthcare facilities from 1 December 2020 to 26 March 2021. We invited any healthcare workers naïve of COVID-19 vaccination to complete an online self-questionnaire. They reported on their socio-demographic characteristics, as well as their perception and beliefs towards vaccination. We measured their willingness to get vaccinated in eight scenarios for candidates' vaccines presented sequentially (1 to 4-point scale). Candidates' vaccines varied for efficacy (25%, 50%, 100%), length of immunization (1 year or lifetime), frequency (<1/100, <1/10,000), and severity (none, moderate, severe) of adverse events. We analyzed 4349 healthcare workers' responses with interpretable questionnaires. The crude willingness to get vaccinated was 53.2% and increased over time. We clustered the trajectories of responses using an unsupervised classification algorithm (k-means) and identified four groups of healthcare workers: those willing to get vaccinated in any scenario (18%), those not willing to get vaccinated at all (22%), and those hesitating but more likely to accept (32%) or reject (28%) the vaccination depending on the scenario. In these last two subgroups, vaccine acceptance was growing with age, educational background and was higher among men with condition. Compared to an ideal vaccine candidate, a 50% reduced efficacy resulted in an average drop in acceptance by 0.8 (SD ± 0.8, -23.5%), while it was ranging from 1.4 (SD ± 1.0, -38.4%) to 2.1 (SD ± 1.0, -58.4%) in case of severe but rare adverse event. The acceptance of a mandatory immunization program was 29.6% overall and was positively correlated to the willingness to get vaccinated, ranging from 2.4% to 60.0%. Even if healthcare workers represent a heterogeneous population, most (80%) could accept the vaccination against COVID-19. Their willingness to get the vaccine increased over time and as immunization programs became available. Among hesitant professionals, the fear of adverse events was the main concern. Targeted information campaigns reassuring about adverse events may increase vaccine coverage, in a population with a strong opinion about mandatory immunization programs.

Temocillin versus carbapenems for urinary tract infection due to ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae: a multicenter matched case-control study.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the efficacy of temocillin with carbapenems for extended spectrum ß-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Enterobacteriaceae urinary tract infections (ESBL-E UTI). METHODS: A multicenter retrospective case-control study of adults with ESBL-E UTI was conducted between January 2015 and October 2019. Cases received temocillin ≥ 50% of the effective antibiotic therapy duration and controls exclusively received carbapenem; they were statistically matched (1:1 ratio) on 6-month period, sex and age. The clinical cure at the end of antibiotic therapy was analysed using conditional logistic regression. RESULTS: Seventy-two temocillin cases were matched to 72 carbapenem controls. Most (67%) were male, median age was 69.4 years, 81 (56%) were immunocompromised, including 44 (31%) solid organ transplant recipients. There was no difference between cases and controls for baseline characteristics and microorganisms involved: Klebsiella pneumoniae in 59 (41%), Escherichia coli in 57 (40%), and Enterobacter spp. in 24 (17%). The median time from admission to effective antibiotic therapy was 0 days [range, 0-2]. Among cases, first-line antibiotic therapy (≤ 72 hours) was temocillin in six (8%) and carbapenems in 39 (54%). Temocillin was given at the median daily dose of 4 g [range, 2-4] after 3 days [range, 2-5] of carbapenems. Patients received temocillin for 81% [range, 70-93] of the effective antibiotic course duration over 11 days [range, 8-14]. The effective antibiotic duration was similar in cases and controls (P = 0.067). Clinical cure at the end of antibiotic therapy was 94% (68/72) in cases vs. 99% (71/72) in controls (P = 0.206), with no difference among immunocompromised and solid organ transplant patients (P > 0.050). CONCLUSIONS: Temocillin effectively relayed ß-lactams, including carbapenems, to treat (complicated) ESBL-E UTI. Its efficacy was consistent among kidney transplant recipients.

Cervical Human Papillomavirus Infection (HPV) and High Oncogenic Risk Genotypes among Women Living with HIV in Asia: A Meta-Analysis.

Women living with HIV (WLHIV) are prone to harbor several high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) genotypes and to develop cervical cancerous lesions. Data on HPV prevalence in these women are needed to inform immunization programs, especially in Asia where few data are available. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate the prevalence of HPV and HR-HPV cervical infection in WLHIV in Asia and identify possible sources of heterogeneity for HR-HPV carriage. Pooled prevalence and its 95% confidence interval (95CI) were estimated using the inverse-variance weighting method. Linear regression weighted on study size was used to identify sources of heterogeneity. Among 7834 WLHIV (40 studies), the prevalence of HPV infection was 42.6% (95CI, 38.2% to 47.1%), and 34.6% (95CI, 30.3% to 39.1%) harbored HR-HPV genotypes, with significant heterogeneity across countries. In India, Thailand, and China, HPV-16 was the most frequent genotype (10.3%), followed by HPV-52 (5.4%), HPV-58 (5.0%), HPV-18 (4.1%), and HPV-33 (3.3%). In these women, most of whom were receiving antiretroviral therapy, we did not identify determinants of heterogeneity for HR-HPV infection. Our results underline the need for immunization programs based on nonavalent or new generation vaccines to prevent cervical cancer in WLHIV in Asia.

Family medicine practitioners' stress during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional survey.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken the world in early 2020. In France, General Practitioners (GPs) were not involved in the care organization's decision-making process before and during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. This omission could have generated stress for GPs. We aimed first to estimate the self-perception of stress as defined by the 10-item Perceived Stress Score (PSS-10), at the beginning of the pandemic in France, among GPs from the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, a french administrative area severely impacted by COVID-19. Second, we aimed to identify factors associated with a self-perceived stress (PSS-10 ≥ 27) among socio-demographic characteristics of GPs, their access to reliable information and to personal protective equipment during the pandemic, and their exposure to well established psychosocial risk at work. METHODS: We conducted an online cross-sectional survey between 8th April and 10th May 2020. The self-perception of stress was evaluated using the PSS-10, so to see the proportion of "not stressed" (≤20), "borderline" (21 ≤ PSS-10 ≤ 26), and "stressed" (≥27) GPs. The agreement to 31 positive assertions related to possible sources of stress identified by the scientific study committee was measured using a 10-point numeric scale. In complete cases, factors associated with stress (PSS-10 ≥ 27) were investigated using logistic regression, adjusted on gender, age and practice location. A supplementary analysis of the verbatims was made. RESULTS: Overall, 898 individual answers were collected, of which 879 were complete. A total of 437 GPs (49%) were stressed (PSS-10 ≥ 27), and 283 GPs (32%) had a very high level of stress (PSS-10 ≥ 30). Self-perceived stress was associated with multiple components, and involved classic psychosocial risk factors such as emotional requirements. However, in this context of health crisis, the primary source of stress was the diversity and quantity of information from diverse sources (614 GPs (69%, OR = 2.21, 95%CI [1.40-3.50], p < 0.001). Analysis of verbatims revealed that GPs felt isolated in a hospital-based model. CONCLUSION: The first wave of the pandemic was a source of stress for GPs. The diversity and quantity of information received from the health authorities were among the main sources of stress.

Fosfomycin-trometamol (FT) or fluoroquinolone (FQ) as single-dose prophylaxis for transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate biopsy (TRUS-PB): A prospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVES: The increasing incidence of fluoroquinolones (FQ) resistance may lower its efficacy in preventing UTI following transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate biopsy (TRUS-PB). We assessed the efficacy and safety of FQ and fosfomycin-trometamol (FT) in patients undergoing TRUS-PB. METHODS: A prospective observational study was conducted between April 2017 and June 2019 and enrolled men undergoing TRUS-PB and receiving a single-dose of FQ (FQ-arm) or FT (FT-arm) for UTI prophylaxis per physician's choice. The primary efficacy endpoint was self-reported TRUS-PB UTI. We assessed baseline factors associated with UTI with logistic regression. RESULTS: A total of 222 men were enrolled, 141/222 (64%) received FQ, and 81/222 (36%) FT. The median age was 67.6 years [IQR, 61.4-72.1] and the Charlson score was 3 [IQR, 3-5]. The overall incidence of self-reported TRUS-PB UTI was 12% (24/197, (95%CI, 8%-17%)): 15% (17/116, (95% CI, 10%-17%)) in FQ-arm, versus 9% (7/81, 95% CI (5%-13%)) in FT-arm (RR = 0.55 (95% CI, 0.22-1.40), p-value = 0.209). No baseline characteristic was significantly associated with TRUS-PB UTI. Safety was similar between the arms: the rate of the reported adverse event was 31% (36/116, (95% CI, 25%-37%) in the FQ-arm versus 36% (28/81, (95% CI, 28%-41%)) in the FT-arm (RR = 1.17 (95% CI, 0.64-2.15), p = 0.602). CONCLUSIONS: TRUS-PB UTI prophylaxis with FT and FQ has similar efficacy and safety. A randomized comparison of these two antibiotics is warranted.

Trajectories of Hospitalization in COVID-19 Patients: An Observational Study in France.

Describing the characteristics of COVID-19 patients in the hospital is of importance to assist in the management of hospital capacity in the future. Here, we analyze the trajectories of 1321 patients admitted to hospitals in northern and eastern France. We found that the time from onset to hospitalization decreased with age, from 7.3 days in the 20-65 year-olds to 4.5 in the >80 year-olds (p < 0.0001). Overall, the length of stay in the hospital was 15.9 days, and the death rate was 20%. One patient out of four was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) for approximately one month. The characteristics of trajectories changed with age: fewer older patients were admitted to the ICU and the death rate was larger in the elderly. Admission shortly after onset was associated with increased mortality (odds-ratio (OR) = 1.8, Confidence Interval (CI) 95% [1.3, 2.6]) as well as male sex (OR = 2.1, CI 95% [1.5, 2.9]). Time from admission within the hospital to the transfer to ICU was short. The age- and sex-adjusted mortality rate decreased over the course of the epidemic, suggesting improvement in care over time. In the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic, the urgent need for ICU at admission and the prolonged length of stay in ICU are a challenge for bed management and organization of care.