Susceptibility of ESBL Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae to fosfomycin in the Netherlands and comparison of several testing methods including Etest, MIC test strip, Vitek2, Phoenix and disc diffusion.

Objectives: Fosfomycin susceptibility testing is complicated and prone to error. Before using fosfomycin widely in patients with serious infections, acquisition of WT distribution data and reliable susceptibility testing methods are crucial. In this study, the performance of five methods for fosfomycin testing in the routine laboratory against the reference method was evaluated. Methods: Ten laboratories collected up to 100 ESBL-producing isolates each (80 Escherichia coli and 20 Klebsiella pneumoniae). Isolates were tested using Etest, MIC test strip (MTS), Vitek2, Phoenix and disc diffusion. Agar dilution was performed as the reference method in a central laboratory. Epidemiological cut-off values (ECOFFs) were determined for each species and susceptibility and error rates were calculated. Results: In total, 775 E. coli and 201 K. pneumoniae isolates were tested by agar dilution. The ECOFF was 2 mg/L for E. coli and 64 mg/L for K. pneumoniae. Susceptibility rates based on the EUCAST breakpoint of ≤32 mg/L were 95.9% for E. coli and 87.6% for K. pneumoniae. Despite high categorical agreement rates for all methods, notably in E. coli, none of the alternative antimicrobial susceptibility testing methods performed satisfactorily. Due to poor detection of resistant isolates, very high error rates of 23.3% (Etest), 18.5% (MTS), 18.8% (Vitek2), 12.5% (Phoenix) and 12.9% (disc diffusion) for E. coli and 22.7% (Etest and MTS), 16.0% (Vitek2) and 12% (Phoenix) for K. pneumoniae were found. None of the methods adequately differentiated between WT and non-WT populations. Conclusions: Overall, it was concluded that none of the test methods is suitable as an alternative to agar dilution in the routine laboratory.

Intra-abdominal bacterial contamination in TAMIS total mesorectal excision for rectal carcinoma: a prospective study.

BACKGROUND: Natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) is currently gaining a lot of attention. NOTES is expected to further reduce surgical trauma and improve patient care due to eliminating abdominal incisions. The interest in transrectal NOTES has grown slowly, because of concerns of bacterial contamination due to transection of the rectum at the start of the procedure. However, different studies already demonstrated that transanal TME (TaTME) can be performed without major complications. This prospective study focuses on the presence and clinical significance of peritoneal bacterial contamination after TaTME for rectal cancer. METHODS: Three bacterial cultures were taken at standardized locations from the pelvic area after completion of the TaTME procedure and before closure of the incisional wounds. The cultures were evaluated for bacterial count and species identification. Furthermore, C-reactive protein and white blood cell count were measured perioperatively, and postoperative complications were recorded. RESULTS: Twenty-three consecutive patients were included between July 2013 and December 2014. Thirty-nine percent (9/23) of the cultures showed gastrointestinal flora. Four of these patients (44 %) developed presacral abscesses. The remaining 61 % (14/23) of the cultures were negative. None of these patients developed infectious complications. CONCLUSION: Transanal TME procedures are associated with positive cultures in more than one-third of the patients. In these patients, postoperative locoregional infectious complications are more common.

Tetralogy of Fallot.

The optimal surgical approach and timing for patients with tetralogy of Fallot remain controversial. There are two options in current practice: a two-stage repair (an initial palliative aortopulmonary shunt at an early age followed by complete repair at an older age) or primary complete repair. There has been a trend towards primary repair at a young age, which can be attributed to advances in anesthetic and cardiac surgical techniques. Primary repair has several advantages. The correction can be done in one operation and shunt complications are avoided. Progressive right ventricular fibrosis, ventricular hypertrophy, and chronic hypoxia are avoided, which may reduce the incidence of late ventricular arrhythmias. However, surgical correction at a young age is associated with an increased incidence of transannular patching and consequent pulmonary regurgitation. Progressive pulmonary regurgitation is associated with late ventricular arrhythmias and sudden death. These consequences may be prevented by timely pulmonary valve replacement. Palliative procedures include an aortopulmonary shunt, balloon dilation of the right ventricular tract, and stent placement. Of these measures, the aortopulmonary shunt is preferred, as it results in a more predictable outcome. Complications associated with shunt placement include shunt occlusion, pulmonary artery distortion, and occasionally, volume overloading of the left ventricle and pulmonary circulation. Institutional and surgeon preferences exist for either surgical strategy, and ultimately are justifiable when they produce the best outcomes for the individual patient. The optimal surgical strategy has to be determined by large prospective randomized studies that compare the functional status of the pulmonary valve and the need for reoperation at long-term follow-up.