Predictors of Mortality, Drug Resistance, and Determinants among Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriales Infections in Chinese Elderly Patients.

Elderly patients with carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriales (CRE) infections represent considerable mortality rates. But data on the risk factors for the death of elderly patients following such infection remain limited. We aimed to assess the clinical outcomes, identify mortality-associated risk factors, and determine the antibiotic resistance and resistance genes of isolates for these patients. Hospitalized patients aged ≥65 years with CRE infection from January 2020 to December 2020 were retrospectively reviewed. Isolates identification and molecular characterization of CRE were carried out. Logistic regression analysis was applied to assess the potential factors associated with mortality. Of the 123 elderly patients with CRE infection included in our study, the all-cause mortality rate was 39.8% (49/123). The most prevalent pathogen was carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP, 116 of 123). The overall rates of multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) were 100.0% and 66.7%. All CRE isolates exclusively harbored a singular variant of carbapenemase gene, such as bla KPC-2, bla IMP-4, bla NDM-5, or bla OXA-48, while 98.4% of isolates harbored more than one ß-lactamase gene, of which 106 (86.2%) isolates harbored bla CTX-M, 121 (98.4%) isolates harbored bla TEM, and 116 (94.3%) isolates harbored bla SHV. Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that mechanical ventilation (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 33.607, 95% confidence interval (CI): 4.176-270.463, P < 0.001), use of tigecycline during hospitalization (AOR = 5.868, 95% CI: 1.318-26.130, P = 0.020), and APACHE II score (AOR = 1.305, 95% CI: 1.161-1.468, P < 0.001) were independent factors associated with increasing the mortality of patients with CRE infection, while admission to intensive care unit (ICU) during hospitalization (AOR = 0.046, 95% CI: 0.004-0.496, P = 0.011) was a protective factor. CRE-infected elderly patients with mechanical ventilation, use of tigecycline during hospitalization, and high APACHE II score were related to poor outcomes. The isolates carried various antibiotic genes and presented high antibiotic resistance. These findings provide crucial guidance for clinicians to devise appropriate strategies for treatment.

Serum N-glycan profiling as a diagnostic biomarker for the identification and assessment of psoriasis.

BACKGROUND: Glycosylation is an important post-translational modification of protein. The change in glycosylation is involved in the occurrence and development of various diseases, and this study verified that N-glycan markers might be a diagnostic marker in psoriasis. METHODS: A total of 76 psoriasis patients were recruited. We used Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI) scores to evaluate the state of psoriasis, 41 of whom were divided into three subgroups: mild, moderate, and severe. At the same time, 76 healthy subjects were enrolled as a control group. We used DNA sequencer-assisted fluorophore-assisted carbohydrate electrophoresis (DSA-FACE) to analyze serum N-glycan profiling. RESULTS: Compared with the healthy controls, the relative abundance of structures in peaks 5(NA2), 9(NA3Fb), 11(NA4), and 12(NA4Fb) was elevated (p < .05), while that in peaks 3(NG1A2F), 4(NG1A2F), 6(NA2F), and 7(NA2FB) was decreased (p < .05) in the psoriasis group. The abundance of peak 5 (NA2) increased gradually with the aggravation of disease severity though there was no statistically significant, was probably correlated with the disease severity. The best area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) of the logistic regression model (PglycoA) to diagnose psoriasis was 0.867, with a sensitivity of 72.37%, a specificity of 85.53%, a positive predictive value(PPV) of 83.33%, a negative predictive value(NPV) of 75.58%, and an accuracy of 78.95%. CONCLUSIONS: Our study indicated that the N-glycan-based diagnostic model would be a new, valuable, and noninvasive alternative for diagnosing psoriasis. Furthermore, the characteristic distinctive N-glycan marker might be correlated with the severity gradation of the psoriasis disease.

Carbapenem Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa Infections in Elderly Patients: Antimicrobial Resistance Profiles, Risk Factors and Impact on Clinical Outcomes.

Objective: The prevalence and clinical impact on mortality of carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (CRPA) infection are unclear in elderly patients. Here, we aimed to clarify the prevalence, the clinical manifestations, antimicrobial resistance, risk factors and outcomes of elderly inpatients with CRPA infection. Methods: A retrospective study of 600 elderly inpatients infected with P. aeruginosa was conducted at Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine from January 1st 2018 to December 31st 2020. All 155 patients with CRPA infection were designated as a case group. Patients with carbapenem-susceptible Pseudomonas aeruginosa (CSPA) were randomly selected from remaining 445 cases in a 1:1 ratio to case group as a control group. Results: Of 600 P. aeruginosa isolates, the overall rates of CRPA, MDR PA (multidrug-resistance Pseudomonas aeruginosa) were 25.8% (155), 22.3% (134), respectively. The rankings of the top five resistant rates of CRPA to tested antimicrobial drugs were imipenem (87.7%), meropenem (70.3%), ciprofloxacin (51.0%), levofloxacin (48.4%), cefoperazone (43.2%). Independent risk factors for patients with CRPA infection were cerebrovascular disease (OR = 3.517, P < 0.001), foley catheter (OR = 2.073, P = 0.018), length of hospital stay ≥ 14 days (OR = 1.980, P = 0.013), albumin < 35 g/L (OR = 2.049, P = 0.020), previous antibiotic exposure to carbapenems (OR = 7.022, P = 0.004), previous antibiotic exposure to third- or fourth-generation cephalosporins (OR = 12.649, P = 0.002). Of 155 patients with CRPA infection, the mortality rate was 16.8% (26/155). Independent risk factors for mortality were receiving mechanical ventilation (OR = 3.671, P = 0.007) and neutrophil percentage ≥ 80% (OR = 2.908, P = 0.024). Conclusion: The study revealed high rates of CRPA, MDR PA among the hospitalized elderly patient with P. aeruginosa infection. The analysis of antimicrobial susceptibility emphasizes the necessity for antimicrobial stewardship and infection control in hospitals. These findings of risk factors are practical significant to identify patients at high risk for CRPA infection and mortality that may benefit from alternate empiric treatment.

Emergence of Hypervirulent ST11-K64 Klebsiella pneumoniae Poses a Serious Clinical Threat in Older Patients.

The carbapenem-resistant hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae (CR-hvKP) poses a severe therapeutic challenge to global public health, and research on CR-hvKP in older patients remain limited. In this study, we aimed to investigate the clinical and molecular characteristics and risk factors of CR-hvKP infections in older patients. We retrospectively investigated older patients with carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) infections in the intensive care unit (ICU) between January 2020 and December 2020. The clinical data, and microbiological data including antimicrobial susceptibility testing, phenotype experiment and detection of carbapenemases, string test, virulence genes, capsular serotype-specific (cps) genes, and multilocus sequence typing, of the CR-hvKP group defined by the presence of any one of the virulence genes, including rmpA, rmpA2, iucA, iroN, and peg-344 were compared with those of CR-non-hvKP strains. Of the 80 CRKP strains, 51 (63.8%) met the definition of CR-hvKP. The main mechanism of resistance to carbapenems was the presence of the blaKPC-2 gene. Sequence type (ST)11 (81.3%, 65/80) and ST15 (16.3%, 13/80) were the most common STs in CRKP strains. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC)50 values of the CR-hvKP group against the six tested antibiotics (ceftazidime, ceftazidime-avibactam, imipenem-avibactam, tigecycline, levofloxacin, and Cefoperazone-Sulbactam) exhibited elevated levels than the CR-non-hvKP group. Ceftazidime and imipenem by combining avibactam (4 µg/mL) significantly decreased the MIC90 values more than 16-fold than ceftazidime and imipenem alone against Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC)-2-producing K. pneumoniae. Cardiovascular disease [odds ratio (OR) = 11.956] and ST11-K64 (OR = 8.385) appeared to be independent variables associated with CR-hvKP infection by multivariate analysis. In conclusion, higher MICs of the last line antibiotic agents (ceftazidime-avibactam, tigecycline) might be a critical consideration in the clinical management of older patients where the concentration of these toxic antibiotics matters because of underlying comorbidities. Caution regarding KPC-2-producing ST11-K64 CR-hvKP as being new significant "superbugs" is required as they are widespread, and infection control measures should be strengthened to curb further dissemination in nosocomial settings in China.