Differences between Community - and Hospital - acquired urinary tract infections in a tertiary care hospital.

The aim of this retrospective study was to highlight the differences in antibiotic resistance between Hospital-acquired and Community-acquired urinary tract infections (UTIs). Antimicrobial UTIs resistance data were collected from March 2011 to March 2018. Uropathogens were identified from 41,715 patients using routine laboratory methods. Differences in antibiotic resistance between Hospital and Community (non-hospitalized) patients were statistically validated. Odds ratio (OR) and p-values was used to determine whether a particular exposure (hospitalization) was a risk factor for a particular outcome (higher antibiotic resistance). We reported a general increase of unnecessary urine cultures in both community and hospital patients. The most representative microorganism isolated from Community (58.2%) and Hospital (47.6%) was E. coli. UTIs causative bacteria in hospitalized patients was more than twice as resistant to Trimetoprim/sulphamethoxazole (OR 2.26) and Imipenem (OR 2.56), for Gram-positive and Gram-negative, respectively, than in Community patients. Nitrofurantoin was the only agent without differences in resistance rate between community and hospital UTIs. Therefore, physicians could use it as a definitive therapy for uncomplicated cystitis and as a prophylactic agent for recurrent uncomplicated cystitis. With this work we provided a general protocol applicable by physicians to select the most suitable, if necessary, UTIs empiric treatment.

Combination Therapy of Inhaled Indacaterol/Glycopyrronium for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in the Very Elderly: Is It Safe? An Electrocardiographic Evaluation.

Cardiovascular (CV) comorbidities in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are associated with increased morbidity and mortality, especially in old and very old subjects. The question if long-acting beta-agonist and long-acting muscarinic antagonist could be associated with the increased prevalence of CV-related adverse effects has puzzled, particularly in the past, specialists involved in the management of respiratory diseases. The safety of these compounds has scarcely been tested in patients aged ≥ 65 years with CV comorbidities, since randomized controlled trials rarely include this subpopulation. However, the fixed combination indacaterol/glycopyrronium has shown a favorable CV safety profile in both healthy volunteers and COPD patients. Thus, we aimed to assess the CV safety pro-- file of the fixed combination indacaterol/glycopyrronium 110/50 µg in a series of COPD patients aged ≥ 80 years with several comorbidities. Our results indicate that this combination is safe in the comorbid elderly, since no significant electrocardiographic abnormalities were recorded after the administration of the inhaled therapy. Only rare and nonclinically significant changes in heart rate and corrected QT interval duration were evident, mainly in females and in patients with concomitant impaired kidney function.

Retrospective analysis of nosocomial infections in an Italian tertiary care hospital.

Nosocomial infections are one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in hospitalized patients. Studies of their prevalence in single institutions can reveal trends over time and help to identify risk factors. The aim of this study was to investigate the nosocomial infections trend and identify the prevalence of predominant bacterial microorganisms and their drug resistance patterns in an Italian tertiary care hospital. Infections were classified according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention definitions. A retrospective study was carried out from March 2011 to June 2014, based on the bacterial isolate reports of a hospital located in Central Italy. During the 40-month study period, a total of 1547 isolates were obtained from 1046 hospitalized patients and tested for their antibiotic sensitivity. The most common isolates belonged to the Enterobacteriaceae family (61.7%), followed by Enterococcus species (12.4%), Pseudomonas species (10.7%) and S. aureus (10.0%). The incidence density rate of nosocomial infections was 7.4 per 1000 patient days, with a significant difference among the 3 annual infection rates (P<0.001). The highest infection prevalence rate was found in Internal Medicine Unit (41.3%), followed by Intensive Care Units (12.4%), Surgical Units (9.0%,) and Cardiology (7.1%).

Prevalence and predictors of subclinical atrial fibrillation in hospitalized older adults.

Subclinical atrial fibrillation (SCAF) is associated with an increased risk of clinical AF, major cardiovascular events and death. Short-term evidence on SCAF in older populations is scarce, especially in the hospital setting. We performed a cross-sectional study on 60 multimorbid older consecutive patients (aged 80+) admitted to an Internal Medicine and Geriatrics Unit for acute medical diseases with no history of AF, in order to investigate prevalence and predictors of SCAF. Portable ECG monitoring was placed on admission and ECG recording lasted for 5 days. Mean age: 85.7±4.9 years. Female prevalence: 58.3%. High burden of comorbidities: 87.9%. All enrolled patients had CHA2DS2-VASc score ≥3. SCAF was detected in 16 patients (26.7%) and 11 patients (18.4%) had at least a SCAF episode lasting 6 minutes or longer. No clinical, laboratory and echocardiographic parameters predicted SCAF. Patients with ≥2004 supraventricular ectopic beats/24h (SVEBs/24h) had a 6-fold higher prevalence of SCAF than patients with <411 SVEBs/24h (p=0.038). Time to first SCAF episode was within 3 days of ECG recording in all enrolled patients. SCAF is highly prevalent in older adults hospitalized for acute diseases. This finding may affect clinical management and prognosis. Our study could foster larger multicenter studies in similar settings.

Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in Oldest Adults: Predictors of In-Hospital Mortality and Need for Post-acute Care.

OBJECTIVES: Older age is associated with higher risk of death during acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AE-COPD). Older patients hospitalized for AE-COPD often require post-acute care after acute phase. The aim of this study was to evaluate components of a comprehensive geriatric assessment and clinical/laboratory parameters, in order to find predictors of in-hospital mortality and need for post-acute care in patients aged 80 and older hospitalized for AE-COPD. DESIGN: Prospective observational study. SETTING: Hospital assessment. PARTICIPANTS: 121 patients consecutively admitted to an internal medicine and geriatrics department for AE-COPD. MEASURES: Activities of Daily Living (ADL) Hierarchy scale, Geriatric Index of Comorbidity, cognitive impairment, and clinical and laboratory parameters were collected. RESULTS: Mean age: 87.0 ± 4.9 years; male: 54.5%. In-hospital mortality (18.2% of patients) was significantly associated with functional disability, high comorbidity, cognitive impairment, anemia, older age, lower albumin, higher N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and white blood cell levels, oral corticosteroids taken before admission, and no angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers taken before admission. In a stepwise logistic regression, functional dependence (P = .006), cognitive impairment (P = .038), and oral corticosteroids therapy before hospitalization (P = .035) were independently associated with a higher risk of in-hospital mortality. Among laboratory parameters, only NT-proBNP remained significantly associated with in-hospital mortality (P = .026). The need for post-acute care (18.2% of survivors) was associated with older age, higher admission Pco2, greater comorbidity, and cognitive impairment. In a stepwise logistic regression, only cognitive impairment (P = .016) and ln_Pco2 (P = .056) confirmed their association with the need for post-acute care. CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS: Preadmission functional dependence, cognitive impairment, and corticosteroid use, plus elevated NT-proBNP at admission are risk factors for mortality during an AE-COPD in the oldest old. Therefore, medical providers should consider these, as well as the patient's advance directives, in planning hospital care. Furthermore, providers should arrange especially careful posthospitalization monitoring and frequent follow-up of individuals with cognitive impairment and baseline hypercapnia.

A three-year study entailing molecular characterization and epidemiology of Clostridium difficile in an Italian tertiary care hospital.

In Italy, there are limited studies on the molecular epidemiology of Clostridium difficile, possibly due to insufficient laboratory diagnostic capacity, low awareness and lack of high-quality surveillance systems. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diffusion of C. difficile in a tertiary care hospital and to genotype all the collected strains in order for hospital staff to take corrective action. All specimens were subjected to a CDI diagnostic algorithm. This included highly specific toxin PCRs and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) to obtain clear, unequivocal genotypization. During a three-year study period, as part of routine C. difficile testing, 711 stool samples were collected from 522 patients to detect the presence of toxigenic genes. After testing, 106 different samples were identified as toxigenic. The proportions of non-toxigenic and toxigenic isolates were respectively 8.7% (62/711) and 14.9% (106/711). The most infection findings in wards for toxigenic strains were in Internal Medicine (56), followed by Neurology (11) and Gastroenterology (11). Three novel sequence types (STs) were found. The two most prevalent STs in wards were clade 1 ST-378 (40) and clade 1 ST-379 (33). Other healthcare-acquired strains were clade 4 ST-37 (11) and clade 5 ST-11 (7). Two STs, namely clade 3 ST-5 (10) and clade 1 ST-380 (5), were isolated among external patients. To prevent an increase in outbreak probability, an active surveillance programme combined with proper hand hygiene, environmental cleaning and contact precautions should be implemented.

Renin-Angiotensin System Blockers and Statins Are Associated With Lower In-Hospital Mortality in Very Elderly Hypertensives.

OBJECTIVES: Cardiovascular diseases are mainly related to hypertension and dyslipidemia and increase with aging because of the larger time span for these risk factors to damage arterial blood vessels. The impact of cardiovascular drug therapy on outcomes in the very elderly hospitalized is still not well established. The aim of our study was to evaluate the associations between cardiovascular therapy and in-hospital mortality in very elderly hypertensives. DESIGN: Prospective observational study. SETTING: Hospital assessment. PARTICIPANTS: 310 very elderly hypertensive patients admitted to our Internal Medicine and Geriatrics Department for medical conditions. MEASUREMENTS: Main comorbidities, laboratory parameters, and cardiovascular drug therapy taken before admission were considered for the analyses. RESULTS: The mean age was 88.1 ±â€¯5.1 years, with female prevalence of 57.4%. Among cardiovascular drugs taken before admission, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors/angiotensin receptor blockers and statins were those associated with lower in-hospital mortality, even after adjusting for covariates (age, hemoglobin, albumin, acute kidney injury, ADL Hierarchy Scale, NT-proBNP levels) [odds ratio (OR) = 0.46, P = .045, and OR = 0.21, P = .008, respectively]. No difference regarding in-hospital mortality was found between ACE inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers (P = .414). CONCLUSION: ACE inhibitors/angiotensin receptor blockers and statins, through their beneficial effects on the cardiovascular system, have a positive impact on survival in very elderly hospitalized patients. Our data confirm the important role of such drugs even in this particular population with a mean age higher than 88 years, where scientific evidence is still scanty.

Blood Pressure and Metabolic Changes After 3-Month CPAP Therapy in a Very Elderly Obese with Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Age is one of the main risk factor for the presence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). This syndrome is associated with hypertension, cardiovascular disease, cognitive impairment and metabolic abnormalities, such as type 2 diabetes. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) represents the gold standard therapy, but its benefit is still to be determined in very elderly. We report the blood pressure and metabolic changes in a very elderly obese with severe OSA after 3-month CPAP therapy. We have evaluated a very elderly obese male affected by severe symptomatic OSA, poor controlled nocturnal hypertension and insulin resistance. After 3-month CPAP therapy, without any changes in drug therapy, we observed a normalization of circadian blood pressure (BP) pattern, an improved insulin sensitivity, together with a reduced resting energy expenditure, despite no significant change in weight. This case report shows the benefits of OSA treatment with CPAP, not only on BP profile, but also on metabolic parameters in a very elderly, a particular type of patient in which scientific evidence is still scant. Further studies are needed to better investigate the relationship between OSA, CPAP therapy and energy expenditure not only in adults but also in elderly patients.