Nosocomial infections

PURPOSE: Children with congenital heart disease (CHD) from low- to middle-income countries (LMIC) are suspected to have a high prevalence of antibiotic-resistant microorganisms (ARMOs) carriage, but data are currently lacking. Carriage of ARMOs could impact the post-operative course in pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of ARMOs carriage in children with CHD from LMIC and its impact on post-operative outcomes. METHODS: This was a retrospective monocentric study from 01/2019 to 12/2022...

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to define the clinical features and antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of Burkholderia cepacia complex infections and to determine the predictors for mortality. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Our single-center retrospective study included patients with nosocomial B. cepacia complex infection between 2018 and 2022. We evaluated the predictors of 14-day and 28-day mortality by analyzing clinical and microbiological data. RESULTS: A total of 87 patients were included...

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has contributed to the spread of antimicrobial resistance, including carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales. METHODS: This study utilized data from the Study for Monitoring Antimicrobial Resistance Trends (SMART) surveillance program in Taiwan. Enterobacterales from patients with bloodstream infections (BSIs) were collected and subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility testing and β-lactamase gene detection using a multiplex PCR assay...

Enterococci are common commensal bacteria that colonize the gastrointestinal tracts of most mammals, including humans. Importantly, these bacteria are one of the leading causes of nosocomial infections. This study examined the role of colonic macrophages in facilitating Enterococcus faecalis infections in mice. We determined that depletion of colonic phagocytes resulted in the reduction of E. faecalis dissemination to the gut-draining mesenteric lymph nodes. Furthermore, we established that trafficking of monocyte-derived CX3CR1-expressing macrophages contributed to E...

BACKGROUND: Globally, prematurity is the primary factor behind the mortality of children under the age of 5 years, resulting in approximately 1 million children dying annually. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends Skin-to-Skin Contact (SSC) as part of routine care for preterm infants. Evidence shows that SSC reduces mortality, possibly by improving thermoregulation, facilitating the earlier initiation of breastfeeding and reducing the risk of nosocomial infection. An educational program for implementing SSC has been demonstrated to enhance the knowledge and practice of parents and nurses in intensive care units...

This case reviews the clinical course of an elderly woman on chronic total parenteral nutrition who developed sepsis secondary to a rare, newly described gram-negative rod known as Phytobacter ursingii The patient noticed a leak in her Hickman catheter when infusing her nutrition. 24 hours after a new catheter was replaced, the patient developed fevers, chills and weakness. She presented to the hospital with hypotension and tachycardia, meeting shock criteria. Blood cultures grew P. ursingii, and the diagnosis of septic shock was confirmed...

Antimicrobial de-escalation refers to reducing the spectrum of antibiotics used in treating bacterial infections. This strategy is widely recommended in many antimicrobial stewardship programs and is believed to reduce patients' exposure to broad-spectrum antibiotics and prevent resistance. However, the ecological benefits of de-escalation have not been universally observed in clinical studies. This paper conducts computer simulations to assess the ecological effects of de-escalation on the resistance prevalence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa-a frequent pathogen causing nosocomial infections...

BACKGROUND: Enterobacter cloacae ( E. cloacae ) is one of the most common Enterobacteriaceae causing nosocomial infections. Plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance (PMQR) determinants have been considered recently. This study evaluated the abundance of PMQR genes in strains of E. cloacae obtained from clinical samples in Kermanshah, Iran. METHODS: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, after collecting 113 isolates of E. cloacae , their identity was confirmed using specific biochemical tests...

PURPOSE: This study describes the emergence of Candida auris in Hong Kong, focusing on the incidence and trends of different Candida species over time. Additionally, the study analyzes the relationship between C. auris and antifungal prescription, as well as the impact of outbreaks caused by C. auris . PATIENTS AND METHODS: Data were collected from 43 public hospitals across seven healthcare networks (A to G) in Hong Kong, including Candida species culture and antifungal prescription information...

BACKGROUND: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality among neonates admitted to neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). The MRSA colonization of neonates, attributed to various sources, including mothers, healthcare workers, and environmental surfaces, can lead to severe infection, prolonged hospital stays, and even death, imposing substantial economic burdens. Given the pressing need to mitigate MRSA spread in these vulnerable environments, further examination of the subject is warranted...

The problem of antibiotic resistance is currently very acute. Numerous research and development of new antibacterial drugs are being carried out that could help cope with various infectious agents. One of the promising directions for the search for new antibacterial drugs is the search among the probiotic strains present in the human gastrointestinal tract. This review is devoted to characteristics of one of these probiotic strains that have been studied to date: Limosilactobacillus reuteri. The review discusses its properties, synthesis of various compounds, as well as role of this strain in modulating various systems of the human body...

This study evaluates whether random forest (RF) models are as effective as traditional Logistic Regression (LR) models in predicting multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacterial nosocomial infections. Data were collected from 541 patients with hospital-acquired Gram-negative bacterial infections at two tertiary-level hospitals in Urumqi, Xinjiang, China, from August 2022 to November 2023. Relevant literature informed the selection of significant predictors based on patients' pre-infection clinical information and medication history...

BACKGROUND: Community-acquired and nosocomial lower-respiratory-tract infections in critically ill pediatric patients require early appropriate antibiotic therapy to optimize outcomes. Using blind bronchial samples, we assessed the diagnostic performance of the rapid-multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay BioFire Pneumonia plus Panel vs. reference standard culturing with antimicrobial susceptibility testing. METHODS: For this prospective observational study in a single pediatric intensive care unit, we included consecutive patients younger than 18 years admitted for suspected community-, hospital- or ventilator-associated pneumonia in 2021-2022...

With the outbreak of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV2, many countries have faced problems because of their available hospital capacity. Health systems must be prepared to restructure their facilities and meet the requirements of the pandemic while keeping their services and specialties active. This process, known as hospital reconversion, contributes to minimizing the risk of contagion between hospital staff and patients and optimizing the efficient treatment and disposal of healthcare wastes that represent a risk of nosocomial infection contagion...

Research on megaplasmids that contribute to the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains has grown in recent years due to the now widely used technologies allowing long-read sequencing. Here, we systematically analyzed distinct and consistent genetic characteristics of megaplasmids found in P. aeruginosa . Our data provide information on their phylogenetic distribution and hypotheses tracing the potential evolutionary paths of megaplasmids. Most of the megaplasmids we found belong to the IncP-2-type, with conserved and syntenic genetic backbones carrying modules of genes associated with chemotaxis apparatus, tellurite resistance and plasmid replication, segregation, and transmission...

Hemodialysis is an important part of nosocomial infection prevention and control (IPC). This study aimed to identify the key potential risk areas and failure modes in hemodialysis rooms in hospitals and put forward a series of improvement measures to prevent and control the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Hemodialysis patients are highly susceptible to COVID-19 and usually have a high incidence of severe illness and mortality after infection with COVID-19. Therefore, IPC in hemodialysis patients is of crucial strategic significance...

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 and bacterial/fungal coinfections have posed significant challenges to human health. However, there is a lack of good tools for predicting coinfection risk to aid clinical work. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to investigate the risk factors for bacterial/fungal coinfection among COVID-19 patients and to develop machine learning models to estimate the risk of coinfection. METHODS: In this retrospective cohort study, we enrolled adult inpatients confirmed with COVID-19 in a tertiary hospital between January 1 and July 31, 2023, in China and collected baseline information at admission...

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a major cause of nosocomial infections and the leading cause of chronic lung infections in cystic fibrosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients. Antibiotic treatment remains challenging because P. aeruginosa is resistant to high concentrations of antibiotics and has a remarkable ability to acquire mutations conferring resistance to multiple groups of antimicrobial agents. Here we report that when P. aeruginosa is plated on ciprofloxacin (cipro) plates, the majority of cipro-resistant (ciproR) colonies observed at and after 48 h of incubation carry mutations in genes related to the Stringent Response (SR)...

Nosocomial infections are a frequent and serious problem in extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants. Donor human milk (DHM) is the best alternative for feeding these babies when mother's own milk (MOM) is not available. Recently, a patented prototype of a High-Temperature Short-Time (HTST) pasteurizer adapted to a human milk bank setting showed a lesser impact on immunologic components. We designed a multicentre randomized controlled trial that investigates whether, in ELBW infants with an insufficient MOM supply, the administration of HTST pasteurized DHM reduces the incidence of confirmed catheter-associated sepsis compared to DHM pasteurized with the Holder method...

Acinetobacter baumannii is a major cause of nosocomial infections, and its highly adaptive nature and broad range of antibiotic resistance enable it to persist in hospital environments. A. baumannii often employs two-component systems (TCSs) to regulate adaptive responses and virulence-related traits. This study describes a previously uncharacterized TCS in the A. baumannii ATCC19606 strain, consisting of a transcriptional sensor, DJ41_1407, and its regulator, DJ41_1408, located adjacent to GacA of the GacSA TCS...