1/745. Emergence of vancomycin resistance in Staphylococcus aureus. Glycopeptide-Intermediate Staphylococcus aureus Working Group.BACKGROUND: Since the emergence of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, the glycopeptide vancomycin has been the only uniformly effective treatment for staphylococcal infections. In 1997, two infections due to S. aureus with reduced susceptibility to vancomycin were identified in the united states. methods: We investigated the two patients with infections due to S. aureus with intermediate resistance to glycopeptides, as defined by a minimal inhibitory concentration of vancomycin of 8 to 16 microg per milliliter. To assess the carriage and transmission of these strains of S. aureus, we cultured samples from the patients and their contacts and evaluated the isolates. RESULTS: The first patient was a 59-year-old man in michigan with diabetes mellitus and chronic renal failure. peritonitis due to S. aureus with intermediate resistance to glycopeptides developed after 18 weeks of vancomycin treatment for recurrent methicillin-resistant S. aureus peritonitis associated with dialysis. The removal of the peritoneal catheter plus treatment with rifampin and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole eradicated the infection. The second patient was a 66-year-old man with diabetes in new jersey. A bloodstream infection due to S. aureus with intermediate resistance to glycopeptides developed after 18 weeks of vancomycin treatment for recurrent methicillin-resistant S. aureus bacteremia. This infection was eradicated with vancomycin, gentamicin, and rifampin. Both patients died. The glycopeptide-intermediate S. aureus isolates differed by two bands on pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. On electron microscopy, the isolates from the infected patients had thicker extracellular matrixes than control methicillin-resistant S. aureus isolates. No carriage was documented among 177 contacts of the two patients. CONCLUSIONS: The emergence of S. aureus with intermediate resistance to glycopeptides emphasizes the importance of the prudent use of antibiotics, the laboratory capacity to identify resistant strains, and the use of infection-control precautions to prevent transmission.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = infection (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/745. flavobacterium meningosepticum sepsis in an infant with a diarrheal prodrome.A full term, previously normal 2 1/2-month-old black boy was transferred to our hospital from an outlying facility on hospital day 5 for failure to thrive. Three weeks before transfer, the infant was hospitalized for a diarrheal illness with fever. The baby received 3 days of ceftriaxone empirically and was discharged home after the sepsis evaluation was negative. Mild diarrhea and steady weight loss continued and the baby was readmitted. Blood culture done on admission grew flavobacterium meningosepticum, an organism previously described as an uncommon cause of sepsis in neonates and immunocompromised individuals. As it is water-borne, it has been associated with infection via contaminated water. This organism is usually resistant to antibiotics commonly used for empiric treatment. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of flavobacterium bacteremia associated with a prodromal and concurrent diarrheal illness.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.14285714285714keywords = infection (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/745. ochrobactrum anthropi bacteremia.ochrobactrum anthropi (O. anthropi ), formerly known as achromobacter CDC group Vd, is a gram-negative bacillus that is aerobic, oxidase producing, and nonlactose fermenting. This organism has been found in environmental and hospital water sources and has pathogenic potential in humans. Most reports in the literature of O. anthropi bacteremia are associated with intravenous line infections. We describe a case of bacteremia with O. anthropi in a 33-month-old boy with acute osteomyelitis. O. anthropi bacteremia also has been reported in immunocompromised hosts. Rarely, O. anthropi has been a cause of soft tissue or bone infection.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.28571428571429keywords = infection (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/745. arcanobacterium haemolyticum and mycoplasma pneumoniae co-infection.Systemic infection caused by arcanobacterium haemolyticum is uncommon. We report a case of empyema and bacteraemia caused by this organism concomitant with mycoplasma pneumoniae infection.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.85714285714286keywords = infection (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/745. The emergence of decreased susceptibility to vancomycin in staphylococcus epidermidis.BACKGROUND: coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) are the major cause of nosocomial bloodstream infection. Emergence of vancomycin resistance among CNS is a serious public health concern, because CNS usually are multidrug-resistant, and glycopeptide antibiotics, among which only vancomycin is available in the United States, are the only remaining effective therapy. In this report, we describe the first bloodstream infection in the united states associated with a staphylococcus epidermidis strain with decreased susceptibility to vancomycin. methods: We reviewed the hospital's microbiology records for all CNS strains, reviewed the patient's medical and laboratory records, and obtained all available CNS isolates with decreased susceptibility to vancomycin. Blood cultures were processed and CNS isolates identified by using standard methods; antimicrobial susceptibility was determined by using minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and disk-diffusion methods. Nares cultures were obtained from exposed healthcare workers (HCWs) to identify possible colonization by CNS with decreased susceptibility to vancomycin. RESULTS: The bloodstream infection by an S. epidermidis strain with decreased susceptibility to vancomycin occurred in a 49-year-old woman with carcinoma. She had two blood cultures positive for CNS; both isolates were S. epidermidis. Although susceptible to vancomycin by the disk-diffusion method (16-17 mm), the isolates were intermediate by MIC (8-6 microg/mL). The patient had received an extended course of vancomycin therapy; she died of her underlying disease. No HCW was colonized by CNS with decreased susceptibility to vancomycin. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first report in the united states of bloodstream infection due to S. epidermidis with decreased susceptibility to vancomycin. Contact precautions likely played a role in preventing nosocomial transmission of this strain, and disk-diffusion methods may be inadequate to detect CNS with decreased susceptibility to vancomycin.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.57142857142857keywords = infection (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/745. Rapid and definitive diagnosis of infectious diseases using peripheral blood smears.A timely diagnosis is essential in the management of septicemia and septic shock. Three patients are described, all of whom presented with fever and one of whom was hypotensive at the time of admission. In each patient, rapid diagnosis of the cause of fever was possible because microorganisms were identified on a peripheral blood smear obtained at the time of admission. This identification permitted prompt initiation of appropriate antimicrobial therapy. In addition, a literature review of use of peripheral blood smears in the diagnosis of bacterial, fungal, and parasitic infections is provided.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.14285714285714keywords = infection (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/745. Subcutaneous nodules caused by pseudomonas aeruginosa without sepsis.pseudomonas aeruginosa infection can cause a wide array of skin manifestations. While some infections are mild, as are the cases with hot tub folliculitis and toe web or nail infection, others are a result of sepsis and can be fatal without prompt treatment. The classic skin finding of P. aeruginosa sepsis is ecthyma gangrenosum, but other signs such as papules, petechiae, and hemorrhagic bullae can also be seen. Suppurative panniculitis can also be caused by P. aeruginosa sepsis and clinically manifests as solitary or multiple subcutaneous nodules. Reports in the literature describe these nodules in the setting of clinical sepsis or with positive blood cultures. We report a case of localized subcutaneous nodules on the leg caused by P. aeruginosa in a patient without sepsis or positive blood cultures. The source of the infection was thought to be from a traumatic inoculation. This raises the possibility that P. aeruginosa can cause subcutaneous nodules from a localized infection, perhaps via lymphangitic spread without the manifestations of sepsis.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.71428571428571keywords = infection (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/745. serratia marcescens pseudobacteraemia in neonates associated with a contaminated blood glucose/lactate analyzer confirmed by molecular typing.Three episodes of serratia marcescens pseudobacteraemia occurred on a neonatal intensive care unit. Following the first two cases, one full term and one pre-term infant, the source was identified as a glucose/lactate analyzer. Blood culture and environmental isolates of the organisms involved were indistinguishable when subjected to pulsed-field gel electrophoresis of Spe 1 digests and PCR ribotyping. Failure to recognize pseudobacteraemia in neonates results in inappropriate therapy for the individual and increased antibiotic pressures on the unit. attention to the possibility of cross infection when using automated analyzers is required to minimize the risks of true or pseudoinfection to patients.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.28571428571429keywords = infection (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/745. Asplenia as a cause of sudden unexpected death in childhood.Sudden unexpected death in childhood is rare. The commonest causes of such deaths are a result of fulminating infections of the respiratory or nervous systems. Other causes include unsuspected congenital abnormalities of the heart, acute metabolic disorders, and rarities such as internal hemorrhages and pulmonary thrombosis. Recognition of children with congenital asplenia who are otherwise normal but have an increased susceptibility to overwhelming sepsis is extremely difficult. We reviewed 1763 autopsy files from our institution over 5 years (1990-1995), of which 293 were classified as pediatric cases. The vast majority of the cases were stillbirths and deaths within the first year of life as a result of complex congenital anomalies. Four cases of asplenia were identified in our entire series, 3 of which were of the congenital syndromal variety and 1 of which was a case of isolated sporadic congenital asplenia. All 4 cases of asplenia were analyzed in detail with respect to autopsy findings and cause of death. Severe complex cardiac malformations were present in the congenital syndromal asplenia patients; these other malformations contributed significantly to their death. In this report, we discuss in detail the autopsy findings in a previously healthy 4-year-old girl who presented with a brief 8-hour history of being unwell and died within 4 hours of admission into the hospital. She had sporadic, isolated congenital asplenia complicated by high-grade type 6B pneumococcemia and acute bilateral adrenal hemorrhage (waterhouse-friderichsen syndrome). Previously healthy children who clinically deteriorate very rapidly should have a blood smear done as part of their clinical workup. The detection of Howell-Jolly bodies on a peripheral blood smear can be an indicator of asplenia, and this diagnosis can be confirmed by medical imaging of the abdomen. Such steps may aid in the aggressive management of isolated congenital asplenia and thereby avert untimely death.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.14285714285714keywords = infection (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/745. culture-positive bartonella quintana endocarditis.A 50-year-old alcoholic man with a 1-year history of pyrexia of unknown origin was admitted with symptoms of endocarditis. Large vegetations on his mitral and aortic valve were found on echocardiography. Using the Bactec 9240 system. bartonella quintana could be grown from two culture sets of blood collected before the start of antimicrobial therapy. This is the first case report of culture-proven bartonella infection in the UK. and is noteworthy because bartonella quintana was detected in conventional blood culture systems after prolonged incubation.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.14285714285714keywords = infection (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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