11/522. acinetobacter meningitis: four nosocomial cases.We report the clinical features and therapeutic outcomes of four patients with multiantibiotic-resistant acinetobacter meningitis. There were three males and one female, aged from 17 to 49 years. Three of them had suffered from head injuries with skull fractures, and the other suffered from an intracerebral hemorrhage and underwent a craniotomy. All four patients acquired nosocomial acinetobacter meningitis, and multiantibiotic resistance developed. After treatment with imipenem/cilastatin, three of the four patients survived; one died of multiorgan failure. Because the clinical manifestations of acinetobacter meningitis are similar to those of other gram-negative bacillary meningitis, the diagnosis can only be confirmed by bacterial culture. Resistance to multiple antibiotics, including third-generation cephalosporins, is frequently seen in patients with nosocomial acinetobacter meningitis, and imipenem/cilastatin seems to be the antibiotic of choice for this potentially fatal central nervous system infection.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = infection (Clic here for more details about this article) |
12/522. Nosocomial transmission of penicillin-resistant streptococcus pneumoniae.Two patients were found to harbor intermediate-level penicillin-resistant streptococcus pneumoniae in a pediatric hospital setting. For the first patient, the bacterium was isolated from a tracheal aspirate, and for the second patient, a positive blood culture was found a short time after the index case. Two molecular typing techniques (enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus sequence polymerase chain reaction, and repetitive sequence-based polymerase chain reaction) demonstrated homology among these isolates, which suggests person-to-person spread. We propose the need for institution-based infection control precautions that will limit the spread of penicillin-resistant pneumococci.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = infection (Clic here for more details about this article) |
13/522. An epidemic outbreak of malassezia folliculitis in three adult patients in an intensive care unit: a previously unrecognized nosocomial infection.BACKGROUND: malassezia is a lipophilic fungus commonly found in normal human skin. Infection of the hair follicle by malassezia furfur occurs in patients with predisposing factors such as diabetes or immunosuppression, or who are undergoing antibiotic treatment. malassezia furfur folliculitis is an infrequent nosocomial infection which may be associated with fomite transmission. methods: We reviewed the clinical files of three adult patients from an intensive care unit (ICU) who simultaneously developed folliculitis through malassezia infection. We specifically analysed predisposing factors, possible transmission modes, characteristics of skin lesions, results of biopsies and cultures, treatment, and patient outcome. RESULTS: The three male patients were in neighboring beds and they all had factors that predisposed them to underlying immunosupression. Simultaneously, and within hours of each other, they developed erythematous follicular papules and pustules on the face and chest. The skin biopsies revealed an acute folliculitis with abundant round to oval yeasts of up to 5 microm in diameter. Stains for fungi (Schiff's peryodic acid, Grocott and silver methenamine) revealed numerous unipolar budding yeasts without hyphae, consistent with M. furfur. Conventional cultures were negative. The diagnosis of folliculitis by M. furfur was established and antifinigal treatment initiated, with adequate outcome of the dermatosis. After this outbreak, the aseptic and hygienic measures of the health care personnel of the ICU were reviewed and corrected. CONCLUSIONS: The simultaneous emergence of this superficial infection by M. furfur suggests fomite participation. This dermatomycosis is an infrequent nosocomial infection in adults, which to our knowledge has not been previously reported.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 8keywords = infection (Clic here for more details about this article) |
14/522. mycobacterium fortuitum infection of ventriculoperitoneal shunt.mycobacterium fortuitum is one of the rapidly growing mycobacteria found in soil, dust, and water. It can be isolated as a normal colonizing organism, but as a pathogen this organism causes mainly skin and soft tissue infection preceded by trauma. A wide variety of infections can occur in individuals with predisposing conditions. central nervous system infection with M fortuitum is rare, and meningitis occurs after surgery or trauma. We believe that ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt infection with this organism has not been reported in the literature. Practitioners should be aware of this rare entity and should suspect it in the presence of cerebrospinal fluid pleocytosis with sterile culture, and after trauma, surgery, or manipulation of the VP shunt hardware. mycobacterium fortuitum is resistant to most first-line and second-line antituberculous drugs, and treatment should include surgical debridement in addition to prolonged antimicrobial therapy.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 8keywords = infection (Clic here for more details about this article) |
15/522. candida glabrata fungemia. Clinical features of 139 patients.Candida species are now the fourth leading cause of nosocomial bloodstream infection in hospitalized patients, and non-candida albicans species now surpass candida albicans. The clinical features of the most common non-candida albicans species, Candida (Torulopsis) glabrata, have not been well studied. We retrospectively reviewed the clinical features of 139 patients with C. glabrata blood-stream infection over a period of 7 years. The mean age of patients was 62 years, and the most common admitting diagnoses were malignancy (28%) and coronary artery disease (18%). The most common identified portals of entry were abdominal (22%) and intravascular catheters (16%). At the time of fungemia, 63% of patients had fever, 45% had change in mental status, and 30% were in septic shock. Three of 50 patients examined by an ophthalmologist had chorioretinitis. The overall hospital mortality was 49%. Factors associated with increased mortality in a regression model were prior abdominal surgery (odds ratio [OR] = 2.8; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.2-6.3, p = 0.01), and an elevated creatinine (OR = 2.2; 95% CI = 1.0-4.7, p = 0.05). When early deaths (< or = 72 hours) were censored, amphotericin b treatment and total dose were associated with reduced mortality (OR = 0.2; 95% CI = 0.1-0.4, p < 0.001). Nosocomial C. glabrata fungemia is not just a disease of debilitated and neutropenic patients, but affects a wide variety of patients and is associated with a high mortality.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = infection (Clic here for more details about this article) |
16/522. Successful treatment of ceftazidime-resistant klebsiella pneumoniae ventriculitis with intravenous meropenem and intraventricular polymyxin b: case report and review.Increasing prevalence of multidrug-resistant gram-negative organisms has led to a rise in clinically significant infections with these organisms and an increasing therapeutic dilemma. We present a case of a neurosurgical patient who developed ventriculoperitoneal shunt-associated ventriculitis due to ceftazidime-resistant klebsiella pneumoniae susceptible to cefepime, imipenem, meropenem, and polymyxin b only. Successful management was accomplished by removal of the shunt and therapy with systemic meropenem and intraventricular polymyxin b. Rapid cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) sterilization occurred, with CSF bactericidal titers of 1:32 to 1:128. polymyxin b should be considered as adjunctive therapy for life-threatening multidrug-resistant gram-negative infections. Prior literature on use of intrathecal polymyxin b in therapy for meningitis supports its potential efficacy.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = infection (Clic here for more details about this article) |
17/522. Identification of hepatitis c virus seroconversion resulting from nosocomial transmission on a haemodialysis unit: implications for infection control and laboratory screening.hepatitis c virus (HCV) seroconversion was detected by routine screening in a haemodialysis patient, Patient 1. Serological investigations were undertaken over the following 3 months to determine if further transmission to other patients on the unit had occurred. No additional cases were identified. Twenty-two haemodialysis patients known to have HCV infection were investigated using molecular epidemiological methods to determine if transmission between patients had occurred. HCV viraemia was demonstrated by polymerase chain reaction in 19 of 22 patients (86%). Genotyping showed that eight patients were infected with genotype 1, three with genotype 3 and eight, including Patient 1, with genotype 2. Phylogenetic analysis of viral sequences from the eight patients with genotype 2 revealed three, including Patient 1,with a novel subtype of HCV type 2, and revealed close similarity between viral sequences from patient 1 and those from one other patient, suggesting transmission. This was consistent with haemodialysis histories. Among other patients with genotype 2, there were two with subtype 2a and three others with three separate novel subtypes, as yet undesignated. With the exception of patient 1, all patients infected with novel subtypes were of Afro-Caribbean origin. The HCV prevalence among patients on the haemodialysis unit was high (14%), which may reflect the ethnicity of our haemodialysis population. This case emphasises the risk of nosocomial transmission and the importance of infection control procedures on haemodialysis units, and highlights the usefulness of molecular epidemiological techniques for the investigation of outbreaks of HCV infection.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 7keywords = infection (Clic here for more details about this article) |
18/522. Iatrogenic staphylococcus aureus septicaemia following intravenous and intramuscular injections: clinical course and pathomorphological findings.The clinical course, autopsy and histological findings are presented from three (one 33-year-old female and two males aged 26 and 56) fatalities resulting from injection therapy which has produced staphylococcus aureus septicaemia. The autopsies were performed within 2-4 days postmortem. No primary focus other than the insertion site of the peripheral venous catheters or the intramuscular injections, representing the initial entry site of staphylococcus aureus, could be identified. Death was attributed directly to the staphylococcal infection as a result of iatrogenic injection therapy for the treatment of a non-severe underlying illness (premature labour pains, acute loss of hearing, lumbago). The forensic diagnosis of staphylococcus aureus septicaemia following iatrogenic injections has to be critically evaluated and can be established routinely in cases with delayed autopsy only when no other cause of death is revealed by autopsy, no apparent source of infection other than the insertion site can be detected and careful attention is paid to histological and bacteriological findings. All doubtful cases of nosocomial bloodstream infections with fatal outcome should undergo an immediate autopsy. In cases of very early forensic involvement microbiological investigations, including phagotyping, molecular biological characterization and identification of bacterial toxins from micro-organisms out of appropriate specimens obtained postmortem, could be efforts of potential evidential value regarding the aetiological proof. To optimize aetiopathogenetic conclusions concerning a causal relationship between iatrogenic injections and septic complications, the medicolegal investigation should also include an interdisciplinary co-operation with consultants from other relevant fields (e.g. microbiology and hygienics).- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 3keywords = infection (Clic here for more details about this article) |
19/522. Nosocomial transmission of hepatitis b virus infection through multiple-dose vials.The source of acute hepatitis b virus (HBV) infection in two women (55 and 72 years old) was investigated. They displayed no risk factors for acquiring HBV infection, other than treatment with local anaesthetic injections some months previously. The HBV strains were sequenced and showed distinct homology to strains seen in Swedish intravenous drug users (IVDU). Prior to these patients' acute infection, an outbreak of HBV had occurred among IVDU in the same county. Analysis of the HBV strains from six of these IVDUs showed their core promoter, precore and pre-S sequences (679 nucleotides) to be identical to those from the two patients. Cross-contamination between samples was excluded and the most likely source of infection was thought to be multiple-dose vials of local anaesthetic that had been contaminated with the HBV strain circulating among the IVDU population in the community. We believe that multiple-dose vials have no place in modern healthcare and recommend sequence homology analysis as an alternative or additional way to trace a source of HBV infection.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 9keywords = infection (Clic here for more details about this article) |
20/522. Outcome of a screening program for vancomycin-resistant enterococci in a hospital in victoria.OBJECTIVE: To screen for faecal colonisation with vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) among potentially at-risk patients. DESIGN: infection control screening program. SETTING: Monash Medical Centre (a tertiary care hospital), Melbourne, victoria, in the seven months from June 1997. PATIENTS: Patients in the Renal, Oncology and intensive care (ICU) Units. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Presence of VRE in a rectal swab or faecal specimen taken at admission and at regular intervals during inpatient stay; presence of vancomycin-resistance genes (vanA, vanB and vanC) assessed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR); genetic clonality of isolates assessed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). RESULTS: 574 patients (356 renal, 134 ICU and 84 oncology) were screened; 12 were colonised with VRE--nine renal inpatients, two having peritoneal dialysis or incentre haemodialysis, and one ICU patient. Nine isolates were enterococcus faecalis (seven positive for vanB and two negative for all three resistance genes) and three were enterococcus faecium (all positive for vanB). Eight were high-level gentamicin resistant. PFGE suggested genetic clonality between the index isolate and five other isolates from renal patients. No specific clinical practice was associated with VRE colonisation. Attempts to clear rectal carriage with oral ampicillin/amoxycillin or bacitracin were of limited success. Although antibiotic prescribing in the Renal Unit was generally consistent with defined protocols, use of vancomycin and third-generation cephalosporins has been further restricted. CONCLUSIONS: Renal inpatients in our institution appear most at risk of VRE colonisation (4.6% overall) and therefore of VRE infection. Routine screening, especially of potentially high-risk patients, should be considered in major Australian hospitals.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = infection (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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