Corynebacterium lipophiloflavum sp. nov. isolated from a patient with bacterial vaginosis

A unique coryneform bacterium was isolated from a patient with bacterial vaginosis. Chemotaxonomical investigations demonstrated that the unknown bacterium belonged to the genus Corynebacterium. The yellow-pigmented, slightly lipophilic, oxidative, urea-hydrolyzing bacterium could be phenotypically readily differentiated from the other members of the genus Corynebacterium. Comparative 16S rRNA gene analysis revealed that the bacterium represented a new subline within the genus Corynebacterium for which the name Corynebacterium lipophiloflavum sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is CCUG 37336 (DSM 44291

Corynebacterium lipophiloflavum sp. nov. isolated from a patient with bacterial vaginosis

A unique coryneform bacterium was isolated from a patient with bacterial vaginosis. Chemotaxonomical investigations demonstrated that the unknown bacterium belonged to the genus Corynebacterium. The yellow-pigmented, slightly lipophilic, oxidative, urea-hydrolyzing bacterium could be phenotypically readily differentiated from the other members of the genus Corynebacterium. Comparative 16S rRNA gene analysis revealed that the bacterium represented a new subline within the genus Corynebacterium for which the name Corynebacterium lipophiloflavum sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is CCUG 37336 (DSM 44291

Efficacy of tigecycline for the treatment of complicated intraabdominal infections in real-life clinical practice from five european observational studies

Objectives: Tigecycline is a broad-spectrum antibiotic approved for the treatment of complicated intra-abdominal infections (cIAIs). The efficacy of tigecycline when administered as monotherapy or in combination with other antibacterials in the treatment of cIAIs in routine clinical practice is described. Patients and methods: Individual patient-level data were pooled from five European observational studies (July 2006 to October 2011). Results: A total of 785 cIAI patients who received tigecycline were included (mean age 63.1+14.0 years). Of these, 56.6% were in intensive care units, 65.6% acquired their infection in hospital, 88.1% had at least one comorbidity and 65.7% had secondary peritonitis. The mean Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) scores at the beginning of treatment were 16.9+7.6 (n=614) and 7.0+4.2 (n=108), respectively, indicating high disease severity. Escherichia coli (41.8%), Enterococcus faecium (40.1%) and Enterococcus faecalis (21.1%) were the most frequently isolated pathogens; 49.1% of infections were polymicrobial and 17.5% were due to resistant pathogens. Overall, 54.8% (n=430) received tigecycline as monotherapy and 45.2% (n=355) as combination therapy for a mean duration of 10.6 days. Clinical response rates at the end of treatment were 77.4% for all patients (567/733), 80.6% for patients who received tigecycline as monotherapy (329/408), 75.2% for patients with a nosocomial infection (354/471), 75.8% for patients with an APACHE II score .15 (250/330) and 54.2% (32/59) for patients with a SOFA score =7. Conclusions: In these real-life studies, tigecycline, alone and in combination, achieved favourable clinical response rates in patients with cIAI with a high severity of illness

Antimicrobials : a global alliance for optimizing their rational use in intra-abdominal infections (AGORA)

Intra-abdominal infections (IAI) are an important cause of morbidity and are frequently associated with poor prognosis, particularly in high-risk patients. The cornerstones in the management of complicated IAIs are timely effective source control with appropriate antimicrobial therapy. Empiric antimicrobial therapy is important in the management of intra-abdominal infections and must be broad enough to cover all likely organisms because inappropriate initial antimicrobial therapy is associated with poor patient outcomes and the development of bacterial resistance. The overuse of antimicrobials is widely accepted as a major driver of some emerging infections (such as C. difficile), the selection of resistant pathogens in individual patients, and for the continued development of antimicrobial resistance globally. The growing emergence of multi-drug resistant organisms and the limited development of new agents available to counteract them have caused an impending crisis with alarming implications, especially with regards to Gram-negative bacteria. An international task force from 79 different countries has joined this project by sharing a document on the rational use of antimicrobials for patients with IAIs. The project has been termed AGORA (Antimicrobials: A Global Alliance for Optimizing their Rational Use in Intra-Abdominal Infections). The authors hope that AGORA, involving many of the world's leading experts, can actively raise awareness in health workers and can improve prescribing behavior in treating IAIs.Peer reviewe

Safety and tolerability of tigecycline for the treatment of complicated skin and soft-tissue and intra-abdominal infections: An analysis based on five European observational studies

Objectives: Tigecycline is approved for the treatment of complicated skin and soft-tissue infections (cSSTIs) and complicated intra-abdominal infections (cIAIs) in adults. In this analysis the safety and tolerability profile of tigecycline (used alone or in combination) for the treatment of patients with approved indications of cSSTI and cIAI were examined under real-life clinical conditions. Patients and methods: Individual patient-level data were pooled from five European observational studies (July 2006 to October 2011). A total of 254 cSSTI and 785 cIAI patients were included. The mean age was 63 years; 34.4% and 56.6% were in intensive care units, 90.9% and 88.1% had at least one comorbidity and mean Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II scores at the beginning of treatment were 15.0+7.9 and 16.9+7.6, respectively. Results: Data on adverse events (AEs) were available for 198 cSSTI and 590 cIAI patients in three studies. Nausea and vomiting were reported in =2% of patients. The most common serious AEs were multi-organ failure (4.0% and 10.0% in cSSTI and cIAI patients, respectively) and sepsis (4.0% and 6.1%, respectively). Death was recorded for 24/254 (9.4%) cSSTI and 147/785 (18.7%) cIAI patients. Mortality rates were higher in the group with a baseline APACHE II score of .15 compared with those with a score of =15 (18.7% versus 3.5% for cSSTI patients and 23.8% versus 16.0% for cIAI patients). A similar trend was seen when cIAI patients were stratified by Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score. Conclusions: The safety and tolerability of tigecycline, alone and in combination, are consistent with the level of critical illness among patients in these real-life studie

Prescription behaviours for tigecycline in real-life clinical practice from five European observational studies

There is limited information on the use of tigecycline in real-life clinical practice. This analysis aims to identify and understand tigecycline prescribing patterns and associated patient outcomes for approved indications

Efficacy of tigecycline for the treatment of complicated skin and soft-tissue infections in real-life clinical practice from five European observational studies

Objectives: Tigecycline is an approved treatment for complicated skin and soft-tissue infections (cSSTIs). The efficacy of tigecycline as monotherapy or in combination with other antibacterials in the treatment of cSSTI in routine practice is described. Patients and methods: Individual patient-level data were pooled from five European observational studies (July 2006 to October 2011). Results: A total of 254 cSSTI patients who received tigecycline were included (mean age 63.2+14.9 years). Of these, 34.4% were in intensive care units, 54.5% acquired their infection in hospital and 90.9% had at least one comorbidity. Infection most commonly affected the limbs (62.4%) and 43.8% of infections were classified as necrotizing. The mean Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) scores at the beginning of treatment were 15.0+7.9 (n=205) and 5.8+3.9 (n=32), respectively, indicating high disease severity. Staphylococcus aureus (52.7%), Escherichia coli (18.0%) and Enterococcus faecium (12.0%) were the most frequently isolated pathogens; 32.9% of infections were polymicrobial and 30.5% were due to resistant pathogens. Overall, 71.8% received tigecycline as monotherapy and 28.2% as combination therapy for a mean duration of 12 days. Clinical response rates at the end of treatment were 79.6% for all patients who received the standard dosage (183/230), 86.7% for patients who received tigecycline as monotherapy (143/165), 75.0% for patients with a nosocomial infection (96/128), 75.3% for patients with an APACHE II score .15 (61/81) and 58.3% for patients with a SOFA score =7 (7/12). Conclusions: In these real-life studies, tigecycline, alone and in combination, achieved favourable clinical response rates in patients with cSSTI with a high severity of illness