Etiology and resistance patterns of bacteria causing ventilator-associated pneumonia in a respiratory intensive care unit

© 2017, Institut za Vojnomedicinske Naucne Informacije/Documentaciju. All Rights Reserved. Background/Aim. Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) incidence, causative pathogens, and resistance patterns are different among countries and intensive care units (ICUs). In Europe, resistant organisms have progressively increased in the last decade. However, there is a lack of data from Serbian ICUs. The aims of this study were to evaluate etiology and antimicrobial resistance for pathogens causing VAP in ICU patients, to examine whether there were differences among pathogens in early-onset and late-onset VAP and to identify mortality in patients with VAP after 30 and 60 days of hospitalization. Methods. A retrospective cohort study was conducted in the respiratory ICU and all adult patients diagnosed with VAP from 2009 to 2014 were included. Results. Gram negative organisms were the major pathogens (80.3%). The most commonly isolated was Acinetobacter spp (59.8%). There was a statistically significant increase in the incidence of infection with Klebsiella pneumoniae (8.9% vs 25.6%; p = 0.019). Extensively drugresistant strains (XDR) were the most common (78.7%). Lateonset VAP was developed in 81.1% of patients without differences among pathogens in comparison with early-onset VAP. Acinetobacter spp was susceptible to tigecycline and colistin with a significant increase in resistance to ampicillin/sulbactam (30.2% vs 58.6%; p = 0.01). Resistance rate of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae to carbapenems was 38% and 11%, respectively. In methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus no resistance was observed against vancomycin and linezolid. There was no difference in mortality rate between patients with earlyonset and late-onset VAP after 30 and 60 days of hospitalization. Conclusion. Gram negative organisms were the primary cause of bacterial VAP of which the most common was the XDR strain of Acinetobacter spp. Patients with early- and late-onset VAP had the same pathogens. There was no difference in mortality between this two group of patients during 60 days of hospitalization

Heterosis in age-specific selected populations of a seed beetle: Sex differences in longevity and reproductive behavior

We tested mutation accumulation hypothesis for the evolution of senescence using short-lived and long-lived populations of the seed-feeding beetle, Acanthoscelides obtectus (Say), obtained by selection on early-and late-life for many generations. The expected consequence of the mutation accumulation hypothesis is that in short-lived populations, where the force of natural selection is the strongest early in life, the late-life fitness traits should decline due to genetic drift which increases the frequency of mutations with deleterious effects in later adult stages. Since it is unlikely that identical deleterious mutations will increase in several independent populations, hybrid vigor for late-life fitness is expected in offspring obtained in crosses among populations selected for early-life fitness traits. We tested longevity of both sexes, female fecundity and male reproductive behavior for hybrid vigor by comparing hybrid and nonhybrid short-lived populations. Hybrid vigor was confirmed for male virility, mating speed and copulation duration, and longevity of both sexes at late ages. In contrast to males, the results on female fecundity in short-lived populations did not support mutation accumulation as a genetic mechanism for the evolution of this trait. Contrary to the prediction of this hypothesis, male mating ability indices and female fecundity in long-lived populations exhibited hybrid vigor at all assayed age classes. We demonstrate that nonhybrid long-lived populations diverged randomly regarding female and male reproductive fitness, indicating that sexually antagonistic selection, when accompanied with genetic drift for female fecundity and male virility, might be responsible for overriding natural selection in the independently evolving long-lived populations.Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development {[}173007

Global variation in postoperative mortality and complications after cancer surgery: a multicentre, prospective cohort study in 82 countries

© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licenseBackground: 80% of individuals with cancer will require a surgical procedure, yet little comparative data exist on early outcomes in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared postoperative outcomes in breast, colorectal, and gastric cancer surgery in hospitals worldwide, focusing on the effect of disease stage and complications on postoperative mortality. Methods: This was a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of consecutive adult patients undergoing surgery for primary breast, colorectal, or gastric cancer requiring a skin incision done under general or neuraxial anaesthesia. The primary outcome was death or major complication within 30 days of surgery. Multilevel logistic regression determined relationships within three-level nested models of patients within hospitals and countries. Hospital-level infrastructure effects were explored with three-way mediation analyses. This study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03471494. Findings: Between April 1, 2018, and Jan 31, 2019, we enrolled 15 958 patients from 428 hospitals in 82 countries (high income 9106 patients, 31 countries; upper-middle income 2721 patients, 23 countries; or lower-middle income 4131 patients, 28 countries). Patients in LMICs presented with more advanced disease compared with patients in high-income countries. 30-day mortality was higher for gastric cancer in low-income or lower-middle-income countries (adjusted odds ratio 3·72, 95% CI 1·70–8·16) and for colorectal cancer in low-income or lower-middle-income countries (4·59, 2·39–8·80) and upper-middle-income countries (2·06, 1·11–3·83). No difference in 30-day mortality was seen in breast cancer. The proportion of patients who died after a major complication was greatest in low-income or lower-middle-income countries (6·15, 3·26–11·59) and upper-middle-income countries (3·89, 2·08–7·29). Postoperative death after complications was partly explained by patient factors (60%) and partly by hospital or country (40%). The absence of consistently available postoperative care facilities was associated with seven to 10 more deaths per 100 major complications in LMICs. Cancer stage alone explained little of the early variation in mortality or postoperative complications. Interpretation: Higher levels of mortality after cancer surgery in LMICs was not fully explained by later presentation of disease. The capacity to rescue patients from surgical complications is a tangible opportunity for meaningful intervention. Early death after cancer surgery might be reduced by policies focusing on strengthening perioperative care systems to detect and intervene in common complications. Funding: National Institute for Health Research Global Health Research Unit