Aerococcus urinae: a possible reason for malodorous urine in otherwise healthy children

Recently, Aerococcus urinae, primarily recognized as a common pathogen in elderly women, has been reported to cause an extremely unpleasant odour of the urine in paediatric patients similar to trimethylaminuria (fish odour syndrome). Herein, we present a case of A. urinae urinary tract colonization in a 12-year-old otherwise healthy boy, who finally refused micturition outside from his home environment as a result of the unpleasant odour. Within the last year, three cases (including our own) of A. urinae colonization causing foul-smelling urine in healthy children have been published, suggesting that this condition might be as frequent as trimethylaminuria. In case of polymicrobial growth in a urine specimen, A. urinae as the leading pathogen will usually be missed by routine bacteriological investigation. Novel bacteriological techniques such as MALDI-TOF MS provide a rapid tool to recognize this pathogen in urine. Conclusion: As treatment of A. urinae infection is simple, we recommend that in healthy children with malodorous urine, this pathogen is excluded before the initiation of costly metabolic investigations

Pharmacokinetics of oxycodone/naloxone and its metabolites in patients with end-stage renal disease during and between haemodialysis sessions

The pharmacokinetics of oxycodone in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) requiring haemodialysis are largely unknown. Therefore, we investigated the pharmacokinetics of oxycodone/naloxone prolonged release and their metabolites in patients with ESRD during and between haemodialysis sessions.; Single doses of oxycodone/naloxone (5/2.5 or 10/5 mg) were administered in nine patients with ESRD using a cross-over design on the day of dialysis and on a day between dialysis sessions. Plasma, dialysate and urine concentrations of oxycodone, naloxone and their metabolites were determined up to 48 h post-dosing using a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry system.; Haemodialysis performed 6-10 h after dosing removed ∼10% of the administered dose of oxycodone predominantly as unconjugated oxycodone and noroxycodone or conjugated oxymorphone and noroxymorphone. The haemodialysis clearance of oxycodone based on its recovery in dialysate was (mean ± SD) 8.4 ± 2.1 L/h. The geometric mean (coefficient of variation) plasma elimination half-life of oxycodone during the 4-h haemodialysis period was 3.9 h (39%) which was significantly shorter than the 5.7 h (22%) without haemodialysis. Plasma levels of the active metabolite oxymorphone in its unconjugated form were very low.; Oxycodone is removed during haemodialysis. The pharmacokinetics including the relatively short half-life of oxycodone in patients with ESRD with or without haemodialysis and the absence of unconjugated active metabolites indicate that oxycodone can be used at usual doses in patients requiring dialysis

Deceased organ donation activity and efficiency in Switzerland between 2008 and 2017: achievements and future challenges.

Various actions have been taken during the last decade to increase the number of organs from deceased donors available for transplantation in Switzerland. This study provides an overview on key figures of the Swiss deceased organ donation and transplant activity between 2008 and 2017. In addition, it puts the evolution of the Swiss donation program's efficiency in relation to the situation in the neighboring countries. This study is an analysis of prospective registry data, covering the period from 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2017. It includes all actual deceased organ donors (ADD) in Switzerland. Donor data were extracted from the Swiss Organ Allocation System. The "donor conversion index" (DCI) methodology and data was used for the comparison of donation program efficiency in Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Italy and France. During the study period there were 1116 ADD in Switzerland. The number of ADD per year increased from 91 in 2008 to 145 in 2017 (+ 59%). The reintroduction of the donation after cardiocirculatory death (DCD) program in 2011 resulted in the growth of annual percentages of DCD donors, reaching a maximum of 27% in 2017. The total number of organs transplanted from ADD was 3763 (3.4 ± 1.5 transplants per donor on average). Of these, 48% were kidneys (n = 1814), 24% livers (n = 903), 12% lungs (n = 445), 9% hearts (n = 352) and 7% pancreata or pancreatic islets (n = 249). The donation program efficiency assessment showed an increase of the Swiss DCI from 1.6% in 2008 to 2.7% in 2017 (+ 69%). The most prominent efficiency growth was observed between 2012 and 2017. Even though Swiss donation efficiency increased during the study period, it remained below the DCI of the French and Austrian donation programs. Swiss donation activity and efficiency grew during the last decade. The increased donation efficiency suggests that measures implemented so far were effective. The lower efficiency of the Swiss donation program, compared to the French and Austrian programs, may likely be explained by the lower consent rate in Switzerland. This issue should be addressed in order to achieve the goal of more organs available for transplantation

Glycaemic control in hospitalised diabetic patients at the University Hospital Basel in 2002 and in 2005

INTRODUCTION: Hyperglycaemia has been shown to be detrimental in severely ill patients. Prospective randomized controlled trials in ICU patients demonstrated the benefit of near-normoglycaemia in reducing morbidity and mortality. Recommendations of professional societies (e.g., the American Diabetes Association) on glycaemic control in hospitalised patients have recently been published. It was therefore of interest to assess whether glycaemic control of diabetic subjects in our hospital adhered to these guidelines. No recent data are available on the glycaemic control of hospitalised diabetic patients in Switzerland. METHODS: Medical records of 580 hospitalised patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes (290 from 2002, 290 from 2005) were extracted from the internal data base of the University Hospital Basel. The selection was based on the charts of successive admissions each month of the year. From these 290 records, 100 records were from the medical and surgical wards, respectively, and 30 from the medical ICU (MICU), 30 from the surgical ICU (SICU) and 30 from the coronary care unit (CCU), respectively. Thereby, the quality of glycaemic control was assessed within and between the wards. RESULTS: HbA1c of all diabetic patients with available measurements was 7.6 +/- 1.8% (mean +/- SD). HbA1c in medical wards was higher in 2005 than in 2002 (8.5 +/- 1.9% vs 7.5 +/- 2.8%; p = 0.014), and higher compared to surgical wards (8.5 +/- 1.9 % vs 6.7 +/- 1.1%; p textless0.0001). On admission 60% of the plasma glucose concentrations (PGC) in medical and surgical wards were above the recommended limit of 8 mmol/l (10.8 +/- 7.5 mmol/l); in 63% of the measurements in the MICU, SICU and CCU the values were above 6.8 mmol/l. In 2005, PGC in medical wards on admission was higher than in surgical wards (13.5 +/- 9.9 vs 9.4 +/- 9.9 mmol/l, p textless0.0001); in the MICU PGC was lower than in the SICU (9.7 +/- 1.5 vs 19.5 +/- 13.9 mmol/l; p textless0.0001) and in the CCU (9.7 +/- 1.5 vs 14.1 +/- 12.1 mmol/l; p = 0.038). PGC decreased on day 4 compared to admission in the medical wards in 2005 (p = 0.024). In the other wards PGC in 2005 failed to decrease during hospitalisation. CONC:LUSION: Most diabetic patients admitted to the hospital remained distinctly hyperglycaemic during hospitalisation. This was the case even in intensive care units, where equipment and staff for improved glycaemic control were available and where strict glycaemic control has recently been demonstrated to result in decreased complications, mortality and length of stay

The aspect of nationality and performance in a mountain ultra-marathon - the ‘Swiss Alpine Marathon’

Runners from East Africa and especially from Kenya dominate middle- and long- distance running races worldwide. The aim of the present study was to investigate the participation and performance trends regarding the nationality of runners in a mountain ultra-marathon held in partially high alpine terrain. We hypothesized that Kenyan runners, living and training in the Great Rift Valley, a predominantly hilly, mountainous and altitudinous region like the Alps, would dominate also a mountain ultra-marathon because they are accustomed to high altitudes and mountainous terrains. We examined the participation and performance trends of ultra-marathoners regarding their nationalities in the 78-km ‘Swiss Alpine Marathon’ including 21 km in high alpine terrain where 12,194 men and 1,781 women finished between 1998 and 2011. A total of 1,682 women and 11,580 men, corresponding to 94.9 % of all finishers, originated from Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Sweden, Great Britain, Austria, the Netherlands and Luxembourg where only one male Kenyan runner ever participated. Female runners from Denmark, Great Britain, Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Sweden as well as male runners from Denmark, Great Britain, and Sweden increased their participation significantly. Women from the Netherlands became slower whereas women originating from Great Britain became faster. Men from the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland became slower. The fastest runners originated from Switzerland for both women and men. To summarize, runners from Switzerland dominated the ‘Swiss Alpine Marathon’. Paradoxically, and interestingly, the Kenyan runners were not dominating the ‘Swiss Alpine Marathon’. Further studies should investigate Kenyan participation and performance in ultra-marathons in Africa such as the ‘Comrades Marathon’