Sensitivity of three inmunocromathographic tests in faeces samples for Campylobacter and Salmonella detection in comparison to culture

Introduction: Campylobacter sp. and Salmonella enterica are two of the main organisms causing gastroenteritis in our environment. Immunochromatographic tests for antigen detection performed directly on stool samples for its simplicity and rapid results may make them useful diagnostic elements in the context of primary care. Method: During October 2012 we selected all feces in which enteropathogenic bacteria are isolated from those received for stool culture in the laboratory of Microbiology of the University Hospital Virgen de las Nieves of Granada. After standard management of faeces samples and isolation of any enteropathogen, the commercial kits: Campy Leti, Ridaquick Campylobacterscreen and Salmonella Leti were tested for simultaneous research of Campylobacter and Salmonella antigens. Sensitivity and specificity were determined. Results: Two hundred and thirty five stool samples were received in which 8 Salmonella enterica (7 B serogroup and 1 D serogroup), 7 Campylobacter jejuni, 4 Aeromonas hydrophila and 1 Yersinia enterocolitica were isolated. Campy Leti, Ridaquick Campylobacterscreen and Salmonella Leti presented a sensitivity of 100%, 100% and 75%, respectively. Specificities corresponded to 46%, 69% and 100%, respectively. Conclusion: Immunocromatographic tests can be useful for a first screening of enteropathogen in primary care.Introducción. Campylobacter sp. y Salmonella enterica son dos de los principales microorganismos causantes de gas troenteritis en nuestro medio. Las pruebas inmunocromato gráficas de detección de antígeno realizadas directamente so bre muestras de heces por su sencillez y rapidez de obtención de resultados pueden hacer de ellas elementos de diagnóstico útiles en el contexto de la atención primaria. Material y métodos. Durante octubre de 2012 se se leccionaron todas las heces en las que se aisló una bacteria enteropatógena de entre las recibidas en el laboratorio de Mi crobiología del Hospital Universitario Virgen de las Nieves de Granada para coprocultivo. Dichas muestras fueron estudiadas mediante procedimientos estandarizados y en aquellas en las que se aisló un enteropatógeno se investigó simultáneamen te la presencia de antígenos de Campylobacter (Campy Leti® y Ridaquick Campylobacter®) y Salmonella (Salmonella Leti®) para determinar su sensibilidad y especificidad. Resultados. Se recibieron 235 muestras de las que se aislaron 8 Salmonella enterica (7 del serogrupo B y 1 del se rogrupo D), 7 Campylobacter jejuni, 4 Aeromonas hydrophila y 1 Yersinia enterocolítica. La sensibilidad y especificidad de Campy Leti, Ridaquick Campylobacterscreen y Salmonella Leti fueron respectivamente: 100% y 46%; 100% y 69%; y 75% y 100%. La concordancia entre los test para detección de Cam pylobacter fue 77, 8%. Conclusiones. En atención primaria las pruebas rápidas inmunocromatográficas pueden ser útiles para el cribado de enteropatógenos en heces

Tuberculous prosthetic knee joint infection: a case report and literature review

Introducción. La infección protésica tardía se presenta a partir del segundo mes tras la cirugía en el contexto de una di seminación hematógena desde otro foco. La infección protésica por micobacterias es una complicación rara cuyo manejo clínico no está estandarizado. Caso. Paciente de 77 años sin antecedentes personales de interés salvo diabetes y un recambio protésico de rodilla derecha por gonartrosis tres años antes. Acude a urgencias del hospital por un cuadro de unos 6 meses de evolución de intenso dolor en rodilla derecha de tipo mecánico con signos inflamatorios pero sin fiebre asociada. A los 5 días de su reingreso y presentando empeoramiento clínico se informa del crecimiento de Mycobac terium tuberculosis en la primera muestra de aspirado de rodilla y se instaura tratamiento antituberculoso durante 9 meses. Las imágenes de resonancia magnética nuclear confirmaron también el diagnóstico de espondilitis tuberculosa en el contexto clínico de la paciente. Tras la intervención quirúrgica se seguía aislando en el cultivo de las muestras intraoperatorias M. tuberculosis y por ello la paciente recibió de nuevo otra tanda de 9 meses con antituberculosos. La evolución al año de seguimiento fue acep table, aunque unos meses después la paciente falleció por causas cardiovasculares. En la revisión bibliográfica se encontraron 15 publicaciones con un total de 17 casos clínicos en los últimos 25 años de infección protésica por M. tuberculosis. Conclusión. La artritis protésica tuberculosa, aunque es una presentación infrecuente, debe tenerse presente, especialmente en aquellos pacientes con condiciones predisponentes y con an tecedentes de infección tuberculosa.Objective: Prosthetic late infection occurs in the second month after surgery in the context of haematogenous spread from another source. Prosthetic mycobacterial infection is a rare complication whose clinical management is not standardized. Case: Patient of 77 years with no personal history except for diabetes and a prosthetic replacement of right knee with osteoarthritis three years ago. Patient goes to hospital emergency box for 6 months pain in the right knee with mechanical inflammatory signs but no fever associated. After their return within 5 days and clinical worsening is reporting growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in knee aspirate and antitubercular treatment is established for 9 months. Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging studies also confirmed the diagnosis of tuberculosis spondylitis in the clinical context of the patients. After surgery, M. tuberculosis was again isolated from intraoperative samples and therefore the patient received another batch of treatment for 9 months. After a year of monitoring, the development was acceptable but few months later, the patient died for cardiovascular causes. In the literature review, 15 publications with a total of 17 clinical cases of prosthetic infection by M. tuberculosis were found from 1980 to 2014. Conclusions: Prosthetic tuberculous arthritis, although it is a rare presentation, it should be noted, especially in patients with predisposing conditions with a history of tuberculosis infection

Seroprevalence of Leishmania infection among asymptomatic renal transplant recipients from southern Spain

Support: E.K. Elmahallawy has a PhD scholarship (number 736) from Erasmus Mundus Scholarship Program (ELEMENT Action 1 First call).Background: The aim of this article is to assess the seroprevalence of Leishmania infection among asymptomatic renal transplant recipients in a population in the south of Spain. Methods: Serum samples were screened for immunoglobulin-G antibodies against Leishmania with an indirect fluorescent antibody test. Results: Of 625 examined serum samples, 30 (4.8%) samples were positive for Leishmania antibodies. Thirteen samples showed titers of 1:80, 15 samples showed titers of 1:160, and 2 samples showed titers of 1:320. None of the patients with positive serology to Leishmania showed signs or symptoms compatible with leishmaniasis. Conclusion: The prevalence of Leishmania infection found among asymptomatic renal transplant patients reinforces the need for attention in evaluation of these patients in endemic areas.Erasmus Mundus Scholarship Program (ELEMENT Action 1 First call

Serotypes and antibiotic resistance patterns in beta-hemolytic Streptococcus agalactiae isolates in colonized mothers and newborns with invasive disease

Introducción Las actuales medidas de prevención frente a la enfermedad neonatal causada por Streptococcus agalactiae, estreptococo del grupo B (EGB), son la realización de un cribado prenatal y la administración de profilaxis antibiótica intraparto con antimicrobianos adecuados. Una alternativa a esta estrategia sería la administración de una vacuna polisacarídica, por lo que es necesario conocer la distribución de serotipos capsulares de las cepas circulantes. Métodos Se estudiaron 188 cepas procedentes de gestantes del área sanitaria norte de Granada portadoras vaginorrectales de EGB y 24 de recién nacidos con enfermedad neonatal enviadas al laboratorio desde distintos hospitales andaluces. Se realizó antibiograma frente a penicilina, eritromicina y clindamicina siguiendo las normas del Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI), y se determinó su serotipo capsular mediante 2 métodos: aglutinación con partículas de látex y métodos moleculares. Resultados De las 188 cepas de S. agalactiae pertenecientes a mujeres embarazadas, se obtuvo una concordancia en los resultados del 80,8% entre ambas técnicas. Se detectó resistencia a eritromicina y clindamicina en el 16,5 y el 10,1% de cepas, respectivamente. En las cepas neonatales, en el 95,8% de los aislados los resultados obtenidos por ambas técnicas fueron coincidentes. Las tasas de resistencia frente a eritromicina y clindamicina fueron del 8,3 y del 4,1%, respectivamente. En ambos grupos de aislados el serotipo más frecuente fue el iii y el más relacionado con resistencia frente a antimicrobianos, el v. Conclusión Se deberían realizar más estudios epidemiológicos que permitan continuar con una vigilancia de los serotipos causantes de enfermedad invasiva así como sus patrones de sensibilidad antibiótica utilizando métodos sensibles y específicos.Abstract Introduction Current preventive measures against neonatal disease caused by Streptococcus agalactiae (GBS) are prenatal screening and intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis with appropriate antimicrobials. An alternative to this strategy would be the administration of a polysaccharide vaccine as the distribution of capsular serotypes of circulating strains needs to be known. Methods A study was made of 188 strains from pregnant women carrying GBS and 24 newborns with neonatal disease. Susceptibility testing was performed with penicillin, erythromycin and clindamycin following CLSI standards, and capsular serotype was determined by two methods: latex agglutination and PCR. Results Of the 188 strains of S. agalactiae from the pregnant women, there was 80.8% agreement in the results between the two techniques. Resistant to erythromycin and clindamycin was found in 16.5% and 10.1%, respectively. For neonatal strains, 95.8% of the results obtained by the two techniques were identical. The rates of resistance to erythromycin and clindamycin were 8.3% and 4.1%, respectively. In both groups, most frequently isolated serotype was iii, and the most related to antimicrobial resistance serotype was v. Conclusion Epidemiological studies are necessary to continue surveillance of serotypes causing invasive disease and its antibiotic sensitivity patterns using sensitive and specific methods

Treatment with tocilizumab or corticosteroids for COVID-19 patients with hyperinflammatory state: a multicentre cohort study (SAM-COVID-19)

Objectives: The objective of this study was to estimate the association between tocilizumab or corticosteroids and the risk of intubation or death in patients with coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) with a hyperinflammatory state according to clinical and laboratory parameters. Methods: A cohort study was performed in 60 Spanish hospitals including 778 patients with COVID-19 and clinical and laboratory data indicative of a hyperinflammatory state. Treatment was mainly with tocilizumab, an intermediate-high dose of corticosteroids (IHDC), a pulse dose of corticosteroids (PDC), combination therapy, or no treatment. Primary outcome was intubation or death; follow-up was 21 days. Propensity score-adjusted estimations using Cox regression (logistic regression if needed) were calculated. Propensity scores were used as confounders, matching variables and for the inverse probability of treatment weights (IPTWs). Results: In all, 88, 117, 78 and 151 patients treated with tocilizumab, IHDC, PDC, and combination therapy, respectively, were compared with 344 untreated patients. The primary endpoint occurred in 10 (11.4%), 27 (23.1%), 12 (15.4%), 40 (25.6%) and 69 (21.1%), respectively. The IPTW-based hazard ratios (odds ratio for combination therapy) for the primary endpoint were 0.32 (95%CI 0.22-0.47; p < 0.001) for tocilizumab, 0.82 (0.71-1.30; p 0.82) for IHDC, 0.61 (0.43-0.86; p 0.006) for PDC, and 1.17 (0.86-1.58; p 0.30) for combination therapy. Other applications of the propensity score provided similar results, but were not significant for PDC. Tocilizumab was also associated with lower hazard of death alone in IPTW analysis (0.07; 0.02-0.17; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Tocilizumab might be useful in COVID-19 patients with a hyperinflammatory state and should be prioritized for randomized trials in this situatio

Colonización materna por streptococcus agalactiae: comparación de métodos diagnósticos y relación con datos clínicos y epidemiológicos

Tesis Univ. Granada. Departamento de Microbiologí

Preliminary evaluation of a new kit for differentiation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex species using Speed-Oligo MTBC.

We present the first evaluation of a novel molecular assay, the Speed-Oligo Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (SO-MTBC), which is based on PCR combined with a dipstick for the differentiation of M. tuberculosis complex (MTBC) members. The results of this assay were compared with findings obtained using the Genotype MTBC assay. In this study, 189 strains of MTBC isolates from 2011 to 2014 were evaluated to determine the MTBC species. Most (174, 92 %) of the strains were identified as M. tuberculosissensu stricto, 7 (3.7 %) as Mycobacteriumbovis, 5 (2.6 %) as M. bovis bacillus Calmette-Guérin, 2 (1.1 %) as Mycobacteriumafricanum and 1 (0.5 %) as Mycobacteriumcaprae; no strains belonged to Mycobacteriummicroti and Mycobacteriumcanettii subsp. The concordance κ coefficient obtained was 0.96 with the results of the Genotype MTBC assay. SO-MTBC may represent a fast and easy-to-use alternative for differentiating among MTBC subspecies in laboratories with standard equipment

Pseudomonas aeruginosa antibiotic susceptibility profiles, genomic epidemiology and resistance mechanisms: a nation-wide five-year time lapse analysisResearch in context

Summary: Background: Pseudomonas aeruginosa healthcare-associated infections are one of the top antimicrobial resistance threats world-wide. In order to analyze the current trends, we performed a Spanish nation-wide high-resolution analysis of the susceptibility profiles, the genomic epidemiology and the resistome of P. aeruginosa over a five-year time lapse. Methods: A total of 3.180 nonduplicated P. aeruginosa clinical isolates from two Spanish nation-wide surveys performed in October 2017 and 2022 were analyzed. MICs of 13 antipseudomonals were determined by ISO-EUCAST. Multidrug resistance (MDR)/extensively drug resistance (XDR)/difficult to treat resistance (DTR)/pandrug resistance (PDR) profiles were defined following established criteria. All XDR/DTR isolates were subjected to whole genome sequencing (WGS). Findings: A decrease in resistance to all tested antibiotics, including older and newer antimicrobials, was observed in 2022 vs 2017. Likewise, a major reduction of XDR (15.2% vs 5.9%) and DTR (4.2 vs 2.1%) profiles was evidenced, and even more patent among ICU isolates [XDR (26.0% vs 6.0%) and DTR (8.9% vs 2.6%)] (p < 0.001). The prevalence of Extended-spectrum β-lactamase/carbapenemase production was slightly lower in 2022 (2.1%. vs 3.1%, p = 0.064). However, there was a significant increase in the proportion of carbapenemase production among carbapenem-resistant strains (29.4% vs 18.1%, p = 0.0246). While ST175 was still the most frequent clone among XDR, a slight reduction in its prevalence was noted (35.9% vs 45.5%, p = 0.106) as opposed to ST235 which increased significantly (24.3% vs 12.3%, p = 0.0062). Interpretation: While the generalized decrease in P. aeruginosa resistance, linked to a major reduction in the prevalence of XDR strains, is encouraging, the negative counterpart is the increase in the proportion of XDR strains producing carbapenemases, associated to the significant advance of the concerning world-wide disseminated hypervirulent high-risk clone ST235. Continued high-resolution surveillance, integrating phenotypic and genomic data, is necessary for understanding resistance trends and analyzing the impact of national plans on antimicrobial resistance. Funding: MSD and the Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación and Unión Europea—NextGenerationEU