Nasal colonization by Staphylococcus sp. in inpatients

Objective To analyze nasal colonization by Staphylococcus sp. its resistance to methicillin, and associated factors in inpatients. Methods Nasal sample collection, antimicrobial susceptibility tests, and analysis of medical records of inpatients (n=71) were performed, and a questionnaire was applied. Data were analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics using the chi-square, Student’s t, and Mann-Whitney tests (α=5%). Results Nearly half (44.4%) of the patients who were significantly associated with prolonged antibiotic treatment (p=0.02) was infected with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus sp.. A significant association was observed between patients with sensitive strains and absence of antibiotic treatment prior to sample collection (p=0.02) or absence of wounds (p=0.003). Conclusion Strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus sp. were found, and there was no significant difference between the S. aureus species and the coagulase-negative Staphylococci groups, which indicates the degree of spread of methicillin resistance among different species of Staphylococcus

Potencial antimicrobiano dos antissépticos de uso popular Anapyon®, Água Rabelo® e Malvatricin® sobre microrganismos do meio ambiente oral

Objetivo: Verificar, “in vitro”, o potencial antimicrobiano do Anapyon®, da Água Rabelo® e do Malvatricin® sobre microrganismos presentes na cavidade oral. Método: Para realização do experimento, utilizou-se o protocolo sequenciado durante quatro dias que avaliou, através da medida da densidade óptica, o potencial antimicrobiano dos fármacos nos microrganismos (Staphylococcus aureus, Candida tropicalis, Candida parapsilosis e Candida albicans), em suas formas planctônicas, apenas o Malvatricin® foi avaliado sobre as formas de biofilme por ser o único fármaco que apresentou resultados satisfatórios sobre as formas planctônicas. O estudo adotou como controle negativo a água destilada e controle positivo a Clorexidina®. Os resultados obtidos foram submetidos a uma análise estatística com os testes de Kruskal-Wallis e Mann-Whitney. Resultados: Observou-se, através da medida da densidade óptica, que apenas o Malvatricin® apresentou bons resultados na forma planctônica, sendo estes semelhantes ao controle positivo (clorexidina), considerado padrão nos ensaios antimicrobianos em Odontologia. Os resultados do Malvatricin® foram estatisticamente melhores quando comparados aos demais fármacos (Anapyon®, Água Rabelo®) e ao controle negativo. Este resultado foi semelhante para todos os microrganismos estudados: Staphylococcus aureus (p=0,002), Candida tropicalis (p=0,002), Candida parapsilosis (p=0,001) e Candida albicans (p<0,001). Desta forma, apenas o Mavatricin® foi testado para o microrganismo arranjado em biofilme. Observou-se, então, que para a C.albicans e para o S. aureus, houve diferença significativa entre clorexidina e Malvatricin® (p<0,05), com melhores resultados para o clorexidina. Para C. tropicalis, o Malvatricin® diferiu significativamente (p<0,05) da água destilada. Em relação a C.parapsilosis, nenhuma diferença foi observada em relação ao controle negativo (p=0,468). Conclusão: Apesar de alguns fármacos alternativos serem tidos como antimicrobianos, tais propriedades sobre células planctônicas e, principalmente, sobre biofilme foram observadas apenas para o Malvatricin®

Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Summary Background Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. Methods We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung’s disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. Findings We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung’s disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middleincome countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in lowincome countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. Interpretation Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between lowincome, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030

Chromobacterium violaceum: a fatal case in the northeast of the Brazil

Chromobacterium violaceum is a rare pathogen that can potentially cause fatal infections in humans. An 8-year-old child from Natal, northeast of Brazil, presented history of fever, sore throat, and abdominal pain, during 5 days before admission, and died 4 hours after hospitalization. Chromobacterium violaceum was isolated from oropharynx scrapings and was resistant to ampicillin, cefotaxime, cefalotin, ceftazidime, and ceftriaxone

Decreased susceptibility to chlorhexidine and distribution of qacA/B genes among coagulase-negative Staphylococcus clinical samples

Abstract Background Healthcare-associated infection (HAI) is a major public health problem. As a form of prevention and control, preparations of chlorhexidine are used extensively; however, the reduction of susceptibility to chlorhexidine has been reported. The aim of this study was to investigate the susceptibility to chlorhexidine and the distribution of the qacA/B genes in 211 clinical isolates of coagulase-negative Staphylococci (CoNS). Methods CoNS were identified by conventional biochemical tests. Antimicrobial susceptibility was tested by disk-diffusion. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of chlorhexidine was determined by agar dilution test; detection of the qacA/B and mecA genes were evaluated by PCR. Results The most frequently isolated species were S. epidermidis, S. hominis hominis, S. auricularis, and S. haemolyticus, respectively. The strains presented a multidrug resistance profile of 87%, including methicillin resistance. Reduced susceptibility to chlorhexidine was observed in 31%. The qacA/B genes were detected in samples resistant (32/32) and susceptible (17/32) to chlorhexidine. The vast majority (94%) of the samples with reduced susceptibility to chlorhexidine were multidrug resistant. Conclusions Our results show that qacA/B genes are not restricted to strains expressing chlorhexidine resistance. Further studies are needed to understand how the expression of these genes occurs