Duration of Treatment for Pseudomonas aeruginosa Bacteremia : a Retrospective Study

Introduction: There is no consensus regarding optimal duration of antibiotic therapy for Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteremia. We aimed to evaluate the impact of short antibiotic course. Methods: We present a retrospective multicenter study including patients with P. aeruginosa bacteremia during 2009-2015. We evaluated outcomes of patients treated with short (6-10 days) versus long (11-15 days) antibiotic courses. The primary outcome was a composite of 30-day mortality or bacteremia recurrence and/or persistence. Univariate and inverse probability treatment-weighted (IPTW) adjusted multivariate analysis for the primary outcome was performed. To avoid immortal time bias, the landmark method was used. Results: We included 657 patients; 273 received a short antibiotic course and 384 a long course. There was no significant difference in baseline characteristics of patients. The composite primary outcome occurred in 61/384 patients in the long-treatment group (16%) versus 32/273 in the short-treatment group (12%) (p = 0.131). Mortality accounted for 41/384 (11%) versus 25/273 (9%) of cases, respectively. Length of hospital stay was significantly shorter in the short group [median 13 days, interquartile range (IQR) 9-21 days, versus median 15 days, IQR 11-26 days, p = 0.002]. Ten patients in the long group discontinued antibiotic therapy owing to adverse events, compared with none in the short group. On univariate and multivariate analyses, duration of therapy was not associated with the primary outcome. Conclusions: In this retrospective study, 6-10 days of antibiotic course for P. aeruginosa bacteremia were as effective as longer courses in terms of survival and recurrence. Shorter therapy was associated with reduced length of stay and less drug discontinuation

Bifidobacterium breve Sepsis in Child with High-Risk Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

To the Editor: Patients with cancer often consume probiotics as part of their diet, although therapeutic use of probiotics is not recommended because of their potential invasiveness. In a recent review, 5 cases of probiotic treat-ment–related bacteremia were identified in oncology pa-tients, although no cases of invasive Bifidobacterium spp. infection were included (1). We describe a case of B. breve sepsis in a child with Philadelphia chromosome–positive acute B-cell lymphoblastic leukemia. The patient was a previously healthy 2-year-old boy who had no history of immunodeficiency and whose leuko-cyte counts had been within reference ranges during check-up visits before his diagnosis. After leukemia was diag-nosed, chemotherapy was started (prednisone, vincristine, doxorubicin, and L-asparaginase). During the second week of treatment, the boy experienced abdominal discomfort and constipation. Two weeks later, his condition worsened; he refused food, his abdomen was distended, and he had colicky pain. Thickened intestinal wall and fecal masses were seen ultrasonographically. Twelve hours later he be-came hypotensive. Laboratory test results showed severe neutropenia and increased inflammatory markers (Figure). Two aerobic and anaerobic blood culture samples were collected from a central venous line (implantable venous access system) in a 30-minute span, and treatment with piperacillin/tazobactam, vancomycin, and gentamicin was empirically initiated according to local recommendations for pediatric febrile neutropenia with shock. Both anaerobic blood cultures were positive. Gram-positive, irregular rods with bifid and branching forms without spores grew anaer-obically on blood agar with hemin and vitamin K after 48 hours of incubation and were identified as B. breve by ma-trix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mas

Skin colonisation at the catheter exit site is strongly associated with catheter colonisation and catheter-related sepsis

Aim The commonest mode of catheter colonisation is via the extraluminal route with skin bacteria. Catheter-related sepsis causes significant mortality and morbidity in neonates. Our aim was to study the relationships between culture-positive catheter exit site skin swabs, percutaneous central venous catheter segments and blood to determine the magnitude of associations between exit site skin colonisation, catheter colonisation and catheter-related sepsis. Methods In a prospective study, an exit site skin swab and three formerly in vivo catheter segments (proximal, middle and tip) were taken for culture at catheter removal. In those neonates who were clinically unwell at catheter removal, a peripheral blood culture was also collected. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to study associations. Results Skin swabs were culture positive in 39 (21%) of 187 catheter removals. With a culture-positive skin swab, the risk of associated catheter colonisation was nearly eight times higher (OR: 7.84, 95% CI: 3.59-17.15) and the risk of definite catheter-related sepsis with the same organism was nearly 10 times higher (OR 9.86, 95% CI: 3.13-31.00). Conclusion Culture-positive skin swabs from the catheter exit site were strongly associated with catheter colonisation and with definite catheter-related sepsis with the same organism. These data provide further evidence supporting catheter colonisation via the extraluminal route and highlight the importance of optimising skin disinfection before catheter insertion

Invasive neonatal Streptococcus agalactiae infection in Slovenia, 2003–2013

Background: Streptococcus agalactiae (group B streptococcus, GBS) is the leading cause of invasive neonatal infections in the developed world. We present epidemiological and clinical characteristics of invasive GBS disease among Slovenian neonates between 2003 and 2013. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was performed. Children aged 0–90 days with invasive GBS disease, born in Slovenia and hospitalized in the University Medical Centre Ljubljana were included. Cases were identified concurrently from (i) hospital and (ii) microbiological databases. Medical records from mothers and children were reviewed and relevant data extracted. The incidence rate was calculated based on the national vital statistics data and expressed per 1000 live births. Results: Altogether, 144 children were included in the analysis, 72.9 % (n = 105) based on hospital database and 27.1 % (n = 39) based on microbiological database. Among them, 47.9 % (n = 69) were girls and 52.1 % (n = 75) boys. Among the cases with available data, 54.5 % (n = 73) were born at term and 45.5 % (n = 61) were preterm. Early-onset disease (0–6 days) was present in 74.3 % (n = 107) of patients; 95.3 % (n = 102) of them became ill during the first 3 days of life. Late-onset disease (7–90 days) was present in 25.7 % (n = 37) of patients. Outcome data was available for 134 children. Neonatal mortality rate was 4.5 % (n = 6). Periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) or intraventricular haemorrhages Grade III/IV (IVH 3/4) were detected in 17.9 % (n = 24). Severe outcomes (death or PVL or IVH 3/4) were detected in 22.4 % (n = 30) children. Cumulative incidence rate was 0.72/1000 live births; 0.53/1000 for early-onset and 0.18/1000 for late-onset disease. Risk factors for early-onset disease were present in 47.9 % (n = 68) mothers in labour. Intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis was delivered to 16.9 % (n = 24) of mothers. Conclusions: High incidence of invasive neonatal GBS disease was detected in Slovenia. Although low mortality was observed, brain pathology concordant with long-term adverse outcome was confirmed in a high proportion of patients. The application of intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis in cases of known risk factors was suboptimal, especially among preterm deliveries. Approximately half of the patients were born to mothers without any risk factors. A comprehensive national strategy for the prevention of invasive GBS disease is warranted in Slovenia

Epidemiology and microbiological features of anaerobic bacteremia in two French University hospitals

Bacteremia implicating anaerobic bacteria (BIAB) represents 2–6% of all episodes of bacteremia and is associated with high mortality. In this retrospective study from June 2015 to December 2016, we compared BIAB frequency in two hospital centers in Montpellier (France): Montpellier university hospital (MUH) and a center specialized in cancer (ICM). Among the 2465 microbiologically relevant episodes of bacteremia, we identified 144 (5.8%) in which anaerobic bacteria were implicated. BIAB frequency was higher at ICM than MUH (10.4%, vs. 4.9%, p < 0.01). Poly-microbial bacteremia was more frequent among the BIAB episodes (31.9% vs. 11.0% for aerobic-only bacteremia, p < 0.01). Bacteroides and Clostridium were the most frequently identified genera of anaerobic bacteria (64 and 18 episodes, respectively), with the B. fragilis group (BFG) involved in 68/144 episodes. We could perform antibiotic susceptibility typing in 106 of the 144 anaerobic isolates, including 67 BFG isolates. All isolates but one were susceptible to metronidazole. In the BFG, sporadic resistant or intermediate results were found for amoxicillin-clavulanate (5/67), piperacillin-tazobactam (2/67) and imipenem (1/67). BFG isolates were susceptible also to cefoxitin (90.8%), rifampicin (97.0%) and tigecyclin (91.0%). Multidrug resistance in this group (7 isolates) was mostly due to acquired resistance to moxifloxacin, clindamycin and tigecyclin. This study shows that BIAB frequency can vary among hospitals and services. They should especially be taken into account in centers specialized in cancer treatment. However, the implicated bacteria remain frequently susceptible to the most used antibiotics used against anaerobic bacteria, although resistance does exist