Fungemia and other Fungal Infections Associated with Use of Saccharomyces boulardii Probiotic Supplements

Because of widespread use of probiotics, their safety must be guaranteed. We assessed use of Saccharomyces boulardii probiotic yeast from medical records for patients who had Saccharomyces fungemia or other clinical Saccharomyces culture findings. We evaluated all Saccharomyces sp. findings at 5 university hospitals in Finland during 2009-2018. We found 46 patients who had Saccharomyces fungemia; at least 20 (43%) were using S. boulardii probiotic. Compared with a control group that had bacteremia or candidemia, the odds ratio for use of an S. boulardii probiotic was 14 (95% CI 4-44). Of 1,153 nonblood culture findings, the history for 125 patients was checked; at least 24 (19%) were using the probiotic (odds ratio 10, 95% CI 3-32). This study adds to published fungemia cases linked to use of S. boulardii probiotic and sheds light on the scale of nonblood Saccharomyces culture findings that are also linked to use of this probiotic.Peer reviewe

Fungemia and Other Fungal Infections Associated with Use of Saccharomyces boulardii Probiotic Supplements

Because of widespread use of probiotics, their safety must be guaranteed. We assessed use of Saccharomyces boulardii probiotic yeast from medical records for patients who had Saccharomyces fungemia or other clinical Saccharomyces culture findings. We evaluated all Saccharomyces sp. findings at 5 university hospitals in Finland during 2009–2018. We found 46 patients who had Saccharomyces fungemia; at least 20 (43%) were using S. boulardii probiotic. Compared with a control group that had bacteremia or candidemia, the odds ratio for use of an S. boulardii probiotic was 14 (95% CI 4–44). Of 1,153 nonblood culture findings, the history for 125 patients was checked; at least 24 (19%) were using the probiotic (odds ratio 10, 95% CI 3–32). This study adds to published fungemia cases linked to use of S. boulardii probiotic and sheds light on the scale of nonblood Saccharomyces culture findings that are also linked to use of this probiotic.</p

The burden of healthcare-associated infections in primary and tertiary healthcare wards and the cost of procedure-related prosthetic joint infections

Abstract Healthcare-associated infections (HAI) are infections acquired during treatment in a healthcare facility. The most common infections are pneumonias, surgical site infections (SSIs) and urinary tract infections (UTIs). HAIs burden the healthcare system by increasing patient days, the use of antibiotics, examinations, and thus the costs of care. The occurrence of HAIs can be used to evaluate the quality of care and to make comparisons between institutions. The purpose of this dissertation was to evaluate the burden of HAIs in the primary and tertiary healthcare wards and the costs of procedure-related prosthetic joint infections (PJIs). The first part of this dissertation evaluated the prevalence of HAIs in the wards of primary healthcare in the Oulu University Hospital (OUH) district with two point prevalence studies (one-day sampling) conducted in 2006 and in 2017. In 2006, the study comprised 27 healthcare centres with 44 wards and 1,294 patients. HAIs were found in 9.3% of the patients. The most common infections were UTIs, skin and soft tissue infections and lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs). In 2017, there were 20 healthcare centres with 34 wards and 764 patients; 9.4% of the patients had a HAI. The most common HAIs were pneumonias, SSIs and LRTIs. In the second part, we evaluated the incidence of HAIs in the OUH with a computer-based electronic infection surveillance program. The study covered 15 adult wards with a total of 353 beds. The overall incidence of HAIs during the six-year study period was 4.5% of discharged patients. The most common infections were SSIs, pneumonias and UTIs. The surveillance carried out in this way required a total of one person's workload per year. The third part evaluated hospital costs of procedure-related PJIs. The study population consisted of all total knee and hip arthroplasties performed in the OUH from 2013 to 2015: 1,768 patients with 42 PJIs. A PJI tripled the cost of a procedure compared to an arthroplasty without an infection (€25,100 vs. €7,200). Two-stage revision caused three times more costs than debridement, antibiotics and implant retention treatment (DAIR) (€53,400 vs. €18,500). HAIs are common in the wards of primary and tertiary healthcare in the OUH district. Electronic HAI monitoring is feasible but requires relatively large employer resources. Postoperative PJI triples the cost of the procedure.Tiivistelmä Sairaalainfektio (SI) on infektio, jonka potilas saa ollessaan hoidossa laitoksessa. Yleisimpiä SI:ita ovat leikkausalueen infektio, keuhkokuume ja virtsatieinfektio (VTI). SI:t kuormittavat terveydenhoitoa lisäämällä hoitopäiviä, antibioottien käyttöä, tutkimuksia ja näin myös hoidon kustannuksia. SI:iden määrää voidaan käyttää hoidon laadun mittarina sekä sairaaloiden väliseen vertailuun. Tämän väitöskirjan tarkoituksena oli arvioida SI:iden määrää Pohjois-Pohjanmaan sairaanhoitopiirin (PPSHP) terveyskeskusten ja Oulun yliopistosairaalan (OYS) vuodeosastoilla sekä selvittää tekonivelleikkauksen jälkeisen tekonivelinfektion (TI) aiheuttamia sairaalakustannuksia. Väitöskirjan ensimmäisessä osatyössä selvitettiin SI:iden esiintyvyyttä PPSHP:n terveyskeskusten vuodeosastoilla pisteprevalenssilla eli yhden päivän otannalla vuosina 2006 ja 2017. Vuoden 2006 tutkimuksessa oli 27 terveyskeskusta, joissa oli 44 vuodeosastoa ja yhteensä 1 294 potilasta. SI todettiin 9,3 %:lla potilaista. Yleisimpiä olivat VTI:t, pehmytkudosinfektiot ja alahengitystieinfektiot. Vuonna 2017 tutkimuksessa oli 20 terveyskeskusta, 34 vuodeosastoa ja 764 potilasta. Tällöin SI todettiin 9,4 %:lla. Yleisimmät infektiot olivat keuhkokuume, leikkausalueen infektio ja alahengitystieinfektio. Toisessa osatyössä selvitettiin OYS:n SI:iden ilmaantuvuutta kuuden vuoden ajan jatkuvan infektioseurannan mahdollistavan tietokoneohjelman avulla. Tutkimuksessa seurattiin 15:ttä aikuisvuodeosastoa, joissa oli yhteensä 353 potilaspaikkaa. SI todettiin 4,5 %:ssa hoitojaksoista. Seuranta vaati yhteenlaskettuna noin yhden hoitajan työpanoksen vuodessa. Väitöskirjan kolmannessa osatyössä selvitettiin vuosina 2013–2015 OYS:ssa tehtyjen tekonivelleikkausten jälkeisten TI:iden sairaalakustannuksia. Tutkimuksessa oli 1 768 tekonivelleikkausta, joista 42 infektoitui. Infektoitumattoman tekonivelleikkauksen sairaalakustannukset olivat keskimäärin 7 200 € ja TI:iden 25 100 €. Hoitomenetelmänä kaksivaiheisen revision eli tekonivelen vaihtohoidon hinta oli kolminkertainen tekonivelen säilyttävään hoitoon verrattuna (53 400 € vs. 18 500 €). SI:t ovat yleisiä PPSHP:n alueella sekä terveyskeskusten että OYS:n vuodeosastoilla. SI:iden seurantaohjelma soveltuu infektioseurantaan, mutta se vaatii kohtalaisesti henkilökuntaresurssia. Leikkauksen jälkeinen TI kolminkertaistaa tekonivelleikkauksen sairaalakustannukset

Positive Francisella tularensis meningitis outcome despite delayed identification: a case report

Abstract Francisella tularensis is a Gram-negative bacteria, that may cause a zoonotic disease, tularemia. Here, we describe a patient case, where a previously healthy young woman in Northern Finland contacted health care because of fever and headache. Due to the symptoms and lack of further diagnostic tools in primary health care, she was transferred to University Hospital (UH) where ampicillin and ceftriaxone was given empirically. A cerebrospinal fluid sample (CSF) was drawn showing small Gram-negative rods that grew on chocolate agar after 2 days of incubation. Matrix-assisted laser-desorption-ionization time of-flight (Maldi-tof) did not provide identification, but the bacteria was interpreted as sensitive to ciprofloxacin and the treatment was changed to ciprofloxacin. During the time the patient was infected, there were several positive tularemia samples found in the area. Therefore, an in house tularemia nucleic acid method (PCR) was used on the bacterial culture. Additionally, 16S rDNA sequencing was performed and these methods identified the bacteria as F. tularensis. Fortunately, the patient recovered completely with ciprofloxacin and was discharged without any complications. Our case underlines the need to understand the limits of specific diagnostic methods, such as Maldi-tof, used in clinical laboratory settings. It also highlights the need of both clinicians and laboratory staff to be aware of the many clinical presentations of tularemia when working in an endemic area