Emerging Incidence of Enterococcus faecium among Hospital Isolates (1993 to 2002)

Historically, most clinical microbiology laboratories report that 80 to 90% of enterococci are Enterococcus faecalis, whereas E. faecium accounts for 5 to 10% of isolates. At our medical center from 1993 to 2002, we evaluated the percentages of E. faecium among all enterococcal isolates and the percentages of E. faecium isolates that were vancomycin resistant. Over this 10-year period, the percentage of enterococci that were identified as E. faecium increased from 12.7 to 22.2% (P < 0.001) and the proportion of E. faecium that was vancomycin resistant increased from 28.9 to 72.4% (P < 0.001). Both the percentage of E. faecium among the enterococci and the proportion of vancomycin-resistant E. faecium increased significantly over this 10-year period

Management of pulmonary mucormycosis after orthotopic heart transplant: A case series

Invasive pulmonary mucormycosis is a potentially fatal infection that can occur in immunosuppressed patients such as those who have undergone orthotopic heart transplant (OHT). High-dose intravenous antifungal agents, including amphotericin B, are generally accepted as the first-line medical treatment, with prompt surgical resection of lesions if feasible. The body of evidence guiding treatment decisions, however, is sparse, particularly regarding adjustment of immunosuppression during acute infection and long-term recovery. We present 2 cases of patients with pulmonary mucormycosis occurring within the first 6 months after OHT, both of whom successfully recovered after appropriate medical and surgical treatment, and we highlight differences in immunosuppression management strategies for this life-threatening condition