Brain abscesses complicating Staphylococcus aureus sepsis in a premature infant

Brain abscess is a rare complication of staphylococcal bacteremia in infants. Here we present a case of a premature infant who developed multiple brain abscesses 12 weeks following an episode of inadequately treated Stophylococcus aureus sepsis. The abscess developed in the absence of trauma, prior surgery, cyanotic heart disease, or immune defect. The initial staphylococcal isolate exhibited identical pulsed-field get electrophoresis pattern with that of the isolate cultured from abscess aspirate. The infant was successfully treated by surgical drainage and administration of antibiotics for 12 weeks, initially teicoplanin and meropenem followed by trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, without neurological or developmental sequelae. Staphylococcal bacteremia in neonates should be vigorously treated to prevent life-threatening complications

Carriage of Neisseria meningitidis by Greek children: risk factors and strain characteristics

Oropharyngeal swabs were cultured from 554 children aged 2-19 years attending nurseries, primary schools and secondary schools in the central Athens area. A questionnaire was completed to identify risk factors for carriage. Susceptibility to antimicrobial agents was determined by Etest. The genetic relatedness of the strains was examined by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), and isolate serogrouping was performed by slide agglutination. Twenty-two (4%) children were carriers of Neisseria meningitidis; seven isolates belonged to serogroup C, and five to serogroup B. One isolate was resistant to co-trimoxazole, and five showed intermediate resistance to penicillin. DNA analysis of 16 isolates revealed six distinct PFGE patterns. Clusters with indistinguishable PFGE patterns were noted in the same school. More than one serogroup was included in the same clonal group. On multivariate logistic regression analysis, only age > 12 years remained independently associated with the carrier state (odds ratio, 7.96; 95% CI, 2.24-28.33; p < 0.001). Overall, the N. meningitidis carriage rate among Greek schoolchildren increased with age, and the predominant serogroups in the Athens region were groups C and B. These findings may have important implications for future immunisation strategies with conjugate vaccines

A comparative randomised study of valacyclovir vs. oral ganciclovir for cytomegalovirus prophylaxis in renal transplant recipients

An open, prospective, randomised study was conducted to compare the safety and efficacy of valacyclovir vs. oral ganciclovir for cytomegalovirus (CMV) prophylaxis in renal transplant recipients. Eighty-three renal transplant recipients were assigned randomly to receive valacyclovir (n = 43) or oral ganciclovir (n = 40) for the first 3 months after transplantation. Both groups were similar in terms of demographics, primary renal disease, graft source, HLA matching, immunosuppressive therapy and donor-recipient CMV antibody status. CMV infection was diagnosed by detection of virus DNA in plasma with the Amplicor CMV Test. CMV disease was observed in only one patient belonging to the ganciclovir group, who developed enterocolitis 6 months post-transplantation. No difference was observed between the two treatment groups with respect to detection of CMV DNA, virus infections other than CMV, acute rejection episodes, and serum creatinine levels at 3 and 6 months following transplantation. An increased number of bacterial infections was noted in the ganciclovir group (p 0.003). No adverse reactions with either treatment were reported. The estimated cost of valacyclovir treatment was 20% higher than that of ganciclovir treatment. Overall, both valacyclovir and oral ganciclovir were found to be effective and safe for CMV prophylaxis in renal transplant recipients. Decisions regarding prophylactic regimens should include additional criteria, such as cost or possible development of resistance

Clinical and epidemiological aspects of an enterovirus outbreak in a neonatal unit

An outbreak of enterovirus infection occurred among neonates in a maternity hospital between July 7 and 22, 1999. Twenty neonates became ill (18 confirmed and two probable), an attack rate of 33%. The incubation period ranged from three to six days (mean, 4.2). The male: female ratio was 11 :9 and the mean age at the onset of illness was 5.5 days. All the babies had fever, eight, a maculopapular rash, and six had symptoms of gastroenteritis, 11 developed meningitis. Nineteen neonates required hospitalization for three to seven days, but all were discharged home without sequelae. Enteroviral RNA was detected in all of 18 urines, and 14 cerebrospinal fluid specimens tested. A case-control study was conducted to determine risk factors associated with the outbreak. Rooming in the nursery ward was a significant risk factor (odds ratio= 33.35; 95% confidence interval, 3.79-800; P = 0.00002). No association was found between illness and other possible risk factors. Appropriate control measures resulted in resolution of the outbreak. Our findings demonstrate the potential for enteroviruses to cause widespread illness among newborns, and emphasize the usefulness of polymerase chain reaction in the early diagnosis of infection, and underline the role of effective control measures in interrupting viral transmission. (C) 2002 The Hospital Infection Society

Detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA in respiratory and nonrespiratory specimens by the Amplicor((R)) MTB PCR

To evaluate the diagnostic performance of a commercially available Mycobacterium tuberculosis PCR assay (Amplicor((R)) MTB-ROCHE), 2296 respiratory and nonrespiratory specimens from 2296 patients with Suspected tuberculosis (TB) were collected prospectively in an 8-year period. Clinical data for each patient were abstracted, and all samples were examined blindly by direct microscopy, culture, and PCR. M. tuberculosis DNA was detected in 93 of 113 culture-positive samples and in 29 of 3 8 samples from patients with probable TB. The lowest sensitivity was observed in pleural fluid and abscess aspirates. The sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value of the assay were 97.2%, 100%, and 100% for smear-positive specimens and 75.3%, 97.0%, and 47.5% for smear-negative specimens, respectively. The PCR cost per additional correct clinical decision was Euro2826 but would have declined to Euro308 if the test was applied only to smear-positive specimens. The overall performance of Amplicor MTB test was excellent for smear-positive, but suboptimal for smear-negative specimens. (c) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved