Epidemic Microclusters of Blood-Culture Proven Sepsis in Very-Low-Birth Weight Infants: Experience of the German Neonatal Network

INTRODUCTION: We evaluated blood culture-proven sepsis episodes occurring in microclusters in very-low-birth-weight infants born in the German Neonatal Network (GNN) during 2009-2010. METHODS: Thirty-seven centers participated in GNN; 23 centers enrolled ≥50 VLBW infants in the study period. Data quality was approved by on-site monitoring. Microclusters of sepsis were defined as occurrence of at least two blood-culture proven sepsis events in different patients of one center within 3 months with the same bacterial species. For microcluster analysis, we selected sepsis episodes with typically cross-transmitted bacteria of high clinical significance including gram-negative rods and Enterococcus spp. RESULTS: In our cohort, 12/2110 (0.6%) infants were documented with an early-onset sepsis and 235 late-onset sepsis episodes (≥72 h of age) occurred in 203/2110 (9.6%) VLBW infants. In 182/235 (77.4%) late-onset sepsis episodes gram-positive bacteria were documented, while coagulase negative staphylococci were found to be the most predominant pathogens (48.5%, 95%CI: 42.01-55.01). Candida spp. and gram-negative bacilli caused 10/235 (4.3%, 95%CI: 1.68% -6.83%) and 43/235 (18.5%) late-onset sepsis episodes, respectively. Eleven microclusters of blood-culture proven sepsis were detected in 7 hospitals involving a total 26 infants. 16/26 cluster patients suffered from Klebsiella spp. sepsis. The median time interval between the first patient's Klebsiella spp. sepsis and cluster cases was 14.1 days (interquartile range: 1-27 days). First patients in the cluster, their linked cases and sporadic sepsis events did not show significant differences in short term outcome parameters. DISCUSSION: Microclusters of infection are an important phenomenon for late-onset sepsis. Most gram-negative cluster infections occur within 30 days after the first patient was diagnosed and Klebsiella spp. play a major role. It is essential to monitor epidemic microclusters of sepsis in surveillance networks to adapt clinical practice, inform policy and further improve quality of care

Invasive Group B Streptococcus Disease With Recurrence and in Multiples: Towards a Better Understanding of GBS Late-Onset Sepsis.

Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is a common intestinal colonizer during the neonatal period, but also may cause late-onset sepsis or meningitis in up to 0.5% of otherwise healthy colonized infants after day 3 of life. Transmission routes and risk factors of this late-onset form of invasive GBS disease (iGBS) are not fully understood. Cases of iGBS with recurrence (n=25) and those occurring in parallel in twins/triplets (n=32) from the UK and Ireland (national surveillance study 2014/15) and from Germany and Switzerland (retrospective case collection) were analyzed to unravel shared (in affected multiples) or fixed (in recurrent disease) risk factors for GBS disease. The risk of iGBS among infants from multiple births was high (17%), if one infant had already developed GBS disease. The interval of onset of iGBS between siblings was 4.5 days and in recurrent cases 12.5 days. Disturbances of the individual microbiome, including persistence of infectious foci are suggested e.g. by high usage of perinatal antibiotics in mothers of affected multiples, and by the association of an increased risk of recurrence with a short term of antibiotics [aOR 4.2 (1.3-14.2), P=0.02]. Identical GBS serotypes in both recurrent infections and concurrently infected multiples might indicate a failed microbiome integration of GBS strains that are generally regarded as commensals in healthy infants. The dynamics of recurrent GBS infections or concurrent infections in multiples suggest individual patterns of exposure and fluctuations in host immunity, causing failure of natural niche occupation

Clinical efficacy of dressings for treatment of heavily exuding chronic wounds

Cornelia Wiegand, Jörg Tittelbach, Uta-Christina Hipler, Peter Elsner Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Jena, Jena, Germany Abstract: The treatment of chronic ulcers is a complex issue and presents an increasing problem for caregivers everywhere. This is especially true in Germany, where more than 4 million chronic wounds are treated each year. Therapeutic decisions must be patient-centered and reflect wound etiology, localization, and healing status. The practice of using the same wound dressing during the entire healing period is no longer reasonable. Instead, multiple types of dressings may be needed for a single wound over its healing trajectory. Selection of the most appropriate dressing should be based on wound phase, depth, signs of infection, and level of exudate. Moisture balance is critical in wound care; dryness will hamper epithelial cell migration while excessive generation of fluid causes maceration at the wound margins. Hence, exudate management is a key issue in chronic wound therapy, particularly given that exudate from chronic wounds has a composition different from that of acute wound fluid. Several studies have shown that exudates from non-healing wounds contain significantly elevated levels of protease activity, increased formation of free radicals, and abundant amounts of proinflammatory cytokines, while concentrations of growth factors and protease inhibitors are markedly decreased. Application of dressings that remove and sequester excess amounts of wound fluid may not only help in restoring the correct balance of moisture, but also support the wound healing process by preventing tissue deterioration caused by abundant protease activity. Several types of dressings, such as hydrogels, hydrocolloids, alginates, hydrofibers, foams, and superabsorbent dressings, are reviewed here and evaluated with regard to their efficacy for highly exuding wounds. Keywords: chronic wounds, exuding, dressings, clinical efficacy&nbsp

Antimikrobielle Peptide im Nabelschnurblut Früh- und Reifgeborener Kinder

Do skills protect against exclusion in adult ages, and how important are the skills acquired before the age of 16 years versus those acquired later on? We match the scores on numeracy and literacy skills from the 2011 PIAAC for young adults backwards to grade point average (GPA) data from compulsory school education, measured at the age of 16 years (GPA16), and forwards to employment and education register data 2 years after the PIAAC test. There is a high correlation between GPA16 and PIAAC scores even when controlling for parental background, health status, and completion of post-compulsory school education. Including both GPA16 and PIAAC scores in a model of the probability of NEET status 2 years after the PIAAC test shows three times as large differences associated with GPA16 scores than with PIAAC scores, even though the PIAAC test is taken closer in time than the GPA16 results

Broadband white light emission from Ce:AlN ceramics: High thermal conductivity down-converters for LED and laser-driven solid state lighting

We introduce high thermal conductivity aluminum nitride (AlN) as a transparent ceramic host for Ce3+, a well-known active ion dopant. We show that the Ce:AlN ceramics have overlapping photoluminescent (PL) emission peaks that cover almost the entire visible range resulting in a white appearance under 375 nm excitation without the need for color mixing. The PL is due to a combination of intrinsic AlN defect complexes and Ce3+ electronic transitions. Importantly, the peak intensities can be tuned by varying the Ce concentration and processing parameters, causing different shades of white light without the need for multiple phosphors or light sources. The Commission Internationale de l’Eclairage coordinates calculated from the measured spectra confirm white light emission. In addition, we demonstrate the viability of laser driven white light emission by coupling the Ce:AlN to a readily available frequency tripled Nd-YAG laser emitting at 355 nm. The high thermal conductivity of these ceramic down-converters holds significant promise for producing higher power white light sources than those available today