Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) is a fast and reliable method for the identification of bacteria from agar media. Direct identification ...from positive blood cultures should decrease the time to obtaining the result. In this study, three different processing methods for the rapid direct identification of bacteria from positive blood culture bottles were compared. In total, 101 positive aerobe BacT/ALERT bottles were included in this study. Aliquots from all bottles were used for three bacterial processing methods, i.e. the commercially available Bruker’s MALDI Sepsityper kit, the commercially available Molzym’s MolYsis Basic5 kit and a centrifugation/washing method. In addition, the best method was used to evaluate the possibility of MALDI application after a reduced incubation time of 7 h of
Staphylococcus aureus
- and
Escherichia coli
-spiked (1,000, 100 and 10 colony-forming units CFU) aerobe BacT/ALERT blood cultures. Sixty-six (65%), 51 (50.5%) and 79 (78%) bottles were identified correctly at the species level when the centrifugation/washing method, MolYsis Basic 5 and Sepsityper were used, respectively. Incorrect identification was obtained in 35 (35%), 50 (49.5%) and 22 (22%) bottles, respectively. Gram-positive cocci were correctly identified in 33/52 (64%) of the cases. However, Gram-negative rods showed a correct identification in 45/47 (96%) of all bottles when the Sepsityper kit was used. Seven hours of pre-incubation of
S. aureus
- and
E. coli
-spiked aerobe BacT/ALERT blood cultures never resulted in reliable identification with MALDI-TOF MS. Sepsityper is superior for the direct identification of microorganisms from aerobe BacT/ALERT bottles. Gram-negative pathogens show better results compared to Gram-positive bacteria. Reduced incubation followed by MALDI-TOF MS did not result in faster reliable identification.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Infection is a major cause of death in the intensive care unit (ICU). Strategies to reduce rates of infection in ICUs include selective digestive tract decontamination (SDD), in which cefotaxime and ...topical antimicrobial agents are administered for 4 days, and selective oropharyngeal decontamination (SOD), in which only topical antimicrobial agents are administered. In this cluster-randomization study involving 13 ICUs in the Netherlands, SOD and SDD did not affect crude mortality but did appear to reduce mortality slightly at day 28, with adjustment for covariates.
Strategies to reduce rates of infection in ICUs include selective digestive tract decontamination (SDD) and selective oropharyngeal decontamination (SOD). In this study involving 13 ICUs in the Netherlands, SOD and SDD did not affect crude mortality but did appear to reduce mortality slightly at day 28.
Infections acquired in the intensive care unit (ICU) are important complications of the treatment of critically ill patients, increasing morbidity, mortality, and health care costs.
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Reductions in the incidence of respiratory tract infections have been achieved with the use of prophylactic antibiotic regimens, such as selective decontamination of the digestive tract (SDD)
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,
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and selective oropharyngeal decontamination (SOD).
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,
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The SDD approach
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,
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consists of prevention of secondary colonization with gram-negative bacteria,
Staphylococcus aureus,
and yeasts through application of nonabsorbable antimicrobial agents in the oropharynx and gastrointestinal tract, preemptive treatment of possible infections with commensal respiratory tract bacteria through systemic . . .
The diagnosis of urinary tract infection (UTI) by urine culture is a time-consuming and costly procedure. Usage of a screening method, to identify negative samples, would therefore affect ...time-to-diagnosis and laboratory cost positively. Urine flow cytometers are able to identify particles in urine. Together with the introduction of a cut-off value, which determines if a urine sample is subsequently cultured or not, the number of cultures can be reduced, while maintaining a low level of false negatives and a high negative predictive value. Recently, Sysmex developed additional software for their urine flow cytometers. Besides measuring the number of bacteria present in urine, information is given on bacterial morphology, which may guide the physician in the choice of antibiotic. In this study, we evaluated this software update. The UF1000i classifies bacteria into two categories: ‘rods’ and ‘cocci/mixed’. Compared to the actual morphology of the bacterial pathogen found, the ‘rods’ category scores reasonably well with 91% chance of classifying rod-shaped bacteria correctly. The ‘cocci/mixed’ category underperforms, with only 29% of spherical-shaped bacteria (cocci) classified as such. In its current version, the bacterial morphology software does not classify bacteria, according to their morphology, well enough to be of clinical use in this study population.
•Sysmex developed software to indicate bacterial morphology: rods or cocci.•The Sysmex rod indication is correct in 91% of cases; the cocci indication in 29%.•Foreknowledge on bacterial morphology did not lead to changes in antibiotic choice.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
We describe a series of twelve patients with a psoas abscess seen in a three-year period in a university hospital and a large teaching hospital in the Netherlands. In our series, five of the 12 ...patients had a primary psoas abscess. The predisposing conditions were intravenous drug use, diabetes mellitus, prostate carcinoma and haematoma in the psoas muscle in a patient with haemophilia A. Seven of the 12 patients had a secondary psoas abscess. Five cases were due to vertebral osteomyelitis including two cases of tuberculosis. In the other two cases it was due to colitis and urinary tract infection. It is remarkable that in our series there was only one patient with a psoas abscess secondary to a disease of the digestive tract, while this is the most common cause of a secondary psoas abscess in the literature. There were two cases of tuberculosis which is an emerging disease again.
To study the prevalence of and risk factors for asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) in women with and without diabetes. A total of 636 nonpregnant women with diabetes (type 1 and type 2) who were 18-75 ...years of age and had no abnormalities of the urinary tract, and 153 women without diabetes who were visiting the eye and trauma outpatient clinic (control subjects) were included. We defined ASB as the presence of at least 10(5) colony-forming units/ml of 1 or 2 bacterial species in a culture of clean-voided midstream urine from an individual without symptoms of a urinary tract infection (UTI). The prevalence of ASB was 26% in the diabetic women and 6% in the control subjects (P < 0.001). The prevalence of ASB in women with type 1 diabetes was 21%. Risk factors for ASB in type 1 diabetic women included a longer duration of diabetes, peripheral neuropathy, and macroalbuminuria. The prevalence of ASB was 29% in women with type 2 diabetes. Risk factors for ASB in type 2 diabetic women included age, macroalbuminuria, a lower BMI, and a UTI during the previous year. No association was evident between current HbA1c level and the presence of ASB. The prevalence of ASB is increased in women with diabetes and might be added to the list of diabetic complications in these women.
In 2022, a sevenfold increase in the number of notifiable invasive
(iGAS) infections among children aged 0-5 years was observed in the Netherlands compared with pre-COVID-19 pandemic years. Of 42 ...cases in this age group, seven had preceding or coinciding varicella zoster infections, nine were fatal. This increase is not attributable to a specific
type. Vigilance for clinical deterioration as iGAS sign is warranted in young children, especially those with varicella zoster infection.
Donation after circulatory death (DCD) offers a potential additional source of cardiac allografts. We used a porcine asphyxia model to evaluate viability of DCD hearts subjected to warm ischemic ...times (WIT) of 20–40 min prior to flushing with Celsior (C) solution. We then assessed potential benefits of supplementing C with erythropoietin, glyceryl trinitrate and zoniporide (Cs), a combination that we have shown previously to activate ischemic postconditioning pathways. Hearts flushed with C/Cs were assessed for functional, biochemical and metabolic recovery on an ex vivo working heart apparatus. Hearts exposed to 20‐min WIT showed full recovery of functional and metabolic profiles compared with control hearts (no WIT). Hearts subjected to 30‐ or 40‐min WIT prior to C solution showed partial and no recovery, respectively. Hearts exposed to 30‐min WIT and Cs solution displayed complete recovery, while hearts exposed to 40‐min WIT and Cs solution demonstrated partial recovery. We conclude that DCD hearts flushed with C solution demonstrate complete recovery up to 20‐min WIT after which there is rapid loss of viability. Cs extends the limit of WIT tolerability to 30 min. DCD hearts with ≤30‐min WIT may be suitable for transplantation and warrant assessment in a transplant model.
In this study of cardiac donation after circulatory death, supplementation of cardioplegic flush solution with a combination of erythropoietin, glyceryl trinitrate, and zoniporide significantly extends the tolerability of the porcine heart to warm ischemia following withdrawal of life support. See online supporting information for supplemental video content.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
The shortage of donors in cardiac transplantation may be alleviated by the use of allografts from donation after circulatory death (DCD) donors. We have previously shown that hearts exposed to 30 min ...warm ischemic time and then flushed with Celsior supplemented with agents that activate ischemic postconditioning pathways, show complete recovery on a blood‐perfused ex vivo working heart apparatus. In this study, these findings were assessed in a porcine orthotopic heart transplant model. DCD hearts were preserved with either normothermic ex vivo perfusion (NEVP) using a clinically approved device, or with standard cold storage (CS) for 4 h. Orthotopic transplantation into recipient animals was subsequently undertaken. Five of six hearts preserved with NEVP demonstrated favorable lactate profiles during NEVP and all five could be weaned off cardiopulmonary bypass posttransplant, compared with 0 of 3 hearts preserved with CS (p < 0.05, Fisher's exact test). In conclusion, DCD hearts flushed with supplemented Celsior solution and preserved with NEVP display viability before and after transplantation. Viability studies of human DCD hearts using NEVP are warranted.
In this pig study of heart transplantation from donors after circulatory death, the authors demonstrate that normothermic ex vivo perfusion enables assessment of the viability of the donor heart and provides superior preservation compared with cold storage.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
To accelerate differentiation between Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS), this study aimed to compare six different DNA extraction methods from two commonly used blood ...culture materials, i.e. BACTEC and BacT/ALERT. Furthermore, we analysed the effect of reduced blood culture incubation for the detection of staphylococci directly from blood culture material. A real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) duplex assay was used to compare the six different DNA isolation protocols on two different blood culture systems. Negative blood culture material was spiked with methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). Bacterial DNA was isolated with automated extractor easyMAG (three protocols), automated extractor MagNA Pure LC (LC Microbiology Kit MGrade), a manual kit MolYsis Plus and a combination of MolYsis Plus and the easyMAG. The most optimal isolation method was used to evaluate reduced bacterial incubation times. Bacterial DNA isolation with the MolYsis Plus kit in combination with the specific B protocol on the easyMAG resulted in the most sensitive detection of S. aureus, with a detection limit of 10 CFU/ml, in BacT/ALERT material, whereas using BACTEC resulted in a detection limit of 100 CFU/ml. An initial S. aureus or CNS load of 1 CFU/ml blood can be detected after 5 h of incubation in BacT/ALERT 3D by combining the sensitive isolation method and the tuf LightCycler assay.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Liver disease develops in one‐third of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). It is rare for liver disease to have its onset after 20 years of age. Lung disease, however, is usually more severe in ...adulthood. A retrospective analysis was performed on nine patients. Three patients required lung transplantation approximately a decade after liver transplant, and another underwent combined liver and lung transplants. Four additional patients with liver transplants are awaiting assessment for lung transplants. One patient is awaiting combined liver and lung transplants. With increased survival in CF, several patients may require more than single organ transplantation.
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FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK