Influenza was recently reported as a risk factor for invasive aspergillosis (IA). We aimed to describe prognostic factors for influenza-associated IA (IAA) and poor outcome and mortality in ...critically ill patients in Switzerland. All adults with confirmed influenza admitted to the ICU at two Swiss tertiary care centres during the 2017/2018 influenza season were retrospectively evaluated. IAA was defined by clinical, mycological and radiological criteria: a positive galactomannan in bronchoalveolar lavage or histopathological or cultural evidence in respiratory specimens of
Aspergillus
spp., any radiological infiltrate and a compatible clinical presentation. Poor outcome was defined as a composite of in-hospital mortality, ICU length of stay (LOS), invasive ventilation for > 7 days or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Of 81 patients with influenza in the ICU, 9 (11%) were diagnosed with IAA. All patients with IAA had poor outcome compared to 26 (36%) patients without IAA (
p
< 0.001). Median ICU-LOS and mortality were 17 vs. 3 days (
p
< 0.01) and 3/9 (33%) vs. 13/72 (18%;
p
= 0.37) in patients with vs. without IAA, respectively. Patients with IAA had significantly longer durations of antibiotic therapy, vasoactive support and mechanical ventilation.
Aspergillus
was the most common respiratory co-pathogen (9/40, 22%) followed by classical bacterial co-pathogens. IAA was not associated with classical risk factors. Aspergillus is a common superinfection in critically ill influenza patients associated with poor outcome and longer duration of organ supportive therapies. Given the absence of classical risk factors for aspergillosis, greater awareness is necessary, particularly in those requiring organ supportive therapies.
Despite the adoption of strict infection prevention and control measures, many hospitals have reported outbreaks of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDRO) during the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) ...pandemic. Following an outbreak of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) in our institution, we sought to systematically analyse characteristics of MDRO outbreaks in times of COVID-19, focussing on contributing factors and specific challenges in controlling these outbreaks.
We describe results of our own CRAB outbreak investigation and performed a systematic literature review for MDRO (including Candida auris) outbreaks which occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic (between December 2019 and March 2021). Search terms were related to pathogens/resistance mechanisms AND COVID-19. We summarized outbreak characteristics in a narrative synthesis and contrasted contributing factors with implemented control measures.
The CRAB outbreak occurred in our intensive care units between September and December 2020 and comprised 10 patients (thereof seven with COVID-19) within two distinct genetic clusters (both ST2 carrying OXA-23). Both clusters presumably originated from COVID-19 patients transferred from the Balkans. Including our outbreak, we identified 17 reports, mostly caused by Candida auris (n = 6) or CRAB (n = 5), with an overall patient mortality of 35% (68/193). All outbreaks involved intensive care settings. Non-adherence to personal protective equipment (PPE) or hand hygiene (n = 11), PPE shortage (n = 8) and high antibiotic use (n = 8) were most commonly reported as contributing factors, followed by environmental contamination (n = 7), prolonged critical illness (n = 7) and lack of trained HCW (n = 7). Implemented measures mainly focussed on PPE/hand hygiene audits (n = 9), environmental cleaning/disinfection (n = 9) and enhanced patient screening (n = 8). Comparing potentially modifiable risk factors and control measures, we found the largest discrepancies in the areas of PPE shortage (risk factor in 8 studies, addressed in 2 studies) and patient overcrowding (risk factor in 5 studies, addressed in 0 studies).
Reported MDRO outbreaks during the COVID-19 pandemic were most often caused by CRAB (including our outbreak) and C. auris. Inadequate PPE/hand hygiene adherence, PPE shortage, and high antibiotic use were the most commonly reported potentially modifiable factors contributing to the outbreaks. These findings should be considered for the prevention of MDRO outbreaks during future COVID-19 waves.
Aggregatibacter aphrophilus, formerly known as Haemophilus aphrophilus, belongs to the HACEK organisms, a group of pathogens classically associated with infectious endocarditis. A. aphrophilus is a ...rarely found pathogen, though abscess formation in various organs has been described, typically due to spread from an infected heart valve. Here we describe the unusual case of multiple hepatic abscesses caused by A. aphrophilus.
A 33-year-old Caucasian man presented at our hospital with fever and malaise, elevated inflammatory markers, and liver enzymes. Imaging was compatible with multiple liver and pulmonary abscesses, without evidence of endocarditis. Cultures of blood and liver abscess material remained without growth. Polymerase chain reaction finally revealed Aggregatibacter aphrophilus in the liver tissue. The patient recovered fully within 6 weeks of doxycycline treatment.
There are only a few case descriptions of liver abscesses caused by A. aphrophilus. As a ubiquitous organism in the gastrointestinal tract, A. aphrophilus may reach the liver via the portal venous system, as well as through hematogenous spread from the oropharynx. HACEK organisms are notoriously difficult to grow on culture, which highlights the diagnostic importance of eubacterial PCR.
In the future, co-circulation of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and influenza viruses A/B is likely. From a clinical point of view, differentiation of the two disease ...entities is crucial for patient management. We therefore aim to detect clinical differences between Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and seasonal influenza patients at time of hospital admission.
In this single-center observational study, we included all consecutive patients hospitalized for COVID-19 or influenza between November 2019 and May 2020. Data were extracted from a nationwide surveillance program and from electronic health records. COVID-19 and influenza patients were compared in terms of baseline characteristics, clinical presentation and outcome. We used recursive partitioning to generate a classification tree to discriminate COVID-19 from influenza patients.
We included 96 COVID-19 and 96 influenza patients. Median age was 68 vs. 70 years (p = 0.90), 72% vs. 56% (p = 0.024) were males, and median Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) was 1 vs. 2 (p = 0.027) in COVID-19 and influenza patients, respectively. Time from symptom onset to hospital admission was longer for COVID-19 (median 7 days, IQR 3-10) than for influenza patients (median 3 days, IQR 2-5, p < 0.001). Other variables favoring a diagnosis of COVID-19 in the classification tree were higher systolic blood pressure, lack of productive sputum, and lack of headache. The tree classified 86/192 patients (45%) into two subsets with ≥80% of patients having influenza or COVID-19, respectively. In-hospital mortality was higher for COVID-19 patients (16% vs. 5%, p = 0.018).
Discriminating COVID-19 from influenza patients based on clinical presentation is challenging. Time from symptom onset to hospital admission is considerably longer in COVID-19 than in influenza patients and showed the strongest discriminatory power in our classification tree. Although they had fewer comorbidities, in-hospital mortality was higher for COVID-19 patients.
**Introduction:** We report an unusual case of cutaneous fusariosis in a kidney transplant recipient. *Fusarium* species are emerging fungal pathogens that pose diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. ...In severely immunocompromised patients, fusarial infections are associated with high mortality in the case of systemic dissemination. **Case presentation:** A 69-year-old black male with a history of renal transplantation presented with recurrent purulent nodules and painful ulcers of the left lower leg. Based on repeated skin biopsies, focally invasive skin infection with *Fusarium solani* was proven histologically and microbiologically. After four months of treatment with oral voriconazole, lesions considerably improved. When the patient died one month later from Covid-19 pneumonia under continued antifungal therapy, there was no evidence of systemic fusariosis or fusarial superinfection. **Conclusion:** Although rare, fusarial infections should be considered in immunocompromised individuals such as solid organ transplant recipients. Therefore, skin lesions in this patient population should be examined accurately. Histopathological and microbiological workups, including fungal cultures, are necessary for diagnosis and timely initiation of targeted therapy. Systemic antifungal therapy with voriconazole is the treatment of choice for focally invasive fusariosis.
We report the case of a 71 years old patient with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), who developed a rapidly progressing multi-fungal infection including mucormycosis of the central nervous system ...(CNS) during treatment with ibrutinib.
On autopsy mucorales species were demonstrated intravascularly by histomorphology of several organs and lymph nodes and were characterized as Rhizomucor pusillus by polymerase-chain reaction (PCR) – analysis. In addition, invasive pulmonary Aspergillus fumigatus was found and also confirmed by PCR. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first confirmation of a multi-fungal sepsis and invasive CNS-infection with mucorales species under ibrutinib. Knowing the risk for invasive fungal disease in patients under ibrutinib, identifying the pathogen and early initiation of specific treatment is crucial for a good clinical outcome especially in mucormycosis.
Bone disease contributes to relevant morbidity after solid organ transplantation. Vitamin D has a crucial role for bone metabolism. Activation of vitamin D depends on the endocrine function of both, ...liver and kidney. Our study assessed key markers of bone metabolism at time of transplantation and 6 months after transplantation among 70 kidney and 70 liver recipients. In 70 kidney recipients 25-OH vitamin D levels did not differ significantly between peri-transplant (median 32.5nmol/l) and 6 months post-transplant (median 41.9nmol/l; P = 0.272). Six months post-transplant median 1, 25-(OH)2 vitamin D levels increased by >300% (from 9.1 to 36.5ng/l; P<0.001) and median intact parathyroid hormone levels decreased by 68.4% (from 208.7 to 66.0 ng/l; P<0.001). Median β-Crosslaps (CTx) and total procollagen type 1 amino-terminal propeptide (P1NP) decreased by 65.1% (from 1.32 to 0.46ng/ml; P<0.001) and 60.6% (from 158.2 to 62.3ng/ml; P<0.001), respectively. Kidney recipients with incident fractures had significantly lower levels of 1, 25-(OH)2 vitamin D at time of transplantation and of intact parathyroid hormone 6 months post-transplant. Among 70 liver recipients, 25-OH vitamin D, 1, 25-(OH)2 vitamin D and intact parathyroid hormone levels were not significantly altered between peri-transplant and 6 months post-transplant. Contrary to kidney recipients, median CTx increased by 60.0% (from 0.45 to 0.72 ng/ml; P = 0.002) and P1NP by 49.3% (from 84.0 to 125.4ng/ml; P = 0.001) in the longitudinal course. Assessed biomarkers didn't differ between liver recipients with and without fractures. To conclude, the assessed panel of biomarkers proved highly dynamic after liver as well as kidney transplantation in the early post-transplant period. After kidney transplantation a significant gain in 1, 25-(OH)2 vitamin D combined with a decline in iPTH, CTx and P1NP, whereas after liver transplantation an increase in CTx and P1NP were characteristic.
We report on a brain abscess in an immunocompetent man caused by
, a black mold known to prefer the brain for abscess-formations with a mortality rate up to 65%. The published cases so far show ...different therapeutical approaches and outcomes, whereby a standardized treatment could not yet be established. We report on a case of
brain abscess with total remission of the abscess after full resection and a short antifungal treatment.
Burkholderia pseudomallei, the etiologic agent of melioidosis, is endemic to tropic regions, mainly in Southeast Asia and northern Australia. Melioidosis occurs only sporadically in travellers ...returning from disease-endemic areas. Severe clinical disease is seen mostly in patients with alteration of immune status. In particular, pericardial effusion occurs in 1-3% of patients with melioidosis, confined to endemic regions. To our best knowledge, this is the first reported case of melioidosis in a traveller complicated by a hemodynamically significant pericardial effusion without predisposing disease.
A 44-year-old Caucasian man developed pneumonia, with bilateral pleural effusions and complicated by a hemodynamically significant pericardial effusion, soon after his return from Thailand to Switzerland. Cultures from different specimens including blood cultures turned out negative. Diagnosis was only accomplished by isolation of Burkholderia pseudomallei from the pericardial aspirate, thus finally enabling the adequate antibiotic treatment.
Melioidosis is a great mimicker and physicians in non-endemic countries should be aware of its varied manifestations. In particular, melioidosis should be considered in differential diagnosis of pericardial effusion in travellers , even without risk factors predisposing to severe disease.
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