Estimating epidemiological cutoff endpoints (ECVs/ECOFFS) may be hindered by the overlap of MICs for mutant and nonmutant strains (strains harboring or not harboring mutations, respectively). ...Posaconazole MIC distributions for the
species complex were collected from 26 laboratories (in Australia, Canada, Europe, India, South and North America, and Taiwan) and published studies. Distributions that fulfilled CLSI criteria were pooled and ECVs were estimated. The sensitivity of three ECV analytical techniques (the ECOFFinder, normalized resistance interpretation NRI, derivatization methods) to the inclusion of MICs for mutants was examined for three susceptibility testing methods (the CLSI, EUCAST, and Etest methods). The totals of posaconazole MICs for nonmutant isolates (isolates with no known
mutations) and mutant
isolates were as follows: by the CLSI method, 2,223 and 274, respectively; by the EUCAST method, 556 and 52, respectively; and by Etest, 1,365 and 29, respectively. MICs for 381 isolates with unknown mutational status were also evaluated with the Sensititre YeastOne system (SYO). We observed an overlap in posaconazole MICs among nonmutants and
mutants. At the commonly chosen percentage of the modeled wild-type population (97.5%), almost all ECVs remained the same when the MICs for nonmutant and mutant distributions were merged: ECOFFinder ECVs, 0.5 μg/ml for the CLSI method and 0.25 μg/ml for the EUCAST method and Etest; NRI ECVs, 0.5 μg/ml for all three methods. However, the ECOFFinder ECV for 95% of the nonmutant population by the CLSI method was 0.25 μg/ml. The tentative ECOFFinder ECV with SYO was 0.06 μg/ml (data from 3/8 laboratories). Derivatization ECVs with or without mutant inclusion were either 0.25 μg/ml (CLSI, EUCAST, Etest) or 0.06 μg/ml (SYO). It appears that ECV analytical techniques may not be vulnerable to overlap between presumptive wild-type isolates and
mutants when up to 11.6% of the estimated wild-type population includes mutants.
Method-dependent Etest epidemiological cutoff values (ECVs) are not available for susceptibility testing of either Candida or Aspergillus species with amphotericin B or echinocandins. In addition, ...reference caspofungin MICs for Candida spp. are unreliable. Candida and Aspergillus species wild-type (WT) Etest MIC distributions (microorganisms in a species-drug combination with no detectable phenotypic resistance) were established for 4,341 Candida albicans, 113 C. dubliniensis, 1,683 C. glabrata species complex (SC), 709 C. krusei, 767 C. parapsilosis SC, 796 C. tropicalis, 1,637 Aspergillus fumigatus SC, 238 A. flavus SC, 321 A. niger SC, and 247 A. terreus SC isolates. Etest MICs from 15 laboratories (in Argentina, Europe, Mexico, South Africa, and the United States) were pooled to establish Etest ECVs. Anidulafungin, caspofungin, micafungin, and amphotericin B ECVs (in micrograms per milliliter) encompassing ≥97.5% of the statistically modeled population were 0.016, 0.5, 0.03, and 1 for C. albicans; 0.03, 1, 0.03, and 2 for C. glabrata SC; 0.06, 1, 0.25, and 4 for C. krusei; 8, 4, 2, and 2 for C. parapsilosis SC; and 0.03, 1, 0.12, and 2 for C. tropicalis The amphotericin B ECV was 0.25 μg/ml for C. dubliniensis and 2, 8, 2, and 16 μg/ml for the complexes of A. fumigatus, A. flavus, A. niger, and A. terreus, respectively. While anidulafungin Etest ECVs classified 92% of the Candida fks mutants evaluated as non-WT, the performance was lower for caspofungin (75%) and micafungin (84%) cutoffs. Finally, although anidulafungin (as an echinocandin surrogate susceptibility marker) and amphotericin B ECVs should identify Candida and Aspergillus isolates with reduced susceptibility to these agents using the Etest, these ECVs will not categorize a fungal isolate as susceptible or resistant, as breakpoints do.
Although the Sensititre Yeast-One (SYO) and Etest methods are widely utilized, interpretive criteria are not available for triazole susceptibility testing of
or
species. We collected fluconazole, ...itraconazole, posaconazole, and voriconazole SYO and Etest MICs from 39 laboratories representing all continents for (method/agent-dependent) 11,171
, 215
, 4,418
species complex, 157
(
), 676
(
), 298
(
), 911
, 3,691
species complex, 36
, 110
, 1,854
, 244
, 1,409
, 389
, 130
, 233
, and 302
complex isolates. SYO/Etest MICs for 282 confirmed non-wild-type (non-WT) isolates were included:
(
),
and
(
),
(
), and
and
overexpression (
and
, respectively). Interlaboratory modal agreement was superior by SYO for yeast species and by the Etest for
spp. Distributions fulfilling CLSI criteria for epidemiological cutoff value (ECV) definition were pooled, and we proposed SYO ECVs for
and 9 yeast and 3
species and Etest ECVs for 5 yeast and 4
species. The posaconazole SYO ECV of 0.06 µg/ml for
and the Etest itraconazole ECV of 2 µg/ml for
were the best predictors of non-WT isolates. These findings support the need for method-dependent ECVs, as, overall, the SYO appears to perform better for susceptibility testing of yeast species and the Etest appears to perform better for susceptibility testing of
spp. Further evaluations should be conducted with more
mutants.
To update the knowledge of the epidemiology of fungaemia episodes in Spain, the species implicated and their in vitro antifungal susceptibilities.
Episodes were identified prospectively over 13 ...months at 44 hospitals. Molecular methods were used to determine the cryptic species inside the Candida parapsilosis and Candida glabrata complexes. Susceptibility to amphotericin B, anidulafungin, caspofungin, fluconazole, flucytosine, itraconazole, micafungin, posaconazole and voriconazole was determined by a microdilution colorimetric method. New species-specific clinical breakpoints (SSCBPs) for echinocandins, fluconazole and voriconazole were applied.
The incidence of the 1357 fungaemia episodes evaluated was 0.92 per 1000 admissions. The incidence of Candida albicans fungaemia was the highest (0.41 episodes/1000 admissions), followed by Candida parapsilosis sensu stricto (0.22). Candida orthopsilosis was the fifth cause of fungaemia (0.02), outnumbered by Candida glabrata and Candida tropicalis. Interestingly, the incidence of fungaemia by C. parapsilosis was 11 and 74 times higher than that by C. orthopsilosis and Candida metapsilosis, respectively. Neither Candida nivariensis nor Candida bracarensis was isolated. Fungaemia was more common in non-intensive care unit settings (65.2%) and among elderly patients (46.4%), mixed fungaemia being incidental (1.5%). Overall susceptibility rates were 77.6% for itraconazole, 91.9% for fluconazole and 96.5%-99.8% for the other agents. Important resistance rates were only observed in C. glabrata for itraconazole (24.1%) and posaconazole (14.5%), and in Candida krusei for itraconazole (81.5%).
Fungaemia is more common in non-critical patients. C. albicans is the most common species, followed by C. parapsilosis and C. glabrata. Nearly 90% of yeasts are susceptible to all antifungal agents tested. Resistance rates change moderately when applying the new SSCBPs.
Abstract Infection of the surgical site after major oncological operations of the head and neck increases mortality and morbidity. The aim of this prospective pilot study was to assess the efficacy ...of culturing the exudate from the drain after cervical neck dissection to see if it predicted such infection. We studied 40/112 patients with squamous cell cancer of the head and neck who were treated during the last two years and met our inclusion criteria. Six patients developed infections (15%). Reconstruction with pedicled rather than local or microvascular flaps, duration of operation of over 7 hours, the presence of a tracheostomy, and bilateral neck dissection were considered risk factors ( p = 0.01). Culture of drainage fluid on postoperative day 3 that grew no pathogens predicted that the site would not become infected, with a negative predictive value of 96%.
The present study, comprising a prospective multicentre study including 53 non-neutropenic patients from intensive care units (ICU) in six Spanish tertiary-care hospitals, was carried out to ...determine the clinical significance and influence on mortality of Candida albicans germ tube-specific antibodies (CAGTA). There were 22 patients (41.5%) for whom the CAGTA results were positive, although none of had a blood culture positive for Candida. The intra-ICU mortality rate was significantly lower (p = 0.004) in CAGTA-positive patients (61.2% vs. 22.7%). Multivariate analysis confirmed that a positive CAGTA result was the only protective factor to be independently associated with ICU mortality (β coefficient = −0.3856; 95% confidence interval = −0.648 to −0.123).
Antibodies to Legionella pneumophila were found by indirect immunofluorescence assay in 525 samples of human serum. The samples were obtained from 451 patients who were suspected of having an acute ...infectious illness, with mainly respiratory symptoms; 90 patients had antibodies to L. pneumophila (19.9%). The results suggest that the prevalence of L. pneumophila is greater than had previously been supposed.
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