Acinetobacter pneumonia: is the outcome different from the pneumonias caused by other agents

The principal aim of the present study was to determine whether Acinetobacter spp. Pneumonia differs from hospital-acquired pneumonias [HAPs] caused by other agents with respect to therapeutic success and survival rate. This study includes 140 adult patients diagnosed with HAPs caused by identified etiologic agents between March 2005 and February 2006. These patients were divided into two groups according to the agent responsible to their infection [Acinetobacter spp. [n=63] or non-Acinetobacter spp. [n= 77]]. The groups were compared in terms of risk factors, therapeutic success and six-week survival rates. Previous antibiotic use and the risk of aspiration were independent factors responsible for the development of Acinetobacter spp. pneumonia. Hypoalbuminemia, steroid use and the use of a mechanical ventilator were determined to be mortality-associated independent risk factors for Acinetobacter spp. pneumonia. The clinical success rate at the end of therapy was 41.6% and, at the sixth week, the survival rate was 35% among patients in whom Acinetobacter spp. was the causative agent. Conversely, in the control group, these values were 43 and 32%, respectively [P>0.05]. We found that the use of the appropriate antibiotics for the treatment of Acinetobacter spp. pneumonia was an important factor in survival [P <0.001]. The outcome of Acinetobacter spp. pneumonia do not differ from HAPs associated with non-Acinetobacter spp. in terms of therapeutic success and survival rates

A Food-Borne Outbreak Caused by Salmonella Enteritidis

This study was designed to define the epidemiology of a food-borne outbreak caused by Salmonella enteritidis that affected only one squadron of a military battalion located in the vicinity of the city of Edirne in Turkey. The outbreak was analyzed by a standard surveillance form of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The relationship between the eaten foods and cases was analyzed by Fisher's exact chi-square test, and odds ratios were calculated by a case-control study. The outbreak affected 60 of 168 soldiers in the squadron, 16 of whom were hospitalized. S.enteritidis was cultured in stools from 13 of the hospitalized soldiers and from 3 soldiers who had prepared the food. All strains were completely susceptible to antibiotics; their plasmid profiles were also identical. The highest attack rate detected was 55.7% in an omelet eaten 24 hours before (p < 0.001). Furthermore, it was the riskiest food according to the case-control study (OR=7.88; 95% CI=3.68-16.89). The food samples were unobtainable because they had been discarded. All of the hospitalized cases recovered, and none of the control cultures of stools yielded the pathogen after three weeks. In conclusion, although our results didn't indicate the exact source of the outbreak microbiologically, the omelet was considered to be the source based on the epidemiological proofs.