ABSTRACT
Background@#The rate and composition of bacterial co-infection in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) were evaluated when microbiological testing was conducted on the majority of patients. We also evaluated whether the use of empirical antibacterials was associated with mortality. @*Methods@#In this retrospective study, all of the adult patients with COVID-19 hospitalized in a single tertiary hospital in South Korea between February 2020 and December 2021 were included. Bacterial co-infection was assessed by sputum cultures, blood cultures, and molecular testing, including polymerase chain reaction sputum testing and urinary antigen tests. Mortality was compared between patients who received empirical antibacterials and those who did not. @*Results@#Of the 367 adult patients admitted during the study period, 300 (81.7%) had sputum culture results and were included in the analysis. Of these 300 patients, 127 (42.3%) had a history of antibiotic exposure. The co-infection rate within 48 hours was 8.3% (25/300):6.4% (11/173) of patients without prior antibiotic exposure and 11% (14/127) of patients with prior antibacterial exposure. The co-infected bacteria were different according to antibacterial exposure before admission, and multi-drug resistant pathogens were detected exclusively in the antibacterial exposed group. Among the patients without positive results for the microbiological tests, empirical antibacterials were used in 33.3% of cases (100/300). Empirical antibacterial therapy was not significantly related to the 30-day mortality or inhospital mortality rates in the study cohort before or after the propensity score-matching. @*Conclusion@#In this study including only patients underwent microbiological testing, bacterial co-infection was not frequent, and the co-infected organisms varied depending on previous antibacterial exposures. Given the rarity of co-infection and the lack of potential benefits, empiric antibacterial use in COVID-19 should be an important target of antibiotic stewardship.
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Background@#This study aimed to evaluate whether fluvoxamine reduces clinical deterioration in adult patients with mild to moderate coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and to identify risk factors for clinical deterioration in patients admitted to a community treatment center (CTC). @*Materials and Methods@#A randomized, placebo-controlled trial was conducted in a CTC, in Seoul, Korea from January 15, 2021, to February 19, 2021. Symptomatic adult patients with positive results of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 real timepolymerase chain reaction within 3 days of randomization were assigned at random to receive 100 mg of fluvoxamine or placebo twice daily for 10 days. The primary outcome was clinical deterioration defined by any of the following criteria: oxygen requirement to keep oxygen saturation over 94.0%, aggravation of pneumonia with dyspnea, or World Health Organization clinical progression scale 4 or greater. @*Results@#Of 52 randomized participants [median (interquartile range) age, 53.5 (43.3 - 60.0) years; 31 (60.0%) men], 44 (85.0%) completed the trial. Clinical deterioration occurred in 2 of 26 patients in each group (P >0.99). There were no serious adverse events in either group. Clinical deterioration occurred in 15 (6.0%) of 271 patients admitted to the CTC, and all of them were transferred to a hospital. In multivariate analysis, age between 55 and 64, fever and pneumonia at admission were independent risk factors for clinical deterioration. @*Conclusion@#In this study of adult patients with symptomatic COVID-19 who were admitted to the CTC, there was no significant differences in clinical deterioration between patients treated with fluvoxamine and placebo (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04711863).
ABSTRACT
Background@#The concurrent detection of human cytomegalovirus (CMV) with UL97 and UL54 mutations is crucial for prescribing adequate antiviral treatment when drug-resistant CMV infection is suspected. We investigated the frequency of resistance-conferring mutations among patients with persistent or recurrent CMV infection and further reviewed the subgroup with UL54 mutations without UL97 mutations. @*Methods@#Patients with persistent or recurrent CMV infection after 4 weeks of treatment with ganciclovir or foscarnet were consecutively enrolled between November 2012 and May 2019.The direct sequencing of UL97 and UL54 was performed to detect resistance mutations in CMV. @*Results@#A total of 101 sequencing datasets were obtained from 65 enrolled patients.CMV UL97 and UL54 mutations were detected in 15.4% (10/65) and 9% (6/65) of patients, respectively. The CMV retrieved from two patients (3%) had mutations in both genes. Four patients with CMV UL54 mutations alone had a history of haploidentical peripheral blood stem cell transplantation, and foscarnet was administered for over 4 weeks to these patients; 21.5% of patients had suspected resistant CMV infection with either UL97 or UL54 mutations. @*Conclusion@#In this study, CMV UL54 mutations but not UL97 mutations were found in patients subjected to prolonged foscarnet administration for CMV disease.
ABSTRACT
Eosinophilic meningitis is defined as the presence of more than 10 eosinophils per μl in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), or eosinophils accounting for more than 10% of CSF leukocytes in patients with acute meningitis. Parasites are the most common cause of eosinophilic meningitis worldwide, but there is limited research on patients in Korea. Patients diagnosed with eosinophilic meningitis between January 2004 and June 2018 at a tertiary hospital in Seoul, Korea were retrospectively reviewed. The etiology and clinical characteristics of each patient were identified. Of the 22 patients included in the study, 11 (50%) had parasitic causes, of whom 8 (36%) were diagnosed as neurocysticercosis and 3 (14%) as Toxocara meningitis. Four (18%) patients were diagnosed with fungal meningitis, and underlying immunodeficiency was found in 2 of these patients. The etiology of another 4 (18%) patients was suspected to be tuberculosis, which is endemic in Korea. Viral and bacterial meningitis were relatively rare causes of eosinophilic meningitis, accounting for 2 (9%) and 1 (5%) patients, respectively. One patient with neurocysticercosis and 1 patient with fungal meningitis died, and 5 (23%) had neurologic sequelae. Parasite infections, especially neurocysticercosis and toxocariasis, were the most common cause of eosinophilic meningitis in Korean patients. Fungal meningitis, while relatively rare, is often aggressive and must be considered when searching for the cause of eosinophilic meningitis.
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Purpose@#The aim of this study was to estimate the effect of targeting risk factors for the control of central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) among high-risk infants in a tertiary neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). @*Methods@#Infants admitted to the NICU and diagnosed with CLABSI from January to December 2013 were eligible for inclusion to the study. The CLABSI group (n=47) was matched in a 1:2 ratio to the control group (n=94) based on gestational age, birth weight, and Score for Neonatal Acute Physiology-II. Risk factors for CLABSI were identified using the Cox proportional hazard model, and analysis of the effect of these risk factors targeting infection control was performed. @*Results@#The risk factors associated with CLABSI were prolonged central line dwell days (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 1.028; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.011 to 1.045; P=0.001), use of a silicone catheter (adjusted HR, 5.895; 95% CI, 1.893 to 18.355; P=0.002), surgical treatment (adjusted HR, 3.793; 95% CI, 1.467 to 9.805; P=0.006), and less probiotic supplementation (adjusted HR, 0.254; 95% CI, 0.068 to 0.949; P=0.042). By targeting these risk factors with a quality improvement initiative, the mean CLABSI incidence rate per 1,000 catheter-days decreased from 6.6 to 3.1 (P=0.004). @*Conclusion@#Targeting risk factors for infection control significantly reduced the rate of CLABSI among high-risk infants in the NICU.
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Multisystem inflammatory disease in children is a Kawasaki disease like illness occurring after severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection in children. As the pandemic progresses, similar syndromes were also reported in adult with a decreased incidence.Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in adults (MIS-A) can be characterized with shock, heart failure, and gastrointestinal symptoms with elevated inflammatory markers after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. Herein, we describe the first case of MIS-A in South Korea. A 38-year-old man presented to our hospital with a 5-day history of abdominal pain and fever. He had been treated with antibiotics for 5 days at the previous hospital, but symptoms had worsened and he had developed orthopnea on the day of presentation.He suffered COVID-19 six weeks ago. Laboratory data revealed elevated white blood cell counts with neutrophil dominance, C-reactive protein, and B-type natriuretic peptide. Chest X-ray showed normal lung parenchyme and echocardiography showed severe biventricular failure with normal chamber size. We diagnosed him as MIS-A and treated with intravenous immunoglobulin and steroid.
ABSTRACT
Background@#The temporal changes in the Staphylococcus aureus genotypes causing S. aureusbacteremia (SAB) and the corresponding clinical changes over the last decade in South Korea are rarely investigated. @*Methods@#A longitudinal study of adult SAB patients was conducted in a large referral hospital in Seoul, South Korea. Adult monomicrobial SAB patients were enrolled between August 2008 and December 2018. Genotyping was performed by multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and staphylococcal protein A (spa) typing. Trends in changes were identified by linear regression analysis. @*Results@#Of 1782 adult SAB patients, the blood isolates of 1,778 (99.8%) and 1,634 (91.7%) were determined to be MLST and spa type, respectively. ST5 (–2.626%/year) and ST239 (–0.354%/year) decreased during the study period (P < 0.001 for both), but ST72 (2.009%/ yr)-and ST8 (0.567%/yr) increased (P < 0.001 for both). The most common genotype was changed from ST5 in 2008 (44.9%) to ST72 in 2018 (36.3%). Panton-Valentine leukocidinpositive spa-t008-MRSA (USA300) was found in 28.6%. Central venous catheter (CVC)-related SAB (–2.440%/yr) and persistent SAB (–1.016%/yr) decreased, but mortality and recurrence rates were unchanged. @*Conclusion@#Over the last decade, the hospital clones ST5 and ST239 have been replaced by community genotype ST72. This was associated with decreased CVC-related and persistent SAB. Increased USA300 was observed in community and hospital settings. Further research is required to identify the reasons for the ST72 epidemic and predict the impending epidemic of ST8 strains, including USA300.
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Background@#Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC)-producing Enterobacterales bacteremia is associated with significant mortality; however, no optimal antibiotic strategy is available. We aimed to evaluate the clinical outcomes according to the antibiotic regimens and identify risk factors for mortality in patients with KPC-producingK. pneumoniae and Escherichia coli bacteremia. @*Materials and Methods@#This retrospective cohort study included all adult patients with monomicrobial bacteremia (KPC-producing K. pneumoniae or E. coli) between January 2011 and March 2021 at a 2,700-bed tertiary center. @*Results@#Ninety-two patients were identified; 7 with E. coli bacteremia, and 85 with K. pneumoniae bacteremia. Thirty-day mortality was 38.0% (35/92). Non-survivors were more likely to have had nosocomial infection (88.6% vs. 63.2%, P = 0.01), high APACHE II scores (mean [interquartile range], 22.0 [14.0 - 28.0] vs. 14.0 [11.0 - 20.5],P <0.001), and septic shock (51.4% vs. 26.3%, P <0.001) and less likely to have been admitted to the surgical ward (5.7% vs. 22.8%, P= 0.04), undergone removal of eradicable foci (61.5% vs. 90.6%, P = 0.03), and received appropriate combination treatment (57.1% vs. 78.9%, P = 0.03) than survivors. No significant difference in mortality was observed according to combination regimens including colistin, aminoglycoside, and tigecycline. In multivariable analysis, high APACHE II scores (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.14; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.06 - 1.23, P <0.001), and appropriate definitive treatment (aOR, 0.25; CI, 0.08 - 0.74,P = 0.01) were independent risk factors for mortality. @*Conclusion@#High APACHE II scores and not receiving appropriate definitive treatment were associated with 30-day mortality. Mortality did not significantly differ according to combination regimens with conventional drugs such as aminoglycoside and colistin.
ABSTRACT
Background@#Pyomyositis (PM) is a serious soft tissue infection and despite its clinical importance, previous studies have not been able to fully determine the clinical characteristics and microbial epidemiology of PM in Korea, which we therefore aimed to investigate. @*Materials and Methods@#We retrospectively identified 140 adult patients diagnosed with PM from 13 general hospitals between January 2012 and December 2015. We analyzed the clinical and microbial characteristics of community-onset PM and compared them with communityacquired (CA) and healthcare-associated (HCA) PM. @*Results@#One hundred eleven organisms were isolated from 96 (68.6%) patients with PM.Staphylococcus aureus (38 patients) was the most common pathogen, followed by streptococci (24 patients), and enteric Gram-negative organisms (27 patients). Methicillin-resistant S.aureus (MRSA) was identified in four (2.9%) patients and in-hospital mortality reached 8.6% (12/140). Enterococci isolates were identified in the HCA PM subgroup only The proportion of MRSA isolates was not comparable between CA and HCA PM subgroups. In the 83 patients with PM infected by monomicrobial pathogens, isolates of Gram-negative organisms were more commonly found in HCA PM subgroup than in CA PM subgroup (47.6% [10/21] of patients with HCA PM vs. 20.7% [12/58] of patients with CA PM; P = 0.01). @*Conclusion@#Gram-positive cocci such as S. aureus and streptococci were dominant etiologies in community-onset PM, whereas MRSA appears to an uncommon causative organism of PM in Korea. Enteric Gram-negative organisms should also be considered as major etiologies, especially in HCA PM patient population in Korea.
ABSTRACT
Eosinophilic meningitis is defined as the presence of more than 10 eosinophils per μl in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), or eosinophils accounting for more than 10% of CSF leukocytes in patients with acute meningitis. Parasites are the most common cause of eosinophilic meningitis worldwide, but there is limited research on patients in Korea. Patients diagnosed with eosinophilic meningitis between January 2004 and June 2018 at a tertiary hospital in Seoul, Korea were retrospectively reviewed. The etiology and clinical characteristics of each patient were identified. Of the 22 patients included in the study, 11 (50%) had parasitic causes, of whom 8 (36%) were diagnosed as neurocysticercosis and 3 (14%) as Toxocara meningitis. Four (18%) patients were diagnosed with fungal meningitis, and underlying immunodeficiency was found in 2 of these patients. The etiology of another 4 (18%) patients was suspected to be tuberculosis, which is endemic in Korea. Viral and bacterial meningitis were relatively rare causes of eosinophilic meningitis, accounting for 2 (9%) and 1 (5%) patients, respectively. One patient with neurocysticercosis and 1 patient with fungal meningitis died, and 5 (23%) had neurologic sequelae. Parasite infections, especially neurocysticercosis and toxocariasis, were the most common cause of eosinophilic meningitis in Korean patients. Fungal meningitis, while relatively rare, is often aggressive and must be considered when searching for the cause of eosinophilic meningitis.
ABSTRACT
Purpose@#The aim of this study was to estimate the effect of targeting risk factors for the control of central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) among high-risk infants in a tertiary neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). @*Methods@#Infants admitted to the NICU and diagnosed with CLABSI from January to December 2013 were eligible for inclusion to the study. The CLABSI group (n=47) was matched in a 1:2 ratio to the control group (n=94) based on gestational age, birth weight, and Score for Neonatal Acute Physiology-II. Risk factors for CLABSI were identified using the Cox proportional hazard model, and analysis of the effect of these risk factors targeting infection control was performed. @*Results@#The risk factors associated with CLABSI were prolonged central line dwell days (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 1.028; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.011 to 1.045; P=0.001), use of a silicone catheter (adjusted HR, 5.895; 95% CI, 1.893 to 18.355; P=0.002), surgical treatment (adjusted HR, 3.793; 95% CI, 1.467 to 9.805; P=0.006), and less probiotic supplementation (adjusted HR, 0.254; 95% CI, 0.068 to 0.949; P=0.042). By targeting these risk factors with a quality improvement initiative, the mean CLABSI incidence rate per 1,000 catheter-days decreased from 6.6 to 3.1 (P=0.004). @*Conclusion@#Targeting risk factors for infection control significantly reduced the rate of CLABSI among high-risk infants in the NICU.
ABSTRACT
Multisystem inflammatory disease in children is a Kawasaki disease like illness occurring after severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection in children. As the pandemic progresses, similar syndromes were also reported in adult with a decreased incidence.Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in adults (MIS-A) can be characterized with shock, heart failure, and gastrointestinal symptoms with elevated inflammatory markers after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. Herein, we describe the first case of MIS-A in South Korea. A 38-year-old man presented to our hospital with a 5-day history of abdominal pain and fever. He had been treated with antibiotics for 5 days at the previous hospital, but symptoms had worsened and he had developed orthopnea on the day of presentation.He suffered COVID-19 six weeks ago. Laboratory data revealed elevated white blood cell counts with neutrophil dominance, C-reactive protein, and B-type natriuretic peptide. Chest X-ray showed normal lung parenchyme and echocardiography showed severe biventricular failure with normal chamber size. We diagnosed him as MIS-A and treated with intravenous immunoglobulin and steroid.
ABSTRACT
Background@#The temporal changes in the Staphylococcus aureus genotypes causing S. aureusbacteremia (SAB) and the corresponding clinical changes over the last decade in South Korea are rarely investigated. @*Methods@#A longitudinal study of adult SAB patients was conducted in a large referral hospital in Seoul, South Korea. Adult monomicrobial SAB patients were enrolled between August 2008 and December 2018. Genotyping was performed by multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and staphylococcal protein A (spa) typing. Trends in changes were identified by linear regression analysis. @*Results@#Of 1782 adult SAB patients, the blood isolates of 1,778 (99.8%) and 1,634 (91.7%) were determined to be MLST and spa type, respectively. ST5 (–2.626%/year) and ST239 (–0.354%/year) decreased during the study period (P < 0.001 for both), but ST72 (2.009%/ yr)-and ST8 (0.567%/yr) increased (P < 0.001 for both). The most common genotype was changed from ST5 in 2008 (44.9%) to ST72 in 2018 (36.3%). Panton-Valentine leukocidinpositive spa-t008-MRSA (USA300) was found in 28.6%. Central venous catheter (CVC)-related SAB (–2.440%/yr) and persistent SAB (–1.016%/yr) decreased, but mortality and recurrence rates were unchanged. @*Conclusion@#Over the last decade, the hospital clones ST5 and ST239 have been replaced by community genotype ST72. This was associated with decreased CVC-related and persistent SAB. Increased USA300 was observed in community and hospital settings. Further research is required to identify the reasons for the ST72 epidemic and predict the impending epidemic of ST8 strains, including USA300.
ABSTRACT
Background@#Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC)-producing Enterobacterales bacteremia is associated with significant mortality; however, no optimal antibiotic strategy is available. We aimed to evaluate the clinical outcomes according to the antibiotic regimens and identify risk factors for mortality in patients with KPC-producingK. pneumoniae and Escherichia coli bacteremia. @*Materials and Methods@#This retrospective cohort study included all adult patients with monomicrobial bacteremia (KPC-producing K. pneumoniae or E. coli) between January 2011 and March 2021 at a 2,700-bed tertiary center. @*Results@#Ninety-two patients were identified; 7 with E. coli bacteremia, and 85 with K. pneumoniae bacteremia. Thirty-day mortality was 38.0% (35/92). Non-survivors were more likely to have had nosocomial infection (88.6% vs. 63.2%, P = 0.01), high APACHE II scores (mean [interquartile range], 22.0 [14.0 - 28.0] vs. 14.0 [11.0 - 20.5],P <0.001), and septic shock (51.4% vs. 26.3%, P <0.001) and less likely to have been admitted to the surgical ward (5.7% vs. 22.8%, P= 0.04), undergone removal of eradicable foci (61.5% vs. 90.6%, P = 0.03), and received appropriate combination treatment (57.1% vs. 78.9%, P = 0.03) than survivors. No significant difference in mortality was observed according to combination regimens including colistin, aminoglycoside, and tigecycline. In multivariable analysis, high APACHE II scores (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.14; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.06 - 1.23, P <0.001), and appropriate definitive treatment (aOR, 0.25; CI, 0.08 - 0.74,P = 0.01) were independent risk factors for mortality. @*Conclusion@#High APACHE II scores and not receiving appropriate definitive treatment were associated with 30-day mortality. Mortality did not significantly differ according to combination regimens with conventional drugs such as aminoglycoside and colistin.
ABSTRACT
Background@#Pyomyositis (PM) is a serious soft tissue infection and despite its clinical importance, previous studies have not been able to fully determine the clinical characteristics and microbial epidemiology of PM in Korea, which we therefore aimed to investigate. @*Materials and Methods@#We retrospectively identified 140 adult patients diagnosed with PM from 13 general hospitals between January 2012 and December 2015. We analyzed the clinical and microbial characteristics of community-onset PM and compared them with communityacquired (CA) and healthcare-associated (HCA) PM. @*Results@#One hundred eleven organisms were isolated from 96 (68.6%) patients with PM.Staphylococcus aureus (38 patients) was the most common pathogen, followed by streptococci (24 patients), and enteric Gram-negative organisms (27 patients). Methicillin-resistant S.aureus (MRSA) was identified in four (2.9%) patients and in-hospital mortality reached 8.6% (12/140). Enterococci isolates were identified in the HCA PM subgroup only The proportion of MRSA isolates was not comparable between CA and HCA PM subgroups. In the 83 patients with PM infected by monomicrobial pathogens, isolates of Gram-negative organisms were more commonly found in HCA PM subgroup than in CA PM subgroup (47.6% [10/21] of patients with HCA PM vs. 20.7% [12/58] of patients with CA PM; P = 0.01). @*Conclusion@#Gram-positive cocci such as S. aureus and streptococci were dominant etiologies in community-onset PM, whereas MRSA appears to an uncommon causative organism of PM in Korea. Enteric Gram-negative organisms should also be considered as major etiologies, especially in HCA PM patient population in Korea.
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Background@#Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) are highly drug-resistant pathogens. Screening the contacts of newly-identified CPE patients is crucial for nosocomial transmission control. We evaluated the acquisition rate of CPE in close contacts as a function of CPE genotype. @*Materials and Methods@#This study was conducted in Asan Medical Center, a 2,700-bed, tertiary teaching hospital in Seoul, Korea, between November 2010 and October 2017. Index cases were defined as patients with positive tests for CPE from any infected or colonized site during hospitalization who had no direct epidemiologic linkage with existing CPE patients; close contact patients were defined as those whose hospital stay overlapped with the stay of an index case for at least one day and who occupied the same room or intensive care unit (ICU). Secondary patients were defined as those who produced positive CPE culture isolates from surveillance cultures that had the same CPE enzyme as that of the index case patients. @*Results@#A total of 211 index case patients and 2,689 corresponding contact patients were identified. Of the contact patients, 1,369 (50.9%) including 649 New-Delhi metallo-betalactamase-1 (NDM-1) and 448 Klebsiella pneumoniae carbaepenamse (KPC)-producing CPE exposures were screened, and 44 secondary patients (3.2%; 95% confidence interval 2.3 -4.3%) were positive for NDM-1-producing CPE (16 patients) and KPC-producing (24 patients) CPE. The CPE acquisition rate (5.4%) for KPC-producing CPE exposures was significantly higher than that for NDM-1 exposures (2.7%) (P = 0.01). @*Conclusion@#The CPE acquisition rate was 3.2% among close contacts sharing a multi-patient room, with about a two-fold higher risk of KPC-producing CPE than NDM-1-producing CPE.
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Background/Aims@#We evaluated the usefulness in kidney transplant (KT) candidates of cytomegalovirus (CMV)-specific enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assays for predicting the development of post-transplant CMV infections. @*Methods@#All adult recipients admitted for living-donor KT between March 2014 and March 2015 were prospectively enrolled except donor CMV-seropositive and recipient seronegative (D+/R–) recipients. All the enrolled patients underwent CMV-specific ELISPOT assays before transplant, and a researcher blinded to the results of these assays examined the patients for CMV infection at least 6 months post-transplant. @*Results@#Of 133 KT recipients, 44 (33%) developed CMV infections. When we used the cut-off determined by receiver operator characteristic curve, 16 of the 34 patients (47%) with negative pp65-specific ELISPOT results (< 11 spots/200,000 cells) developed CMV infections, whereas 28 of the 99 patients (39%) with positive pp65-specific ELISPOT results at baseline (≥ 11 spots/200,000 cells) developed CMV infections after KT (p = 0.02). Based on the multivariable Cox regression model, negative pp65-specific ELISPOT assay results was an independent risk factor for CMV infection (adjusted hazard ratio [AHR], 1.87; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01 to 3.46; p = 0.047) as well as age (AHR, 1.05; 95% CI, 1.01 to 1.08; p = 0.007). @*Conclusions@#Pre-transplant CMV-specific ELISPOT assay appears to predict the development of CMV infections after KT in recipients at moderate risk such as CMV-seropositive recipients (Clinical Trial Registration Number NCT 02025335).
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BACKGROUND/AIMS: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (MRSAB) is a major bloodstream infection with a high mortality rate. Identification of factors associated with early mortality in MRSAB patients would be useful for predicting prognosis and developing new therapeutic options. METHODS: A prospective cohort of MRSAB patients was examined between August 2008 and June 2011. Early and late mortality was defined as death within 2 and 28 days of blood culture, respectively. The clinical and microbiological characteristics in the early and late mortality and survival groups were compared. Risk factors associated with severe sepsis or septic shock were also investigated. RESULTS: A total of 385 adult MRSAB patients whose S. aureus isolates were available were enrolled; of these patients, 25 patients (6.5%) and 50 (13%) died early and late, respectively. Compared with both the late-mortality group and the survival group, severe sepsis or septic shock was a statistically significant independent risk factor associated with early mortality. Rapidly or ultimately fatal McCabe and Jackson classification (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.94; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.25 to 3.02) and pneumonia (aOR, 2.04; 95% CI, 1.03 to 4.02) were independently associated with severe sepsis or septic shock. A vancomycin minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) ≥ 1.5 μg/mL was associated with a reduced incidence of severe sepsis or septic shock (aOR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.34 to 0.84). CONCLUSIONS: Severity of illness seems to be the most important risk factor associated with early mortality in MRSAB. Although vancomycin MIC was not independently associated with early mortality, reduced vancomycin susceptibility appears to be linked to reduced disease severity.
Subject(s)
Adult , Humans , Bacteremia , Classification , Cohort Studies , Incidence , Methicillin Resistance , Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus , Microbial Sensitivity Tests , Mortality , Odds Ratio , Pneumonia , Prognosis , Prospective Studies , Risk Factors , Sepsis , Shock, Septic , VancomycinABSTRACT
With progress in sensors and communication technologies, the range of sleep monitoring is extending from professional clinics into our usual home environments. Information from conventional overnight polysomnographic recordings can be derived from much simpler devices and methods. The gold standard of sleep monitoring is laboratory polysomnography, which classifi es brain states based mainly on EEGs. Single-channel EEGs have been used for sleep stage scoring with accuracies of 84.9%. Actigraphy can estimate sleep effi ciency with an accuracy of 86.0%. Sleep scoring based on respiratory dynamics provides accuracies of 89.2% and 70.9% for identifying sleep stages and sleep effi ciency, respectively, and a correlation coeffi cient of 0.94 for apnea–hypopnea detection. Modulation of autonomic balance during the sleep stages are well recognized and widely used for simpler sleep scoring and sleep parameter estimation. This modulation can be recorded by several types of cardiovascular measurements, including ECG, PPG, BCG, and PAT, and the results showed accuracies up to 96.5% and 92.5% for sleep effi ciency and OSA severity detection, respectively. Instead of using recordings for the entire night, less than 5 min ECG recordings have used for sleep effi ciency and AHI estimation and resulted in high correlations of 0.94 and 0.99, respectively. These methods are based on their own models that relate sleep dynamics with a limited number of biological signals. Parameters representing sleep quality and disturbed breathing are estimated with high accuracies that are close to the results obtained by polysomnography. These unconstrained technologies, making sleep monitoring easier and simpler, will enhance qualities of life by expanding the range of ubiquitous healthcare.
Subject(s)
Actigraphy , Brain , Delivery of Health Care , Electrocardiography , Electroencephalography , Mycobacterium bovis , Polysomnography , Respiration , Sleep StagesABSTRACT
The prevalence of human taeniasis has decreased in Korea. The stool egg positive proportion decreased from 1.9% in 1971 to 0% in 2004 in nationwide surveys. The neurocysticercosis (NCC) is also presumed to decrease. However, detailed information regarding the recent status of NCC in Korea is lacking. We retrospectively reviewed NCC cases from 1990 to 2016 at Asan Medical Center, a 2700-bed tertiary referral hospital in Korea. We identified patients based on clinical symptoms, brain imaging, pathology and serological assay. The cases were classified as parenchymal, extraparenchymal, and mixed NCC. Eighty-one patients were included in the analysis. The mean age was 54.5 years, and 79.0% were male. The number of NCC cases was highest from 1995 to 1999, and continuously decreased thereafter. Forty (49.4%) patients had parenchymal NCC, while 25 (30.9%) patients had extraparenchymal NCC, and 16 (19.8%) patients had mixed NCC. The seizure and headache were most common symptom of parenchymal NCC and extraparenchymal NCC respectively. Hydrocephalus was more common in extraparenchymal NCC, and patients with extraparenchymal NCC were more likely to require a ventriculoperitoneal shunt. Cases of NCC are decreasing accordingly with human taeniasis and lesion location was the most important determinant of clinical presentation and outcome of NCC in Korea.