Cattle-compost-soil: The transfer of antibiotic resistance in livestock agriculture.

Antibiotic resistance is a major global health threat. Agricultural use of antibiotics is considered to be a main contributor to the issue, influencing both animals and humans as defined by the One Health approach. The purpose of the present study was to determine the abundance of antibiotic-resistant bacterial populations and the overall bacterial diversity of cattle farm soils that have been treated with animal manure compost. Soil and manure samples were collected from different sites at Tullimba farm, NSW. Cultures were grown from these samples in the presence of 11 commonly used antibiotics and antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) colonies were identified. Soil and manure bacterial diversity was also determined using 16S ribosomal RNA next-generation sequencing. Results showed that ARB abundance was greatest in fresh manure and significantly lower in composted manure. However, the application of composted manure on paddock soil led to a significant increase in soil ARB abundance. Of the antibiotics tested, the number of ARB in each sample was greatest for antibiotics that inhibited the bacterial cell wall and protein synthesis. Collectively, these results suggest that the transfer of antibiotic resistance from composted animal manure to soil may not be solely mediated through the application of live bacteria and highlight the need for further research into the mechanism of antibiotic resistance transfer.

Time for a do-not-resuscitate policy? Outcomes of inpatient cardiopulmonary resuscitation in very old patients in Bahrain.

Background: Globally, do-not-resuscitate orders have been used for many years. Due to the lack of a do-not-resuscitate policy, full resuscitative measures including cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) are applied for all patients admitted to our institution regardless of prognosis. Aims: To observe the outcomes of very old patients who underwent CPR, including mortality rate and length of stay. This will allow discussion of the need to implement a do-not-resuscitate policy in Bahrain, and its associated challenges. Methods: This was a retrospective observational study conducted in a 1200-bed tertiary hospital in Bahrain. We included patients aged ≥ 80 years admitted under general medicine who underwent CPR between January and July 2018. Medical records were reviewed for patients' characteristics and outcomes. Results: Ninety patients were included in the study with an average age of 87.91 (6.27) years. The inhospital mortality rate was 96.67%, and 57.78% of patients died immediately after the first CPR attempt and 38.89% died during subsequent attempts. The survival rate at 1-year follow-up was only 1.11%. Conclusion: Survival of very old patients after cardiopulmonary arrest is low, and survival at discharge is even lower. The increase in the very old population will lead to a higher demand for critical care resources given the absence of a do-not-resuscitate policy. Our results demonstrate that implementing such a policy at our institution is crucial to reduce the number of futile CPR attempts, minimizing patients' suffering, and optimizing resource allocation.

Characteristics and outcomes of mechanically ventilated elderly patients in the absence of an end-of-life care policy: a retrospective study from Bahrain.

BACKGROUND: Globally, the percentage of elderly patients has been increasing, leading to a higher demand for healthcare resources and intensive care. Bahrain has a majority Muslim population and Islam governs most policies, including end-of-life care. All patients at our institute receive full resuscitative measures regardless of the prognosis, leading to a high number of mechanically ventilated patients. OBJECTIVES: Assess characteristics, outcomes, theoretical costs, and use of antibiotics in critically ill elderly patients requiring mechanical ventilation. DESIGN: Retrospective. SETTING: Intensive care unit and general ward of a tertiary medical care center. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We studied all elderly patients (≥60 years old) admitted under general medicine in the period of January to June 2018 who needed intensive care and were intubated. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The duration of mechanical ventilation, theoretical costs, antibiotic usage. SAMPLE SIZE: 140 patients. RESULTS: Of 140 patients, 136 died (97%) and half of the deaths (n=69, 50.7%) occurred within the first 24 hours of intubation. Sixty-nine (79.3%) of the patients on short-term ventilation (≤96 hours) died within 24 hours of intubation, while the four survivors were on long-term ventilation (>96 hours) (P<.001). All the nonsurviving patients (n=136) were on antimicrobial therapy, mostly for hospital-acquired infections. The median (interquartile range) APACHE II score was relatively high at 28.0 (8.0) with significantly higher scores in the early mortality group compared to the late mortality group (30 [10] vs 26 [7], P=.013) and higher scores in the short-term vs long-term ventilation group (29 [10] vs 26 [7], P=.029). The median theoretical cost per patient in the early and late mortality groups was USD 10 731 and USD 30 660, respectively (P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: Given that less than 3% of patients had a favorable outcome, 50% of the cases died within 24 hours after intubation, hospital costs and antimicrobial use were high, the current policy of "full resuscitative measures for all" should be revised. We suggest implementing an end-of-life care policy, since the goal of resuscitation is to reverse premature death, not prolong the dying process. LIMITATIONS: Small sample size and absence of long-term follow-up. Theoretical costs were used as no direct calculated costs were available in our hospital. CONFLICT OF INTEREST: None.