ABSTRACT
Background: The study aimed to estimate the duration of viral shedding (DVS) in patients with confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), investigated the factors affecting that duration, and identified the redetectable positive (RP) cases in the recovered COVID-19 patients in Prince Sultan Military Medical City (PSMMC). Methods: The study was a retrospective record base design in the PSMMC that included 171 confirmed COVID-19 patients from 15 March to 31 May 2020. Their clinical characteristics and laboratory findings were retrieved and reviewed based on the PSMMC COVID-19 database and the Ministry of Health (MOH) Health Electronic Surveillance Network. Data analysis used the SPSS software package to measure the DVS, explore its potential factors, and identify the RP cases. The data presented as frequency distribution tables, medians, and interquartile range (IQR). Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests compared the medians to explore the significant variables that affect DVS. Results: The median DVS was 11 days, IQR was 7 to 15 days, and statistically significant longer the patient presented with fever (P = 0.025), among health care workers (HCWs) (P = 0.020), and the age group above 65 (P = 0.039). Overall, 13 patients (7.6%) were RP, statistically significantly higher among the contacts to confirmed COVID-19 cases. Conclusions: The DVS in PSMMC COVID-19 patients is comparable to the isolation period approved by MOH. Fever was a risk factor for a prolonged DVS, advised an extended follow-up period for these patients. RP cases were significantly higher among the contacts to COVID-19 cases than non-contacts. The study suggests future comprehensive research on the RP characteristics.
ABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to describe the epidemiological data, clinical features and outcome of patients with Elizabethkingia meningoseptica bacteraemia and to report the antimicrobial susceptibility pattern. All patients with E. meningoseptica bacteraemia were retrospectively recruited at the Prince Sultan Military Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, between June 2013 and May 2019. Epidemiological data, clinical features and patient outcome, as well as antimicrobial susceptibilities of E. meningoseptica, were collected from patient electronic medical records. Twelve patients (eight male and four female) with E. meningoseptica bacteraemia were included in the study. Eleven patients acquired the infection from the hospital, five of whom were in the intensive care unit. All patients had one or more underlying medical conditions or interventions, including chronic illness (eight cases), major surgery (three cases), pulmonary fibrosis (one case), sickle-cell anaemia (one case) and end-stage renal disease (one patient on haemodialysis). Eleven patients had a prolonged stay in the hospital (≥3 months), and nine patients had received prolonged antibiotic therapy. Three patients had polymicrobial bacteraemia, including Serratia marcescens (two cases) and Enterococcus faecalis (one case). All E. meningoseptica isolates were susceptible to trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, piperacillin/tazobactam and moxifloxacin but showed a high degree of resistance to ß-lactam antibiotics, aminoglycosides and carbapenems. These findings have important implications for the clinician selecting optimal antimicrobial regimens for patients with risk factors for E. meningoseptica infection.
