Surveillance of invasive pneumococcal disease in Spain exploring the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic (2019-2023).

OBJECTIVES: Dynamic trends of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) including the evolution of prevalent serotypes are very useful to evaluate the impact of current and future pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) and the rise of non-vaccine serotypes. In this study, we include epidemiological patterns of S. pneumoniae before and after COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: We characterized all national IPD isolates from children and adults received at the Spanish Pneumococcal Reference Laboratory during 2019-2023. RESULTS: In the first pandemic year 2020, we found a general reduction in IPD cases across all age groups, followed by a partial resurgence in children in 2021 but not in adults. By 2022, IPD cases in children had returned to pre-pandemic levels, and partially in adults. In 2023, IPD rates surpassed those of the last pre-pandemic year. Notably, the emergence of serotype 3 is of significant concern, becoming the leading cause of IPD in both pediatric and adult populations over the last two years (2022-2023). Increase of serotype 4 in young adults occurred in the last epidemiological years. CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic led to a temporary decline in all IPD cases during 2020 attributable to non-pharmaceutical interventions followed by a subsequent rise. Employing PCVs with broader coverage and/or enhanced immunogenicity may be critical to mitigate the marked increase of IPD.

Fostamatinib effectiveness and safety for immune thrombocytopenia in clinical practice.

Fostamatinib, a recently approved syk inhibitor used in adult primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), has been shown to be safe and effective in this disorder. However, clinical trial results may not be similarly reproduced in clinical practice. Here 138 ITP patients (both primary and secondary) from 42 Spanish centers who had been treated with fostamatinib were evaluated prospectively and retrospectively. The median age of our cohort (55.8% women) was 66 years (interquartile range, IQR, 56-80 years). The median time since ITP diagnosis at fostamatinib initiation was 51 months (IQR, 10-166 months). The median number of therapies prior to fostamatinib initiation was 4 (IQR, 2-5), including eltrombopag (76.1%), romiplostim (57.2%) and intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG) (44.2%). Fifty-eight patients (42.0%) had signs/symptoms of bleeding in the month prior to treatment initiation. 79.0% of patients responded to fostamatinib with 53.6% complete responses (platelet count > 100 x 109 /L). Eighty-three patients (60.1%) received fostamatinib monotherapy achieving a high response rate (85.4%). The proportion of time in response during the 27-month period examined was 83.3%. The median time to platelet response was 11 days (IQR, 7-21 days). Sixty-seven patients (48.5%) experienced adverse events, mainly grade 1-2, the commonest of which were diarrhea (n = 28) and hypertension (n = 21). One patient had deep venous thrombosis and one patient developed acute myocardial infarction. Fostamatinib was shown to be effective with good safety profile in patients with primary and secondary ITP across a wide age spectrum in this real-world study.

Effect of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines and SARS-CoV-2 on antimicrobial resistance and the emergence of Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes with reduced susceptibility in Spain, 2004-20: a national surveillance study.

BACKGROUND: Epidemiological studies are necessary to explore the effect of current pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) against antibiotic resistance, including the rise of non-vaccine serotypes that are resistant to antibiotics. Hence, epidemiological changes in the antimicrobial pattern of Streptococcus pneumoniae before and during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic were studied. METHODS: In this national surveillance study, we characterised the antimicrobial susceptibility to a panel of antibiotics in 3017 pneumococcal clinical isolates with reduced susceptibility to penicillin during 2004-20 in Spain. This study covered the early and late PCV7 periods; the early, middle, and late PCV13 periods; and the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, to evaluate the contribution of PCVs and the pandemic to the emergence of non-vaccine serotypes associated with antibiotic resistance. FINDINGS: Serotypes included in PCV7 and PCV13 showed a decline after the introduction of PCVs in Spain. However, an increase in non-PCV13 serotypes (mainly 11A, 24F, and 23B) that were not susceptible to penicillin promptly appeared. A rise in the proportion of pneumococcal strains with reduced susceptibility to ß-lactams and erythromycin was observed in 2020, coinciding with the emergence of SARS-CoV-2. Cefditoren was the ß-lactam with the lowest minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC)50 or MIC90 values, and had the highest proportion of susceptible strains throughout 2004-20. INTERPRETATION: The increase in non-PCV13 serotypes associated with antibiotic resistance is concerning, especially the increase of penicillin resistance linked to serotypes 11A and 24F. The future use of PCVs with an increasingly broad spectrum (such as PCV20, which includes serotype 11A) could reduce the impact of antibiotic resistance for non-PCV13 serotypes. The use of antibiotics to prevent co-infections in patients with COVID-19 might have affected the increased proportion of pneumococcal-resistant strains. Cefotaxime as a parenteral option, and cefditoren as an oral choice, were the antibiotics with the highest activity against non-PCV20 serotypes. FUNDING: The Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and Meiji-Pharma Spain. TRANSLATION: For the Spanish translation of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section.

Clearance of mixed biofilms of Streptococcus pneumoniae and methicillin-susceptible/resistant Staphylococcus aureus by antioxidants N-acetyl-L-cysteine and cysteamine.

Biofilm-associated infections are of great concern because they are associated with antibiotic resistance and immune evasion. Co-colonization by Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae is possible and a threat in clinical practice. We investigated the interaction between S. aureus and S. pneumoniae in mixed biofilms and tested new antibiofilm therapies with antioxidants N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) and cysteamine (Cys). We developed two in vitro S. aureus-S. pneumoniae mixed biofilms in 96-well polystyrene microtiter plates and we treated in vitro biofilms with Cys and NAC analyzing their effect by CV staining and viable plate counting. S. pneumoniae needed a higher proportion of cells in the inoculum and planktonic culture to reach a similar population rate in the mixed biofilm. We demonstrated the effect of Cys in preventing S. aureus biofilms and S. aureus-S. pneumoniae mixed biofilms. Moreover, administration of 5 mg/ml of NAC nearly eradicated the S. pneumoniae population and killed nearly 94% of MSSA cells and 99% of MRSA cells in the mixed biofilms. The methicillin resistance background did not change the antioxidants effect in S. aureus. These results identify NAC and Cys as promising repurposed drug candidates for the prevention and treatment of mixed biofilms by S. pneumoniae and S. aureus.

Elección de acceso vascular en un paciente tetrapléjico en hemodiálisis: un obstáculo a superar / Choice of vascular access in a tetraplegic patient on hemodialysis: an obstacle to overcome

Los accesos vasculares son uno de los pilares fundamentales de la hemodiálisis. El acceso ideal debe proporcionar un flujo adecuado de sangre, ser de larga duración, permitir un abordaje fácil y sin complicaciones. La elección del acceso debe ser individualizada para cada paciente, según diversos aspectos como historia clínica, mapa vascular o preferencias del paciente. La fístula arteriovenosa autóloga es el acceso que más se asemeja a las cualidades del acceso ideal, siendo acceso de primera elección. Se restringen los catéteres venosos centrales tunelizados para situaciones con imposibilidad de conseguir accesos de primera elección. El objetivo de este artículo es mostrar la experiencia de un paciente tetrapléjico en HD, en la búsqueda y elección del acceso vascular. La elección del acceso más adecuado en casos como este tiene importantes connotaciones añadidas, por lo que la decisión no siempre es fácil. Por un lado, los accesos de primera elección pueden limitar o condicionar el quehacer diario de pacientes tetrapléjicos/parapléjicos, y, por otro lado, los catéteres elevan sustancialmente el riesgo de infecciones y la morbimortalidad (AU)

Vascular accesses are one of the mainstays of hemodialysis. The ideal access should provide an adequate blood flow, be long-lasting, allow easy and uncomplicated handling. The choice of access should be individualized for each patient, according to various aspects such as clinical history, vascular map or patient preferences. Autologous arteriovenous fistula is the access that most resembles the qualities of ideal access, being the first-line access. Tunneled central venous catheters are restricted for situations with inability to achieve first-line access. The aim of this article is to show the experience of a tetraplegic patient in HD, in the search and selection of his vascular access. The choice of the most appropriate access in such cases has important added connotations, so the decision is not always easy. On the one hand, the first-line access may limit or condition the daily work of tetraplegic / paraplegic patients, and, on the other hand, catheters substantially increase the risk of infections and morbimortality (AU)

Avanzando en la gestión y seguridad terapéutica: recuento de comprimidos / No disponible

No disponible

[Necrotizing enterocolitis in the preterm infant: etiopathogenic considerations]. / Enterocolite necrotizzante nel neonato pretermine: considerazioni eziopatogenetiche.

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NE) represents the most frequent gastrointestinal emergency encountered in neonatal intensive care units. This necrotic-inflammatory bowel disease affects primarily premature patients and it is recorded as an important cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. The NE aetiology seems to be multifactorial: prematurity, enteral feeding, hypoxia and micro-organisms toxicity are registered as the most important risk factors, able to trigger the phlogistic and necrotic way at the basis of necrotizing enterocolitis. Despite the NE first report was in the past century, the correct pathogenic sequence of this neonatal disease is still hypothetical.