Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii Outbreak in a COVID-19 Isolation Ward and Successful Outbreak Control with Infection Control Measures.

BACKGROUND: Even amid the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic, the spread of multidrug-resistant bacteria and infection control are still important tasks. After recognizing the carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) outbreak that occurred in the isolation room for COVID-19, we would like to introduce what infection control measures were implemented to eradicate it. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All COVID-19 patients with CRAB in any specimen admitted to the COVID-19 isolation ward of the tertiary hospital in South Korea from October to November 2021 were analyzed. RESULTS: During the outbreak, 23 patients with COVID-19 and CRAB infections were identified. The index case was an 85-year-old female referred from a long-term care facility. CRAB was identified in sputum culture in most patients (91.3%). The CRAB outbreak occurred mainly in the rooms around the index case. Environmental cultures on the floor, air inlet, air outlet, and window frame of the rooms were performed. The antimicrobial resistance patterns of CRAB from patients and the environment were identical; whole-genome sequencing analyses revealed isolated clonality. Infection control measures with enhanced environmental cleaning using 1,000 ppm sodium hypochlorite and phenolic compounds, enhanced hand hygiene, additional education, and mandatory additional gowning and gloving of COVID-19 personal protective equipment (PPE) were applied on 29 October. No CRAB infection cases occurred from 2 November for two weeks. CONCLUSION: In addition to applying PPE and COVID-19 precautions in COVID-19 isolation wards, adhering to strict contact precautions along with environmental control can help prevent the spread of multidrug-resistant bacteria.

Pentraxin 3 as an Immune Recovery Marker in HIV Infection After Combination Antiretroviral Therapy.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection causes chronic inflammation in affected individuals. Chronic inflammation may hinder immunological recovery. Treatment with combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) is insufficient to reduce inflammation. Pentraxin 3 (PTX3) is an inflammatory marker associated with cardiovascular disease, malignancy, and acute infection. This study evaluated the usefulness of serum PTX3 levels in measuring inflammation levels, which may be associated with the probability of immune recovery in people living with HIV (PLH). In this single-center prospective study, we measured serum PTX3 levels in PLH treated with cART. Clinical information on HIV status, type of cART administered, and CD4+ and CD8+ T cell counts at the initial diagnosis of HIV and at study enrollment was obtained from each participant. PLH were divided into good and poor responder groups according to their CD4+ T cell counts at enrollment. A total of 198 PLH were enrolled in this study. A total of 175 and 23 participants were assigned to the good and poor responder groups, respectively. The poor responder group exhibited higher PTX3 levels (0.53 ng/mL vs. 1.26 ng/mL, p = .032). Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that low body mass index [odds ratio (OR) = 0.8, p = .010], low initial CD4+ T cell counts at diagnosis (OR = 0.994, p = .001), and high PTX3 levels (OR = 1.545, p = .006) are clinical factors that were significantly associated with poor immune recovery in PLH. According to the Youden index, PTX3 levels >1.25 ng/mL are associated with poor immune recovery. PLH should be clinically, virologically, and immunologically evaluated. Serum PTX level is a useful inflammatory marker associated with immune recovery in PLH treated with cART.

Frequency and Risk Factor Analysis for Metronidazole-Associated Neurologic Adverse Events.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the risk factors and frequency of metronidazole-associated neurological adverse events. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the risk factors and frequency of metronidazole-associated neurological adverse events. DESIGN: This retrospective study contained two parts. First, we investigated metronidazole treatment-associated neurologic adverse events by performing a population-based cohort study using the Korea Adverse Event Reporting System (KAERS) database from January 2011 to December 2020. Second, we conducted a matched case-control study based on a retrospective cohort of patients treated with metronidazole between January 2006 and July 2021 at a tertiary hospital in South Korea. The data analysis was performed from August 2021 to April 2022. PARTICIPANTS: In the case-control study, case patients were defined as those diagnosed with metronidazole-associated encephalopathy or peripheral neuropathy during the study period with causal assessment based on the clinical diagnoses and findings from associated tests. In a ratio of 1:3, case patients were compared to a control group of patients prescribed metronidazole without neurologic adverse events matched for age and cumulative dose of metronidazole. MAIN MEASURES: Frequency and risk factors for metronidazole-associated neurological adverse events. KEY RESULTS: Overall, 2,309 cases of neurologic adverse events were reported to the KAERS from 2011 to 2020, and the number of reported neurological adverse events showed an increasing trend. Further, 92,838 patients were prescribed metronidazole during the study period at the Severance Hospital; 54 patients were diagnosed with metronidazole-associated encephalopathy or peripheral neuropathy, 40 with central and 28 with peripheral nervous system adverse events. Liver cirrhosis, chronic kidney disease, intravenous administration, and lower body weight were identified as risk factors for these adverse events. CONCLUSIONS: The number of reported metronidazole-associated neurological adverse events are increasing. Prolonged metronidazole treatment in patients with the aforementioned factors requires careful examination for neurological adverse events.

Prevalence, clinical significance, and persistence of autoantibodies in COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: Interest in complications and sequelae following Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is increasing. Several articles have reported COVID-19-associated autoimmune diseases and the association between autoantibodies and the severity of COVID-19. Thromboembolic complications are frequent in patients with COVID-19, and the anti-phospholipid antibodies (aPL) is frequently detected. We conducted this study to investigate the prevalence, clinical significance, and persistence of anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA) and aPLs in COVID-19. METHODS: We enrolled patients diagnosed with COVID-19 with oxygen demand and admitted to a tertiary hospital in South Korea between July 2020 and March 2022. ANA and aPLs levels were assessed using an immunoassay kit. RESULTS: A total of 248 patients were enrolled in the study. Among them, five patients were ANA-positive, and 41 were aPL-positive (IgM anti-cardiolipin (aCL) antibody in seven patients, IgG aCL in seven patients, IgM anti-ß2Glycoprotein1 antibody (aß2-GPI) in 32 patients, and IgG aß2-GPI in one patient). Two of five ANA-positive patients, 13 of 32 IgM aß2-GPI-positive patients, 5 of 7 IgM aCL-positive patients, and 2 of 7 IgG aCL-positive patients were eligible for follow-up analysis, and 100%, 69.2%, 40%, and 50% of the patients remained autoantibody-positive, respectively. There were no differences in clinical outcomes between the autoantibody-positive and autoantibody-negative groups, except for the IgG aCL group showing a tendency for worse outcomes. CONCLUSION: A significant proportion of COVID-19 patients with oxygen demand were autoantibody-positive, and autoantibodies persisted for several months after symptom onset. Whether these autoantibodies are related to long-term sequelae in COVID-19 patients requires further investigation.

Utility of Plasma Microbial Cell-Free DNA Whole-Genome Sequencing for Diagnosis of Invasive Aspergillosis in Patients With Hematologic Malignancy or COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: We evaluated the clinical accuracy and utility of whole-genome sequencing (WGS) of plasma microbial cell-free DNA (cfDNA) as a novel noninvasive method in diagnosing invasive aspergillosis (IA) in patients with hematologic malignancy (HM) or coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). METHODS: Adults with HM or COVID-19 and suspected IA were recruited. IA cases were retrospectively diagnosed according to EORTC/MSG definitions and ECMM/ISHAM criteria for HM and COVID-19 patients, respectively. The results of cfDNA WGS were compared with the conventional diagnosis. RESULTS: Microbial cfDNA WGS was performed 53 times from 41 participants (19 from HM, 16 from COVID-19, and 7 from the control group). In participants with HM, Aspergillus cfDNA was detected in 100% of proven IA and 91.7% of probable IA cases. In participants with COVID-19, 50.0% of probable IA were positive for Aspergillus in cfDNA WGS. Concordance between Aspergillus cfDNA detection and proven/probable IA conventional diagnosis was significantly higher in participants with HM than in those with COVID-19. IA diagnosed using EORTC/MGS definitions showed significantly high concordance between Aspergillus cfDNA detection and proven/probable IA. CONCLUSIONS: Aspergillus cfDNA detection strongly correlated with proven/probable IA diagnosed using EORTC/MSG definitions and could be used as an additional diagnostic tool for IA.

Risk factors of pneumothorax and pneumomediastinum in COVID-19: a matched case-control study.

BACKGROUND: During the novel coronavirus disease-2019 pandemic, a considerable number of pneumothorax (PNX)/pneumomediastinum (PNM) associated with COVID-19 have been reported, and the incidence is higher in critically ill patients. Despite using a protective ventilation strategy, PNX/PNM still occurs in patients on invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV). This matched case-control study aims to identify the risk factors and clinical characteristics of PNX/PNM in COVID-19. METHODS: This retrospective study enrolled adult patients with COVID-19, admitted to a critical care unit from March 1, 2020, to January 31, 2022. COVID-19 patients with PNX/PNM were compared, in a 1-2 ratio, to COVID-19 patients without PNX/PNM, matched for age, gender, and worst National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases ordinal scale. Conditional logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the risk factors for PNX/PNM in COVID-19. RESULTS: 427 patients with COVID-19 were admitted during the period, and 24 patients were diagnosed with PNX/PNM. Body mass index (BMI) was significantly lower in the case group (22.8 kg/m2 and 24.7 kg/m2; P = 0.048). BMI was statistically significant risk factor for PNX/PNM in univariate conditional logistic regression analysis [odds ratio (OR), 0.85; confidence interval (CI), 0.72-0.996; P = 0.044]. For patients on IMV support, univariate conditional logistic regression analysis showed the statistical significance of the duration from symptom onset to intubation (OR, 1.14; CI, 1.006-1.293; P = 0.041). CONCLUSIONS: Higher BMI tended to show a protective effect against PNX/PNM due to COVID-19 and delayed application of IMV might be a contributive factor for this complication.

Real-World Effectiveness, Tolerability, and Safety of Dolutegravir/Lamivudine in Korea.

Most studies on the real-world effectiveness and safety of dolutegravir/lamivudine (DTG/3TC) have been conducted in Western countries, and Asian reports are lacking. We evaluated the effectiveness and safety of DTG/3TC in Korean adult people living with HIV (PLWH). This retrospective study was conducted from July 2020 to July 2022 at a tertiary hospital in Korea. Those who were followed up for more than 12 months were included. We analyzed the baseline characteristics, effectiveness, resistant profiles, body weights, metabolic parameters, and safety of DTG/3TC treatment in 151 PLWH, dividing them into the treatment-naïve group and the switching group. The median DTG/3TC treatment durations in the treatment-naïve and switching groups were 507.5 and 525.0 days. In the treatment-naïve group, the viral RNA titer was undetectable at 6 and 12 months in 95% of patients. In the switching group, virologic suppression was well-maintained. Meanwhile, the creatinine levels were slightly elevated in both groups compared to baseline. Five participants complained of mild side effects, such as indigestion, constipation, diarrhea, and fatigue. However, no patient stopped treatment during the follow-up period. Since there was no virological failure or serious complications observed in this study, DTG/3TC may be a good treatment option for PLWH in Korea.

Out-of-Hospital Cohort Treatment of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Patients with Mild Symptoms in Korea: an Experience from a Single Community Treatment Center.

The outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused a worldwide pandemic. Less than 6 weeks after the first confirmed cases in Korea, the patient number exceeded 5,000, which overcrowded limited hospital resources and forced confirmed patients to stay at home. To allocate medical resources efficiently, Korea implemented a novel institution for the purpose of treating patients with cohort isolation out of hospital, namely the Community Treatment Center (CTC). Herein, we report results of the initial management of patients at one of the largest CTC in Korea. A total of 309 patients were admitted to our CTC. During the first two weeks, 7 patients were transferred to the hospital because of symptom aggravation and 107 patients were discharged without any complication. Although it is a novel concept and may have some limitations, CTC may be a very cost-effective and resource-saving strategy in managing massive cases of COVID-19 or other emerging infectious diseases.