Pulmonary amyloidosis as the presenting finding in a patient with multiple myeloma.

We present the case of a 58-year-old man who presented with dyspnea, cough, and weight loss and was ultimately diagnosed with pulmonary amyloidosis and multiple myeloma. Diagnosis was achieved with a lung biopsy which showed AL amyloid deposits involving the interstitium, vessels, and airway. He was treated with cyclophosphamide, bortezomib, and dexamethasone but died prior to completing treatment. His case is unique for the amyloid deposition found in all three lung compartments with clear pathophysiologic manifestations of each compartment, and the rapid disease progression that led to respiratory failure and death.

Thiamine Supplementation in Patients With Alcohol Use Disorder Presenting With Acute Critical Illness : A Nationwide Retrospective Observational Study.

BACKGROUND: Thiamine supplementation is recommended for patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD). The authors hypothesize that critically ill patients with AUD are commonly not given thiamine supplementation. OBJECTIVE: To describe thiamine supplementation incidence in patients with AUD and various critical illnesses (alcohol withdrawal, septic shock, traumatic brain injury [TBI], and diabetic ketoacidosis [DKA]) in the United States. DESIGN: Retrospective observational study. SETTING: Cerner Health Facts database. PATIENTS: Adult patients with a diagnosis of AUD who were admitted to the intensive care unit with alcohol withdrawal, septic shock, TBI, or DKA between 2010 and 2017. MEASUREMENTS: Incidence and predicted probability of thiamine supplementation in alcohol withdrawal and other critical illnesses. RESULTS: The study included 14 998 patients with AUD. Mean age was 52.2 years, 77% of participants were male, and in-hospital mortality was 9%. Overall, 7689 patients (51%) received thiamine supplementation. The incidence of thiamine supplementation was 59% for alcohol withdrawal, 26% for septic shock, 41% for TBI, and 24% for DKA. Most of those receiving thiamine (n = 3957 [52%]) received it within 12 hours of presentation in the emergency department. The predominant route of thiamine administration was enteral (n = 3119 [41%]). LIMITATION: Specific dosing and duration were not completely captured. CONCLUSION: Thiamine supplementation was not provided to almost half of all patients with AUD, raising a quality-of-care issue for this cohort. Supplementation was numerically less frequent in patients with septic shock, DKA, or TBI than in those with alcohol withdrawal. These data will be important for the design of quality improvement studies in critically ill patients with AUD. PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE: National Institutes of Health.

Risk factors predicting Candida infective endocarditis in patients with candidemia.

Candida infective endocarditis (CIE) is a rare but serious complication of candidemia. Incidence and risk factors associated with CIE among candidemic patients are poorly defined from small cohorts. Identification of clinical predictors associated with this entity may guide more judicious use of cardiac imaging. We conducted a retrospective analysis of all inpatients aged ≥18 years diagnosed with candidemia at our institution. CIE was diagnosed by fulfilling two of the major Duke criteria: specifically a vegetation(s) on echocardiogram and positive blood cultures for Candida spp. We used univariable and multivariable regression analyses to identify risk factors associated with CIE. Of 1,873 patients with candidemia, 47 (2.5%) were identified to have CIE. In our multivariable logistic model, existing valvular heart disease was associated with a higher risk for CIE (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 7.66; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.95-19.84). Predictors that demonstrated a decreased risk of CIE included infection with C. glabrata (aOR, 0.17; 95% CI, 0.04-0.69), hematologic malignancy (aOR, 0.09; 95% CI, 0.01-0.68), and receipt of total parenteral nutrition (aOR, 0.38; 95% CI, 0.16-0.91). The 90-day crude mortality for CIE was 48.9%, similar to the overall non-CIE mortality of 41.9% (P = .338). We identified a set of clinical factors that can predict the presence of CIE among patient with candidemia. These findings may reduce the need for unnecessary expensive and invasive imaging studies in a subset of patients with a lower risk profile for endocarditis and alternative infection source.

Effect of infectious disease consultation on mortality and treatment of patients with candida bloodstream infections: a retrospective, cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Candida bloodstream infection is associated with high mortality. Infectious disease consultation improves outcomes in several infections, including Staphylococcus aureus and cryptococcosis, as well as multidrug-resistant organisms. We aimed to examine the association between infectious disease consultation and differences in management with mortality in candida bloodstream infections. METHODS: In this retrospective, single-centre cohort study, we reviewed the medical charts of all patients admitted to Barnes-Jewish Hospital (St Louis, MO, USA), a tertiary referral centre, aged 18 years or older with candida bloodstream infection from 2002 to 2015. We collected data for demographics, comorbidities, predisposing factors, all-cause mortality, antifungal use, central-line removal, and ophthalmological and echocardiographic evaluation to assess 90-day all-cause mortality between individuals with and without an infectious disease consultation. For the survival analysis we used Cox proportional hazards model with inverse weighting by propensity score to assess the effects of infectious disease consultation on mortality and differences in management. FINDINGS: Between Jan 1, 2002, and Dec 31, 2015, of 1794 patients assessed for eligibility, we analysed 1691 patients with candida bloodstream infection; 776 (45·9%) who had an infectious disease consultation and 915 (54·1%) who did not have an infectious disease consultation. All 1691 patients were included in the analysis. None were missing data. Most underlying comorbidities were evenly distributed between groups. 90-day mortality was lower in the infectious disease consultation group than in patients who did not receive an infectious disease consultation (29% [222/776] vs 51% [468/915]; p<0·0001). In the model with inverse weighting by the propensity score, infectious disease consultation was associated with a hazard ratio of 0·81 (95% CI 0·73-0·91; p<0·0001) for mortality. In the consultation group, median duration of antifungal therapy was longer (18 [IQR 14-35] vs 14 [6-20] days; p<0·0001) and central-line removal (587 [76%] of 776 vs 538 [59%] of 915; p<0·0001), echocardiography use (442 [57%] of 776 vs 305 [33%] of 915; p<0·0001), and ophthalmological examination (412 [53%] of 776 vs 160 [17%] of 915; p<0·0001) were more frequently done. Fewer patients in the infectious disease consultation group were not treated (13 [2%] of 776 vs 128 [14%] of 915; p<0·0001). INTERPRETATION: Patients with candida bloodstream infection receiving an infectious disease consultation have lower mortality. This finding might be attributable to these individuals receiving a higher number of non-pharmacological, evidence-based interventions and lower amounts of non-treatment. These data suggest that an infectious disease consultation should be an integral part of clinical care of patients with candida bloodstream infection. FUNDING: Astellas Global Development Pharma, Washington University Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences, and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Creation and assessment of a clinical predictive model for candidaemia in patients with candiduria.

Candidaemia is the most common clinical presentation of invasive candidiasis and is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Candiduria is a predictor for candidaemia; however, patient characteristics that are associated with concurrent candidaemia in the setting of candiduria are unclear. Identifying these characteristics could aid in the early detection of systemic disease. We performed a retrospective cohort analysis of hospitalised patients with candiduria at our institution over a 13-year period. Our evaluation of patient characteristics included demographics, comorbidities, medications, procedures, devices, vital signs and laboratory values. We developed a multivariable logistic model to identify factors associated with candidaemia in patients with candiduria. We identified 4240 patients with candiduria, 263 (6.2%) of whom had candidaemia. Predictors for increased risk of candidaemia with candiduria included hospitalisations > 12 days, central venous catheter, parenteral nutrition, haematological and gynaecological malignancy, and receipt of ß-lactam/ß-lactamase inhibitors. Vital signs and laboratory values associated with candidaemia included elevated heart rate, temperature and creatinine, along with neutropenia and neutrophilia. Factors that demonstrated a decreased risk of candidaemia included diabetes mellitus, gastrostomy and urinary catheter with antibiotic use. The c-statistic was 0.741 (95% CI, 0.710-0.772). We identified a set of clinical characteristics that can predict the presence of candidaemia with candiduria.

Creation and Assessment of a Clinical Predictive Calculator and Mortality Associated With Candida krusei Bloodstream Infections.

BACKGROUND: Candida krusei bloodstream infection (CK BSI) is associated with high mortality, but whether this is due to underlying comorbidities in affected patients or the organism itself is unknown. Identifying patient characteristics that are associated with CK BSI is crucial for clinical decision-making and prognosis. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis of hospitalized patients with Candida BSI at our institution between 2002 and 2015. Data were collected on demographics, comorbidities, medications, procedures, central lines, vital signs, and laboratory values. Multivariable logistic and Cox regression were used to identify risk factors associated with CK and mortality, respectively. RESULTS: We identified 1873 individual patients who developed Candida BSI within the study period, 59 of whom had CK BSI. CK BSI was predicted by hematologic malignancy, gastric malignancy, neutropenia, and the use of prophylactic azole antifungals, monoclonal antibodies, and ß-lactam/ß-lactamase inhibitor combinations. The C-statistic was 0.86 (95% confidence interval, 0.81-0.91). The crude mortality rates were 64.4% for CK BSI and 41.4% for non-CK BSI. Although CK was associated with higher mortality in univariable Cox regression, this relationship was no longer significant with the addition of the following confounders: lymphoma, neutropenia, glucocorticoid use, chronic liver disease, and elevated creatinine. CONCLUSIONS: Six patient comorbidities predicted the development of CK BSI with high accuracy. Although patients with CK BSI have higher crude mortality rates than patients with non-CK BSI, this difference is not significant when accounting for other patient characteristics.

Prophylactic negative-pressure wound therapy after cesarean is associated with reduced risk of surgical site infection: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to assess the effect of prophylactic negative-pressure wound therapy on surgical site infections and other wound complications in women after cesarean delivery. DATA SOURCES: We searched Ovid Medline, Embase, SCOPUS, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and ClinicalTrials.gov. STUDY ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: We included randomized controlled trials and observational studies comparing prophylactic negative-pressure wound therapy with standard wound dressing for cesarean delivery. STUDY APPRAISAL AND SYNTHESIS METHODS: The primary outcome was surgical site infection after cesarean delivery. Secondary outcomes were composite wound complications, wound dehiscence, wound seroma, endometritis, and hospital readmission. Heterogeneity was assessed using Higgin's I2. Relative risks with 95% confidence intervals were calculated using random-effects models. RESULTS: Six randomized controlled trials and 3 cohort studies in high-risk mostly obese women met inclusion criteria and were included in the meta-analysis. Six were full-text articles, 2 published abstracts, and 1 report of trial results in ClinicalTrials.gov. Studies were also heterogeneous in the patients included and type of negative-pressure wound therapy device. The risk of surgical site infection was significantly lower with the use of prophylactic negative-pressure wound therapy compared with standard wound dressing (7 studies: pooled risk ratio, 0.45; 95% confidence interval, 0.31-0.66; adjusted risk ratio, -6.0%, 95% confidence interval, -10.0% to -3.0%; number needed to treat, 17, 95% confidence interval, 10-34). There was no evidence of significant statistical heterogeneity (I2 = 9.9%) or publication bias (Egger P = .532). Of the secondary outcomes, only composite wound complications were significantly reduced in patients receiving prophylactic negative-pressure wound therapy compared with standard dressing (9 studies: pooled risk ratio, 0.68, 95% confidence interval, 0.49-0.94). CONCLUSION: Studies on the effectiveness of prophylactic negative-pressure wound therapy at cesarean delivery are heterogeneous but suggest a reduction in surgical site infection and overall wound complications. Larger definitive trials are needed to clarify the clinical utility of prophylactic negative-pressure wound therapy after cesarean delivery.

Invasive Fungal Infections Secondary to Traumatic Injury.

Invasive fungal infection (IFI) is a rare but serious complication of traumatic injury. The purpose of this article is to review the epidemiology, natural history, mycology, risk factors, diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes associated with post-traumatic IFI in military and civilian populations. The epidemiology of post-traumatic IFI is poorly characterized, but incidence appears to be rising. Patients often suffer from severe injuries and require extensive medical interventions. Fungi belonging to the order Mucorales are responsible for most post-traumatic IFI in both civilian and military populations. Risk factors differ between these cohorts but include specific injury patterns and comorbidities. Diagnosis of post-traumatic IFI typically follows positive laboratory results in the appropriate clinical context. The gold standard of treatment is surgical debridement in addition to systemic antifungal therapy. Patients with post-traumatic IFI may be at greater risk of amputation, delays in wound healing, hospital complications, and death as compared to trauma patients who do not develop IFI. More research is needed to understand the factors surrounding the development and management of post-traumatic IFI to reduce the significant morbidity and mortality associated with this disease.