Comments by Microbiologists for Interpreting Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing and Improving the Appropriateness of Antibiotic Therapy in Community-Acquired Urinary Tract Infections: A Randomized Double-Blind Digital Case-Vignette Controlled Superiority Trial.

In primary care, urinary tract infections (UTIs) account for the majority of antibiotic prescriptions. Comments from microbiologists on interpreting the antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) profile for urinalysis were made to improve the prescription of antibiotics. We aimed to explore the added value of these comments on the quality of antibiotic prescribing by a superior double-blind digital randomized case-vignette trial among French general practitioners (GPs). One case vignette with (intervention) or without (control) a 'comment' after AST was randomly assigned to GPs. Among 815 participating GPs, 64.7% were women, at an average age of 37 years. Most (90.1%) used a computerized decision support system for prescribing antibiotics. Empirical antibiotic therapy was appropriate in 71.9% (95% CI, 68.8-75.0) of the cases, without differences between arms. The overall appropriateness of targeted antibiotic therapy (primary outcome) was not significantly increased when providing 'comments': 83.4% vs. 79.9% (OR = 1.26, 95% CI, 0.86-1.85). With the multivariate analysis, the appropriateness was improved by 2-folds (OR = 2.38, 95% CI, 1.02-6.16) among physicians working in healthcare facilities. Among digital-affine young general practitioners, the adjunction of a 'comment' by a microbiologist to interpret urinalysis in community-acquired UTIs did not improve the overall level of appropriateness of the targeted antibiotic.

Antimicrobial for 7 or 14 Days for Febrile Urinary Tract Infection in Men: A Multicenter Noninferiority Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Randomized Clinical Trial.

BACKGROUND: The optimal duration of antimicrobial therapy for urinary tract infections (UTIs) in men remains controversial. METHODS: To compare 7 days to 14 days of total antibiotic treatment for febrile UTIs in men, this multicenter randomized, double-blind. placebo-controlled noninferiority trial enrolled 282 men from 27 centers in France. Men were eligible if they had a febrile UTI and urine culture showing a single uropathogen. Participants were treated with ofloxacin or a third-generation cephalosporin at day 1, then randomized at day 3-4 to either continue ofloxacin for 14 days total treatment, or for 7 days followed by placebo until day 14. The primary endpoint was treatment success, defined as a negative urine culture and the absence of fever and of subsequent antibiotic treatment between the end of treatment and 6 weeks after day 1. Secondary endpoints included recurrent UTI within weeks 6 and 12 after day 1, rectal carriage of antimicrobial-resistant Enterobacterales, and drug-related events. RESULTS: Two hundred forty participants were randomly assigned to receive antibiotic therapy for 7 days (115 participants) or 14 days (125 participants). In the intention-to-treat analysis, treatment success occurred in 64 participants (55.7%) in the 7-day group and in 97 participants (77.6%) in the 14-day group (risk difference, -21.9 [95% confidence interval, -33.3 to -10.1]), demonstrating inferiority. Adverse events during antibiotic therapy were reported in 4 participants in the 7-day arm and 7 in the 14-day arm. Rectal carriage of resistant Enterobacterales did not differ between both groups. CONCLUSIONS: A treatment with ofloxacin for 7 days was inferior to 14 days for febrile UTI in men and should therefore not be recommended. CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION: NCT02424461; Eudra-CT: 2013-001647-32.

Outbreaks of COVID-19 in Nursing Homes: A Cross-Sectional Survey of 74 Nursing Homes in a French Area.

In this multi-centric cross-sectional survey conducted in nursing homes of the French Alps, from 1 March to 31 May 2020, we analyze the relationship between the occurrence of an outbreak of COVID 19 among residents and staff members. Out of 225 eligible nursing homes, 74 (32.8%) completed the survey. Among 5891 residents, the incidence of confirmed or probable COVID-19 was 8.2% (95CI, 7.5% to 8.9%), and 22 (29.7%) facilities had an outbreak with at least 3 cases. Among the 4652 staff members, the incidence of confirmed or probable COVID-19 was 6.3% (95CI, 5.6% to 7.1%). A strong positive correlation existed between residents and staff members for both numbers of cases (r2 = 0.77, p < 0.001) and the incidence (r2 = 0.76, p < 0.001). In univariate analyses, cases among the staff were the only factor associated with the occurrence of an outbreak among residents (OR = 11.2 (95CI, 2.25 to 53.6)). In bivariate analysis, this relationship was not influenced by any nursing home characteristics, nor the action they implemented to mitigate the COVID-19 crisis. Staff members were, therefore, likely to be a source of contamination and spread of COVID-19 among nursing home residents during the first wave of the pandemic.

Changer de focale pour agir sur une épidémie transfrontalière. Le VIH à la frontière franco-suisse.

INTRODUCTION: The urban planning between France and Geneva leads us to target the local HIV epidemic dynamics in its cross-border dimension. We aim to assess its importance while taking into account cross-border movements.Purpose of research: This study aims to describe the HIV epidemic on a cross-border scale by comparing data with two other areas known for their HIV incidence, Lyon and Zurich, using epidemiological data available in France and Switzerland. RESULTS: Available data demonstrate that the Geneva cross-border region HIV epidemics are similar in magnitude to those of the Lyon metropolitan area and Zurich canton. In addition, describing the target groups attending two NGO’s services allows us to understand the dynamics of cross–border mobility as well as target groups’ health needs. CONCLUSION: The study shows that policy makers and experts need to focus on the cross-border dimension of the HIV epidemic dynamics in order to provide adequate responses around Geneva. We advocate for a sustained cross-border dialogue: to re-think the fight against HIV in the region, to take into account real life experiences, to make public policies and programs evolve on a cross-border basis, and to base our policies on a common set of good practices.

Temocillin versus carbapenems for urinary tract infection due to ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae: a multicenter matched case-control study.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the efficacy of temocillin with carbapenems for extended spectrum ß-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Enterobacteriaceae urinary tract infections (ESBL-E UTI). METHODS: A multicenter retrospective case-control study of adults with ESBL-E UTI was conducted between January 2015 and October 2019. Cases received temocillin ≥ 50% of the effective antibiotic therapy duration and controls exclusively received carbapenem; they were statistically matched (1:1 ratio) on 6-month period, sex and age. The clinical cure at the end of antibiotic therapy was analysed using conditional logistic regression. RESULTS: Seventy-two temocillin cases were matched to 72 carbapenem controls. Most (67%) were male, median age was 69.4 years, 81 (56%) were immunocompromised, including 44 (31%) solid organ transplant recipients. There was no difference between cases and controls for baseline characteristics and microorganisms involved: Klebsiella pneumoniae in 59 (41%), Escherichia coli in 57 (40%), and Enterobacter spp. in 24 (17%). The median time from admission to effective antibiotic therapy was 0 days [range, 0-2]. Among cases, first-line antibiotic therapy (≤ 72 hours) was temocillin in six (8%) and carbapenems in 39 (54%). Temocillin was given at the median daily dose of 4 g [range, 2-4] after 3 days [range, 2-5] of carbapenems. Patients received temocillin for 81% [range, 70-93] of the effective antibiotic course duration over 11 days [range, 8-14]. The effective antibiotic duration was similar in cases and controls (P = 0.067). Clinical cure at the end of antibiotic therapy was 94% (68/72) in cases vs. 99% (71/72) in controls (P = 0.206), with no difference among immunocompromised and solid organ transplant patients (P > 0.050). CONCLUSIONS: Temocillin effectively relayed ß-lactams, including carbapenems, to treat (complicated) ESBL-E UTI. Its efficacy was consistent among kidney transplant recipients.

Family medicine practitioners' stress during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional survey.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken the world in early 2020. In France, General Practitioners (GPs) were not involved in the care organization's decision-making process before and during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. This omission could have generated stress for GPs. We aimed first to estimate the self-perception of stress as defined by the 10-item Perceived Stress Score (PSS-10), at the beginning of the pandemic in France, among GPs from the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, a french administrative area severely impacted by COVID-19. Second, we aimed to identify factors associated with a self-perceived stress (PSS-10 ≥ 27) among socio-demographic characteristics of GPs, their access to reliable information and to personal protective equipment during the pandemic, and their exposure to well established psychosocial risk at work. METHODS: We conducted an online cross-sectional survey between 8th April and 10th May 2020. The self-perception of stress was evaluated using the PSS-10, so to see the proportion of "not stressed" (≤20), "borderline" (21 ≤ PSS-10 ≤ 26), and "stressed" (≥27) GPs. The agreement to 31 positive assertions related to possible sources of stress identified by the scientific study committee was measured using a 10-point numeric scale. In complete cases, factors associated with stress (PSS-10 ≥ 27) were investigated using logistic regression, adjusted on gender, age and practice location. A supplementary analysis of the verbatims was made. RESULTS: Overall, 898 individual answers were collected, of which 879 were complete. A total of 437 GPs (49%) were stressed (PSS-10 ≥ 27), and 283 GPs (32%) had a very high level of stress (PSS-10 ≥ 30). Self-perceived stress was associated with multiple components, and involved classic psychosocial risk factors such as emotional requirements. However, in this context of health crisis, the primary source of stress was the diversity and quantity of information from diverse sources (614 GPs (69%, OR = 2.21, 95%CI [1.40-3.50], p < 0.001). Analysis of verbatims revealed that GPs felt isolated in a hospital-based model. CONCLUSION: The first wave of the pandemic was a source of stress for GPs. The diversity and quantity of information received from the health authorities were among the main sources of stress.

[Geriatric units at the beginning of the 2020 COVID-19 epidemic in France]. / Les unités de gériatrie au début de l'épidémie du Covid-19 de 2020 en France.

The COVID-19 epidemic that started in November in China became a national epidemic from March 16, 2020 with the declaration of population containment in order to reduce the spread of the virus in France. From March 17 to March 27, 2020, the monitoring unit of the French society of geriatrics and gerontology decided to conduct a survey to analyze the implementation of the mobilization of geriatric units, given that this epidemic had shown that it resulted in excess mortality mainly among the elderly. The survey was able to bring together the response of 34 services, nine of which were located in a high epidemic cluster zone. Dedicated acute geriatric units for patients infected with COVID-19 were present in eight facilities, only outside the cluster zones. Nine geriatric follow-up and rehabilitation services were dedicated, an additional telemedicine activity concerned 35% of the facilities, and family listening and tablet communication facilities concerned 36% of the facilities. This survey is a snapshot of an initial moment in the epidemic. It provides an opportunity to describe the context in which this epidemic occurred in terms of geriatric policy, and to assess the responsiveness and inventiveness of these services in meeting the needs of the elderly.