Deep Dive Into Gaps and Barriers to Implementation of Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs in Hospitals in Latin America.

BACKGROUND: Antimicrobial resistance has worsened in Latin America. There is an urgent need to understand the development of antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) and the barriers to implementing effective ASPs in light of limited national action plans or policies to promote ASPs in the region. METHODS: We performed a descriptive mixed-methods study of ASPs in 5 Latin American countries in March-July 2022. An electronic questionnaire with an associated scoring system (hospital ASP self-assessment) was used, and ASP development was classified based on the scores (inadequate, 0-25; basic, 26-50; intermediate, 51-75; or advanced, 76-100). Interviews among healthcare workers (HCWs) involved in antimicrobial stewardship (AS) inquired about behavioral and organizational factors that influence AS activities. Interview data were coded into themes. Results from the ASP self-assessment and interviews were integrated to create an explanatory framework. RESULTS: Twenty hospitals completed the self-assessment, and 46 AS stakeholders from these hospitals were interviewed. ASP development was inadequate/basic in 35% of hospitals, intermediate in 50%, and advanced in 15%. For-profit hospitals had higher scores than not-for-profit hospitals. Interview data validated the self-assessment findings and provided further insight into ASP implementation challenges, which included limited formal hospital leadership support, inadequate staffing and tools to perform AS work more efficiently, limited awareness of AS principles by HCWs, and limited training opportunities. CONCLUSIONS: We identified several barriers to ASP development in Latin America, suggesting the need to create accurate business cases for ASPs to obtain the necessary funding for their effective implementation and sustainability.

Adult immunization practices, challenges and opportunities in Central America and the Caribbean: Advisory board proceedings.

As individuals age, they become increasingly prone to infectious diseases, many of which are vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs). Adult immunization has become a public health priority in the modern era, yet VPDs vaccination rates for adults are low worldwide. In Central America and Caribbean, national recommendations and vaccination practices in adults differ across countries, and adult vaccination coverage data are limited. An advisory board comprised infectious disease experts, pulmonologists, geriatricians, occupational health, and public health professionals for Central America and Dominican Republic was convened to: a) describe adult immunization practices in these countries; b) discuss challenges and barriers to adult vaccination; and c) find strategies to increase awareness about VPDs. The advisory board discussions reflect that national immunization guidelines typically do not include routine vaccine recommendations for all adults, but rather focus on those with risk factors. This is the case for influenza, pneumococcal, and hepatitis B immunizations. Overall, knowledge lacks about the VPD burden among health-care professionals and the general public. Even more, there is insufficient information on vaccinology for students in medical schools. Actions from the responsible authorities - medical schools and scientific societies which can advocate for vaccination and a better knowledge in vaccinology - can help address these issues. A preventive medicine culture in the workplace may contribute to the advancement of public opinion on vaccination. Promoting vaccine education and research could be facilitated via working groups formed by disease experts, public and private sectors, and supranational authorities, in an ethical and transparent manner.

Osteomielitis femoral crónica por Nocardia / Chronic femoral osteomyelitis due to Nocardia

La osteolielitis por Nocardia es una enfermedad oportunista, y bastante rara según estudios. Se relata un caso de un paciente, su diagnóstico y tratamiento de la misma.

Clinical experience with the use of daptomycin in a tertiary care teaching hospital in Barcelona, Spain.

AIM: We reviewed the clinical use of daptomycin in daily practice. MATERIALS & METHODS: Efficacy and safety were assessed in 175 consecutive patients given daptomycin for at least 72 h. RESULTS: Daptomycin was given as rescue treatment in 50.9% of cases. Bloodstream infection (34.8%) and skin/soft-tissue infection (19.4%) were the most frequent. In 62.3% of patients, the dose of ≤ 6 mg/kg/day was administered. Staphylococcus spp. were isolated in 52.6% of cases (MRSA in 9.5%, CoNS in 34.3%) and Enterococcus spp. in 8.7%. Clinical success was 75% and microbiological eradication 48.6%. Two patients discontinued daptomycin due to hemolytic anemia of unlikely and possible relationship with daptomycin, respectively. CONCLUSION: Daptomycin was effective and well tolerated in patients with severe Gram-positive infections.

Aplicación de la topología molecular para la predicción de la actividad anti-VIH-1 de un grupo de compuestos análogos del aciclovir y ganciclovir / Application of the molecular topology to the prediction of anti-HIV-1 activity by acyclovir and ganciclovir analogs

Usando el análisis de regresión multilineal, se ha propuesto unmodelo topológico-matemático de predicción de la actividad anti-VIH-1 para un grupo de compuestos análogos al aciclovir y ganciclovir.La caracterización estructural de cada compuesto se ha conseguidoa través de índices topológicos. El modelo seleccionado parala predicción de la concentración eficaz 50 está formado por cuatrovariables (R2 = 0.8762 y Q2 = 0.8216). La validación del modelo seha hecho a través de los test de crosvalidación, validación internay aleatoriedad. Los resultados obtenidos confirman la capacidad depredicción de la propiedad estudiada (AU)

Application of the molecular topology to the prediction ofanti-HIV-1 activity by acyclovir and ganciclovir analogsBy using multilinear regression analysis, a topological-mathematicalmodel has been built to predict the anti-HIV-1 activity for agroup of acyclovir and ganciclovir analogs. The structural depictionwas performed by using topological indices and one model with fourvariables for the prediction of EC50 (R2 = 0.8762 and Q2 = 0.8216) wasselected. The model was checked by cross-validation, internal validationand randomization test. The results confirm its capability to predictthe property analyzed(AU)