Successful treatment of trichomoniasis with tinidazole following desensitization in a patient allergic to metronidazole.

Metronidazole desensitization is recommended in patients with trichomoniasis and history of an allergic reaction to metronidazole due to presumed cross reactivity with tinidazole and lack of reliably safe and effective alternative therapies. We report our experiences in a patient with persistent trichomoniasis who failed to complete metronidazole desensitization due to a burning sensation over her whole body and pruritus but was later successfully desensitized to tinidazole without experiencing any adverse effects.

Potential Perinatally Acquired Extended Spectrum ß-Lactamase Escherichia coli Urinary Tract Infection in an Infant.

Extended-spectrum ß-lactamases (ESBL) are produced mainly by members of the Enterobacteriaceae family and confer resistance to most ß-lactam antibiotics. Because of limited treatment options, ESBL infections are typically more challenging to treat resulting in poor outcomes, increased complications, and mortality. Because ESBL-producing organisms are primarily seen in critically ill patients, along with those patients having prolonged hospital stays, extensive courses of antimicrobials, and/or use of invasive medical devices (i.e., urinary catheters, central venous lines, or endotracheal tubes), guidelines regarding the management of ESBL-producing organisms in the pediatric population are scant. A review of current recommended treatment options for infections caused by ESBL-producing organisms centers on the use of carbapenems, with some supportive literature regarding the utility/effectiveness of other non-ß-lactam therapy. We present a case report of an 8-month-old female diagnosed with a urinary tract infection due to ESBL-producing Escherichia coli successfully treated with sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim. Multidrug resistant infections in pediatric patients without risk factors remains an important field of study because these unique infections may pose a problem when choosing an effective empiric antimicrobial therapy.

Incidence, secular trends, and outcomes of prosthetic joint infection: a population-based study, olmsted county, Minnesota, 1969-2007.

CONTEXT: The epidemiology of prosthetic joint infection (PJI) in a population-based cohort has not been studied in the United States. OBJECTIVES: To provide an accurate assessment of the true incidence, secular trends, clinical manifestations, microbiology, and treatment outcomes of PJI in a population-based cohort. DESIGN: Historical cohort study. SETTING: Olmsted County, Minnesota. PARTICIPANTS: Residents who underwent total knee arthroplasty (TKA) or total hip arthroplasty (THA) between January 1, 1969, and December 31, 2007. METHODS: Incidence rates and trends in PJI were assessed using the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test, as were treatment outcomes among PJI case patients. RESULTS: A total of 7,375 THAs or TKAs were implanted in residents of Olmsted County during the study period. Seventy-five discrete joints in 70 individuals developed PJI, during a mean ± SD follow-up of [Formula: see text] years. The cumulative incidence of PJI was 0.5%, 0.8%, and 1.4% after 1, 5, and 10 years after arthroplasty, respectively. Overall, the rate of survival free of clinical failure after treatment of PJI was 76.8% (95% confidence interval [CI], 64.3-85.2) and 65.2% (95% CI, 33.1-76.2) at 3 and 5 years, respectively. The incidence and treatment outcomes did not significantly differ by decade of implantation, patient age at implantation, gender, or joint location. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of PJI is relatively low in a population-based cohort and is a function of age of the prosthesis. Incidence trends and outcomes have not significantly changed over the past 40 years.

Utility of intraoperative frozen section histopathology in the diagnosis of periprosthetic joint infection: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The accuracy of intraoperative periprosthetic frozen section histologic evaluation in predicting a diagnosis of periprosthetic joint infection prior to microbiologic culture results is unknown. METHODS: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of all longitudinal studies that compared frozen section histologic results with simultaneously obtained microbiologic culture at the time of revision total hip or total knee arthroplasty. The data sources were Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, ISI Web of Science, and SCOPUS, from the inception of each database to January 2010. RESULTS: Twenty-six studies involving 3269 patients undergoing revision hip or knee arthroplasty met the inclusion criteria. A culture-positive periprosthetic joint infection was confirmed in 796 (24.3%) of the patients. Frozen section results, using any of the diagnostic criteria chosen by the investigating pathologist, had a pooled diagnostic odds ratio of 54.7 (95% confidence interval [CI], 31.2 to 95.7), a likelihood ratio of a positive test of 12.0 (95% CI, 8.4 to 17.2), and a likelihood ratio of a negative test of 0.23 (95% CI, 0.15 to 0.35) for the diagnosis of periprosthetic joint infection. Fifteen studies utilizing a threshold of five polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) per high-power field to define a positive frozen section had a diagnostic odds ratio of 52.6 (95% CI, 23.7 to 116.2), and six studies utilizing a diagnostic threshold of ten PMNs per high-power field had a diagnostic odds ratio of 69.8 (95% CI, 33.6 to 145.0). There was no significant difference between the diagnostic odds ratio or likelihood ratios associated with these thresholds. The moderate to high heterogeneity among the included studies was unexplained by variability in the study design, diagnostic criteria for acute inflammation, reference standard for periprosthetic joint infection, or prevalence of infection. This heterogeneity could be due to differences in the inclusion and exclusion criteria, tissue sampling error, experience or technique of the pathologists, number of microscopic fields visualized, and field diameter examined. CONCLUSIONS: Intraoperative frozen sections of periprosthetic tissues performed well in predicting a diagnosis of culture-positive periprosthetic joint infection but had moderate accuracy in ruling out this diagnosis. Frozen section histopathology should therefore be considered a valuable part of the diagnostic work-up for patients undergoing revision arthroplasty, especially when the potential for infection remains after a thorough preoperative evaluation. The optimum diagnostic threshold (number of PMNs per high-power field) required to distinguish periprosthetic joint infection from aseptic failure could not be discerned from the included studies. There was no significant difference between the diagnostic accuracy of frozen section histopathology utilizing the most common thresholds of five or ten PMNs per high-power field.

The Mayo prosthetic joint infection risk score: implication for surgical site infection reporting and risk stratification.

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to develop a prognostic scoring system for the development of prosthetic joint infection (PJI) that could risk-stratify patients undergoing total hip (THA) or total knee (TKA) arthroplasties. DESIGN: Previously reported case-control study. SETTING: Tertiary referral care setting from 2001 through 2006. METHODS: A derivation data set of 339 cases and 339 controls was used to develop 2 scores. A baseline score and a 1-month-postsurgery risk score were computed as a function of the relative contributions of risk factors for each model. Points were assigned for the presence of each factor and then summed to get a subject's risk score. RESULTS: The following risk factors were detected from multivariable modeling and incorporated into the baseline Mayo PJI risk score: body mass index, prior other operation on the index joint, prior arthroplasty, immunosuppression, ASA score, and procedure duration (c index, 0.722). The 1-month-postsurgery risk score contained the same variables in addition to postoperative wound drainage (c index, 0.716). CONCLUSION: The baseline score might help with risk stratification in relation to public reporting and reimbursement as well as targeted prevention strategies in patients undergoing THA or TKA. The application of the 1-month-postsurgery PJI risk score to patients undergoing THA or TKA might benefit those undergoing workup for PJI.

Meningeal coccidioidomycosis diagnosed by real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis of cerebrospinal fluid.

We describe two cases of coccidioidal meningitis (CM) diagnosed using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis of cerebrospinal fluid. These cases highlight the promise of PCR as a diagnostic method to assist in the rapid diagnosis of CM.

Inflammatory blood laboratory levels as markers of prosthetic joint infection: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The preoperative diagnosis of prosthetic joint infection in patients with a total hip or knee arthroplasty may rely in part on the use of systemic inflammation markers. These markers have unclear accuracy. The objective of this review was to summarize the evidence on the accuracy of the peripheral white blood-cell count, the erythrocyte sedimentation rate, serum C-reactive protein levels, and serum interleukin-6 levels for the diagnosis of prosthetic joint infection. METHODS: We searched electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and Scopus) from 1950 through 2009. Eligible studies evaluated the accuracy of white blood-cell count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, serum C-reactive protein level, and serum interleukin-6 level for the intraoperative diagnosis of prosthetic joint infection at the time of revision arthroplasty. Two reviewers working independently extracted study characteristics and data to estimate the diagnostic odds ratio and 95% confidence interval for each result. RESULTS: We included thirty eligible studies that included 3909 revision total hip or knee arthroplasties. The prevalence of prosthetic joint infection was 32.5% (1270 of 3909). The accuracy of assessed inflammation markers, represented with a diagnostic odds ratio, was 314.7 (95% confidence interval, 113.0 to 876.8) for interleukin-6 (three studies), 13.1 (95% confidence interval, 7.9 to 21.7) for C-reactive protein level (twenty-three studies), 7.2 (95% confidence interval, 4.7 to 10.9) for erythrocyte sedimentation rate (twenty-five studies), and 4.4 (95% confidence interval, 2.9 to 6.6) for white blood-cell count (fifteen studies). CONCLUSIONS: The diagnostic accuracy for prosthetic joint infection was best for interleukin-6, followed by C-reactive protein level, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and white blood-cell count. Given the limited numbers of studies assessing interleukin-6 levels, further investigations assessing the accuracy of interleukin-6 for the diagnosis of prosthetic joint infection are warranted.

Complications associated with sickle cell trait: a brief narrative review.

Sickle cell trait occurs in approximately 300 million people worldwide, with the highest prevalence of approximately 30% to 40% in sub-Saharan Africa. Long considered a benign carrier state with relative protection against severe malaria, sickle cell trait occasionally can be associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Sickle cell trait is exclusively associated with rare but often fatal renal medullary cancer. Current cumulative evidence is convincing for associations with hematuria, renal papillary necrosis, hyposthenuria, splenic infarction, exertional rhabdomyolysis, and exercise-related sudden death. Sickle cell trait is probably associated with complicated hyphema, venous thromboembolic events, fetal loss, neonatal deaths, and preeclampsia, and possibly associated with acute chest syndrome, asymptomatic bacteriuria, and anemia in pregnancy. There is insufficient evidence to suggest an independent association with retinopathy, cholelithiasis, priapism, leg ulcers, liver necrosis, avascular necrosis of the femoral head, and stroke. Despite these associations, the average life span of individuals with sickle cell trait is similar to that of the general population. Nonetheless, given the large number of people with sickle cell trait, it is important that physicians be aware of these associations.

Does race affect readmission to hospital after critical illness?

OBJECTIVE: To examine the influence of race on 7-day hospital readmission rates after discharge of critically ill patients. METHODS: Racial status is a risk factor for early (within 7 days) hospital readmission after initial recovery from critical illness and respiratory failure. This was a retrospective cohort study that took place in a 350-bed community hospital. Adult patients who received mechanical ventilation during their intensive care unit stay were included. Study subjects were categorized as white, black (non-Hispanic), Hispanic, and Asian/other. The main outcome measure was readmission to the hospital within 7 days of discharge. Secondary outcomes were hospital mortality and durations of hospital and intensive care unit stay. Comparisons were made across racial groups. RESULTS: Of 772 patients, 172 (22.3%) died, and 96 of the 591 discharged patients (16.2%) were readmitted within 7 days. Race was not a determinant of rapid readmission: 11.6% of blacks (P = .2), 20.6% of Hispanics (P = .3) and 16.5% of whites were readmitted within 7 days. Readmitted patients were more likely to have been discharged to a rehabilitation or extended care facility rather than to home (22.1% vs 2.2%, P < .0001). Readmitted patients tended to have had prolonged duration of mechanical ventilation > or = 30 days (41% vs 15.1%, P = .004), to be aged > or = 80 years (24.4% vs 13.9%, P = .005), and to be female (19.5% vs 13.7%, P = .04). Multivariate logistic regression analyses demonstrated that discharge to a place other than home (odds ratio 10.1, 95% confidence interval 3.6-28.3) and prolonged duration of mechanical ventilation (odds ratio 2.8, 95% confidence interval 1.1-6.9) were independently associated with readmission. Race did not significantly influence in-hospital mortality. Overall, the deceased were older and more likely to be female, and had longer durations of mechanical ventilation and medical and surgical intensive care unit stays. CONCLUSION: Contrary to our hypothesis, race was not associated with rapid readmission or mortality of critically ill patients. Factors independently associated with rapid readmission were mechanical ventilation beyond 29 days and disposition to an acute rehabilitation or skilled nursing facility. Further studies are required to ascertain whether these factors are generalizable or idiosyncratic to our institution.