Validation of a rapid molecular detection test for gram-negative multidrug-resistant bacteria in rectal swabs upon admission of patients to the intensive care unit.

In ICU settings, screening patients upon admission for potential multiresistant bacteria (BMR) carriers is crucial. Traditionally, clinical decisions relied on delayed culture results, but a rapid PCR molecular test called RealCycler-Rezero-U/G (Progenie-molecular©), emerged as an alternative. This study aimed to validate its effectiveness in detecting gram-negative BMR in rectal swabs at ICU admission. Over 24 months, an observational study was conducted on 1,234 admitted patients, with 217 meeting isolation criteria and undergoing both PCR and culture tests. Results showed a 17.5 % positive rate for screening. The PCR test exhibited impressive accuracy at 98.6 % and a strong negative predictive value of 99.4 %. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) was 0.98, indicating high reliability. Notably, PCR results were available 44.5 h earlier than culture. In conclusion, PCR-based molecular testing for gram-negative BMR offers excellent diagnostic performance and a valuable negative predictive value, making it a suitable screening tool for ICU admissions.

Antimicrobial prophylaxis in companion animal surgery: A scoping review for European Network for Optimization of Antimicrobial Therapy (ENOVAT) guidelines.

Surgical antimicrobial prophylaxis (SAP) is widely used to reduce the risk of surgical site infections (SSI), but there is uncertainty as to what the proportion of SSI reduction is. Therefore, it is difficult for surgeons to properly weigh the costs, risks and benefits for individual patients when deciding on the use of SAP, making it challenging to promote antimicrobial stewardship in primary practice settings. The objective of this study was to map the veterinary evidence focused on assessing the effect of SAP on SSI development and in order to identify surgical procedures with some research evidence and possible knowledge gaps. In October 2021 and December 2022, Scopus, CAB Abstracts, Web of Science Core Collection, Embase and MEDLINE were systematically searched. Double blinded screening of records was performed to identify studies in companion animals that reported on the use of SAP and SSI rates. Comparative data were available from 34 out of 39123 records screened including: eight randomised controlled trials (RCT), 23 cohort studies (seven prospective and 16 retrospective) and three retrospective case series representing 12476 dogs and cats in total. Extracted data described peri- or post-operative SAP in nine, and 25 studies, respectively. In the eight RCTs evaluating SAP in companion animals, surgical procedure coverage was skewed towards orthopaedic stifle surgeries in referral settings and there was large variation in SAP protocols, SSI definitions and follow-up periods. More standardized data collection and agreement of SSI definitions is needed to build stronger evidence for optimized patient care.

Pharmacogenetics of hypoglycemia associated with sulfonylurea therapy in usual clinical care.

Hypoglycemia is a common complication among type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients receiving sulfonylurea therapy. The aim of this study was to determine if genetic contributions to sulfonylurea pharmacokinetics or pharmacodynamics substantially affect the risk of hypoglycemia in these patients. In a retrospective case-control study in European American patients with T2DM, we examined the potential association between CYP2C9 reduced-function variants and sulfonylurea-related hypoglycemia. We also explored the relationship between sulfonylurea-related hypoglycemia and several candidate genetic variants previously reported to alter the response to sulfonylureas. We detected no evidence of association between CYP2C9 reduced-function alleles or any of the candidate genetic variants and sulfonylurea-related hypoglycemia. In conclusion, we identified no clinically significant predictors of hypoglycemia among genes associated with sulfonylurea pharmacokinetics or pharmacodynamics.

Association Between Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Levels and Risk for Sepsis Among Patients Admitted to the Hospital With Infection.

Importance: Whether low levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) are associated with increased risk of sepsis and poorer outcomes is unknown. Objective: To examine the association between LDL-C levels and risk of sepsis among patients admitted to the hospital with infection. Design, Setting, and Participants: Cohort study in which deidentified electronic health records were used to define a cohort of patients admitted to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, with infection. Patients were white adults, had a code indicating infection from the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification, and received an antibiotic within 1 day of hospital admission (N = 61 502). Data were collected from January 1, 1993, through December 31, 2017, and analyzed from January 24 through October 31, 2018. Interventions: Clinically measured LDL-C levels (excluding measurements <1 year before hospital admission and those associated with acute illness) and a genetic risk score (GRS). Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was sepsis; secondary outcomes included admission to an intensive care unit (ICU) and in-hospital death. Results: Among the 3961 patients with clinically measured LDL-C levels (57.8% women; mean [SD] age, 64.1 [15.9] years) and the 7804 with a GRS for LDL-C (54.0% men; mean [SD] age, 59.8 [15.2] years), lower measured LDL-C levels were significantly associated with increased risk of sepsis (odds ratio [OR], 0.86; 95% CI, 0.79-0.94; P = .001) and ICU admission (OR, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.76-0.96; P = .008), but not in-hospital mortality (OR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.63-1.00; P = .06); however, none of these associations were statistically significant after adjustment for age, sex, and comorbidity variables (OR for risk of sepsis, 0.96 [95% CI, 0.88-1.06]; OR for ICU admission, 0.94 [95% CI, 0.83-1.06]; OR for in-hospital death, 0.97 [95% CI, 0.76-1.22]; P > .05 for all). The LDL-C GRS correlated with measured LDL-C levels (r = 0.24; P < 2.2 × 10-16) but was not significantly associated with any of the outcomes. Conclusions and Relevance: Results of this study suggest that lower measured LDL-C levels were significantly associated with increased risk of sepsis and admission to ICU in patients admitted to the hospital with infection; however, this association was due to comorbidities because both clinical models adjusted for confounders, and the genetic model showed no increased risk. Levels of LDL-C do not appear to directly alter the risk of sepsis or poor outcomes in patients hospitalized with infection.