Invasive pneumococcal diseases in adults admitted to the Na Bulovce Hospital: Serotype replacement after the implementation of general childhood pneumococcal vaccination.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to analyse epidemiological and clinical characteristics of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in adults before and after the introduction of the general childhood conjugate pneumococcal vaccination programme in the Czech Republic. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The retrospective observational sentinel study included adults with IPD admitted to the Na Bulovce Hospital in Prague from 1/2000 through 12/2019. A case of IPD was defined as isolation of Streptococcus pneumoniae from a primarily sterile site. RESULTS: A total of 304 IPD cases were diagnosed during the study period, with a male to female ratio of 1.49:1 and age median of 58 years (IQR 43-73). The most prevalent clinical forms were bacteraemic pneumonia (185 cases; 60.9%) and purulent meningitis (90; 29.6%). A total of 157/293 patients (53.6%) required intensive care, and the case fatality rate was 25.3% (n = 77). The serotype was determined in 292 (96.0%) isolates, the most prevalent being serotypes 3 (38; 12.5%), 4 (28; 9.2%), 7F (24; 7.9%), 8 (21; 6.9%), and 1 (18; 5.9%). Both clinical and epidemiological characteristics of IPD caused by the most prevalent serotypes differed considerably. Patients diagnosed with serotype 3 were older, more frequently required intensive care, and showed higher mortality. The proportion of IPD caused by non-PCV13 serotypes increased from 28.8% (19/66) in 2000-2005 to 54.8% (40/70) in 2015-2019 (p = 0.001). CONCLUSION: The study demonstrated that invasive diseases caused by the most prevalent pneumococcal serotypes differ in their epidemiological and clinical characteristics and case fatality rate. During the study period, there was a significant increase in IPD caused by non-PCV 13 serotypes, limiting the effect of vaccination in adults.

Gentamicin 240 mg plus azithromycin 2 g vs. ceftriaxone 500 mg plus azithromycin 2 g for treatment of rectal and pharyngeal gonorrhoea: a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVES: The aim was to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of gentamicin 240 mg plus azithromycin 2 g for treatment of uncomplicated rectal and pharyngeal gonorrhoea compared to ceftriaxone 500 mg plus azithromycin 2 g, the recommended European first-line gonorrhoea treatment. METHODS: A non-inferiority, open-label, single-centre randomized controlled trial was conducted in Prague, Czech Republic. Patients, 18-75 years of age, diagnosed with uncomplicated rectal or pharyngeal gonorrhoea by nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) were randomized to treatment with gentamicin 240 mg intramuscularly plus azithromycin 2 g orally or ceftriaxone 500 g intramuscularly plus azithromycin 2 g orally. The primary outcome was negative culture and negative NAAT, i.e. 1 week and 3 weeks, respectively, after treatment. RESULTS: Both clinical cure and microbiological clearance was achieved by 100% (95% CI 0.95-1.00) of patients in the gentamicin/azithromycin arm (n = 72; 40 rectal, 17 pharyngeal and 15 rectal+pharyngeal infections both localizations) and 100% (95% CI 0.95-1.00) in ceftriaxone/azithromycin arm (n = 71; 38 rectal, 14 pharyngeal and 19 rectal+pharyngeal infections). The absolute difference between the two arms was 0.0% (CI95% -5.1 to 5.1), thus less than the pre-specified margin of 7%. Administration of gentamicin was not more painful than ceftriaxone according to the visual analogue scale (1.8 vs. 3.4; p <0.001). Gastrointestinal adverse events were similar in the ceftriaxone arm (33/71, 46.5%) and the gentamicin arm (29/72, 40.3%), and overall in most (52/62, 83.9%) cases they were mild. CONCLUSIONS: Gentamicin 240 mg plus azithromycin 2 g is an effective alternative for treatment of extragenital gonorrhoea.