Vitamin D status and incidence of tuberculosis infection conversion in contacts of pulmonary tuberculosis patients: a prospective cohort study.

The objective of this study was to estimate the relationship between serum vitamin D (VitD) status and tuberculosis (TB) infection conversion (TBIC), measured by the tuberculin skin test (TST) and an interferon-gamma release assay, the QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube (QFT-GIT) test, in the contacts of pulmonary TB patients in Castellon (Spain) in a prospective cohort study from 2010 to 2012. Initially, the participants were negative to latent TB infection after a screening that included TST and QFT-GIT tests, and other examinations. A baseline determination of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] was obtained by chemiluminescence immunoassay. After 8-10 weeks, participants were screened for a second time to determine TB infection conversion (TBIC). Poisson regression models were used in the statistical analysis. Of the 247 participants in the cohort, 198 (80·2%) were screened twice and 18 (9·1%) were TBIC cases. The means of VitD concentration in the TBIC cases and the non-cases were 20·7±11·9 and 27·2±11·4 ng/ml (P = 0·028), respectively. Adjusted for high exposure and TB sputum acid-fast bacilli (AFB)-positive index case, higher serum VitD concentration was associated with low incidence of TBIC (P trend = 0·005), and an increase of 1 ng/ml VitD concentration decreased the incidence of TBIC by 6% (relative risk 0·94, 95% confidence interval 0·90-0·99, P = 0·015). The results suggest that sufficient VitD level could be a protective factor of TBIC.

[Antimicrobial susceptibility of Pseudomonas aeruginosa clinical isolates in Castellón, Spain]. / Sensibilidad de aislamientos clínicos de Pseudomonas aeruginosa en Castellón.

A retrospective study of the susceptibility to antimicrobials (amikacin, tobramycin, gentamicin, ceftazidime, cefepime, piperacillin, piperacil-lin-tazobactam, imipenem, meropenem and ciprofloxacin) of 5,811 Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates was performed in a general hospital over a period of 12 years. The majority of isolates was from respiratory samples (31.99%), followed by urine samples (26.36%) and ear samples (10.51%). There was a predominance of hospital strains (69.66%); 50.30% of those from medical services, 31.74% from critical care services (mainly ICU) and the remaining from surgical services. No antimicrobial included in our study showed an activity over all isolated strains. In health centers the majority of antimicrobials showed good activity, with a percentage of resistance less than 10%. However, hospital strains showed that only amikacin, piperacillin-tazobactam and meropenem had a percentage of resistance near or lower than 10%. In both environments, gentamicin presented with the highest percentage of resistance. Strains from patients hospitalized in critical care services showed an elevated resistance to tobramycin, imipenem and ceftazidime, while strains from patients in medical services showed resistance to ciprofloxacin. Similar studies published in Spain confirm the importance of conducting local studies in order to understand the antimicrobial susceptibility of P. aeruginosa in each region, and especially to carry out empirically based treatments.

[Streptococcus suis meningitis]. / Meningitis por Streptococcus suis.

Human infection by Streptococcus suis (S. suis) is a zoonosis, with a known occupational risk and clinical presentation mainly as a purulent meningitis with low mortality and frequent hearing loss and ataxia sequela. Less than 150 human cases have been reported since original one thirty years ago. There is a geographical distribution most patients living in northern Europe and south Asia. S. suis disease in human has been reported in two patients in Spain the last years. We present two patients with S. suis meningitis, both were men with occupation related by pork meet, and good outcome. They come at our hospital in a lapse of one month. Both had neurosensorial hearing loss and walking ataxia. One patient had peripheral facial paralysis and diplopia because of paresia of contralateral sixth nerve, with complete resolution at three months. The rare presentation of S. suis meningitis in our country must not forget us to record the working risk at anamnesis.

Evolución de las resistencias a Mycobacterium tuberculosis en la provincia de Castellón. Años 1992-1998 / Evolution of resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the province of Castellón (Spain): 1992 through 1998

Objetivos: Conocer la frecuencia de las resistencias a Mycobacterium tuberculosis y los factores de riesgo asociados a éstas en la provincia de Castellón. Material y métodos: Se ha realizado un estudio prospectivo de la sensibilidad a los tuberculostáticos, por el método de las proporciones de Canetti, de todas las cepas de M. tuberculosis aisladas en nuestra provincia (532) desde enero de 1992 a diciembre de 1998 (7 años), de las que 461 correspondían a casos nuevos. Resultados: Encontramos una tasa global de resistencias del 4,7 por ciento (25/532), de las cuales el 3,9 por ciento (18/461) fueron primarias y el 11,1 por ciento (7/63) secundarias. Por fármacos, el 3 por ciento eran resistentes a isoniacida, el 1,87 por ciento a rifampicina, el 1,87 por ciento a estreptomicina y el 0,56 por ciento a etambutol. La multirresistencia hallada ha sido del 0,2 por ciento (1/461) para los casos nuevos y del 1,1 por ciento (6/532) para el total. La presencia de resistencia de M. tuberculosis se asocia al antecedente de tratamiento antituberculoso previo (OR = 3,14; p = 0,017), y a la presencia de uno o más factores de riesgo para tuberculosis (OR = 3,32; p = 0,666). Conclusiones: La tasa global de resistencias de M. tuberculosis y la multirresistencia son bajas en la provincia de Castellón; sin embargo, se asocian a un aumento de la mortalidad, de manera que el control de algunos de estos factores de riesgo de tuberculosis prevenibles podría, tal vez, disminuir la frecuencia de resistencias. (AU)

[Evolution of drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the province of Castellón. 1992-1998]. / Evolución de las resistencias a Mycobacterium tuberculosis en la provincia de Castellón. Años 1992-1998.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the frequency of resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis and the risk factors associated with resistance in the province of Castellón (Spain). MATERIAL AND METHODS: This prospective study of M. tuberculosis sensitivity applied Canetti's method of proportions to all strains isolated in Castellón (n = 532) from January 1992 through December 1998 (7 years); 461 cases were new. RESULTS: The overall frequency of resistant strains was 4.7% (25/532), of which 3.9% (18/461) were instances of primary resistance and 11.1% (7/63) were of secondary resistance. Three percent were resistant to isoniazid, 1.87% to rifampicin, 1.87% to streptomycin and 0.56% to ethambutol. Multiple drug resistance was found in 0.2% (1/461) of the new cases and 1.1% (6/532) overall. The presence of resistant M. tuberculosis was associated with a history of antituberculous treatment (OR = 3.14; p = 0.017) and the presence of one or more risk factors for tuberculosis (OR = 3.32; p = 0.066). CONCLUSIONS: The overall rates of resistant M. tuberculosis and multiple drug resistance are low in the province of Castellón; however resistance is associated with higher mortality such that controlling some preventable risk factors might reduce the frequency of resistance.