Relationship Between COVID-19 and Linezolid-Resistant Enterococci: A Retrospective Single-Center Study.

AIM AND OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the correlation between whether the COVID-19 pandemic turned out to be a great premise for increasing the incidence of linezolid resistance infections. MATERIALS AND METHOD: The current retrospective study included data from March 2018 to March 2023 from a single center. The clinical records of the patients were reviewed to extract clinical data. Data gathered from medical records included demographic information, the type of specimen taken, the organism identified, and its sensitivity. Antibiotic susceptibility testing and bacterial identification are both done using the fully automated VITEK system. RESULTS: The total number of samples collected in all the groups, i.e., Group 1 (PRE-COVID), Group 2 (COVID), and Group 3 (POST-COVID), were 201, 127, and 1315, respectively. Out of a total of 201 samples in Group 1, i.e., from March 2018 to February 2020, 47 (23.38%) samples were collected from blood, 104 (51.74%) samples were collected from urine, and the rest of the samples were collected from other sources (pus, sputum, wound, stool, pleural fluid, etc.). In Group 2, i.e., from March 2020 to February 2021, the total number of samples collected was 127, of which 21 were collected from blood, 86 were from urine, and the remaining 20 samples were from other sources. A total of 1315 samples were collected between March 2021 and February 2023, i.e., in Group 3, 598 samples were collected from blood and 548 samples from urine. The most common isolates in the study were Enterococcus faecalis (35.7%) and Enterococcus faecium (61.0%). CONCLUSION: A new threat seems to be emerging in the era of COVID-19, the Enterococcus genus. Though the mechanism remains unidentified, the viral infection seems to cause changes in the bacterial flora, favoring Enterococcus and increasing gut permeability, which provides the perfect environment for Enterococcus bacteria to develop invasive infections. In our study, the prevalence of linezolid resistance was 18.2% for five years.

Saccharomyces: A Friend or Foe in ICU (A Case Report with Solution).

Saccharomyces cerevisiae or boulardii, also known as baker's yeast or brewer's yeast, is normally a nonpathogenic microbe. It is commonly used as a probiotic to prevent antibiotic-associated diarrhea. We present a case of a 77-year-old woman with uncontrolled diabetes who developed Saccharomyces fungemia with use of Saccharomyces containing probiotic after 5 days of treatment. The probiotic was immediately discontinued. The indwelling central line was removed, she was started on amphotericin B and the fungemia resolved. This case report highlights this peculiar complication of probiotic use. We also find it important to increase the awareness amongst the healthcare providers about this likely risk while prescribing probiotics, especially for critically ill patients. How to cite this article: Gupta P, Singh YP, Taneja A. Saccharomyces: A Friend or Foe in ICU (A Case Report with Solution). Indian J Crit Care Med 2019;23(9):430-431.

Patient safety culture-perception of health care workers in a tertiary care hospital.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Patient safety is a discipline that emphasizes the reporting, analysis and prevention of medical errors leading to adverse events. Many patients are harmed from health care, resulting in permanent injury, increased hospital stay or even death. This study attempts to gain knowledge on the practices and attitude existing for patient safety and indicate knowledge gaps, to help improve the situation. METHODS: The study was carried out using an anonymous, self reporting questionnaire structured to analyse the scenario of patient safety in the hospital and the attitude of 100 Healthcare workers towards safety. RESULTS: Of the subjects included in the study, only 55% knew of the existence of an infection control policy in the institution. A large majority of respondents (94%) believed that reporting of errors will help in reducing their incidence. Top reasons for adverse events were high workload (82%) and incomplete information from patients (71%). INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS: Patient safety is still in its infant stages in India, despite the emphasis by WHO. The problem areas, including high work load, lack of communication by supervisory staff and recording of 'near-miss' and adverse events with feedback, if addressed, would minimise harm to patients and cut costs.