Treatment of bloodstream infections in ICUs

[Procalcitonin as a tool for the assessment of successful therapy of severe sepsis : An analysis using clinical routine data]

INTRODUCTION

Procalcitonin (PCT) is a well-evaluated biomarker for the detection of severe bacterial infections and monitoring effectiveness of antibiotic therapy. This study aims to evaluate the usefulness of PCT in a clinical routine setting.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Of 358,763 clinical cases from 7 German hospitals in 2012 and 2013, 3854 cases had an ICD-10 code representing sepsis. A total of 1778 cases had pathologic PCT and one episode of infection. Of those, 671 showed a series of measures that was suitable to assess treatment success using PCT reduction. Propensity score matching was used to create two comparable groups with 211 patients in each group.

RESULTS

The group with PCT reduction within 12 days showed a highly significant better proportion of survival (146/211 vs. 17/211; p < 0.0001). The odds ratio for death according to PCT reduction vs. nonreduction is 25.64 (p < 0.0001; 95 % CI: 14.49-45.45). PCT was normalized after an average of 6.2 days.

DISCUSSION

The difference in survival implicates that PCT reduction is a suitable surrogate parameter to indicate successful antimicrobial therapy. Successful antibiotic therapy is a proven predictor for survival in sepsis. This study also showed concordant results in the group of patients with sepsis after abdominal surgery. Results from subgroup analyses confirm the initial findings. PCT reduction was used as surrogate for therapy success, as the antimicrobial therapy was not electronically available.

CONCLUSION

PCT reduction is a strong predictor for survival. However, the data show that overall use of PCT to monitor sepsis therapy is not yet routinely established. Hospitals should establish algorithms for sepsis treatment that include PCT for the assessment of adequacy and the monitoring of success of the antimicrobial therapy.

High susceptibility of MDR and XDR Gram-negative pathogens to biphenyl-diacetylene-based difluoromethyl-allo-threonyl-hydroxamate LpxC inhibitors

OBJECTIVES

Inhibitors of uridine diphosphate-3-O-(R-3-hydroxymyristoyl)-N-acetylglucosamine deacetylase (LpxC, which catalyses the first, irreversible step in lipid A biosynthesis) are a promising new class of antibiotics against Gram-negative bacteria. The objectives of the present study were to: (i) compare the antibiotic activities of three LpxC inhibitors (LPC-058, LPC-011 and LPC-087) and the reference inhibitor CHIR-090 against Gram-negative bacilli (including MDR and XDR isolates); and (ii) investigate the effect of combining these inhibitors with conventional antibiotics.

METHODS

MICs were determined for 369 clinical isolates (234 Enterobacteriaceae and 135 non-fermentative Gram-negative bacilli). Time-kill assays with LPC-058 were performed on four MDR/XDR strains, including Escherichia coli producing CTX-M-15 ESBL and Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii producing KPC-2, VIM-1 and OXA-23 carbapenemases, respectively.

RESULTS

LPC-058 was the most potent antibiotic and displayed the broadest spectrum of antimicrobial activity, with MIC90 values for Enterobacteriaceae, P. aeruginosa, Burkholderia cepacia and A. baumannii of 0.12, 0.5, 1 and 1 mg/L, respectively. LPC-058 was bactericidal at 1× or 2× MIC against CTX-M-15, KPC-2 and VIM-1 carbapenemase-producing strains and bacteriostatic at ≤4× MIC against OXA-23 carbapenemase-producing A. baumannii. Combinations of LPC-058 with β-lactams, amikacin and ciprofloxacin were synergistic against these strains, albeit in a species-dependent manner. LPC-058's high efficacy was attributed to the presence of the difluoromethyl-allo-threonyl head group and a linear biphenyl-diacetylene tail group.

CONCLUSIONS

These in vitro data highlight the therapeutic potential of the new LpxC inhibitor LPC-058 against MDR/XDR strains and set the stage for subsequent in vivo studies.

Bloodstream infections in intensive care unit patients: distribution and antibiotic resistance of bacteria

Bloodstream infections (BSIs) are among the leading infections in critically ill patients. The case-fatality rate associated with BSIs in patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) reaches 35%–50%. The emergence and diffusion of bacteria with resistance to antibiotics is a global health problem. Multidrug-resistant bacteria were detected in 50.7% of patients with BSIs in a recently published international observational study, with methicillin resistance detected in 48% of Staphylococcus aureus strains, carbapenem resistance detected in 69% of Acinetobacter spp., in 38% of Klebsiella pneumoniae, and in 37% of Pseudomonas spp. Prior hospitalization and antibiotic exposure have been identified as risk factors for infections caused by resistant bacteria in different studies. Patients with BSIs caused by resistant strains showed an increased risk of mortality, which may be explained by a higher incidence of inappropriate empirical therapy in different studies. The molecular genetic characterization of resistant bacteria allows the understanding of the most common mechanisms underlying their resistance and the adoption of surveillance measures. Knowledge of epidemiology, risk factors, mechanisms of resistance, and outcomes of BSIs caused by resistant bacteria may have a major influence on global management of ICU patients. The aim of this review is to provide the clinician an update on BSIs caused by resistant bacteria in ICU patients.

Carbapenemase-Producing Klebsiella pneumoniae, a Key Pathogen Set for Global Nosocomial Dominance

The management of infections due to Klebsiella pneumoniae has been complicated by the emergence of antimicrobial resistance, especially to carbapenems. Resistance to carbapenems in K. pneumoniae involves multiple mechanisms, including the production of carbapenemases (e.g., KPC, NDM, VIM, OXA-48-like), as well as alterations in outer membrane permeability mediated by the loss of porins and the upregulation of efflux systems. The latter two mechanisms are often combined with high levels of other types of β-lactamases (e.g., AmpC). K. pneumoniae sequence type 258 (ST258) emerged during the early to mid-2000s as an important human pathogen and has spread extensively throughout the world. ST258 comprises two distinct lineages, namely, clades I and II, and it seems that ST258 is a hybrid clone that was created by a large recombination event between ST11 and ST442. Incompatibility group F plasmids with blaKPC have contributed significantly to the success of ST258. The optimal treatment of infections due to carbapenemase-producing K. pneumoniae remains unknown. Some newer agents show promise for treating infections due to KPC producers; however, effective options for the treatment of NDM producers remain elusive.

Is combination therapy for carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae the new standard of care?

Carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae causes serious nosocomial infections and therapeutic options are limited. There is increasing evidence suggesting that combination antibiotic therapy is more effective than monotherapy and leads to better outcomes. However, questions remain about which regimen is optimal and how to balance the potential benefits of combination therapy versus the risks and possible complications (e.g., toxicity, increased costs, Clostridium difficile infection). Well-designed randomized clinical trials are needed to clarify these issues.

Evaluation of Nosocomial Infection in Patients at hematology-oncology ward of Dr. Sheikh children's hospital

BACKGROUND

Infections in critical care unit are high, and they are serious hospital problems. Infections acquired during the hospital stay are generally called nosocomial infections, initially known as infections arising after 48 h of hospital admission. The mostfrequent nosocomial infections (urinary, respiratory, gastroenteritis and blood stream infection) were common in patients at hospital.The aim was to study, the current status of nosocomial infection, rate of infection among hospitalized children at hematology-oncology ward of Dr. Sheikh children's hospital, Mashhad, Iran.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Data were collected from 200 patient's records presented with symptoms of nosocomial infection at hematology-oncology ward of Dr. Sheikh children's hospital from March 2014 to September 2014. Descriptive statistics using percentage was calculated.

RESULTS

Incidence of nosocomial infections inpatients athematology-oncology ward was 31% (62/200). Of which 69.35% (43/62) blood stream infection being the most frequent; followed by 30.64% (19/62) was urinary tract infection (UTI), and the most common blood culture isolate was been Staphylococcus epidermidis 18 (41.86%), andour study showed that large numbers ofnosocomial UTIs causing by Gram‑negative bacteria.

CONCLUSION

This study showed blood stream infection and UTI are the common nosocomial infections among patients athematology-oncology ward. Early recognition of infections and short term use of invasive devices along with proper infection control procedures can significantly decrease the incidence of nosocomial infections in patients.