European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology
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Eur. J. Clin. Microbiol. Infect. Dis. · Oct 2012
Impact on knowledge and practice of an intervention to control catheter infection in the ICU.
Information on the impact of care bundles has been mainly acquired in adult intensive care units (ICUs). However, specific data for educational programs are scarce. Our objective was to analyze the impact of an educational program on the knowledge and prevention of catheter-related bloodstream infection (CRBSI) in two pediatric intensive care units (P-ICUs). ⋯ A total of 174 questionnaires were completed by HCWs from both the neonatal ICU (N-ICU) and the P-ICU before the intervention and 54 were completed after the intervention (120 participants were not present during this period). The incidence density of CRBSI before, during, and after the intervention was 6.2, 5.2, and 9.3 in the N-ICU and 2.2, 3.1, and 2.9 in the P-ICU (p > 0.05). A single 20-min educational intervention on the prevention of CRBSI significantly improved HCWs' knowledge, but was not enough to reduce the incidence density of CRBSI.
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Eur. J. Clin. Microbiol. Infect. Dis. · Oct 2012
Aetiology of community-acquired pneumonia among adults in an H1N1 pandemic year: the role of respiratory viruses.
This study aimed to determine the aetiology of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) by adding polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to conventional methods and to describe the clinical and laboratory features between patients with bacterial pneumonia (BP) and viral pneumonia (VP). Adults with CAP admitted from November 2009 to October 2010 were included. Demographics, comorbidities, severity and clinical features were recorded. ⋯ Shaking chills, higher CURB score and shock were significantly more frequent in BP. A viral infection was identified in more than one-third of patients with CAP. Clinical and laboratory features could help to differentiate between VP and BP and to guide empirical therapy.
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Eur. J. Clin. Microbiol. Infect. Dis. · Oct 2012
Multicenter StudyScore to identify the severity of adult patients with influenza A (H1N1) 2009 virus infection at hospital admission.
The objective of this paper was to develop a prognostic index for severe complications among hospitalized patients with influenza A (H1N1) 2009 virus infection. We conducted a prospective observational cohort study of 618 inpatients with 2009 H1N1 virus infection admitted to 36 Spanish hospitals between July 2009 and February 2010. Risk factors evaluated included host-related factors and clinical data at admission. ⋯ The SIHC rate was 1.9 % in the low-risk group, 10.3 % in the intermediate-risk group, and 29.6 % in the high-risk group. The odds ratio for complications was 21.8 for the high-risk group compared with the low-risk group. This easy-to-score influenza A (H1N1) 2009 virus infection risk index accurately stratifies patients hospitalized for H1N1 virus infection into low-, intermediate-, and high-risk groups for SIHC.
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Eur. J. Clin. Microbiol. Infect. Dis. · Oct 2012
Bacteremia with Streptococcus pneumoniae: sepsis and other risk factors for 30-day mortality--a hospital-based cohort study.
We conducted a hospital-based cohort study among adult patients with first-time Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteremia (SPB) from 2000 through 2008. Patients were identified in a population-based bacteremia database and followed up for mortality through the Danish Civil Registration System (CRS). The aim of the study was to determine the focal diagnosis of SPB, the severity of sepsis at presentation, demographics and comorbidity characteristics of the patients, and to determine the 30-day mortality rate and factors related to mortality. ⋯ Mortality increased with the severity of sepsis. There was no association between the focal diagnosis of SPB or the number of diagnoses and mortality. Nosocomial infection, male sex, increasing age, and increasing comorbidity were all associated with an increased 30-day mortality rate.
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Eur. J. Clin. Microbiol. Infect. Dis. · Sep 2012
ReviewInfective endocarditis prophylaxis: moving from dental prophylaxis to global prevention?
Infective endocarditis (IE) is an infectious disease which mainly affects elderly patients. Staphylococcus aureus is the main microorganism and IE, which used to be associated with a previously known heart disease, is now associated with healthcare procedures. For a long time, it was thought necessary to prevent IE with antibiotics before starting many invasive procedures. ⋯ Epidemiological studies emphasize changes in the profile of IE, which is moving from a streptococcal disease in patients with previously known heart disease to a staphylococcal healthcare-associated disease in elderly patients suffering from many comorbidities or having intracardiac devices. These changes should lead us to question the validity of our current management of antibiotic prophylaxis. There are already recommendations from the American Heart Association (AHA) for the prevention of implantable cardiovascular electronic device implantation, but apart from this particular situation, should we not extend prophylaxis to more comprehensive prevention in patients who have comorbidities? To find an answer, we need to acquire more data on the pathophysiology of IE while continuing epidemiological surveillance of the disease.