Infection
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Before elective operations, particularly orthopaedic surgery, national guidelines in Germany recommend testing for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and hepatitis C virus (HCV) to reduce the risk of transmission of the virus through a needlestick or cutting injury. Such testing is expensive. The number of new and unknown diagnoses of viral infections that can be detected by routine screening has not yet been evaluated. ⋯ Two-thirds of the patients included in our study actually underwent screening; this rate was lower than expected. The incidence of newly detected infections was low, putting the benefit of a routine preoperative screening for HBV, HCV and HIV into question. From an economic point of view the low detection rate is a strong argument in favour of omitting routine preoperative screening. Screening only those patients with risk factors may be as safe as screening every patient and would help reduce costs.
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Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is the most common infection leading to hospitalization in the USA. The objective of this study was to evaluate management practices for inpatient CAP in relation to Infectious Diseases Society of America/American Thoracic Society (IDSA/ATS) guidelines to identify opportunities for antibiotic and health care resource stewardship. ⋯ In this cohort of patients hospitalized for CAP, management was frequently inconsistent with IDSA/ATS guideline recommendations, revealing potential targets to reduce unnecessary antibiotic and healthcare resource utilization.
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Raoultella species are Gram-negative, non-motile bacilli primarily considered to be environmental bacteria (Bagley et al.; Curr Microbiol 6:105-109, 1981). R. planticola has rarely been documented as a cause of human infections and has never been reported to cause urinary tract infections. We report the first case of R. planticola cystitis.
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Multicenter Study
Efficacy and safety of voriconazole in the treatment of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis: experience in Japan.
Though various clinical conditions of aspergillosis can occur, depending essentially on the host's immunological status, the focus of research in North American and European countries has mainly been on invasive pulmonary aspergillosis in immunocompromised patients. There are, however, also many problems to overcome in chronic forms of aspergillosis. One of those problems is that there are no codified treatment guidelines for chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA). Especially in Japan, this issue is more serious, because there are more cases with CPA due to the many aged people with past history of tuberculosis. Several clinical cases and case series have reported the usefulness of the various antifungal agents that are available. The new triazole, voriconazole, in particular, seems to be effective in the treatment of CPA. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of voriconazole in the treatment of CPA in non-immunocompromised patients. ⋯ In Japan, voriconazole provides effective therapy of CPA in non-immunocompromised patients with an acceptable level of toxicity.
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In patients with haematological or oncological malignancies, we aimed to assess the rate of intestinal colonisation and blood stream infections (BSI) with extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBLE) and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), mortality and risk factors associated with ESBLE/VRE BSI, as well as the impact of faecal screening for ESBLE and VRE in combination with adapted empiric treatment of febrile neutropenia. ⋯ Intestinal ESBLE/VRE colonisation predicts BSI. Faecal screening in haematology/oncology patients in combination with directed empiric treatment may reduce ESBLE BSI-related mortality.