scholarly journals Are Differences in Presentation of Early Lyme Borreliosis in Europe and North America a Consequence of a More Frequent Spirochetemia in American Patients?

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 1448
Author(s):  
Vera Maraspin ◽  
Petra Bogovič ◽  
Katarina Ogrinc ◽  
Tereza Rojko ◽  
Eva Ružić-Sabljić ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Culture ◽  
Lyme Borreliosis ◽  
Positive Blood Culture ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Erythema Migrans ◽  
Borrelia Garinii ◽  
Blood Samples ◽  
Multiple Variables ◽  
Time Of Presentation ◽  
Culture Positive

To assess whether differences in presentation between US and European patients with early Lyme borreliosis are due to the lower rate of spirochetemia in Europe, we compared multiple variables for patients with erythema migrans (EM), restricting the analysis to subjects with a positive blood culture at the time of presentation: 93 US patients infected with Borrelia burgdorferi versus 183 European patients infected with Borrelia afzelii (No = 144) or Borrelia garinii (No = 39). Compared to spirochetemic Slovenian EM patients infected with B. afzelii, US patients with a positive blood culture significantly less often recalled a preceding tick bite at the site of the EM skin lesion, had a shorter duration of EM prior to diagnosis and more often had multiple EM lesions, regional lymphadenopathy, constitutional symptoms, an increased ESR value, a low blood lymphocyte count and detectable borrelia antibodies in acute and convalescent phase blood samples. Similar differences were observed when US patients were compared to Slovenian patients with B. garinii infection, but not all reached statistical significance. The findings are comparable to those previously reported for the corresponding skin culture positive patients and do not support the hypothesis that a higher frequency of spirochetemia at the time of presentation in US patients with EM, compared with European EM patients, is the reason for the observed differences.

scholarly journals Characteristics of spirochetemic patients with a solitary erythema migrans skin lesion in Europe

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. e0250198
Author(s):  
Vera Maraspin ◽  
Katarina Ogrinc ◽  
Tereza Rojko ◽  
Petra Bogovič ◽  
Eva Ružić-Sabljić ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Skin Lesion ◽  
Blood Culture ◽  
Erythema Migrans ◽  
Skin Lesions ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Negative Blood Culture ◽  
Borrelia Garinii ◽  
Pre Treatment ◽  
Culture Positive ◽  
Age And Sex

Neither pre-treatment characteristics, nor the outcome after antibiotic therapy, have been reported for spirochetemic European patients with Lyme borreliosis. In the present study, patients with a solitary erythema migrans (EM) who had a positive blood culture for either Borrelia afzelii (n = 116) or Borrelia garinii (n = 37) were compared with age- and sex-matched patients who had a negative blood culture, but were culture positive for the corresponding Borrelia species from skin. Collectively, spirochetemic patients significantly more often recalled a tick bite at the site of the EM skin lesion, had a shorter time interval from the bite to the onset of EM, had a shorter duration of the skin lesion prior to diagnosis, and had a smaller EM skin lesion that was more often homogeneous in appearance. Similar results were found for the subset of spirochetemic patients infected with B. afzelii but not for those infected with B. garinii. However, patients with B. garinii bacteremia had faster-spreading and larger EM skin lesions, and more often reported itching at the site of the lesion than patients with B. afzelii bacteremia. Treatment failures were rare (7/306 patients, 2.3%) and were not associated with having spirochetemia or with which Borrelia species was causing the infection.

Nosocomial Bacteremia Clinical Significance of a Single Blood Culture Positive for Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci

2005 ◽  
Vol 26 (8) ◽  
pp. 697-702 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benoît Favre ◽  
Stéphane Hugonnet ◽  
Luci Correa ◽  
Hugo Sax ◽  
Peter Rohner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Culture ◽  
Clinical Significance ◽  
Positive Blood Culture ◽  
Blood Cultures ◽  
University Teaching ◽  
Coagulase Negative Staphylococci ◽  
Nosocomial Bacteremia ◽  
Single Positive ◽  
Clinically Significant ◽  
Culture Positive

AbstractObjectives:To describe the epidemiology of nosocomial coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) bacteremia and to evaluate the clinical significance of a single blood culture positive for CoNS.Design:A 3-year retrospective cohort study based on data prospectively collected through hospital-wide surveillance. Bacteremia was defined according to CDC criteria, except that a single blood culture growing CoNS was not systematically considered as a contaminant. All clinically significant blood cultures positive for CoNS nosocomial bacteremia were considered for analysis.Setting:A large university teaching hospital in Geneva, Switzerland.Results:A total of 2,660 positive blood cultures were identified. Of these, 1,108 (41.7%) were nosocomial; CoNS were recovered from 411 nosocomial episodes (37.1%). Two hundred thirty-four episodes of CoNS bacteremia in the presence of signs of sepsis were considered clinically relevant and analyzed. Crude mortality and associated mortality were 24.4% and 12.8%, respectively. Associated mortality was similar among patients with one positive blood culture and those with two or more (16.2% vs 10.8%, respectively;P= .3). Mortality rates after bacteremia for patients with a single positive blood culture and for those with two or more were 15.3% and 7.0%, respectively, at day 14 (RR, 2.2; CI%, 0.87-5.46) and 20.8% and 11.3%, respectively, at day 28 (RR, 1.9; CI95, 0.9-3.8). On multivariate analysis, only age and a rapidly fatal disease were independently associated with death.Conclusion:CoNS bacteremia harbor a significant mortality and a single positive blood culture in the presence of signs of sepsis should be considered as clinically relevant.

scholarly journals Comparison of outcome between blood culture positive and negative infective endocarditis patients undergoing cardiac surgery

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristians Meidrops ◽  
Arina Zuravlova ◽  
Janis Davis Osipovs ◽  
Martins Kalejs ◽  
Valerija Groma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cardiac Surgery ◽  
Infective Endocarditis ◽  
Blood Culture ◽  
Multivariate Analyses ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Delayed Diagnosis ◽  
Causative Microorganism ◽  
Independent Association ◽  
Culture Positive ◽  
Culture Negative

Abstract Background Up to 30% or even more of all infective endocarditis (IE) cases are recognized as blood culture negative, meaning that the causative agent is left unidentified. The prompt diagnosis together with the identification of causative microorganism and targeted antibiotic treatment can significantly impact the prognosis of the disease and further patient’s health status. In some studies, blood culture negative endocarditis has been shown to be associated with delayed diagnosis, worse outcome and course of the disease, and a greater number of intra and postoperative complications. Methods We retrospectively analysed the medical records of all patients who underwent cardiac surgery for endocarditis between years 2016 and 2019. The aim of this study was to analyse short and long-term mortality and differences of laboratory, clinical and echocardiography parameters in patients with blood culture positive endocarditis (BCPE) and blood culture negative endocarditis (BCNE) and its possible impact on the clinical outcome. Results In our study population were 114 (55.1%) blood culture positive and 93 (44.9%) blood culture negative cases of infectious endocarditis. The most common pathogens in the blood culture positive IE group were S.aureus in 36 cases (31.6%), Streptococcus spp. in 27 (23.7%), E.faecalis in 24 (21.1%), and other microorganisms in 27 (23.7%). Embolic events were seen in 60 patients (28.9%). In univariate analyses, detection of microorganism, elevated levels of procalcitonin were found to be significantly associated with intrahospital death, however it did not reach statistical significance in multivariate analyses. Among microorganisms, S.aureus was significantly associated with intrahospital death in both univariate and multivariate analyses. Conclusions There are no statistically significant differences between groups of BCPE and BCNE in terms of intrahospital mortality, hospital and ICU stay or 3-year mortality. There were higher levels of procalcitonin in BCPE group, however procalcitonin failed to show independent association with mortality in multivariate analysis. The most common microorganism in the BCPE group was S.aureus. It was associated with independently higher intrahospital mortality when compared to other causative microorganisms.

Procalcitonin Level as a Surrogate for Catheter-Related Blood Stream Infection among Hemodialysis Patients

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 498-502 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahmoud Hamada Imam ◽  
Eman Gamal
Keyword(s):  
Blood Culture ◽  
Positive Blood Culture ◽  
Blood Stream Infection ◽  
Positive Culture ◽  
Blood Stream ◽  
Hemodialysis Patients ◽  
Reactive Protein ◽  
Markers Of Inflammation ◽  
Spearman Correlation Test ◽  
Time Of Presentation

Introduction Catheter-related bloodstream infection (CRBSI) is a frequent complication among hemodialysis patients who usually are presented with nonspecific signs such as fever, rigors, and hypotension. Blood culture will take up to 5 days and antimicrobials will be started. Procalcitonin (PCT) is a valid marker in sepsis. Our goal in this study is to evaluate its usefulness as a diagnostic marker in detecting CRBSI among hemodialysis patients who present with suspected CRBSI. Patients and methods Thirty-one hemodialysis patients with suspected CRBSI were enrolled in this study. PCT level was measured at the time of presentation. Patients were divided into two groups according to blood culture results: positive and negative groups. PCT level and other markers for inflammation: white blood cell count (WBC), C-reactive protein (CRP), and ferritin were compared between the two groups. Statistical analysis of variables was performed using the t-test or Mann-Whitney test together with Spearman correlation test. Results Thirty-one patients had median age 44.7 ± 2.1 years. They comprised 16 males (52%) and 15 females (48%). Sixteen patients had a positive blood culture result while in 15 it was negative. PCT level was significantly higher in the positive blood culture group (40.0 ± -21.9) (95% confidence interval [CI] 28.4-51.8) while its level was 1.1 ± 1 (95% CI 0.54-1.8) in the negative blood culture group [t(15) = -7, p<0.001). In the positive culture group, there was a correlation between CRP and ferritin (r = -0.58, p = 0.01, n = 16), while no correlation between PCT and other markers of inflammation. Conclusions PCT is a useful marker for diagnosis of CRBSI among hemodialysis patients.

T2Candida magnetic resonance in patients with invasive candidiasis: Strengths and limitations

2019 ◽  
Vol 58 (5) ◽  
pp. 632-638 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Zurl ◽  
Juergen Prattes ◽  
Ines Zollner-Schwetz ◽  
Thomas Valentin ◽  
Jasmin Rabensteiner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Culture ◽  
Invasive Candidiasis ◽  
Candida Species ◽  
Blood Cultures ◽  
Clinical Value ◽  
Blood Samples ◽  
Sterile Site ◽  
Culture Positive ◽  
Edta Blood ◽  
Time Point

Abstract T2Candida enables detection of five Candida species in whole blood within approximately 5 hours. Routinely drawn EDTA blood samples were prospectively stored and tested with T2Candida in patients with invasive candidiasis identified by routine index blood or sterile site cultures. T2Candida was compared to diagnostic blood and sterile site cultures and also performed with samples obtained prior and after collection of index cultures. T2Candida was evaluated with 133 samples of 32 patients with candidemia and 22 patients with deep-seated invasive candidiasis. In the candidemic group 28/32 (87.5%) patients had at least one positive T2Candida result at any time point. A total of 17/25 (68%) candidemic patients had a positive T2Candida sample that was drawn concurrently to the index blood culture. In the per patient analysis 17/18 (94.4%) candidemic patients with matched T2Candida samples and peripheral blood cultures at any timepoint had a positive T2Candida test. T2Candida revealed discordant Candida species identification in two candidemic patients. Six of 22 (27.3%) deep-seated IC patients had a positive T2Candida result. Despite advanced time-to-results the clinical value of T2Candida in diagnosing candidemia seems to be limited by missing blood culture positive cases. Positivity rates of T2Candida increased when serial T2Candida samples were tested. In patients with suspected deep-seated invasive candidiasis T2Candida might act as a blood based adjunct to sterile site cultures.

Next-generation Diagnostics for Melioidosis: Evaluation of a Prototype i-STAT Cartridge to Detect Burkholderia pseudomallei Biomarkers

2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (3) ◽  
pp. 421-427 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin L Schully ◽  
Charles C Young ◽  
Mark Mayo ◽  
Amy L Connolly ◽  
Vanessa Rigas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Culture ◽  
Burkholderia Pseudomallei ◽  
High Sensitivity ◽  
Diagnostic Tools ◽  
Next Generation ◽  
Blood Samples ◽  
Life Threatening ◽  
Low Sensitivity ◽  
Culture Positive ◽  
Culture Negative

AbstractBackgroundInfection with the gram-negative bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei can result in melioidosis, a life-threatening disease that can be difficult to diagnose. Culture remains the gold standard for diagnosis but requires laboratory resources not available in many endemic regions. A lateral flow immunoassay has shown promise for POC diagnostics but suffers from low sensitivity when used on blood samples. PCR also has low sensitivity on blood, attributed to the low bacterial numbers in blood observed in melioidosis patients, even when bacteraemic.MethodsA prototype i-STAT cartridge was developed to utilize the monoclonal antibody specific for the capsule of pathogenic Burkholderia species employed on the LFI. The resulting POC assay was evaluated on 414 clinical specimens from Darwin, Australia and Cambodia.ResultsThe i-STAT assay accurately distinguished Australian blood culture positive melioidosis patients from Australian patients hospitalized with other infections (AUC = 0.91, 95% CI 0.817 - 1.0). We derived an assay cutoff with 76% sensitivity and 94% specificity that correctly classified 88% (n = 74) of the Australian patients. Interestingly, only 46% (6/13) of the culture-positive melioidosis patients in Cambodia were classified correctly. Of great importance however, the assay detected capsule from blood samples for 32% of blood culture negative melioidosis patients in both cohorts and previously undiagnosed melioidosis patients in Cambodia. In addition the assay showed high sensitivity and specificity for urine, pus and sputum.ConclusionsDiagnostic tools that are not dependent upon the growth kinetics or the levels of bacteremia of B. pseudomallei represent the next-generation of diagnostics and must be pursued further.

scholarly journals Comparison of the Clinico-Microbiological Characteristics of Culture-Positive and Culture-Negative Septic Pulmonary Embolism: A 10-Year Retrospective Study

Pathogens ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 995
Author(s):  
Yoshito Nishimura ◽  
Hideharu Hagiya ◽  
Mikako Obika ◽  
Fumio Otsuka
Keyword(s):  
Pulmonary Embolism ◽  
Blood Culture ◽  
Positive Blood Culture ◽  
Elevated Serum ◽  
Clinical Findings ◽  
Positive Group ◽  
Odontogenic Infections ◽  
Septic Pulmonary Embolism ◽  
Culture Positive ◽  
Culture Negative

Septic pulmonary embolism (SPE) is a rare yet serious infectious disorder with nonspecific clinical findings due to microorganism-containing emboli disseminating from extrapulmonary infectious foci. It is unknown whether a positive blood culture correlates with a worse clinical outcome. We compared the clinical and microbiologic characteristics of patients with SPE divided into the culture-positive group and the culture-negative one. This study was a retrospective observational study of the patients diagnosed with SPE and treated in an academic hospital from April 2010 to May 2020. We identified six culture-positive and four culture-negative patients with SPE during the study period. The culture-positive group had significantly longer periods of hospitalization (median: 75 days, range: 45–125 days) than the culture-negative group (median: 14.5 days, range: 3–43 days) (p < 0.05), as well as significantly elevated serum C-reactive protein and procalcitonin. Patients with culture-negative SPE more commonly had odontogenic infections as the primary infectious foci. Our study highlights the importance of giving extra attention to SPE patients who have a positive blood culture, as they may have worse clinical outcomes. Physicians need to collaborate with dentists when faced with patients with culture-negative SPE, since they may have primary odontogenic infections.

Multifactorial analysis of clinical laboratory signs, the levels of IL-17A, IL-23, IL-33, IL-35, and specific antibodies in the serum of patients with Lyme borreliosis without erythema migrans

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (11) ◽  
pp. 676-681
Author(s):  
V.V. Sapozhnikova ◽  
◽  
A.L. Bondarenko ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Principal Component Analysis ◽  
Lyme Borreliosis ◽  
Clinical Laboratory ◽  
Acute Infection ◽  
Erythema Migrans ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Component Analysis ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Multifactorial Analysis ◽  
Specific Antibodies

Aim: to determine the association between clinical laboratory parameters, the production of cytokines (IL-17A, -23, -33, -35), and specific IgM and IgG in the serum of patients with Lyme borreliosis without erythema migrans. Patients and Methods: complete blood count, the concentrations of IL-17A, -23, -33, -35, and the levels of specific IgM and IgG were measured during acute infection and convalescence (n=30). The control group included age- and sex-matched healthy individuals (n=30). Statistical analysis was performed using the StatSoft Statistica v 10.0 software (parametric and non-parametric methods and multifactorial analysis, i.e., principal component analysis). Results: most (80%) patients with Lyme borreliosis without erythema migrans are the people of working age. In most patients, the combination of the specific antibodies against Borrelia afzelii and Borrelia garinii (76.7%) and severe intoxication and inflammatory process (100%) were detected. Moderate and severe disease associated with meningism was diagnosed in 90% and 10%, respectively. The mean duration of hectic period was 8.3±1.27 days. Abnormal ECG was reported in 40% of patients, i.e., conduction abnormalities in 20%, sinus bradycardia in 16.7%,and sinus tachycardia in 3.3%. The clinical laboratory signs of hepatitis without jaundice were identified in 26.7%. During treatment, the significant reduction in band and segmented neutrophil counts as well as the significant increase in platelet count were revealed compared to these parameters at admission. Abnormal cytokine levels (i.e., the increase in IL-17A, -23, -33 and the deficiency of IL-35) were detected. Conclusions: multifactorial analysis has demonstrated that the severity of immunological abnormalities in patients with Lyme borreliosis without erythema migrans is associated with fever, cardiac and liver disorders, the high levels of IL-23 and IL-33, and the lack of IL-35 and specific IgM and IgG. KEYWORDS: tick-borne borreliosis, Lyme disease without erythema migrans, clinical laboratory signs, cytokines, specific antibodies, multifactorial analysis, principal component analysis. FOR CITATION: Sapozhnikova V.V., Bondarenko A.L. Multifactorial analysis of clinical laboratory signs, the levels of IL-17A, IL-23, IL-33, IL-35, and specific antibodies in the serum of patients with Lyme borreliosis without erythema migrans. Russian Medical Inquiry. 2020;4(11):676–681. DOI: 10.32364/2587-6821-2020-4-11-676-681.

ANTIMICROBIAL SUSCEPTIBILITY IN CULTURE POSITIVE ENTERIC FEVER

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dr. Manish Kulshrestha ◽  
Dr. Anjali Kulshrestha
Keyword(s):  
Bone Marrow ◽  
Blood Culture ◽  
Nalidixic Acid ◽  
Antimicrobial Susceptibility ◽  
Salmonella Enterica ◽  
Enteric Fever ◽  
Multidrug Resistant ◽  
Bone Marrow Culture ◽  
Diffusion Method ◽  
Culture Positive

INTRODUCTION: Enteric fever includes typhoid and paratyphoid fever. Peak incidence is seen in children 5–15 years of age; but in regions where the disease is highly endemic, as in India, children younger than 5 years of age may have the highest infection rates. There are about 22 million new typhoid cases occur each year. Young children in poor, resource limited areas, who make up the majority of the new cases and there is a mortality figures of 215,000 deaths annually. A sharp decline in the rates of complications and mortality due to typhoid fever is observed as a result of introduction of effective antibiotic therapy since 1950s. MDR-ST became endemic in many areas of Asia, including India soon after multidrug-resistant strains of Salmonella enterica serotype typhi (MDR-ST) that were resistant to all the three first-line drugs then in use, namely chloramphenicol, amoxycillin and co-trimoxazole emerged in early 1990s. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Only blood culture or bone marrow culture positive cases were included. The patients with culture isolated enteric fever were included in the study. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was carried out by disk diffusion method using antibiotic discs. The analysis of the antimicrobial susceptibility was carried out as per CLSI interpretative guidelines. RESULTS: A total of 82 culture positive cases were included in the present study. 80 culture isolates were from blood culture and 2 from the bone marrow culture. Salmonella entericasubspecies enterica serovartyphi (S typhi) was isolated from 67 (81.70%) patients while Salmonella enterica subspecies entericaserovarparatyphi (S paratyphi A) was isolated from 13 (15.85%) cases and 2 (2.44%) were Salmonella enterica subspecies entericaserovarschottmuelleri (S paratyphi B). Of the 82 cases 65(79.3%) isolates were resistant to ciprofloxacin, 17 (20.7%) were resistant to nalidixic acid, one (1.2%) case each was resistant to Cefotaxime and ceftriaxone, 2 (2.4%) were resistant to chloramphenicol, 10 (12.2%) were resistant and to cotrimoxazole 3 (3.7%) were resistant. CONCLUSION: In a culture positive cases 65(79.3%) isolates were resistant to ciprofloxacin and 17 (20.7%) were resistant to nalidixic acid. Multidrug resistant isolates were 65(79.3%).

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