Antimicrobial Resistance in Enterococci

Background. Enterococcus spp. are opportunistic agents of community-acquired and in-hospital infections, which have been considered a threat to public health due to their antimicrobial resistance, primarily to glycopeptides, in recent years.The aim of the study is to determine the prevalence of various Enterococcus species causing infections in hospitalized patients and their antimicrobial resistance.Methods included identification by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and antimicrobial susceptibility testing in accordance with the EUCAST or, in their absence, CLSI guidelines.Results. Antimicrobial resistance in 1562 consecutive Enterococcus strains isolated from hospitalized patients was determined in a major medical center admitting patients from various regions of the Russian Federation in 2019. The predominance of E.faecalis and E.faecium (99.5%) was revealed; the frequency of isolation of the former was 56% higher than that of the latter. E.avium, E.casseliflavus, E.gallinarum, E.durans were isolated from 0.5% of biological samples. The highest level of resistance of enterococci was observed to erythromycin (84.8%), tetracycline (75.0%), and rifampicin (68.2%). Multidrug, as well as vancomycin resistance, prevailed in E.faecium. All E.faecium strains isolated from blood were multidrug resistant. Resistance to vancomycin in enterococci, causing bloodstream infections, was observed solely in 19.5% of E.faecium; all vancomycin-resistant isolates were also resistant to teicoplanin. Linezolid resistance was detected in 2 community-acquired strains of E.faecalis (0.1%). Rare enterococci have shown diverse patterns of antimicrobial resistance.Conclusions. E.faecalis and E.faecium prevailed among Enterococcus spp. causing infections in hospitalized patients. Multidrug resistance and vancomycin resistance were observed predominantly in E.faecium, especially in strains causing blood-stream infections. Further monitoring of the spread and antimicrobial resistance of various Enterococcus spp. in hospital and community-acquired infections is needed.

Prevalence and epidemiological description of clubfoot at King Saud Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Objectives: Clubfoot is a burden affecting 150,000 newborns worldwide every year. This study looked at the prevalence of clubfoot at King Saud Medical City (KSMC) and examined the risk factors associated with clubfoot in Saudi Arabia. Methods: Data were collected through the medical system (Medisys) and the database of the orthopedic department intern at KSMC to determine the prevalence of clubfoot using the births recorded from 2015 to 2019 and reviewing their medical files. The epidemiological description of Saudi clubfoot patients was attained by collecting a sample of 100 patients from the clubfoot clinic database. Results: A total of 18,515 births at KSMC from 2015 to 2019 were evaluated. It was found that 42 patients were affected by clubfoot resulting in a birth prevalence of 2.3/1000 (0.23%) among Saudis at KSMC. Out of 100 clubfoot patients, 93% had no maternal history of chronic disease, while 31% of the cases were a product of consanguineous marriages. About 15% of the patients had an associated developmental dysplasia of the hip. Conclusion: This study estimates the prevalence of clubfoot in one major medical center in Saudi Arabia to be 2.3/1000. The findings support the data reported in the literature that males are more affected by clubfoot than females, with twice the likelihood that males will be affected by clubfoot. This study will provide an initial look at clubfoot in Saudi Arabia, which can build a base for future studies.

Canine-Assisted Interventions in Hospitals: Best Practices for Maximizing Human and Canine Safety

Canine-assisted interventions (CAI) are becoming more popular in hospital settings, representing a crucial intersection between animals, veterinary medicine, and society. However, standardized policies and procedures to minimize risk and maximize benefit to vulnerable humans and protect therapy dog welfare are lacking, posing a challenge to safe practice. Few intervention programs are evaluated to document efficacy compounding the potential risk. This paper presents a rationale for CAI in hospitals and describes the evidence, issues, and challenges to establishing and maintaining safe and effective programs for humans and animals. Recommendations are made for best practices based on the existing scientific evidence and a model program in place in a major medical center for 19 years. Scientific and practical implications are considered.

Reliability and Variability Assessment of Femoral Artery Pseudoaneurysm Measurements Between Pre- and Postprocessed B-mode Ultrasound Images

Objective: To assess the reliability and variability of femoral artery pseudoaneurysm (FAP) measurements between pre- and postprocessed sonograms acquired in a major medical center in Saudi Arabia as compared with results obtained from a major medical center in the United States. Methods: Retrospective image analysis was conducted on 23 FAP sonograms, which were evaluated by four observers. Observers measured FAP sac and neck from pre- and postprocessed images and remeasured again after 2 weeks, to avoid recall bias. Results: The use of image processing was more profound for the novice observers in measuring FAP neck width and length. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for FAP neck width improved after segmentation from 0.63 to 0.91; in contrast, the ICC improved from 0.91 to 0.97 for experts. The average ICCs for FAP neck length improved from 0.40 to 0.79 for novices and from 0.86 to 0.95 for experts. The largest variation of values, within observers, were for neck length obtained from the original images. The range varied from 0.16 to 0.37 cm and was reduced to 0.10 to 0.18 cm with segmented images. Conclusion: As demonstrated previously, sonographic image processing resulted in increased reliability and decreased variability for FAP measurements.

Non-tuberculous mycobacteria profiles and their anti-mycobacterial resistance at a major medical center in Lebanon

Introduction: Infection with non-tuberculosis mycobacteria (NTM) has been on the rise globally causing a wide spectrum of respiratory and extrapulmonary infections in humans. Studies on these pathogens from the Middle-East including Lebanon are scarce. Methodology: This retrospective study addresses the approach used for investigation, speciation and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) profiles of recovered NTM isolates from respiratory sources at a major tertiary care center in Lebanon during two periods (2003-2007 and 2013-2017). Processing of specimens, culture and differentiation of recovered NTM isolates from Mycobacterium tuberculosis were done in-house according to standard procedures. Upon request, speciation and AMR testing were performed using molecular and broth dilution methods, respectively, at Mayo Medical Laboratories (Rochester, Minnesota, USA). Results: Among 108 NTM analyzed isolates, 8 species were revealed during the two periods: M. simiae (51% vs 61%), M. avium complex (MAC) (6 % vs 12%) M. fortuitum (12% vs 5%), M. gordonae (6% vs 5%), M. abscessus (6% vs 7%), M. immunogenum (12% vs 0%), M. szulgai (4% vs 0%) and M. peregrinum (0% vs 2%). M. simiae isolates showed high susceptibility (93%-96%) to amikacin and clarithromycin, but high resistance to rifampin, ethambutol, ciprofloxacin, rifabutin, linezolid, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole and moxifloxacin. MAC isolates were only susceptible to clarithromycin (86%). M. abscessus isolates were uniformly susceptible to amikacin (100%). Conclusion: The revelaed different NTM species, with predominance of M.simiae and various AMR profiles provide a current epidemiologic database and help guiding the selection of appropriate empirical therapy once the clinical relevance is established.

Sharing the Patient Experience: A “Talk Story” Intervention for Heart Failure Management in Native Hawaiians

Background: Native Hawaiians (NHs) suffer disproportionately from cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality. Objective: To test a narrative intervention of patient stories to support heart disease self-management in NHs. Method: Six NH storyteller videos were developed with community feedback following established methods. The NH participants with heart failure (N = 35) were recruited from a major medical center in Hawai‘i. Participants completed demographic questionnaires, watched videos via iPad, and described experiences. Follow-up was 4 weeks later. Results: Mean participant age was 57.0 years (standard deviation [SD]:13.0) and 31% (11) were female. On a scale of 1 (worst) to 4 (best), respondents rated the videos 3.7 (SD: 0.5) in relevance for helping them manage their heart disease and 3.6 (SD: 0.5) in their experience using these videos. When asked what they liked best, the most common response was that they are “like me” (from 14 respondents, ranging from a 43-year-old woman to an 84-year-old man). Of those completing follow-up (n = 15), 87% said videos helped them. Conclusion: Our narrative “talk story” intervention showed promise as a culturally relevant method to share patient experiences and reduce health disparities.

Risk-Based Hepatitis C Screening in Pregnancy Is Less Reliable Than Universal Screening: A Retrospective Chart Review

Current guidelines recommend only hepatitis C virus (HCV) risk-based screening during pregnancy. We examined screening practices at a major medical center and found inconsistent risk-based screening and the presence of HCV among women with no known risk factors. We make a case for the implementation of universal HCV screening during pregnancy.