Cross-infection

A mini epidemic of Dipodascus capitatus (teleomorph of Geotrichum capitatum) involving three cases is reported. The index case was pulmonary infection and a fulminant course of fungal infection, which resulted in the patient's death with acute myelocytic leukemia. In the other cases, the patients were simultaneously hospitalized, the first in the intensive care unit. In all cases, D. capitatus was identified in different samples (sputum, deep tracheal aspiration, blood, and urine) from each of the patients. Growing evidence indicates that D. capitatus should be added to the lengthening list of opportunistic fungal pathogens that can cause infection in people of all ages and particularly in those who are immunocompromised. Further, the danger of cross-contamination and potential "outbreak" should be kept in mind during hospital management.

Nosocomial infections bring a high risk to the health of hospital patients and employees. Ants are common organisms in Brazilian hospitals, where they can act as dispersers of opportunistic microorganisms in places they forage. The occurrence of multi-resistant bacteria carried by ants was analyzed in two public hospitals (HA and HB) in southeastern Bahia, Brazil. In these two hospitals 132 workers belonging to three ant species were collected. The bacteria associated to these ants were identified and their susceptibility to antibiotics was evaluated. More than half (57.3%) of ants collected in HA were associated with some kind of bacteria, with 26.7% of them being opportunist bacteria, while 84,2% of the ants from HB presented associated bacteria growth, with 61.4% of them being opportunist bacteria. Twenty four species of bacteria were isolated. The Gram-positive bacilli of the genus Bacillus were the most frequent, followed by the Gram-positive cocci, Gram-negative bacilli (family Enterobacteriaceae) and Gram-negative non-fermenters bacilli. The profile of sensitivity of the bacterial isolates to drugs pointed out the existence of multi-resistant isolates carried by ants. For the first time, are reported cases of the same bacterial resistant isolates taken form homospecific ant workers that point out the importance of ants to bacteria dissemination and proliferation in a hospital. Our results suggest that the risk of contamination presented by these ants is similar to the one of any other mechanical vector of bacterial dissemination.

To determine the interobserver reliability of radiologists' interpretations of mobile chest radiographs for nursing home-acquired pneumonia. A cross-sectional reliability study. Nursing homes and an acute care hospital. Four radiologists reviewed 40 mobile chest radiographs obtained from residents of nursing homes who met a clinical definition of lower respiratory tract infections. Radiologists were asked to interpret radiographs with respect to the film quality; presence, pattern, and extent of an infiltrate; and the presence of a pleural effusion or adenopathy. Interrater reliability was evaluated using the intraclass correlation coefficient derived from a 2-way random effects model. On average the radiologists reported that 6 of the 40 films were of very good or excellent quality and 16 of the 40 were of fair or poor quality. When the finding of an infiltrate was dichotomized (0 = no; 1 = possible, probable, or definite) all 4 radiologists agreed on 21 of the 37 chest radiographs. The intraclass correlation coefficient for the presence or absence of infiltrates was 0.54 (95% confidence intervals [CI] 0.38 to 0.69). For the 14 radiographs where infiltrates were observed by all radiologists, intraclass correlation coefficients for the presence of pleural effusions was 0.08 (95% CI -0.10 to 0.41), hilar adenopathy 0.54 (95% CI 0.29 to 0.79), and mediastinal adenopathy 0.49 (95% CI 0.21 to 0.76). In conclusion, the interrater agreement among radiologists for mobile chest radiographs in establishing the presence or absence of an infiltrate can be judged to be "fair." Treatment decisions need to include clinical findings and should not be made based on radiographic findings alone.

In 2003, through the Greater Cincinnati Health Council nine health care systems agreed to participate and fund 50% of a two-year project to reduce hospital-acquired infections among patients in intensive care units (ICU) and following surgery (SIP). Hospitals were randomized to either the CR-BSI or SIP project in the first year, adding the alternative project in year 2. Project leaders, often the infection control professionals, implemented evidence-based practices to reduce catheter-related blood stream infections (CR-BSIs; maximal sterile barriers, chlorhexidine) at their hospitals using a collaborative approach. Team leaders entered process information in a secure deidentifled Web-based database. Of the four initial sites randomized to CR-BSI reduction, all reduced central line infections by 50% (CR-BSI, 1.7 to 0.4/1000 line days, p < .05). At the project midpoint (3 quarters of 2004), adherence to evidence-based practices increased from 30% to nearly 95%. The direct role of h...

To describe the incidence, mortality, cost and length of stay (LOS) of hospitalized community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) in three South East Asian countries, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. Using Casemix system data from contributing hospitals, patients with ICD-10 codes identifying pneumonia were categorized into CAP or HAP using a logical algorithm. Incidence among hospitalized patients, case fatality rates (CFR), mean length of stay (LOS) and cost of admission was calculated. Population incidence was calculated based on the Malaysian data. For every 100,000 discharges, pneumonia incidence was 14,245 (CAP) and 5,615 (HAP) cases in the Philippines, 4,205 (CAP) and 2,187 (HAP) in Malaysia, and 988 (CAP) and 538 (HAP) in Indonesia with greater impact on the young and the elderly. The CFR varied from 1.4% to 4.2% (CAP) and 9.1% and 25.5% (HAP). The mean LOS was 6.1 to 8.6 days (CAP) and 6.9 to 10.2 days (HAP). Cost of hospitalization was between USD 254 and USD 1,208 (CAP) and USD 275 to USD 1,482 (HAP). The burden of CAP and HAP is high. Results varied between the three countries likely due to differences in socio-economic conditions, health system differences and ICD-coding practices.

There is now significant evidence that initial use of the correct antibiotic saves more lives than virtually all other intensive care therapy. This means covering all possible causative organisms with the initial empirical choice. For nosocomial sepsis, broad-spectrum antibiotics must be started as soon as the relevant samples have been taken for culture, with de-escalation of therapy targeted to the causative organisms when results and susceptibilities are available. There is an international trend to use shorter antibiotic courses. Pseudomonas pneumonia probably needs a 7-10 day course. In our ICU, provided the infection source is controlled, we seldom use antibiotic courses longer than 7 days. Evaluation of the kill characteristics of antibiotics in experimental models suggests that different classes of antibiotics should have different dosing regimens. For Beta- lactam antibiotics, the kill characteristic is almost entirely related to the time that tissue and plasma levels excee...