Publications by authors named "Achim Kaasch"

Article Synopsis
  • - The study focused on the diagnosis of Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (SAB), which has a high mortality rate, and explored the use of rapid nucleic acid amplification tests (NAAT) versus conventional urine culture methods to detect the presence of S. aureus in patients.
  • - A total of 120 patients were analyzed, with NAAT showing a sensitivity of 47% and specificity of 90% for detecting SAB in urine samples, outperforming urine culture, which had a sensitivity of 25% and specificity of 95%.
  • - The findings suggest that NAAT might be a more effective tool for identifying higher-risk cases of SAB, warranting further research to explore its potential clinical advantages in rapid detection
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Article Synopsis
  • Lautropia mirabilis is a Gram-negative bacterium associated with respiratory infections in patients with weakened immune systems, such as those with HIV or cystic fibrosis; however, its pathogenicity is not well understood due to limited cases.
  • A 39-year-old female with common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) experienced sepsis caused by L. mirabilis, which was identified through blood cultures and effectively treated with meropenem.
  • Whole genome sequencing of L. mirabilis showed genes that aid in invading host cells and surviving inside them, underscoring the need to recognize its potential danger beyond respiratory infections in immunocompromised individuals.
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Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic has had significant health and socioeconomic impacts worldwide. Extensive measures, including contact restrictions, were implemented to control the spread of the virus. This study aims to examine the factors that influenced private and professional contact behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Background: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic presented a challenge for caregiving relatives in the home care setting. Caregivers can transmit SARS-CoV-2 to their relatives who are often at high risk for a severe course of COVID-19. Regular testing of asymptomatic caregivers for SARS-CoV-2 may reduce the risk of transmission.

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Spinal epidural abscess (SEA) can lead to a subacute onset of neurological deficits of the extremities and is commonly accompanied by spondylodiscitis if located anterior to the dura. is a fish pathogen that is occasionally found in poultry, cattle, and swine. It is a rare cause of infection in humans.

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  • The study examined the health of Ukrainian refugees in Germany, focusing on the presence of infectious diseases, immunity levels, and chronic conditions post-arrival in 2022.
  • A total of 1,793 refugees participated, revealing a notable percentage with positive tuberculosis tests and insufficient immunity to diseases like measles, diphtheria, and hepatitis B.
  • The findings highlight the need for improved health screening protocols for migrants and suggest targeted communication strategies to address low vaccine immunity among Ukrainian refugees.
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  • This study investigates the effectiveness and safety of switching from intravenous to oral antibiotics after 5-7 days in patients with low-risk Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections.
  • Conducted across 31 hospitals in Europe, the trial aimed to determine if early oral therapy could maintain patient safety and reduce complications compared to ongoing intravenous treatment.
  • Due to slow participant recruitment, the trial was halted early with 215 participants, and the analysis was adjusted to ensure statistical validity, focusing on whether oral treatment led to acceptable complication rates compared with the traditional intravenous approach.
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Background: High-frequency jet ventilation (HFJV) is used in pneumological endoscopy for rigid, diagnostic, and therapeutic bronchoscopies. It is unclear to what extent the unobstructed flow of respiratory gas from the patient's lungs causes microbial contamination of the surrounding air.

Material And Methods: After the start of the HFJV (15 min) in 16 rigid bronchoscopies, airborne pathogen measurements were taken directly at the distal endoscope outlet, at examiner height (40 cm above the endoscope outlet), at a 2 m distance from the endoscope in the room and at the supply air outlet of the examination room using an RCS air sampler.

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  • The study focused on the prevalence and incidence of non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) pulmonary diseases in Germany from 2016 to 2020, using data from 22 NTM laboratories.
  • Researchers found that the incidence and prevalence of NTM remained stable over the five-year period, despite variations in species and drug susceptibility testing (DST) rates.
  • An increase in the proportion of NTM with DST suggests improved awareness and reporting, but current levels still fall short of clinical needs.
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(heterotypic synonym: "") is a facultative anaerobic, newly described Gram-negative rod and belongs to the Yersineacea family. Here, we report the case of a 19-month-old female infant patient who presented to the emergency unit with somnolence and fever. was isolated from a positive blood culture, taken via an implanted Broviac catheter, proving a bloodstream infection by the pathogen.

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The Two Weeks in the World research project has resulted in a dataset of 3087 clinically relevant bacterial genomes with pertaining metadata, collected from 59 diagnostic units in 35 countries around the world during 2020. A relational database is available with metadata and summary data from selected bioinformatic analysis, such as species prediction and identification of acquired resistance genes.

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Background: In recent years, an increasing number of linezolid-resistant enterococci (LRE) was recognized at the German National Reference Centre (NRC) for Enterococci. National guidelines on infection prevention recommend screening for LRE in epidemiologically linked hospital settings without referring to a reliable and rapid diagnostic method. Since 2020, CHROMAgar™ provide a chromogenic linezolid screening agar, LIN-R, suitable to simultaneously screen for linezolid-resistant staphylococci and enterococci.

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Objective: In the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, child and adolescent psychiatry wards face the risk of severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) introduction and spread within the facility. In this setting, mask and vaccine mandates are hard to enforce, especially for younger children. Surveillance testing may detect infection early and enable mitigation measures to prevent viral spread.

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Extended spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBL) are frequently found in Enterobacterales isolates from Western Africa. However, information on the molecular epidemiology of regional ESBL-positive Enterobacterales strains is scarce. In order to provide epidemiological information, ESBL-positive isolates from stool samples of European soldiers with diarrhea deployed to a field camp in Mali were subjected to whole-genome sequencing (Illumina MiSeq and Oxford Nanopore MinION) and antimicrobial susceptibility testing.

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Purpose: The SeMaCo study (Serologische Untersuchungen bei Blutspendern des Großraums Magdeburg auf Antikörper gegen SARS-CoV-2), a prospective, longitudinal cohort study with four survey phases spanning 3-5 months each over a period of 22 months, extends the spectrum of seroepidemiological studies in Germany. We present here a careful characterisation of the initial survey phase of the cohort to provide baseline data on infection incidence and obtained from questionnaires, focussing in particular on the attitude towards COVID-19 vaccinations, the vaccination success and the vaccination acceptance.

Participants: A total of 2195 individual blood donors from the donor pool of the blood donation service of the University Hospital Magdeburg were enrolled in the initial survey phase from 20 January 2021 to 30 April 2021.

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In recent years, has gained clinical significance as an emerging diarrheagenic pathogen associated with poultry and water reservoirs. The full clinical significance of remains rather speculative due to variable virulence and antibiotic susceptibility of individual strains. The aims of the present study were (i) to identify antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the genome sequences of two multidrug-resistant isolates, (ii) to use multilocus-sequence typing (MLST) to generate a guiding phylogeny of isolates collected in Kumasi, Ghana, (iii) to examine the distribution of ARGs in the test cohort, and (iv) to assess the strain's virulence and possible antibiotic treatment options for arcobacteriosis based on the genome sequences and the ARG distribution.

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Article Synopsis
  • The text discusses a facultative anaerobic, Gram-positive bacterium that causes erysipelas in swine and birds, which can also infect humans, leading to conditions such as circumscribed erysipeloid and endocarditis.
  • A case study is presented involving a 46-year-old woman who experienced severe hand pain and restricted movement, ultimately traced to an infection from a pond contaminated by swine and her dog.
  • Detailed genomic analysis of the bacteria found in the patient's tissue revealed various factors linked to virulence and potential antibiotic resistance, including enzymes that help evade the host's immune response.
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Objectives: To analyse the adherence and impact of quality-of-care indicators (QCIs) in the management of Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infection in a prospective and multicentre cohort.

Methods: Analysis of the prospective, multicentre international S. Aureus Collaboration cohort of S.

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After recovery, mild and severe COVID-19 diseases are associated with long-term effects on the host immune system, such as prolonged T-cell activation or accumulation of autoantibodies. In this study, we show that mild SARS-CoV-2 infections, but not SARS-CoV-2 spike mRNA vaccinations, cause durable atopic risk factors such as a systemic Th2- and Th17-type environment as well as activation of B cells responsive of IgE against aeroallergens from house dust mite and mold. At an average of 100 days post mild SARS-CoV-2 infections, anti-mold responses were associated with low IL-13 levels and increased pro-inflammatory IL-6 titers.

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Background: Post-operative infection is a common complication following abdominal surgery. The two most common infections are secondary peritonitis and surgical site infections, which lead to increased perioperative morbidity, prolonged hospitalization, higher mortality rates, and increased treatment costs. In addition to surgical procedures, treatment is based on effective antibiotic therapy.

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Objective: Investigation of the origin of a outbreak in a neonatal intensive care unit.

Design: Retrospective case-control study.

Setting: Regional level 3 perinatal center in Germany.

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Objectives: This study aimed to investigate whether neutropenia influenced mortality and long-term outcomes of Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream (SAB) infection.

Methods: Data from two prospective, multicentre cohort studies (INSTINCT and ISAC) conducted at 20 tertiary care hospitals in six countries between 2006 and 2015 were analyzed. Neutropenic and severely neutropenic patients (defined by proxy of total white blood cell count <1000/μl and <500/μl, respectively, at onset of SAB infection) were compared with a control group using a propensity score model and overlapping weights to adjust for baseline characteristics.

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The function of T cells is critically dependent on their ability to generate metabolic building blocks to fulfil energy demands for proliferation and consecutive differentiation into various T helper (Th) cells. Th cells then have to adapt their metabolism to specific microenvironments within different organs during physiological and pathological immune responses. In this context, Th2 cells mediate immunity to parasites and are involved in the pathogenesis of allergic diseases including asthma, while CD8 T cells and Th1 cells mediate immunity to viruses and tumors.

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