Duration of isolation and contagiousness in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients receiving tocilizumab and dexamethasone: A case series.

We describe 10 patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) who received tocilizumab and dexamethasone. We correlated isolation duration with cycle thresholds (Ct) values of nucleic acid amplification tests, clinical state and viral cultures. Isolation duration exceeded 21 days for 7 patients due to positive viral cultures or Ct values <30.

Arrival of the rare carbapenemase OXA-204 in Canada causing a multispecies outbreak over 3 years.

Objectives: To investigate a persistent multispecies OXA-204 outbreak occurring simultaneously in multiple distant hospitals in the province of Quebec, Canada.

Methods: OXA-204 carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE) isolated from multiple hospitals between January 2016 and October 2018 were included in the study. An epidemiological inquiry was conducted in order to elucidate possible transmission routes and a putative source.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus colonization among medical residents.

Background: Medical residents may be at risk of becoming colonized by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) during their training. The occupational risk of this specific population is unknown. Furthermore, there are no data regarding MRSA colonization among health care professionals in Quebec.

Genetic polymorphisms and drug susceptibility in four isolates of Leishmania tropica obtained from Canadian soldiers returning from Afghanistan.

Background: Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a vector-borne parasitic disease characterized by the presence of one or more lesions on the skin that usually heal spontaneously after a few months. Most cases of CL worldwide occur in Southwest Asia, Africa and South America, and a number of cases have been reported among troops deployed to Afghanistan. No vaccines are available against this disease, and its treatment relies on chemotherapy.

The value of pretest probability and modified clinical pulmonary infection score to diagnose ventilator-associated pneumonia.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to assess the utility of pretest probability and modified clinical pulmonary infection score CPIS in the diagnosis of late-onset ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP).

Materials And Methods: In 740 adults enrolled in a multicenter randomized trial, intensivists prospectively rated the pretest probability of VAP as low, moderate, or high based on their clinical judgment. The modified CPIS was calculated without considering culture results.

Comparison of the Directigen flu A+B test, the QuickVue influenza test, and clinical case definition to viral culture and reverse transcription-PCR for rapid diagnosis of influenza virus infection.

The diagnostic performances of the clinical case definition of influenza virus infection based on the combination of fever and cough and of two rapid influenza diagnostic tests, the Directigen Flu A+B test (Directigen; BD Diagnostic Systems, Sparks, Md.) and the QuickVue influenza test (QuickVue; Quidel, San Diego, Calif.), were compared to those of viral culture and an in-house reverse transcription (RT)-PCR during the 2000-2001 flu season.