[Invasive candidiasis].

Candida spp is responsible for 70-90% of invasive fungal infections. Invasive candidiasis is usually diagnosed by blood culture; other microbiological methods such as PCR, beta-D-glucans and mannans/anti-mannans are available in addition to clinical scores such as the Candida score. Management includes antifungal therapy, removal of catheters and source control, follow-up blood cultures and fundus examination, one possible complication being endophthalmitis.

Identification of in ascites in the context of typhoidal tularaemia.

Tularaemia is a highly infectious, zoonotic disease caused by , which has become increasingly prevalent over the past decade. Depending on the route of infection, different clinical manifestations can be observed. We report a case of typhoidal tularaemia presenting as a febrile illness with gastrointestinal symptoms in a patient in her mid-80s.

[Incidental finding aortitis: how to handle it?].

Aortitis may be an incidental finding at imaging. It refers to inflammation of the aortic wall and sometimes may be hard to differentiate with the periaortitis, inflammation of tissues around the vessel. Their clinical presentation is as varied as their etiologies.

Negative effects of long parental leave on maternal health: Evidence from a substantial policy change in Austria.

I study the effect of parental leave duration on maternal health in the short- to medium-run leveraging variation in parental leave duration induced by an Austrian policy reform in the year 2000. Using rich administrative data and a regression discontinuity framework, I find that long parental leave of 2.5 years instead of 1.

[Hantavirus infections].

Hantaviruses are enveloped zoonotic RNA viruses hosted by rodents and responsible in the Americas for hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. In Europe, they cause hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome and its milder form, nephropathia epidemica. The disease begins abruptly with high fever, chills, headache, back pain and abdominal pain associated with nausea and vomiting.

[Clostridioides difficile infection: various therapeutic approaches].

In 2021, the European and American Infectious Diseases Societies published new guidelines for the treatment of Clostridiodes difficile colitis. They have opted for a change in practice with fidaxomicin being recommended as the first line of treatment, and vancomycin as a second choice. Metronidazole remains recommended only in cases where other treatments are not available.

[Methicillin-resistant : 15 years of molecular epidemiology in Western Switzerland].

Since the introduction of antibiotics, successive waves of Staphylococcus aureus clones occurred, each one having characteristic susceptibility pattern to antibiotics and virulence factors. We report here the results of a molecular epidemiological surveillance of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) in French-speaking Switzerland between 2006 and 2020 showing the emergence and disappearance of clones known for their international dissemination, and the sporadic appearance of other international clones.

Baby bonus in Switzerland: Effects on fertility, newborn health, and birth-scheduling.

This paper studies the effect of birth allowances (so-called baby bonus) on fertility, newborn health, and birth-scheduling in Switzerland. Switzerland provides an optimal quasi-experiment: 11 out of 26 cantons introduced a baby bonus during the last 50 years at different points in time. To identify the effect of changes in the baby bonus, we employ an event study with control groups using several administrative data sets on births, stillbirths, and infant deaths in Switzerland from 1969 to 2017.

Characteristics, comorbidities, 30-day outcome and in-hospital mortality of patients hospitalised with COVID-19 in a Swiss area - a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Since its first description in December 2019, coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) has spread worldwide. There is limited information about presenting characteristics and outcomes of Swiss patients requiring hospitalisation. Furthermore, outcomes 30 days after onset of symptoms and after hospital discharge have not been described.

Womb at work: The missing impact of maternal employment on newborn health.

Parental leave policies across the globe have become much more generous than they used to be. This is also true for prenatal maternal leave. While this may be costly in the short run, little is known about the effect of maternal employment during pregnancy on newborn health.

[Vertebral osteomyelitis in adults].

Back pain is a frequent reason for consultation. Although commonplace most of the time, back pain can sometimes be the only symptom of vertebral osteomyelitis, an infection that usually affects an intervertebral disc and the two adjacent vertebrae. Microbiology varies with the host's risk factors and local epidemiology.

[Actinomycosis].

Actinomycosis is a chronic bacterial infection, caused by the genus Actinomyces, commensal of the digestive and genital tract. The most common presentation of the disease affects the cervicofacial region, but other anatomical sites in the abdomen, thorax and central nervous system may be involved. Differential diagnosis includes neoplasia.

[Listeria monocytogenes infections].

Listeria monocytogenes infections are caused by food ingestion. They are not only transmitted by animal products, but also by secondarily contaminated fruits and vegetables. They preferentially affect pregnant women, patients of extreme ages and the immu-nocompromised, and manifest as a gastroenteritis, bacteremia, meningo-encephalitis or maternal-fetal infection.

[Legionellosis].

Legionellosis refers to the two clinical syndromes caused by Legionella : Pontiac fever, a benign febrile illness and Legionnaires'disease (or pneumonia). Clinically and radiologically, Legionnaires'disease presents itself as a « typical » pneumonia caused by Streptococcus pneumonia. Diagnosis is usually made by using urinary antigen testing.

[One year of infectious diseases : a review].

Several outbreaks have made the news in 2016 : Ebola has come at an end, Zika is booming and a resurgence of yellow fever takes place in Africa. In Switzerland, two hospital outbreaks have been reported, caused by Mycobacterium chimerae and Burkholderia cepacia. A major new article has consolidated the notion that prolonged antibiotic therapy is unnecessary in Lyme disease.

Blood cultures in the evaluation of uncomplicated cellulitis.

Purpose: The frequency of bacteremia and the array of microorganisms involved in cellulitis vary greatly among studies. Although current guidelines do not recommend routine blood culture in uncomplicated cellulitis, their implementation in clinical practice remains challenging. We therefore aimed to assess the frequency, determinants and microbiology of bacteremia in hospitalized patients with uncomplicated cellulitis.

Predictors and Implications of Early Clinical Stability in Patients Hospitalized for Moderately Severe Community-Acquired Pneumonia.

Background: Assessment of early response to treatment is crucial for the management of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP).

Objective: To describe the predictors and the outcomes of early clinical stability.

Methods: We did a secondary analysis of a multicentre randomized controlled trial on CAP treatment in which 580 patients hospitalized for moderately severe CAP were included.

Three-times-weekly, post-dialysis cefepime therapy in patients on maintenance hemodialysis: a retrospective study.

Background: In hemodialysis patients, post-dialysis treatment with intravenous antibiotics permits even severe infections to be managed on an outpatient basis. Cefepime is a fourth-generation cephalosporin with a broad spectrum of action in monotherapy. We report on the pharmacokinetics of cefepime in post-dialysis therapy.

[Loco-regional complications of pharyngitis: the example of Lemierre's syndrome].

Pharyngitis is a common cause of consultation in ambulatory medicine. Although it is benign in most cases, serious complications may happen and must be recognized quickly. Lemierre's syndrome is one of them.

[Microbiological diagnosis of Clostridium difficile infection].

The clinical microbiology laboratory plays an essential role in the management of Clostri- dium difficile infections, showing an increase in frequency and severity. Many tests (culture, EIA, PCR), detecting bacteria or their antigens, toxin genes or free toxins, allow the microbio- logist to provide the clinician and the infection control specialist with a reliable diagnosis as- sistance, which meet essential criteria for ra- pidity, sensitivity and specificity. This review presents the diagnostic algorithms currently used.