Publications by authors named "Ed Kuijper"

Objectives: The objectives of this study are to investigate the presence of Clostridioides difficile in faeces of patients with recurrent C. difficile infection (rCDI) before and after faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) and to identify risk factors for faecal C. difficile and C.

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  • Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile) is a major cause of healthcare-related diarrhea, with issues like antibiotic resistance and high relapse rates complicating treatment.
  • *Faecal microbiota transplantation is a potential therapy but understanding the key factors for successful colonization resistance is necessary for its broader application.
  • *Experts highlighted the need for a Controlled Human Infection Model (CHIM) to safely study mild to moderate C. difficile infections, which could lead to new treatments and better insights into how the infection works.*
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  • This study assessed the impact of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) on clearing carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE) infections in patients.
  • A total of 20 patients were monitored, showing a 20% success rate for complete CPE clearance two weeks post-FMT and 40% at three months, with no significant differences when compared to a control group.
  • The analysis indicated that responder patients had a lower level of CPE before FMT and greater diversity in gut bacteria afterwards, suggesting that specific bacterial species may play a role in the success of the treatment.
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The aim was to highlight the incidence and epidemiology of infections (CDI) in a tertiary Greek hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic. A single-center prospective observational cohort study was conducted (October 2021 until April 2022). 125 isolates were cultured from hospitalized patients stool samples and screened by PCR for toxin A (), toxin B (), binary toxin ( and ) genes and the regulating gene of .

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  • - A study involving 24 medical specialists developed a clinical decision framework for managing liver cyst infections, which often require long-term hospitalization and can have serious consequences.
  • - The modified Delphi method involved three rounds of surveys and discussions to gather expert opinions on management strategies and define treatment outcomes, resulting in consensus on various aspects of the condition.
  • - The experts identified important indicators like fever and elevated C-reactive protein for treatment decisions, along with subclassifications of liver cyst infections, leading to 26 agreed-upon management statements and two treatment algorithms.
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SUMMARYGiven the importance of gut microbial homeostasis in maintaining health, there has been considerable interest in developing innovative therapeutic strategies for restoring gut microbiota. One such approach, fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), is the main "whole gut microbiome replacement" strategy and has been integrated into clinical practice guidelines for treating recurrent infection (rCDI). Furthermore, the potential application of FMT in other indications such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), metabolic syndrome, and solid tumor malignancies is an area of intense interest and active research.

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Background: is a leading cause of infectious diarrhea in both humans and livestock. In particular, strains belonging to sequence type (ST) 11 are common enteropathogens. The aim of this study was to determine the presence and genetic relatedness of types in dairy cattle and calves.

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The diagnostic performance of a prospective, systematic screening strategy for COVID-19 associated pulmonary aspergillosis (CAPA) during the COVID-19 pandemic was investigated. Patients with COVID-19 admitted to the ICU were screened for CAPA twice weekly by collection of tracheal aspirate (TA) for Aspergillus culture and PCR. Subsequently, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) sampling was performed in patients with positive screening results and clinical suspicion of infection.

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The bacterial microbiota is well-recognized for its role in colonization and infection, while fungi and yeasts remain understudied. The aim of this study was to analyze the predictive value of the mycobiota and its interactions with the bacterial microbiota in light of colonization and infection. The mycobiota was profiled by ITS2 sequencing of fecal DNA from infection (CDI) patients ( = 29), asymptomatically colonization (CDC) patients ( = 38), and hospitalized controls with negative stool culture (controls; = 38).

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Background: Multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria are a growing global threat, especially in healthcare facilities. Faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is an effective prevention strategy for recurrences of Clostridioides difficile infections and can also be useful for other microbiota-related diseases.

Methods: We study the effect of FMT in patients with multiple recurrent C.

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  • Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) colonization poses a risk for infection, and the effectiveness of decolonization treatments varies significantly among patients.
  • A study at a Dutch hospital examined genetic factors linked to MRSA decolonization success or failure, analyzing whole-genome sequencing data from 56 patients.
  • It was found that ciprofloxacin-resistant MRSA strains were more likely to lead to treatment failure, while certain MRSA lineages were connected to successful treatment outcomes, highlighting the need for further research on these associations.
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Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile) is a major nosocomial pathogen but is also increasingly recognised as an important diarrhoeal pathogen in the community, not always associated with antibiotics. The European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) Study Group for C.

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Diagnosis of Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) can be challenging. First of all, there has been debate on which of the two reference assays, cell cytotoxicity neutralization assay (CCNA) or toxigenic culture (TC), should be considered the gold standard for CDI detection. Although the CCNA suffers most from suboptimal storage conditions and subsequent toxin degradation, TC is reported to falsely increase CDI detection rates as it cannot differentiate CDI patients from patients asymptomatically colonised by toxigenic C.

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Background: Faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is the standard treatment for patients with multiple recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection (rCDI). Recently, new commercially developed human microbiota-derived medicinal products have been evaluated and Food and Drug Administration-approved with considerable differences in terms of composition, administration, and targeted populations.

Objectives: To review available data on the different microbiota-derived treatments at the stage of advanced clinical evaluation and research in rCDI in comparison with FMT.

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BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic resulted in adaptation in infection control measures, increased patient transfer, high occupancy of intensive cares, downscaling of non-urgent medical procedures and decreased travelling.AimTo gain insight in the influence of these changes on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) prevalence in the Netherlands, a country with a low AMR prevalence, we estimated changes in demographics and prevalence of six highly resistant microorganisms (HRMO) in hospitalised patients in the Netherlands during COVID-19 waves (March-June 2020, October 2020-June 2021, October 2021-May 2022 and June-August 2022) and interwaves (July-September 2020 and July-September 2021) compared with pre-COVID-19 (March 2019-February 2020).MethodsWe investigated data on routine bacteriology cultures of hospitalised patients, obtained from 37 clinical microbiological laboratories participating in the national AMR surveillance.

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Here, we describe the epidemiology, diagnostics, and treatment of infection (CDI) in the primary health care setting. CDI is traditionally considered as a healthcare associated infection. However, infections with onset in the community represent a large proportion of CDI.

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Introduction: Experimental studies suggest a role of gut microbiota in the pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease (PD) via the gut-brain axis. The gut microbiota can also influence the metabolism of levodopa, which is the mainstay of treatment of PD. Therefore, modifying the gut microbiota by faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) could be a supportive treatment strategy.

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Background: Although the Netherlands is a country with a low endemic level, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) poses a significant health care problem. Therefore, high coverage national MRSA surveillance has been in place since 1989. To monitor possible changes in the type-distribution and emergence of resistance and virulence, MRSA isolates are molecularly characterized.

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Clostridioides difficile, the primary cause of nosocomial antibiotic-associated diarrhea, has a complex relationship with antibiotics. While the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics disrupts the gut microbiota and increases the risk of C. difficile infection (CDI), antibiotics are also the primary treatment for CDI.

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