Are white matter hyperintensities associated with neuroborreliosis? The answer is twofold.

Purpose: Many consider white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) to be important imaging findings in neuroborreliosis. However, evidence regarding association with WMHs is of low quality. The objective was to investigate WMHs in neuroborreliosis visually and quantitatively.

Longitudinal investigation of a single variant SARS-CoV-2-outbreak in the immunologically naïve population of Ulvik, Norway.

Purpose: To perform an extensive investigation of the clinical features and long-term complications among the n = 134 adults and children with nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) verified SARS-CoV-2-infection in the immunologically naïve population of Ulvik, Norway, during the single variant B.1.1.

Protein and transcriptional biomarker profiling may inform treatment strategies in lower respiratory tract infections by indicating bacterial-viral differentiation.

Unlabelled: Lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) remain a significant global cause of infectious disease-related mortality. Accurate discrimination between acute bacterial and viral LRTIs is crucial for optimal patient care, prevention of unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions, and resource allocation. Plasma samples from LRTI patients with bacterial ( = 36), viral ( = 27; excluding SARS-CoV-2), SARS-CoV-2 ( = 22), and mixed bacterial-viral ( = 38) etiology were analyzed for protein profiling.

Comprehensive contact tracing during an outbreak of alpha-variant SARS-CoV-2 in a rural community reveals less viral genomic diversity and higher household secondary attack rates than expected.

Unlabelled: Sequencing of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) genomes throughout the COVID-19 pandemic has generated a wealth of data on viral evolution across populations, but only a few studies have so far explored SARS-CoV-2 evolution across large connected transmission networks. Here, we couple data from SARS-CoV-2 sequencing with contact tracing data from an outbreak with a single origin in a rural Norwegian community where samples from all exposed persons were collected prospectively. A total of 134 nasopharyngeal samples were positive by PCR.

A retrospective study of non-ventilator hospital-acquired pneumonia in a Norwegian hospital: a serious medical condition in need of better and timelier microbiological diagnostics.

Background: Hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) is the most common hospital-acquired infection (HAI). HAP is associated with a high burden of morbidity and mortality, but the diagnosis is difficult to establish and the incidence uncertain.

Methods: Patients aged ≥ 18 years hospitalised with radiologically verified non-ventilator hospital acquired pneumonia (NV-HAP) during 2018 were retrospectively identified at Drammen Hospital, a Norwegian general hospital.

Microbial aetiology of community-acquired pneumonia in hospitalised adults: A prospective study utilising comprehensive molecular testing.

Objectives: This study aimed to describe the microbial aetiology of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in adults admitted to a tertiary care hospital and assess the impact of syndromic polymerase chain reaction (PCR) panels on pathogen detection.

Methods: Conducted at Haukeland University Hospital, Norway, from September 2020 to April 2023, this prospective study enrolled adults with suspected CAP. We analysed lower respiratory tract samples using both standard-of-care tests and the BIOFIRE® FILMARRAY® Pneumonia Plus Panel (FAP plus).

Diagnostic Stewardship in Community-Acquired Pneumonia With Syndromic Molecular Testing: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Lower respiratory tract (LRT) infections, including community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), are a leading cause of hospital admissions and mortality. Molecular tests have the potential to optimize treatment decisions and management of CAP, but limited evidence exists to support their routine use.

Objective: To determine whether the judicious use of a syndromic polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based panel for rapid testing of CAP in the emergency department (ED) leads to faster, more accurate microbiological test result-based treatment.

Serum neurofilament light chain associates with symptom burden in Lyme neuroborreliosis patients: a longitudinal cohort study from Norway.

Objectives: Serum neurofilament light chain (sNfL), an indicator of neuronal damage, is increasingly recognized as a potential biomarker for disease activity in neurodegenerative disorders. In this study, we wanted to investigate sNfL as a prognostic marker in a large, well-defined population of 90 patients with Lyme neuroborreliosis (LNB). In addition, we sought to explore associations between symptoms and sNfL levels during the acute phase of LNB.

Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in a prospective cohort of patients admitted to an acute psychiatric ward in Norway during the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) spread around the world during the first part of 2020. The purpose of the study was to assess the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection among patients acutely admitted to the Psychiatric Clinic, Haukeland University Hospital.

Methods: Serum tests to assess for antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 were administered at admission to the clinic together with a questionnaire on symptoms and demographical information.

Humoral response to Epstein-Barr virus in patients with multiple sclerosis treated with B cell depletion therapy.

Background: B cell depletion therapy is highly effective in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). However, the precise underlying mechanisms of action for its biological effects in MS have still not been clarified. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a known risk factor for MS and seems to be a prerequisite for disease development.

The diagnostic utility of microscopic quality assessment of sputum samples in the era of rapid syndromic PCR testing.

This prospective study assessed the value of initial microscopy evaluation of sputum samples submitted for rapid syndromic PCR-based testing. Bacterial detections by the BioFire FilmArray Pneumonia Panel in 126 high- and 108 low-quality sputum samples, based on initial microscopy evaluation in samples from patients with lower respiratory tract infections were compared. We found that high-quality samples had a higher proportion of bacterial detections compared to low-quality samples ( = 0.

The changing spectrum of microbial aetiology of respiratory tract infections in hospitalized patients before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic was met with strict containment measures. We hypothesized that societal infection control measures would impact the number of hospital admissions for respiratory tract infections, as well as, the spectrum of pathogens detected in patients with suspected community acquired pneumonia (CAP).

Methods: This study is based on aggregated surveillance data from electronic health records of patients admitted to the hospitals in Bergen Hospital Trust from January 2017 through June 2021, as well as, two prospective studies of patients with suspected CAP conducted prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic (pre-COVID cohort versus COVID cohort, respectively).

Impact of rapid molecular testing on diagnosis, treatment and management of community-acquired pneumonia in Norway: a pragmatic randomised controlled trial (CAPNOR).

Background: Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) causes a large burden of disease. Due to difficulties in obtaining representative respiratory samples and insensitive standard microbiological methods, the microbiological aetiology of CAP is difficult to ascertain. With a few exceptions, standard-of-care diagnostics are too slow to influence initial decisions on antimicrobial therapy.

Host Transcriptional Signatures Predict Etiology in Community-Acquired Pneumonia: Potential Antibiotic Stewardship Tools.

Background: Current approaches for pathogen identification in community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) remain suboptimal, leaving most patients without a microbiological diagnosis. If better diagnostic tools were available for differentiating between viral and bacterial CAP, unnecessary antibacterial therapy could be avoided in viral CAP patients.

Methods: In 156 adults hospitalized with CAP classified to have bacterial, viral, or mixed viral-bacterial infection based on microbiological testing or both microbiological testing and procalcitonin (PCT) levels, we aimed to identify discriminatory host transcriptional signatures in peripheral blood samples acquired at hospital admission, by applying Dual-color-Reverse-Transcriptase-Multiplex-Ligation-dependent-Probe-Amplification (dc-RT MLPA).

Investigating the human jejunal microbiota.

Descriptions of the small intestinal microbiota are deficient and conflicting. We aimed to get a reliable description of the jejunal bacterial microbiota by investigating samples from two separate jejunal segments collected from the luminal mucosa during surgery. Sixty patients with morbid obesity selected for elective gastric bypass surgery were included in this survey.

Comparison of rapid molecular testing methods for detecting respiratory viruses in emergency care: a prospective study.

Background: Respiratory tract infections (RTIs) caused by contagious viruses are common among patients presenting to the emergency department (ED). Early detection of these viruses can help prevent nosocomial transmission.

Aim: To investigate the efficacy of three rapid molecular methods, namely FilmArray Pneumonia Panel plus (FAP plus), ID NOW Influenza A and B 2 (ID NOW2) point-of-care test, and an in-house real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test, to identify patients with viral RTIs requiring isolation in an emergency setting.

Managing Contamination and Diverse Bacterial Loads in 16S rRNA Deep Sequencing of Clinical Samples: Implications of the Law of Small Numbers.

In this article, we investigate patterns of microbial DNA contamination in targeted 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing (16S deep sequencing) and demonstrate how this can be used to filter background bacterial DNA in diagnostic microbiology. We also investigate the importance of sequencing depth. We first determined the patterns of contamination by performing repeat 16S deep sequencing of negative and positive extraction controls.

The cultivable microbiota of the human distal ileum.

Objectives: The existing literature on the microbiota of the ileum is inconsistent. To further characterize the microbiota, we analysed samples obtained directly from resected ileums used for urinary diversion after radical cystectomy.

Methods: We included 150 patients with bladder cancer operated on from March 2016 to March 2019.