Importance of In-Hospital Prospective Registry and Infectious Endocarditis Heart Team to Monitor and Improve Quality of Care in Patients with Infectious Endocarditis.

Aim: To investigate the value of prospective in-hospital registry data and the impact of an infectious endocarditis heart team approach (IEHT) on improvement in quality of care and monitor outcomes in hospitalized patients with IE.

Methods: Between December 2014 and the end of 2019, 160 patients were hospitalized in one centre with the definite diagnosis of infectious endocarditis (IE) and entered in a prospective registry. From 2017, an IEHT was introduced.

Bacteremia and complicated parapneumonic effusion caused by in an elderly patient.

We describe a case of bacteremia and a complicated parapneumonic effusion caused by , in an elderly patient with underlying chronic hepatitis C infection.

Are VIDAS® anti-HEV IgM and IgG assays fit for reliable diagnosis of hepatitis E virus infections? .

: Hepatitis E virus (HEV) genotype 3 is an emerging pathogen in developed countries. We evaluated the performance of two new serological assays for the detection of HEV, VIDAS® anti-HEV IgM and IgG. : VIDAS® assays were performed on 77 clinical samples: 68 samples from patients suspected for HEV infection and 9 samples which previously tested positive for HEV IgM, IgG or HEV PCR.

Laboratory diagnosis of urinary tract infections: Towards a BILULU consensus guideline.

Urinary tract infections (UTI) are very common throughout life and account for the majority of the workload in the clinical microbiology laboratory. Clear instructions for the interpretation of urine cultures by the laboratory technicians are indispensable to obtain standardized, reliable, and clinically useful results. In literature, there is often a lack of evidence-based practice in processing urinary samples in the laboratory.

Multicenter evaluation of the revised RIDA® QUICK test (N1402) for rapid detection of norovirus in a diagnostic laboratory setting.

The updated RIDA® QUICK (N1402) immunochromatographic assay (R-Biopharm) for detection of norovirus was evaluated during a prospective, multicenter study using 771 stool samples from patients with gastroenteritis. Compared to real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-rtPCR) as gold standard, the RIDA® QUICK had an overall sensitivity of 72.8% (91/125) and a specificity of 99.

Nontuberculous mycobacteria among pulmonary tuberculosis patients: a retrospective Belgian multicenter study.

Objectives: Currently, there are no European data about the frequency and clinical significance of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) grown from respiratory samples during the treatment of tuberculosis (TB). We determined the frequency and clinical significance of NTM isolated before or during pulmonary tuberculosis treatment in Belgian laboratories.

Methods: We conducted a nationwide retrospective multicenter cohort study on the co-isolation of TB and NTM in Belgium.

A model-based analysis of the predictive performance of different renal function markers for cefepime clearance in the ICU.

Objectives: Several population pharmacokinetic models for cefepime in critically ill patients have been described, which all indicate that variability in renal clearance is the main determinant of the observed variability in exposure. The main objective of this study was to determine which renal marker best predicts cefepime clearance.

Methods: A pharmacokinetic model was developed using NONMEM based on 208 plasma and 51 urine samples from 20 ICU patients during a median follow-up of 3 days.

Severe sensitivity loss in an influenza A molecular assay due to antigenic drift variants during the 2014/15 influenza season.

The 2014-2015 influenza season in Belgium was dominated by the circulation of 2 influenza A(H3N2) subgroups: 3C.2a and 3C.3b.

How is the Xpert MRSA Gen 3 assay (Cepheid) performing on pooled eSwab medium?

The performance of the Xpert MRSA Gen 3 was compared to the Xpert MRSA on pooled eSwab media from nose, throat, and perineum using broth enriched cultured as gold standard. A lower specificity was found for the Xpert MRSA Gen 3 compared to the Xpert MRSA (91.8% versus 97.

Multicenter evaluation of BD Veritor System and RSV K-SeT for rapid detection of respiratory syncytial virus in a diagnostic laboratory setting.

The recently introduced BD Veritor System RSV laboratory kit (Becton Dickinson, Sparks, MD, USA) with automatic reading was evaluated and compared with the RSV K-SeT (Coris BioConcept, Gembloux, Belgium) for the detection of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) using 248 nasopharyngeal aspirates of children younger than 6 years old with respiratory tract infection. Compared to reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction as gold standard, both tests had an identical sensitivity of 78.1% and a specificity of 96.

Sequencing and analysis of globally obtained human respiratory syncytial virus A and B genomes.

Background: Human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the leading cause of respiratory tract infections in children globally, with nearly all children experiencing at least one infection by the age of two. Partial sequencing of the attachment glycoprotein gene is conducted routinely for genotyping, but relatively few whole genome sequences are available for RSV. The goal of our study was to sequence the genomes of RSV strains collected from multiple countries to further understand the global diversity of RSV at a whole-genome level.

Towards multitarget testing in molecular microbiology.

Advantages of PCR assays over more conventional culture-based diagnostics include significantly higher sensitivities and shorter turnaround times. They are particularly useful when patient treatment has already been initiated or for specimens that may contain microorganisms that are slow-growing, difficult to culture, or for which culture methods do not exist. However, due to genome variability, single target testing might lead to false-negative results.

Circulation of HRSV in Belgium: from multiple genotype circulation to prolonged circulation of predominant genotypes.

Molecular surveillance of HRSV in Belgium for 15 consecutive seasons (1996-2011) revealed a shift from a regular 3-yearly cyclic pattern, into a yearly alternating periodicity where HRSV-B is replaced by HRSV-A. Phylogenetic analysis for HRSV-A demonstrated the stable circulation of GA2 and GA5, with GA2 being dominant over GA5 during 5 consecutive seasons (2006-2011). We also identified 2 new genotype specific amino acid mutations of the GA2 genotype (A122 and Q156) and 7 new GA5 genotype specific amino acid mutations (F102, I108, T111, I125, D161, S191 and L217).

Failure of PCR-Based IS6110 analysis to detect vertebral spondylodiscitis caused by Mycobacterium bovis.

Mycobacterium bovis is responsible for a zoonosis originating in cattle. We report a case of a man with vertebral spondylodiscitis caused by Mycobacterium bovis. Diagnosis was complicated because of the lack of IS6110.

Performance of a new chromogenic medium, BBL CHROMagar MRSA II (BD), for detection of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in screening samples.

Two chromogenic media for the detection of MRSA were compared: BBL CHROMagar MRSA II (BD) and MRSA ID agar (bioMérieux). Following overnight nonselective enrichment, 1,919 screening samples were inoculated on both chromogenic agars. After 24 h, the sensitivities of both media were high and comparable.

An interlaboratory comparison of ITS2-PCR for the identification of yeasts, using the ABI Prism 310 and CEQ8000 capillary electrophoresis systems.

Background: Currently, most laboratories identify yeasts routinely on the basis of morphology and biochemical reactivity. This approach has quite often limited discriminatory power and may require long incubation periods. Due to the increase of fungal infections and due to specific antifungal resistence patterns for different species, accurate and rapid identification has become more important.