Trends in the growing impact of group A Streptococcus infection on public health after COVID-19 pandemic: a multicentral observational study in Okayama, Japan.

Purpose: Following the COVID-19 pandemic, group A Streptococcus (GAS) infection has been surging worldwide. We aimed to compare the disease burden between notified cases of streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS) and unreported GAS infections.

Methods: This is a multicentral observational study, retrospectively performed at seven hospitals in Okayama prefecture in Japan from January 2022, to June 2024.

A randomized controlled trial of teprenone in terms of preventing worsening of COVID-19 infection.

Background: Some COVID-19 patients develop life-threatening disease accompanied by severe pneumonitis. Teprenone induces expression of heat-shock proteins (HSPs) that protect against interstitial pneumonia in preclinical models. We explored whether teprenone prevented worsening of COVID-19 infections.

Clinical characteristics of Campylobacter bacteremia: a multicenter retrospective study.

Campylobacter species are the pathogens of the intestinal tract, which infrequently cause bacteremia. To reveal the clinical characteristics of Campylobacter bacteremia, we performed a retrospective, multicenter study. Patients diagnosed with Campylobacter bacteremia in three general hospitals in western Japan between 2011 and 2021 were included in the study.

Detection of Enterobacter cloacae complex strain with a bla-harboring plasmid from an elderly resident at a long-term care facility in Okayama, Japan.

Amidst the global spread of antimicrobial resistance, New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase (NDM)-type carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE) remain uncommon in Japan, and the detection of such highly drug-resistant organisms is limited to inbound cases. There is little evidence regarding the prevalence of NDM β-lactamase gene (bla)-harboring CPE in the domestic community, especially in the provincial cities of Japan. Herein, we report the isolation of a bla-harboring plasmid in Enterobacter cloacae complex strain isolated from an elderly woman without a history of traveling abroad who had resided in a long-term care facility in Okayama, Japan.

Clinical and microbiological characteristics of polymicrobial bacteremia: a retrospective, multicenter study.

Purpose: To clarify the clinical and microbial characteristics of polymicrobial bacteremia (PMB) to contribute to improvements in clinical diagnosis and effective early treatment.

Methods: This retrospective multicenter study used data from three acute-care hospitals in Okayama Prefecture, Japan, collected between January 2014 and March 2019. We reviewed the demographics, comorbidities, organisms isolated, infectious focus, and 30-day mortality of patients with PMB.

Deployment of Infectious Disease Experts and Prevalence of Antimicrobial Resistance in Okayama: A Call for Training of Specialists.

Objective During the ongoing global pandemic of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), an emerging infectious disease, the implementation and execution of infection prevention and control (IPC) is of paramount importance. In this study, we aimed to assess the current deployment of infection control medical personnel in Okayama prefecture, who are supposed to play an essential role to prevent the outbreak of infectious diseases, and the current prevalence of antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) bacteria isolated in Okayama. Materials and methods This was a descriptive study using publicly available data.

A patient with human coronavirus NL63 falsely diagnosed with COVID-19; Lesson learned for the importance of definitive diagnosis.

The gold standard for the diagnosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a nucleic acid detection test for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which may occasionally reveal false-positive or false-negative results. Herein, we describe a case of a patient infected with human coronavirus NL63 (HCoV-NL63) who was falsely diagnosed with COVID-19 using the Ampdirect™ 2019-nCoV detection kit (Shimadzu Corporation, Japan) and SARS-CoV-2 Detection Kit (TOYOBO co., ltd.

Meningitis due to a Combination of and : A Case Report.

We report a rare case of meningitis due to a combination of and . An 80-year-old female had a 4-year history of type II diabetes mellitus (DM) and an 11-year history of rheumatoid arthritis, which was treated with prednisolone, tacrolimus, and methotrexate. One month after the removal of a dental implant, she complained of a disturbance of consciousness and suffered a convulsion.

[Primary adrenal diffuse large B-cell lymphoma positive for CD5 and CD10].

A 69-year-old man presented with back pain over the prior few months and was hospitalized because of bilateral adrenal masses and fracture of the left sixth rib. The mass on the right measured 6.5×3.