Epidemiology of infective endocarditis in a large Belgian non-referral hospital.

Objectives: Guidelines for diagnosis of infective endocarditis are largely based upon epidemiological studies in referral hospitals. Referral bias, however, might impair the validity of guidelines in non-referral hospitals. Recent studies in non-referral care centres on infective endocarditis are sparse.

Late prosthetic joint infection due to Rothia mucilaginosa.

We report a chronic hip arthroplasty infection with Rothia mucilaginosa, a Gram-positive germ belonging to the normal flora of the human oral cavity. Successful treatment was achieved by a two-stage hip arthroplasty revision and intravenous administration of vancomycin. This case report illustrates the potential virulence of R.

Susceptibility testing of Pseudomonas aeruginosa by the Vitek 2 system: a comparison with Etest results.

P. aeruginona infections need accurate antimicrobial susceptibility data, as treatment mainly relies on antibiotic efficiency in debilitated patients. Vitek 2, a popular automated susceptibility testing method, was compared with Etest to assess its reliability on 150 Belgian P.

Three cases of destructive native valve endocarditis caused by Staphylococcus lugdunensis.

Described here are three cases of acute native valve endocarditis due to the coagulase-negative pathogen Staphylococcus lugdunensis with serious complications. Two of the three patients died despite optimal antibiotic therapy and cardiovascular surgery. These cases demonstrate the aggressive nature of S.