Source Control of Gram-Negative Bacteria Using Self-Disinfecting Sinks in a Swedish Burn Centre.

Several retrospective studies have identified hospital sinks as reservoirs of Gram-negative bacteria. The aim of this study was to prospectively investigate the bacterial transmission from sinks to patients and if self-disinfecting sinks could reduce this risk. Samples were collected weekly from sinks (self-disinfecting, treated with boiling water, not treated) and patients in the Burn Centre at Linköping University Hospital, Sweden.

A field ionizer for photodetachment studies of negative ions.

In this paper, we present an apparatus for studies into the photodetachment process of atomic negative ions. State-selective detection of the residual atom following the initial photodetachment step is achieved by combining resonant laser excitation of the photo-detached atom with electric field ionization. The resonance ionization technique in combination with a co-linear ion-laser beam geometry gives an experimental apparatus that has both high selectivity and sensitivity.

Clonal spread of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae among patients at admission and discharge at a Vietnamese neonatal intensive care unit.

Background: The increasing prevalence of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) is a growing problem globally, particularly in low- to middle-income countries (LMICs). Previous studies have shown high rates of CRE colonisation among patients at hospitals in LMICs, with increased risk of hospital-acquired infections.

Methods: We isolated carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) from faecal samples collected in 2017 from patients at admission and discharge at a Vietnamese neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Cluster of among patients with respiratory tract infections at an intensive care unit.

Background: Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is associated with respiratory tract infections in immunocompromised patients, and it has emerged as an important nosocomial pathogen, with admission to intensive care units (ICUs) and ventilators as recognized risk factors.

Aim: To describe the investigation of a sudden increase in patients with pneumonia caused by at a Swedish ICU and the control measures taken.

Methods: Lower respiratory tract cultures from patients admitted to the ICU were obtained, and environmental cultures were collected from sink drains and medical equipment.

Colistin Dependence in Extensively Drug-Resistant Strain Is Associated with IS and IS Insertions and Multiple Cellular Responses.

The nosocomial opportunistic Gram-negative bacterial pathogen is resistant to multiple antimicrobial agents and an emerging global health problem. The polymyxin antibiotic colistin, targeting the negatively charged lipid A component of the lipopolysaccharide on the bacterial cell surface, is often considered as the last-resort treatment, but resistance to colistin is unfortunately increasing worldwide. Notably, colistin-susceptible can also develop a colistin dependence after exposure to this drug in vitro.