Improving wound swab collection in paediatric patients: a quality improvement project.

Microbiology sample swabs may be unsuccessful or rejected for a variety of reasons. Typically, errors occur in the preanalytical phase of sample collection. Errors with collection, handling and transport can lead to the need to repeat specimen collection.

Increasing SARS-CoV-2 testing capacity through specimen pooling: An acute care center experience.

Innovation in laboratory testing algorithms to address seemingly uncontrollable global supply chain shortages in plastics and other consumables during emergencies such as the current COVID-19 pandemic have been urgently needed. We report our experience with specimen pooling on SARS-CoV-2 testing in an acute care hospital microbiology laboratory during a high testing demand period that exceeded available processing capacity. A fully automated four-in-one pooling algorithm was designed and validated.

Performance of MassARRAY system for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 compared to real-time PCR.

Background: Early identification of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease of 2019) by diagnostic tests played an important role in the isolation of infectious patients and management of this pandemic. Various methodologies and diagnostic platforms are available. The current "gold standard" for SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) diagnosis is real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).

infection in an immunocompetent individual after trauma following a fall from a personal conveyance.

Background: infections have been documented in several immunocompromised individuals with numerous associated risk factors including soft tissue infections, organ transplants, and metabolic disorders. Our report presents a rare case of Y. infection in an immunocompetent individual.

Bacteremia of Unknown Origin.

() is a Gram-negative bacillus abundant in the environment and rarely implicated in human disease. Previously considered nonpathogenic, its scarcity in literature may be partly due to the unreliability of past phenotypic tests used for its identification. In recent years, the development of matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry (MS) has enabled fast and accurate laboratory identification of .

Validation of the Cepheid Xpert® Xpress SARS-CoV-2 using upper and lower respiratory tract specimens.

This study validated the performance of the reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) based Cepheid Xpert® Xpress SARS-CoV-2 assay against the TIB MOLBIOL E-gene/EAV, a standard laboratory rRT-PCR SARS-CoV-2 assay. Upper and lower respiratory tract samples (nasopharyngeal and nasal swabs, bronchoalveolar lavage, and tracheal aspirate) were obtained from patients suspected to have contracted COVID-19. Results from the Xpert® Xpress and standard rRT-PCR assays were compared for positive and negative agreement and analyzed for precision, reproducibility, 95% confidence intervals, and coefficients of variation.

Renal Infarcts-A Perplexing Case in the Middle of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Renal infarction is a rare finding in children. Associations between SARS-CoV-2 infections and thromboembolic events including renal infarcts have been described in adults. Although a similar association in children has not yet been described with this pandemic, the pediatric literature is still evolving with the recognition of new manifestations including the post-infectious Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C).

Antimicrobial use among adult inpatients at hospital sites within the Canadian Nosocomial Infection Surveillance Program: 2009 to 2016.

Background: Antimicrobial resistance is a growing threat to the world's ability to prevent and treat infections. Links between quantitative antibiotic use and the emergence of bacterial resistance are well documented. This study presents benchmark antimicrobial use (AMU) rates for inpatient adult populations in acute-care hospitals across Canada.

Correction: A controlled-release oral opioid supports S. aureus survival in injection drug preparation equipment and may increase bacteremia and endocarditis risk.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

The Antibacterial and Anti-inflammatory Activity of Chicken Cathelicidin-2 combined with Exogenous Surfactant for the Treatment of Cystic Fibrosis-Associated Pathogens.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is characterized by recurrent airway infections with antibiotic-resistant bacteria and chronic inflammation. Chicken cathelicin-2 (CATH-2) has been shown to exhibit antimicrobial activity against antibiotic-resistant bacteria and to reduce inflammation. In addition, exogenous pulmonary surfactant has been suggested to enhance pulmonary drug delivery.

Risk factors for mortality among patients with Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia: a single-centre retrospective cohort study.

Introduction: Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Given the paucity of recent Canadian data, we estimated the mortality rate associated with S. aureus bacteremia in a tertiary care hospital and identified risk factors associated with mortality.

Candida glabrata Esophagitis: Are We Seeing the Emergence of a New Azole-Resistant Pathogen?

Background. Candida glabrata (C. glabrata) has become a recognized pathogen in fungal esophagitis.

Determination of real-time polymerase chain reaction uncertainty of measurement using replicate analysis and a graphical user interface with Fieller's theorem.

Background: Disease monitoring of viruses using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) requires knowledge of the precision of the test to determine what constitutes a significant change. Calculation of quantitative PCR confidence limits requires bivariate statistical methods.

Objective: To develop a simple-to-use graphical user interface to determine the uncertainty of measurement (UOM) of BK virus, cytomegalovirus (CMV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) real-time PCR assays.

Fournier's gangrene of the penis caused by Streptococcus dysgalactiae subspecies equisimilis: case report and incidence study in a tertiary-care hospital.

Background: Fournier's gangrene is a rare necrotizing soft tissue infection of the scrotum and penis. We report, to our knowledge, the first case of Fournier's gangrene caused by Streptococcus dysgalactiae subsp. equisimilis (SDSE), a strain of pyogenic β-hemolytic streptococci that is increasingly being recognized as an important human pathogen.