Publications by authors named "Johannes Forster"

Importance: During the past decade, spinal surgical procedures have been increasingly performed on an ambulatory basis, a change in clinical practice supported only by observational evidence thus far. There have been no randomized clinical trials (RCTs) comparing ambulatory care with inpatient care after any spinal surgery.

Objective: To assess whether ambulatory care is noninferior to overnight hospital surveillance in functional outcome, as measured by Neck Disability Index (NDI), in adults after anterior cervical decompression and fusion (ACDF) for cervical radiculopathy.

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Article Synopsis
  • A study conducted from November 2020 to June 2023 assessed the performance of SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen tests (RDTs) compared to standard RT-qPCR testing among a large group of patients and staff in a hospital setting.
  • The analysis of nearly 78,800 paired results revealed that RDTs had a sensitivity of 34.5% and a specificity of 99.6%, with sensitivity decreasing as fewer symptomatic infections occurred over the course of the pandemic.
  • The findings suggest that RDTs are still effective for diagnosing COVID-19 in symptomatic patients and could be useful for identifying other respiratory infections in the future, despite their declining sensitivity linked to vaccination and the spread of the Omicron variant
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Background: Since the beginning of the corona pandemic in Germany in January 2020, day care centres (DCC) have faced the challenge of reliably detecting cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection as early and reliably as possible in order to avoid major outbreaks and closures. Conducting regular virological screening tests for asymptomatic DCC children and childcare workers requires a high level of acceptance among participants and should be as easy as possible to implement. The present study aimed to evaluate childcare workers' and parents' attitudes and experiences regarding the acceptance and feasibility of various screening methods.

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Mycoplasma ssp can colonize various human tissues and can cause infections. Their lack of a cell wall makes them difficult to cultivate and to treat as they are resistant to beta-lactam antibiotics. Mycoplasma hominis and ureaplasma urealyticum can colonize the genital tract.

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As part of the Würzburg KiTa-CoV study series, SARS-CoV-2 pandemic-related attitudes/concerns of parents of preschool children attending day care centres were surveyed over a 21-month period. We expected associations between these parental attitudes/concerns and their change over the course of the pandemic, on the one hand, and the SARS-CoV-2 infection status of the children, on the other. Parents of children from nine day-care centres who completed a survey on pandemic-related attitudes/concerns in October 2020, July 2021 and July 2022, were included in the analysis.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study examined antibiotic treatment practices and clinical outcomes in 1,402 hospitalized children with pediatric parapneumonic effusion/pleural empyema from 2010 to 2018 in Germany.
  • Although aminopenicillin/beta-lactamase inhibitors and cefuroxime were commonly used, the study found no significant difference in clinical severity or outcomes between these treatments, regardless of whether they were used alone or in combination.
  • The findings indicated a trend of antibiotic overtreatment, with a low percentage of patients switching to narrow-spectrum antibiotics despite the identification of specific bacterial pathogens.
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The combination of vancomycin and piperacillin/tazobactam (V+P/T) is used for empirical antibiotic treatment of severe infections, especially in immunocompromised patients and those colonized with multidrug-resistant bacteria. Nephrotoxicity is a frequently observed adverse effect of vancomycin. Its risk can be reduced by therapeutic drug monitoring and adjusted dosing.

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With an incidence of more than > 1,000,000/day, sexually transmitted diseases remain a major challenge for health care systems worldwide. To reduce disease burden, complications, and spread, rapid diagnosis permitting early therapy is pivotal. The range of pathogens is wide and co-infections are common.

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Importance: Closure of day care centers (DCCs) to contain the COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with negative effects on children's health and well-being.

Objective: To investigate the acceptance of self-sampling methods for continuous SARS-CoV-2 surveillance among asymptomatic children and childcare workers (CCWs) in DCCs.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This nonrandomized pilot study included children and CCWs at 9 DCCs in Wuerzburg, Germany, from May to July 2021.

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Objectives: Antigen rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) for SARS coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are quick, widely available, and inexpensive. Consequently, RDTs have been established as an alternative and additional diagnostic strategy to quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). However, reliable clinical and large-scale performance data specific to a SARS-CoV-2 virus variant of concern (VOC) are limited, especially for the Omicron VOC.

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Background: The Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus molecule Der p 23 is a major allergen whose clinical relevance has been shown in cross-sectional studies. We longitudinally analysed the trajectory of Der p 23-specific IgE antibody (sIgE) levels throughout childhood and youth, their early-life determinants and their clinical relevance for allergic rhinitis and asthma.

Methods: We obtained sera and clinical data of 191 participants of the German Multicentre Allergy Study, a prospective birth cohort.

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Background: Feasibility of surveillance through continuous SARS-CoV-2 testing in pre-school children and childcare workers (CCWs) to prevent closure of day care centers (DCCs) was proven in the Wü-KiTa-CoV study. The purpose of this study was to describe the factors that facilitate or hinder the implementation of continuous SARS-CoV-2 testing from the perspective of parents and CCWs involved in the study.

Methods: A total of 148 semi-structured telephone interviews, repeated before and after the implementation of the surveillance protocols, were conducted with parents and CCWs belonging to the DCCs involved in Wü-KiTa-CoV and analyzed using qualitative content analysis.

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Background: The incidence of Aspergillus and Candida CNS infection, which are characterised by high mortality rates, is underestimated. This underdiagnosis presumably results from the limitations of available diagnostic tools and the need for invasive sampling. Little is known about the role of serologic biomarkers in the setting of CNS aspergillosis and candidiasis.

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Background And Objective: Prompt pathogen identification of blood stream infections is essential to provide appropriate antibiotic treatment. Therefore, the objective of this prospective single centre study was to establish an inexpensive, fast and accurate protocol for bacterial species identification with SDS protein-extraction directly from BacT/Alert® blood culture (BC) bottles by VitekMS®.

Results: Correct species identification was obtained for 198/266 (74.

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Background: Joint aspiration with analysis of synovial fluid white blood cell count (WBC) and microbiological culture is a widely established aspect in the diagnosis of shoulder joint infections (SJI). In case of a two stage revision for SJI, joint aspiration before re-/implantation of a total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA) was used to rule out persistent infection for years but its value is under debate. Shoulder specific data on all aspects is rare.

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Inappropriate diagnosis of urinary tract infections (UTI) contributes to antimicrobial overuse. A combined training intervention for medical and nursing staff mainly addressing the analytic process reduced UTI events (9.20 vs.

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To estimate the burden of parenting and caregiving duties among clinical microbiologists in Germany and to identify workplace-related support systems and barriers to engaging in career-relevant activities. A cross-sectional web-based survey was conducted. Participants were asked to answer 37 questions, of which 24 specifically addressed parenting and caregiving duties.

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Purpose: Fungal biomarkers support early diagnosis of invasive fungal infections. In this study, we evaluated the impact of a recent update to the manufacturer-recommended cut-off for beta-1,3-D-glucan (BDG) testing (Fujifilm Wako BDG assay) on sensitivity and specificity for the detection of candidemia. Additionally, we compared the performance with tests for Candida antigen (Ag by Serion ELISA antigen Candida, Virion\Serion) and anti-mannan antibodies (Ab by Hemkit Candida IHA, Ravo Diagnostika).

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Background: The diagnosis of periprosthetic shoulder infection (PSI) requires a thorough diagnostic workup. Synovial fluid aspiration has been proven to be a reliable tool in the diagnosis of joint infections of the lower extremity, but shoulder specific data is limited. This study defines a threshold for synovial fluid white blood cell count (WBC) and assesses the reliability of microbiological cultures.

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Importance: Closure of day care centers has been implemented globally to contain the COVID-19 pandemic but has negative effects on children's health and psychosocial well-being.

Objective: To investigate the feasibility of surveillance among children and childcare workers and to model the efficacy of surveillance on viral spread prevention.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This nonrandomized controlled trial was conducted at 9 day care centers in Wuerzburg, Germany, from October 2020 to March 2021.

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