Evidence-based clinical standard for the diagnosis and treatment of candidemia in critically ill patients in the intensive care unit.

Candidemia is the predominant form of invasive candidiasis and the most frequently occurring serious fungal infection in critically ill patients in Intensive Care Units (ICU). Studies carried out in Latin America reveal a higher incidence of candidemia and higher mortality rates when compared to North America or Europe. This highlights the need to develop guidelines for correctly diagnosing and treating candidemia in critically ill patients in the ICU.

Identification of HIV infection in two solid organ recipients three years after transplantation.

Routine screening of organ donors to detect human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection has detected the rare transmission of the virus through organ transplantation. However, despite routine screening, HIV transmission remains a risk in organ transplantation since, unlike tissues, solid organs cannot be processed, disinfected, or modified to inactivate infectious pathogens. A case of possible transmission of HIV by organ transplant is described below, from a previously seronegative donor to two recipients.

Effect of Inappropriate Treatment in Hospitalized Patients with Pyelonephritis Treated with Cefuroxime: A Cohort Study.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of inappropriate therapy in adult patients with community-acquired pyelonephritis caused by receiving empirical treatment with cefuroxime during hospital stay and readmission. A retrospective cohort study was performed. Inappropriate treatment was considered treatment for a nonsusceptible isolate according to the results of the urine culture.

Efficacy and safety of preemptive therapy for cytomegalovirus end-organ disease in people living with HIV: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: Cytomegalovirus end-organ-disease (CMV EOD) is still a major cause of debilitating illness in people living with HIV, especially in developing countries.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of preemptive therapy against CMV EOD in HIV-positive adults with CMV viremia.

Methods: Systematic review of clinical trials by searching electronic databases and clinical trial registries, screening and selection of references, data extraction and assessment of risk of bias.

Emergence of cryptic species and clades of species complex exhibiting limited susceptibility to antifungals in patients with candidemia.

Members of the species complex are able to cause superficial and life-threatening systemic infections with low susceptibility to azoles and echinocandins. We tested 130 bloodstream complex isolates collected from eight Latin American medical centers over 18 years (period 1 = 2000-2008 and period 2 = 2009-2018) to investigate trends in species distribution and antifungal resistance. The isolates were identified by rDNA ITS region sequencing, and antifungal susceptibility tests were performed against fluconazole, voriconazole, anidulafungin, and amphotericin B using the CLSI microbroth method.

Mortality Caused by Bloodstream Infections in Comparison with Other Candida Species, a Multicentre Retrospective Cohort.

is an emerging pathogen considered to be critical in the World Health Organization fungal organisms list. The study aims to determine the mortality and hospital stays attributed to () compared to other species in adult patients with candidemia. A retrospective cohort of adults with candidemia was examined from seven centres in Colombia between 2016 and 2021.

Interventions to Improve Antibiotic Use in Hospitals with Different Levels of Complexity in Colombia: Findings from a Before-and-After Study and Suggestions for the Future.

Background: In the collaborative efforts to control bacterial antimicrobial resistance (AMR), the challenge for many low- and middle-income countries currently lies in the adequate design and successful implementation and operation of different strategies aimed at improving antibiotic use during hospital care. This study aims to provide data on these different strategies in three hospitals with different levels of complexity and geographic locations in Colombia.

Methods: This before-and-after study describes and analyzes the development and implementation of clinical practice guidelines (CPGs), continuing education courses, quick consultation tools, and antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) with the use of telemedicine.

Risk factors associated with acute kidney injury in a cohort of hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

Background: Patients with COVID-19 have a high incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI), which is associated with mortality. The objective of the study was to determine the factors associated with AKI in patients with COVID-19.

Methodology: A retrospective cohort was established in two university hospitals in Bogotá, Colombia.

Effect of bloodstream infection on survival in COVID-19 patients admitted to an intensive care unit in Colombia: a matched cohort analysis.

Aim: To determine the impact of bloodstream infection (BSI) and other risk factors for mortality in patients with COVID-19 admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU).

Methods: A retrospective cohort was carried out at the Hospital Universitario Nacional (HUN) between March 29 and December 19, 2020. Patients with COVID-19 admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) were paired 1:4 in two groups, one with BSI and the other without, according to hospital stay and the month of admission.

Associated factors for mortality in a COVID-19 colombian cohort: is the third wave relevant when Mu variant was predominant epidemiologically?

Objectives: To evaluate the association between Colombia's third wave when the Mu variant was predominant epidemiologically (until 75%) in Colombia and COVID-19 all-cause in-hospital mortality.

Methods: In this retrospective cohort, we included hospitalized patients ≥18 years with SARS-CoV-2 infection between March 2020 to September 2021 in ten hospitals from three cities in Colombia. Description analysis, survival, and multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed to evaluate the association between the third epidemic wave and in-hospital mortality.

Fungemia in Hospitalized Adult Patients with Hematological Malignancies: Epidemiology and Risk Factors.

Fungemia in hematologic malignancies (HM) has high mortality. This is a retrospective cohort of adult patients with HM and fungemia between 2012 and 2019 in institutions of Bogotá, Colombia. The epidemiological, clinical, and microbiological characteristics are described, and risk factors related to mortality are analyzed.

Consensus for the treatment of upper urinary tract infections during pregnancy.

Objectives: To generate evidence-based recommendations through formal consensus regarding the treatment of upper urinary tract infections during gestation.

Materials And Methods: Experts in microbiology, public health, internal medicine, infectious diseases, obstetrics, maternal fetal medicine and obstetric and gynecological infections participated in the consensus development group. The group also included professionals with training in clinical epidemiology, systematic data search, and representatives from the Health Secretariat and the Bogota Obstetrics and Gynecology Association.

Molecular and Clinical Data of Antimicrobial Resistance in Microorganisms Producing Bacteremia in a Multicentric Cohort of Patients with Cancer in a Latin American Country.

Patients with cancer have a higher risk of severe bacterial infections. This study aims to determine the frequency, susceptibility profiles, and resistance genes of bacterial species involved in bacteremia, as well as risk factors associated with mortality in cancer patients in Colombia. In this prospective multicenter cohort study of adult patients with cancer and bacteremia, susceptibility testing was performed and selected resistance genes were identified.

Pharmacokinetics of Vancomycin among Patients with Chemotherapy-Associated Febrile Neutropenia: Which Would Be the Best Dosing to Obtain Appropriate Exposure?

Previous research has determined that the required doses for treating febrile neutropenia with vancomycin are higher than the doses used conventionally. These recommendations have been made considering pharmacotherapeutic goals based on minimum concentration (Cmin) between 15-20 mg/L. This study was developed to evaluate dose recommendations based on the achievement of a target consisting of ratio of area under the curve over minimum inhibitory concentration (AUC24h/MIC) ≥400 in this population of individuals.

Disease burden and vaccination priorities in Colombia.

Introduction: In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccination is considered a potentially effective strategy for controlling the disease. The objective of this study is to estimate the number of people with a high risk of morbidity and those who should be prioritized in immunization planning in Colombia.

Materials And Methods: The population at risk by age was identified from the national census data of 2018.

First-generation cephalosporins for the treatment of complicated upper urinary tract infection in adults: A systematic literature review.

Introduction: Complicated upper urinary tract infection (UTI) is a significant cause of infectious morbidity and in-hospital antibiotic therapy. However, the use of first-generation cephalosporins in this scenario is not clearly defined.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of first-generation cephalosporins for community-acquired complicated upper UTI in adults requiring hospital care.

Within patient genetic diversity of bla harboring Klebsiella pneumoniae in a Colombian hospital and identification of a new NTE platform.

Resistance to carbapenems in Klebsiella pneumoniae has been mostly related with the worldwide dissemination of KPC, largely due to the pandemic clones belonging to the complex clonal (CC) 258. To unravel bla post-endemic clinical impact, here we describe clinical characteristics of 68 patients from a high complexity hospital, and the molecular and genetic characteristics of their 139 bla-K. pneumoniae (KPC-Kp) isolates.

Risk Factors for Mortality in Colombian Patients with Candidemia.

The aim of the study was to describe the microbiology and susceptibility profile of candidemia and to identify the risk factors associated with mortality in Colombia. A cohort of patients was followed for 30 days during 2008 to 2010. Microbiological identification and susceptibility assessments were performed in a reference centre.

Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Cefepime in Adults with Hematological Malignancies and Febrile Neutropenia after Chemotherapy.

Patients with chemotherapy-induced febrile neutropenia (CIFN) may have changes in the pharmacokinetics (PK) compared to patients without malignancies or neutropenia. Those changes in antibiotic PK could lead to negative outcomes for patients if the therapy is not adequately adjusted to this. In this, open-label, non-randomized, prospective, observational, and descriptive study, a PK model of cefepime was developed for patients with hematological neoplasms and post-chemotherapy febrile neutropenia.

SARS-CoV2/COVID-19 Infection in Transplant Recipients and in Patients on the Organ Transplant Waiting List in Colombia.

To assess our determination to continue transplant activity in Colombia during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, this study seeks to describe the risk of infection and mortality of transplanted patients vs those on the waiting list. Therefore, a descriptive study of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2)/COVID-19 infection in transplant recipients and patients on the waiting list was conducted. The data sources were the information systems of the Instituto Nacional de Salud of Colombia: National Donation and Transplant Information System, the National Public Health Surveillance System, and the National COVID-19 Data Repository.

Citywide preparedness for a pandemic: A crosssectional survey of knowledge, attitudes, and practices about respiratory infection prevention in Bogotá, Colombia.

Introduction: Healthcare personnel plays an important role in the prevention of acute respiratory infections in hospital settings.

Objective: Our aim was to establish the level of knowledge about respiratory virus infections and the attitudes and practices among healthcare workers, leaders of infection control committees in hospitals of Bogotá, Colombia.

Materials And Methods: We used a self-administered questionnaire of 28 items during the monthly meeting sponsored by the local health authority.

[Azoles of then and now: a review].

The azoles are drugs that inhibit the 14α-sterol-demethylase enzyme preventing the binding of ergosterol, altering the functionality and structure of the fungal cell wall. Especially the group of triazoles: fluconazole, itraconazole, voriconazole, posaconazole and isavuconazole, are a pharmacological alternative for the treatment of the invasive fungal disease, caused by Aspergillus spp, Candida spp, Cryptococcus spp, by emerging pathogens for example, the Mucoral and finally of endemic mycosis as those caused by Histoplasma spp. and Coccidioides spp.

Decontamination and reuse of N95 filtering facemask respirators: A systematic review of the literature.

Introduction: As has happened in other emerging respiratory pandemics, demand for N95 filtering facemask respirators (FFRs) has far exceeded their manufacturing production and availability in the context of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic. One of the proposed strategies for mitigating the massive demand for N95 FFRs is their reuse after a process of decontamination that allows the inactivation of any potentially infectious material on their surfaces. This article aims to summarize all of the available evidence on the different decontamination methods that might allow disposable N95 FFRs to be reused, with emphasis on decontamination from SARS-CoV-2.