Long-term follow-up of post-cardiac surgery Mycobacterium chimaera infections: A 5-center case series.

Objectives: In multiple countries, endovascular/disseminated Mycobacterium chimaera infections have occurred in post-cardiac surgery patients in association with contaminated, widely-distributed cardiac bypass heater-cooler devices. To contribute to long-term characterization of this recently recognized infection, we describe the clinical course of 28 patients with 3-7 years of follow-up for survivors.

Methods: Identified at five hospitals in the United States 2010-2016, post-cardiac surgery patients in the cohort had growth of Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC)/M.

Complex prosthetic joint infections due to carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae: a unique challenge in the era of untreatable infections.

Objectives: Limited clinical experience exists regarding the management of prosthetic joint infection (PJI) due to multidrug-resistant (MDR) Gram-negative organisms. We review three cases of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) complicating PJI.

Methods: This was a retrospective study of all patients at a tertiary care institution with CRKP complicating PJI between January 2007 and December 2010.

A near fatal case of invasive aspergillosis.

Background: Invasive aspergillosis (IA) rarely presents with endobronchial nodules or pseudomembranes on bronchoscopy. We describe a case of invasive aspergillosis in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), in which a fungal etiology was suspected after visualization of scattered, white endobronchial nodules.

Case Report: A 36-year-old-female with history of SLE developed cardiorespiratory shock.

Pseudallescheria Boydii pneumonia in an immunocompetent host.

Background: Pseudallescheria boydii pneumonia is rarely reported among immunocompetent patients.

Case Report: We report a case of a 62 year old white female with pseudallescheria boydii pneumonia. The patient was non-immunocompromised, had a history of mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) infection prior to presentation.

Is there a clinical association of vancomycin MIC creep, agr group II locus, and treatment failure in MRSA bacteremia?

Background: The association of vancomycin treatment failure with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) creep is concerning, as most isolates are still considered to be in the susceptible range. Several studies have suggested that the accessory gene regulator (agr) group II polymorphism is predictive of vancomycin treatment failure. We assessed the associations between increased vancomycin MIC, agr group II locus, and vancomycin treatment failure in Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteremias.

HIV-associated nemaline rod myopathy: role of intravenous immunoglobulin therapy in two persons with HIV/AIDS.

Nemaline rod myopathy is a rare disease associated with muscle weakness and the presence of rod-shaped structures in the muscle fibers. Various acquired conditions have been associated with slow progressing presentations during adulthood. Several cases have been diagnosed in adults with HIV infection.