Introduction: Peripheral intravenous catheters (PIVCs) are the most commonly used vascular access device in hospitalised patients. Yet PIVCs may be complicated by local or systemic infections leading to increased healthcare costs. Chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG)-impregnated dressings may help reduce PIVC-related infectious complications but have not yet been evaluated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an intensifying threat that requires urgent mitigation to avoid a post-antibiotic era. Pseudomonas aeruginosa represents one of the greatest AMR concerns due to increasing multi- and pan-drug resistance rates. Shotgun sequencing is gaining traction for in silico AMR profiling due to its unambiguity and transferability; however, accurate and comprehensive AMR prediction from P.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a frequent pathogen isolated from bacterial bloodstream infection (BSI) and is associated with high mortality. To survive in the blood, P aeruginosa must resist the bactericidal action of complement (ie, serum killing). Antibodies usually promote serum killing through the classical complement pathway; however, "cloaking antibodies" (cAbs) have been described, which paradoxically protect bacteria from serum killing.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAntimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an ever-increasing global health concern. One crucial facet in tackling the AMR epidemic is earlier and more accurate AMR diagnosis, particularly in the dangerous and highly multi-drug-resistant ESKAPE pathogen, . We aimed to develop two SYBR Green-based mismatch amplification mutation assays (SYBR-MAMAs) targeting GyrA T83I (248) and GyrA D87N, D87Y and D87H (259).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: To study COVID-19 (Delta Variant) cases and close contacts co-located within households. Focusing on epidemiology of transmission of COVID-19, quarantine duration and utilisation of infection control behaviours under a telehealth model of care in an elimination setting.
Methods: A retrospective cohort analysis examined household spread of infection, duration of quarantine and change in PCR CT value during illness.
Debate continues as to the role of combination antibiotic therapy for the management of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections. We studied the extent of bacterial killing by and the emergence of resistance to meropenem and amikacin as monotherapies and as a combination therapy against susceptible and resistant P. aeruginosa isolates from bacteremic patients using the dynamic hollow-fiber infection model.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Coxiella burnetii endocarditis can be difficult to diagnose leading to delays in treatment. This retrospective case series study was undertaken to understand the epidemiologic trends and clinical features of Q fever endocarditis in Southeast Queensland, Australia.
Methods: Clinical records of patients from a single center with coding diagnosis of C.
Purpose: The molecular epidemiology of Pseudomonas aeruginosa bloodstream infection (BSI) isolates has received limited attention. This study aims to characterize the molecular relationship of P. aeruginosa BSI isolates in the non-outbreak setting at a single tertiary healthcare facility.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIt has been described that the sensitivity of the Carba NP test may be low in the case of OXA-48-like carbapenamases and mass spectrometry based methods as well as a colorimetry based method have been described as alternatives. We evaluated 84 Enterobacteriaceae isolates including 31 OXA-48-like producing isolates and 13 isolates that produced either an imipenemase (IMP; n=8), New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase (NDM; n=3), or Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC; n=2), as well as 40 carbapenemase negative Enterobacteriaceae isolates. We used the Neo-Rapid CARB kit, assessing the results with the unaided eye and compared it with a colorimetric approach.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA 32-year-old woman was treated with long-term voriconazole therapy for recurrent aspergillosis associated with chronic granulomatous disease. A short time after commencement of voriconazole therapy, a severe photosensitivity reaction developed. Continued voriconazole exposure led to the development of multifocal facial squamous cell carcinomas.
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