First European Haplotype of Echinococcus multilocularis Identified in the United States: An Emerging Disease?

Background: Echinococcus multilocularis is one of the most severe and lethal parasitic diseases of humans, most often reported in Europe and Asia. Only 1 previous case has been documented in the contiguous United States from Minnesota in 1977. European haplotypes have been identified in carnivores and domestic dogs as well as recently in patients in western and central Canada.

Patient perspectives in sarcoidosis.

Purpose Of Review: The review presents an overview of the scientific publications about patient perspectives in sarcoidosis.

Recent Findings: The literature on patient perspectives in sarcoidosis is limited. Patient perspectives in sarcoidosis encompass a myriad of topics that have been addressed to some degree in the literature: patient needs and perceptions, patient-reported burden of sarcoidosis, and patient treatment priorities.

The complexity, relative value, and financial worth of curbside consultations in an academic infectious diseases unit.

Background: Curbside consultations are common in clinical practice. The complexity, relative value, and revenue loss associated with curbside consultations are not well defined.

Methods: Curbside consultations performed during a 1-year period were studied.

The Vermont model for rural HIV care delivery: eleven years of outcome data comparing urban and rural clinics.

Context: Provision of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) care in rural areas has encountered unique barriers.

Purpose: To compare medical outcomes of care provided at 3 HIV specialty clinics in rural Vermont with that provided at an urban HIV specialty clinic.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study.

Community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus pneumonia.

Community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is increasingly recognized as an important pathogen causing skin and soft tissue infections. We report a case of severe necrotizing pneumonia caused by community-acquired methicillin-resistant S. aureus in a peripartum woman.

Acute meningoencephalitis caused by adenovirus serotype 26.

Adenoviridae are rare causes of meningoencephalitis in both immunocompetent and immunocompromised hosts. In this article the authors report a case of adenoviral meningoencephalitis caused by serotype 26 and its identification, not described previously, in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) by PCR and brain tissue by immunohistochemical staining.

Outbreak of Salmonella javiana infection at a children's hospital.

Objective: To determine the source of an outbreak of Salmonella javiana infection.

Design: Case-control study.

Participants: A total of 101 culture-confirmed cases and 540 epidemiologically linked cases were detected between May 26, 2003, and June 16, 2003, in hospital employees, patients, and visitors.

Has the epidemiology of nosocomial candidemia changed?

Objective: To assess changes in the epidemiology of nosocomial candidemia in the post-fluconazole era among hospitalized patients using a case-control study design.

Design: Candidemia case-patients were matched 1:1 on diagnosis, age, and length of stay with control-patients. Conditional logistic regression was used to determine predictors and outcomes of candidemia.

The impact of bedside behavior on catheter-related bacteremia in the intensive care unit.

Hypothesis: The success of an educational program in July 1999 that lowered the catheter-related bloodstream infection (CRBSI) rate in our intensive care unit (ICU) 3-fold is correlated with compliance with "best-practice" behaviors.

Design: Before-after trial.

Setting: Surgical ICU in a referral hospital.

Stenotrophomonas maltophilia intestinal colonization in hospitalized oncology patients with diarrhea.

A 6-week surveillance study was performed to determine the prevalence of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia intestinal colonization among patients hospitalized in an oncology unit who developed diarrhea. Ninety-two stool samples obtained from 41 patients were cultured, and 4 patients (4 [9.5%] of 41 patients) had cultures that were positive for S.

Risk factors for Stenotrophomonas maltophilia bacteremia in oncology patients: a case-control study.

Objective: To characterize risk factors for Stenotrophomonas maltophilia bloodstream infection in oncology patients.

Design: A 3:1 case-control study.

Setting: Stem Cell Transplant and Leukemic Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital (St.

Enterobacter cloacae ventriculitis successfully treated with cefepime and gentamicin: case report and review of the literature.

A 55-year-old woman was found unresponsive and subsequently was diagnosed with a subarachnoid hemorrhage secondary to a right posterior communicating artery aneurysm. The development of hydrocephalus and decreased mental status necessitated placement of an intraventricular catheter; 18 days later she was diagnosed with Enterobacter cloacae ventriculitis. After treatment was begun with intravenous cefepime 2 g every 8 hours and intraventricular gentamicin 5 mg every 24 hours, the catheter was replaced.

Risk factors for surgical site infection in spinal surgery.

Object: The objective of this study was to identify specific independent risk factors for surgical site infections (SSIs) occurring after laminectomy or spinal fusion.

Methods: The authors performed a retrospective case-control study of data obtained in patients between 1996 and 1999 who had undergone laminectomy and/or spinal fusion. Forty-one patients with SSI or meningitis were identified, and data were compared with those acquired in 178 uninfected control patients.

The risk factors for deep and superficial chest surgical-site infections after coronary artery bypass graft surgery are different.

Objective: We sought to determine risk factors for deep and superficial chest wound infections after coronary artery bypass graft surgery to develop predictive models.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data collected on 1980 consecutive patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery at our institution between January 1, 1996, and June 30, 1999, by using the Society of Thoracic Surgery database. Independent risk factors for surgical-site infection were identified with multivariate logistic regression.

Effect of an education program on decreasing catheter-related bloodstream infections in the surgical intensive care unit.

Objective: The purpose of the study was to determine whether an education initiative aimed at improving central venous catheter insertion and care could decrease the rate of primary bloodstream infections.

Design: Pre- and postintervention observational study.

Setting: Eighteen-bed surgical/burn/trauma intensive care unit (ICU) in an urban teaching hospital.