Predicting treatment response to vancomycin using bacterial DNA load as a pharmacodynamic marker in premature and very low birth weight neonates: A population PKPD study.

While positive blood cultures are the gold standard for late-onset sepsis (LOS) diagnosis in premature and very low birth weight (VLBW) newborns, these results can take days, and early markers of possible treatment efficacy are lacking. The objective of the present study was to investigate whether the response to vancomycin could be quantified using bacterial DNA loads (BDLs) determined by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). VLBW and premature neonates with suspected LOS were included in a prospective observational study.

Evaluation of a real-time PCR assay for detection and quantification of bacterial DNA directly in blood of preterm neonates with suspected late-onset sepsis.

Background: Rapid and accurate diagnosis of neonatal sepsis is highly warranted because of high associated morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of a novel multiplex PCR assay for diagnosis of late-onset sepsis and to investigate the value of bacterial DNA load (BDL) determination as a measure of infection severity.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in a neonatal intensive care unit.

pneumonia with chest and abdominal wall involvement.

A 54-year-old man presented with a productive cough, chest pain, fever and weight loss. Initial analysis revealed a palpable chest wall mass and consolidation in the left lower lobe and pleural abnormalities on imaging. At that point no infectious cause or malignancy was identified.

Development of a multiplex real-time PCR assay for the rapid diagnosis of neonatal late onset sepsis.

The diagnosis of late onset sepsis (LOS), a severe condition with high prevalence in preterm infants, is hampered by the suboptimal sensitivity and long turnaround time of blood culture. Detection of the infecting pathogen directly in blood by PCR would provide a much more timely result. Unfortunately, PCR-based assays reported so far are labor intensive and often lack direct species identification.

The role of antibiotic prophylaxis in endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography; a retrospective single-center evaluation.

Objective: Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreaticography (ERCP) can be complicated by post-ERCP cholangitis even when performed by experienced endoscopists. Therefore, antibiotic prophylaxis is recommended for certain patients, but controversy exists as to which patient groups really benefit from this strategy. We retrospectively evaluated the use of antibiotics in a primary teaching hospital in the Netherlands with regard to the incidence of post-ERCP cholangitis and cholecystitis.