Features of cryptococcosis among 652 HIV-seronegative individuals in France: a cross-sectional observational study (2005-2020).

Objectives: We aimed to describe features and outcomes of cryptococcosis among HIV-seronegative individuals in a large surveillance network for cryptococcosis in France.

Methods: We included incident cases of cryptococcosis in HIV-seronegative individuals from 2005 to 2020. We compared patient characteristics, disease presentations, cryptococcal antigen results, and induction antifungal treatments according to underlying disease.

Infections Differ Among Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-Seropositive and HIV-Seronegative Individuals: Results From a Nationwide Surveillance Program in France.

Among 1107 cryptococcosis cases from the French surveillance network (2005-2020), the proportion of HIV-seronegative individuals has recently surpassed that of HIV-seropositive individuals. We observed marked differences in patient characteristics, disease presentations, cryptococcal antigen results, infecting species, and mortality according to HIV serostatus.

Invasive fungal diseases in patients with autoimmune diseases: a case series from the French RESSIF network.

Objectives: We aimed to describe patients with autoimmune diseases (AID) developing invasive fungal disease (IFD) and identify factors associated with short-term mortality.

Methods: We analysed cases of IFD associated with AID from the surveillance network of invasive fungal diseases (Réseau de surveillance des infections fongiques invasives, RESSIF) registry of the French national reference centre for invasive mycoses. We studied association of AID-specific treatments with 30-day mortality.

Candida haemulonii complex, an emerging threat from tropical regions?

Background: Candida haemulonii complex-related species are pathogenic yeasts closely related to Candida auris with intrinsic antifungal resistance, but few epidemiological data are available.

Methodology/principal Findings: We analyzed clinical and demographic characteristics of patients with fungemia due to C. haemulonii complex and related species (C.

Factors related to mortality in critically ill histoplasmosis: a multicenter retrospective study in Guadeloupe and French Guyana.

Purpose: To describe clinical and biological features and the outcomes of patients admitted for histoplasmosis in two intensive care units (ICU) in French Guyana and in the French West Indies (Guadeloupe).

Methods: All patients admitted to these two ICUs for culture-proven histoplasmosis between January 2014 to August 2022 were included in the study. Using univariate and multivariate analysis, we assessed risk factors at ICU admission that were associated with death.

The Economic Burden of Disease in France From the National Health Insurance Perspective: The Healthcare Expenditures and Conditions Mapping Used to Prepare the French Social Security Funding Act and the Public Health Act.

Background: Identifying the most frequently treated and the costliest health conditions is essential for prioritizing actions to improve the resilience of health systems.

Objectives: Healthcare Expenditures and Conditions Mapping describes the annual economic burden of 58 health conditions to prepare the French Social Security Funding Act and the Public Health Act.

Design: Annual cross-sectional study (2015-2019) based on the French national health database.

Cryptococcal Meningitis in Kidney Transplant Recipients: A Two-Decade Cohort Study in France.

Cryptococcosis is the third most common cause of invasive fungal infection in solid organ transplant recipients and cryptococcal meningitis (CM) its main clinical presentation. CM outcomes, as well as its clinical features and radiological characteristics, have not yet been considered on a large scale in the context of kidney transplantation (KT). We performed a nationwide retrospective study of adult patients diagnosed with cryptococcosis after KT between 2002 and 2020 across 30 clinical centers in France.

Performance Testing of PCR Assay in Blood Samples for the Diagnosis of Toxoplasmic Encephalitis in AIDS Patients from the French Departments of America and Genetic Diversity of Toxoplasma gondii: A Prospective and Multicentric Study.

Background: Toxoplasmic encephalitis in patients with AIDS is a life-threatening disease mostly due to reactivation of Toxoplasma gondii cysts in the brain. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of real-time PCR assay in peripheral blood samples for the diagnosis of toxoplasmic encephalitis in AIDS patients in the French West Indies and Guiana.

Methodology/principal Findings: Adult patients with HIV and suspicion of toxoplasmic encephalitis with start of specific antitoxoplasmic therapy were included in this study during 40 months.

Major West Indies MRSA clones in human beings: do they travel with their hosts?

Background: Descriptions of the epidemiology of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) have seldom been produced in the Caribbean, which is a major tourism destination.

Materials And Methods: Using DNA microarrays and spa typing, we characterized 85 MRSA isolates from human skin and soft-tissue infections from five different islands.

Results: In the French West Indies (n = 72), the most frequently isolated clones were the same clones that are specifically isolated from mainland France [Lyon (n = 35) and Geraldine (n = 11) clones], whereas the clones that were most frequently isolated from the other islands (n = 13) corresponded with clones that have a worldwide endemic spread [Vienna/Hungarian/Brazilian (n = 5), Panton Valentine leukocidin-positive USA300 (n = 4), New York/Japan (n = 2), and pediatric (n = 1) clones].

Serovar diversity of pathogenic Leptospira circulating in the French West Indies.

Background: Leptospirosis is one of the most important neglected tropical bacterial diseases in Latin America and the Caribbean. However, very little is known about the circulating etiological agents of leptospirosis in this region. In this study, we describe the serological and molecular features of leptospires isolated from 104 leptospirosis patients in Guadeloupe (n = 85) and Martinique (n = 19) and six rats captured in Guadeloupe, between 2004 and 2012.

Bacteremia caused by Aeromonas species [corrected] complex in the Caribbean Islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe.

Aeromonas species are Gram-negative bacilli of the water environment whose survival appears facilitated by warm climates. There have been no reports on Aeromonas species in the [corrected] Caribbean to date. Our aim was to describe clinical and bacteriological features in patients presenting with such bacteremia in Martinique and Guadeloupe.

Severe leptospirosis in hospitalized patients, Guadeloupe.

We evaluated prognostic factors for leptospirosis in 168 consecutive hospitalized patients in Guadeloupe. Factors independently associated with severity included chronic hypertension or chronic alcoholism, late initiation of antibacterial therapy, abnormal chest auscultation results, icterus, oligoanuria, disorders of consciousness, elevated aspartate aminotransferase levels, hyperamylasemia, and Leptospira interrogans serovar Icterohemorrhagiae.