Paretic complications of tick-borne encephalitis and Lyme neuroborreliosis in the Czech Republic: Characteristics and clinical outcome.

Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) and Lyme neuroborreliosis (LNB), the most common tick-borne diseases of the central nervous system in Central Europe, are frequently associated with pareses. The aim of this study was to characterise paretic complications in patients with TBE and LNB, including their severity, persistence and impact on the patients' quality of life. Our retrospective observational study included patients with aseptic CNS infection due to TBE virus or Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato.

[Microbiological methods for identification of the etiological agents of bloodstream infections with focus on the T2Bacteria Panel].

Blood culture is the gold standard method for identifying the etiological agents of bloodstream infections. A relatively low sensitivity and a long time to detection are its main disadvantages, resulting in delayed administration of pathogen-specific antibiotic therapy and the need to initiate empiric treatment with broad-spectrum antibiotics. Such an approach negatively affects overall treatment outcomes and contributes to the spread of antibiotic resistance.

[Role of chloramphenicol in current clinical practice].

Introduction: Chloramphenicol is an antibiotic with a broad spectrum of action and excellent tissue penetration. It had been widely used in clinical practice until the 1970s, but due to its potential myelotoxicity, it was gradually replaced by newly introduced antibiotics in the following years. The aim of the study was to find out to what extent and with what experience it is currently used in the Czech Republic.

Cerebrospinal fluid CXCL13 in non-borrelial central nervous system infections: contribution of CXCL13 to the differential diagnosis.

Background: The chemokine CXCL13 in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is used as a diagnostic marker of Lyme neuroborreliosis (LNB). However, the elevated levels in other non-borrelial CNS infections and the lack of a clearly defined cut-off value are limitations of the test.

Methods: In our prospective study, we evaluated CSF CXCL13 levels in patients with LNB (47 patients), tick-borne encephalitis (TBE; 46 patients), enteroviral CNS infections (EV; 45 patients), herpetic CNS infections (HV; 23 patients), neurosyphilis (NS; 11 patients) and controls (46 patients).

Longer than 2 hours to antibiotics is associated with doubling of mortality in a multinational community-acquired bacterial meningitis cohort.

To optimally define the association between time to effective antibiotic therapy and clinical outcomes in adult community-acquired bacterial meningitis. A systematic review of the literature describing the association between time to antibiotics and death or neurological impairment due to adult community-acquired bacterial meningitis was performed. A retrospective cohort, multivariable and propensity-score based analyses were performed using individual patient clinical data from Australian, Danish and United Kingdom studies.

COVID-19 severe pneumonia: Prospective multicentre study on demands on intensive care capacities.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to obtain data on demands on the intensive care capacities to treat COVID-19 patients, and to identify predictors for in-hospital mortality.

Methods: The prospective observational multicentre study carried out from 1 March till 30 June 2020 included adult patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection with respiratory failure requiring ventilatory support or high-flow nasal oxygen therapy (HFNO).

Results: Seventy-four patients, 46 males and 28 females, median age 67.

Disseminated Pelvic Actinomycosis Caused by .

Actinomycosis is a chronic bacterial infection characterized by continuous local spread, irrespective of anatomical barriers, and granulomatous suppurative inflammation. Due to its expansive local growth, it can simulate a malignant tumour. Subsequent hematogenous dissemination to distant organs can mimic metastases and further increase suspicion for malignancy.

Selected Biomarkers Correlate with the Origin and Severity of Sepsis.

The microbial etiology and source of sepsis influence the inflammatory response. Therefore, the plasma levels of cytokines (IL-6, IL-8, and IL-10), chemokines (CCL2/MCP-1, MIP-1), heparin-binding protein (HBP), soluble CD14 (sCD14), and cortisol were analyzed in blood from septic patients obtained during the first 96 hours of intensive care unit hospitalization. The etiology was established in 56 out of a total of 62 patients enrolled in the study.

[Guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of acute bacterial meningitis].

Acute bacterial meningitis is a severe infectious disease of the central nervous system. Its incidence decreases but lethality and sequelae remain high. The early initiation of appropriate treatment is a factor strongly determining the patient´s prognosis.

[Lactic acidosis due to metformin accumulation complicating acute gastroenteritis].

Lactic acidosis is the most severe adverse effect associated with metformin therapy of type 2 diabetes mellitus. The risk increases in patients with impaired renal function, most commonly due to diabetic nephropathy, and may be augmented when concurrent medication with a negative impact on renal function is used. The authors present a series of three patients who were admitted to a department of infectious diseases for acute gastroenteritis and within a few hours developed shock syndrome caused by severe lactic acidosis due to accumulation of metformin.

[Invasive Pasteurella multocida infections: Two clinical cases and literature review].

Pasteurella multocida is a common commensal of the gastrointestinal and respiratory tracts of animals, especially cats and dogs. It is transmitted to humans through contact with animals. Bite wound infection is the most common clinical manifestation.

[Familial occurrence of botulism - a case report].

Botulism, a life-threatening condition, is very rare in the Czech Republic. Since 1960, a total of 155 cases have been reported; between 2010 and 2012, not a single case was identified. This is a case report of familiar occurrence of botulism following consumption of home-made pork and liver pâté in three family members admitted to the Department of Infectious, Tropical and Parasitic Diseases, Na Bulovce Hospital in Prague in May 2013.

Listeria monocytogenes meningitis in adults: the Czech Republic experience.

Background: Listeria monocytogenes (LM) is currently the third most frequent pathogen of bacterial meningitis in adults.

Methods: A prospective study of patients with LM meningitis in a Czech tertiary care hospital, carried out from 1997 to 2012.

Results: Thirty-one patients were diagnosed with LM meningitis, which was 7% of a total of 440 adult patients with acute bacterial meningitis (ABM) over a 16-year period.

[Bacteria cleaving small-colony variants as causative agents of infective endocarditis and other severe diseases].

Small-colony variants (SCV) associated with specific biochemical features were described in many bacterial species. Bacteria with SCV phenotype have knocked out metabolic pathways for aerobic respiration, thus they behave like strict anaerobes. They are handicapped in competition for nutrients with other microbes but on the other hand they are able to resist some antibiotics and survive inside eucaryotic cells.

Relapsing endocarditis caused by Enterococcus faecalis forming small colony variants.

Small colony variants (SCVs) are subpopulations of a bacterial strain that differ in morphology, growth rate, metabolism, and antibiotic sensitivity from the parent line. They are associated with chronic and difficult-to-treat infections. SCV endocarditis is very rare and usually associated with intracardiac devices.

[Phylogenetic analysis and genotyping of A/H3N2 Influenza viruses isolated from patients hospitalised with influenza-like illness symptoms in the na bulovce hospital in the season 2011/2012].

Influenza A virus is an important cause of acute respiratory infections (ARI). Clinical manifestations of ARI vary from mild or moderate to life-threatening conditions requiring intensive care. Given the segmented genome, a large natural reservoir of other influenza virus subtypes, and antibody selection pressure in the population, the virus is variable and genetically unstable.

[Leptospirosis contracted from pet rats].

Leptospirosis is a worldwide zoonosis with the highest incidence in tropical regions. The reservoir animals, mainly mice and rats, excrete leptospira organisms in their urine asymptomatically. It is transmitted to human hosts either by contact with the infected urine or via contaminated water or soil during the work and recreational activities.

[Microneutralization assay in the diagnosis of influenza infection].

Serology plays an important role in the diagnosis of influenza, particularly in the detection of post-vaccination and post-infection antibodies. When considering the range of diagnostic options, the serological method should be selected depending on the circumstances - whether single or paired serum samples are tested, whether adequate patient medical history data are available, whether epidemiological links are suspected, and, in particular, to what purpose the result will be used (differential diagnosis, post-infection follow-up, post-vaccination monitoring, etc.).

Incidence, predisposing factors, and aetiology of infective endocarditis in the Czech Republic.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence and epidemiological characteristics of infective endocarditis (IE) in the Czech Republic. These results represent the first data on the epidemiology of IE from the post-communist countries.

Methods: This was a prospective multi-centre observational study monitoring the occurrence of IE in the catchment areas of 29 hospitals during a 12-month period.

[Listeriosis in pregnant women and newborns in Czech Republic].

Listeria monocytogenes is ubiquitous in nature, being commonly present in faecal flora of otherwise healthy human population or animals. Clinical manifestation of listeria infection may vary widely from mild to invasive, life-threatening disease. In an immunocompromised host, a rather serious course should be expected.

[Incidence and characteristics of Clostridium difficile infection in patients with diarrhea in a Prague teaching hospital].

Aim Of The Study: Description of basic epidemiological and clinical data of patients suffering from Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). Recognizing important predisposing factors and detecting complications of the disease.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective study of clinical and laboratory parameters in patients with confirmed CDI who were admitted in our department between 1 January, 2008 and 30 June 2010.

Heparin-binding protein as a biomarker of circulatory failure during severe infections: a report of three cases.

We report 3 cases of disease - leptospirosis, tropical malaria and fulminant meningococcaemia - associated with high serum concentrations of heparin-binding protein (HBP) and haemodynamic instability. Furthermore, HBP kinetics were observed for the first 3 days in survivors and were correlated with improvement in clinical condition.