Hospital surveillance of respiratory viruses during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond: contribution to the WHO mosaic framework, Israel, 2020 to 2023.

BackgroundA new respiratory virus surveillance platform, based on nationwide hospital laboratory data, was established in Israel during the COVID-19 pandemic.AimWe aimed to evaluate the performance of this platform with respect to the detection of influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) from week 36 in 2020 to week 15 in 2023, and how it fits with the World Health Organization (WHO) mosaic surveillance framework.MethodsData of respiratory samples from hospitalised patients sent for laboratory confirmation of influenza virus or RSV from 25 general hospital laboratories nationwide were collected.

The effect of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination on AMH concentrations in infertile women.

Research Question: Does SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination affect the ovarian reserve of infertile women undergoing IVF?

Design: This was a prospective observational study at a single university-affiliated IVF unit that included infertile women aged 18-44 years who were undergoing IVF/intracytoplasmic sperm injection between November 2020 and September 2021, had received two doses of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination and had undergone measurement of baseline anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) concentration within the 12 months preceding their recruitment. AMH concentrations before and after vaccination were evaluated and compared.

Results: Overall, 31 women were included in the study.

Homemade Hypertonic Saline: Essential Treatment Can Be Available and Affordable.

Background: Nebulized hypertonic saline (HS) treatment is unavailable to large populations worldwide.

Objectives: To determine the bacterial contamination and electrolyte concentrations in homemade (HM-HS) vs. pharmacy made (PM-HS).

The accuracy of Gram stain of respiratory specimens in excluding Staphylococcus aureus in ventilator-associated pneumonia.

Objective: To evaluate the Gram stain of deep tracheal aspirate as a tool to direct empiric antibiotic therapy, and more specifically as a tool to exclude the need for empiric antibiotic coverage against Staphylococcus aureus in ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP).

Design: A prospective, single-center, observational, cohort study.

Setting: All wards at a community hospital.

A cost-saving algorithm for rapid diagnosis of Staphylococcus aureus and susceptibility to oxacillin directly from positive blood culture bottles by combined testing with BinaxNOW® S. aureus and Xpert MRSA/SA Assay.

We studied an algorithm combining 2 rapid methods to detect Staphylococcus aureus and its susceptibility to oxacillin directly from positive blood cultures; our goal was to reduce the cost of the procedure, while maintaining accuracy and a short turnaround time. A total of 581 blood cultures containing gram-positive cocci in clusters were tested by BinaxNOW® Staphylococcus aureus Test. Positive samples were further assessed by the Xpert MRSA/SA BC Assay.

Uterine cervical non-gonococcal and non-chlamydial bacterial flora and its antibiotic sensitivity in women with pelvic inflammatory disease: did it vary over 20 years?

Background: Although the presence of bacteria in the cervix is not a sign of disease, the majority of pathogens involved in pelvic inflammatory disease originate from this "normal" flora.

Objectives: To assess the distribution of cervical nongonococcal and non-chlamydial bacteria in hospitalized women with PID and the bacteria's antibiotic sensitivity.

Methods: We retrospectively evaluated the cultures obtained from the uterine cervix over a 1 year period (2008) at Wolfson Medical Center, Holon.

Invasive pediatric Kingella kingae Infections: a nationwide collaborative study.

Background: Kingella kingae is a gram-negative coccobacillus, increasingly recognized as an invasive pediatric pathogen. To date, only few small series of invasive K. kingae infections have been published, mostly from single medical centers.

First national surveillance of susceptibility of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella spp. to antimicrobials in Israel.

In this 1st national surveillance study, the susceptibility pattern of 1011 consecutive isolates of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella spp. isolated from patients hospitalized in Israel hospitals, covering 62.3% of all general hospital beds in the country, was investigated.