bloodstream infection affects the elderly in close contact with health care.

Objectives: We aimed to fill the gaps of knowledge concerning incidence rates and temporal trend, clinical features and risk factors for death for bloodstream infections (BSIs) in south Sweden.

Methods: This was an observational, population-based study including all patients with at least one blood culture positive for between 2013 and 2023 in Skåne, south Sweden.

Results: A total of 211 episodes of BSI in 201 patients were registered during the study period.

Pandrug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae isolated from Ukrainian war victims are hypervirulent.

Objectives: Carbapenem- and colistin-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae were isolated from war victims treated in hospitals in Ukraine. The question was whether these pandrug-resistant K. pneumoniae are pathogenic and capable of causing disease in a broader context.

A population-based study of the appearances of enteric and non-typhoidal infections on computed tomography.

Background: Swift identification and diagnosis of gastrointestinal infections are crucial for prompt treatment, prevention of complications, and reduction of the risk of hospital transmission. The radiological appearance on computed tomography could potentially provide important clues to the etiology of gastrointestinal infections. We aimed to describe features based on computed tomography of patients diagnosed with or infections in South Sweden.

Infective native aneurysms of the infrapopliteal arteries - A systematic literature review and report of two cases.

Infective native aneurysms (INA) of the infrapopliteal arteries are rare and have previously been poorly described. This systematic review aims to provide an overview of the literature of this entity. Furthermore, two case reports of our own clinical experience are presented.

A population-based study on the incidence and aetiology of infectious complications in peritoneal dialysis in South Sweden.

Background: Peritonitis is a major cause of morbidity in peritoneal dialysis (PD) and an independent risk factor for elevated all-cause mortality. The aims of this study were to report the incidence, trend, aetiology, and antimicrobial susceptibility of PD-associated peritonitis and catheter-related infections in South Sweden between 2011-2020.

Methods: This population-based observational cohort study included all patients with PD between the years 2011-2020 in the county of Skåne.

Influenza-associated invasive aspergillosis in patients admitted to the intensive care unit in Sweden: a prospective multicentre cohort study.

Background: The purpose of this study was to prospectively investigate the incidence of influenza-associated pulmonary aspergillosis (IAPA) in influenza patients admitted to intensive care units in Sweden.

Methods: The study included consecutive adult patients with PCR-verified influenza A or B in 12 Swedish intensive care units (ICUs) over four influenza seasons (2019-2023). Patients were screened using serum galactomannan and β-d-glucan tests and fungal culture of a respiratory sample at inclusion and weekly during the ICU stay.

Pivmecillinam with Amoxicillin/Clavulanic acid as step down oral therapy in febrile Urinary Tract Infections caused by ESBL-producing Enterobacterales (PACUTI).

Background: Oral treatment alternatives for febrile urinary tract infections are limited in the era of increasing antimicrobial resistance. We aim to evaluate if the combination of pivmecillinam and amoxicillin/clavulanic acid is non-inferior to current alternatives for step-down therapy in adult patients with febrile urinary tract infection.

Methods: We plan to perform an investigator-initiated non-inferiority trial.

A Population-Based Study of Unfavorable Prognostic Factors Associated With Pyogenic Liver Abscess.

Background: Pyogenic liver abscess (PLA) is a rare entity that is associated with substantial mortality and morbidity. Our objective was to investigate variables associated with mortality and subsequent PLA in patients diagnosed with PLA in southern Sweden.

Methods: We conducted a population-based observational study comprising all episodes of PLA that occurred between 2011 and 2020 in the county of Skåne, southern Sweden.

Nationwide, population-based observational study of the molecular epidemiology and temporal trend of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales in Norway, 2015 to 2021.

IntroductionNational and regional carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE) surveillance is essential to understand the burden of antimicrobial resistance, elucidate outbreaks, and develop infection-control or antimicrobial-treatment recommendations.AimThis study aimed to describe CPE and their epidemiology in Norway from 2015 to 2021.MethodsA nationwide, population-based observational study of all verified clinical and carriage CPE isolates submitted to the national reference laboratory was conducted.

Agreement and reliability of hepatic transient elastography in patients with chronic hepatitis C: A cross-sectional test-retest study.

Background And Aims: Transient elastography (TE) has largely replaced liver biopsy to evaluate fibrosis stage and cirrhosis in chronic hepatitis C. Previous studies have reported excellent reliability of TE but agreement metrics have not been reported. This study aimed to assess interrater agreement and reliability of repeated TE measurements.

Increasing incidence of pyogenic liver abscess in Southern Sweden: a population-based study from 2011 to 2020.

Background: Pyogenic liver abscess (PLA) is a rare but potentially life-threatening disease, and estimates suggest a gradual increase in the incidence during the last decades. The primary aim of this study was to report the incidence, trend and aetiology of PLA during a decade in Southern Sweden.

Methods: This was a population-based observational cohort study between 2011 and 2020 in Skåne, Southern Sweden.

Conservative Management First Strategy in Aortic Vascular Graft and Endograft Infections.

Objective: The aim of this study was to describe and present the outcomes of a specific treatment protocol for aortic vascular graft and endograft infections (VGEIs) without explantation of the infected graft.

Methods: This was a retrospective, observational single centre cohort study carried out between 2012 and 2022 at a tertiary hospital. An aortic VGEI was defined according to the Management of Aortic Graft Infection Collaboration (MAGIC) criteria.

Incidence, aetiology and temporal trend of bloodstream infections in southern Sweden from 2006 to 2019: a population-based study.

BackgroundBloodstream infections (BSI) are a public health concern, and infections caused by resistant bacteria further increase the overall BSI burden on healthcare.AimTo provide a population-based estimate of BSI incidence and relate this to the forthcoming demographic ageing western population change.MethodsWe retrieved positive blood cultures taken from patients in the Skåne region, southern Sweden, 2006-2019 from the Clinical Microbiology Department database and estimated incidence rates (IR), stratified by age (0-49, 50-64, 65-79, ≥ 80 years), sex, year, and species and described antimicrobial susceptibility for Enterobacterales.

HIV-associated infective native aortic aneurysms.

HIV-associated infective native aortic aneurysms (INAA) constitute a subcategory of the disease INAA. This is a very rare group of patients. The aim of this systematic literature review was to compile a description of patient characteristics with HIV-associated INAA.

Low 30-day mortality and low carbapenem-resistance in a decade of bacteraemia in South Sweden.

Background: The aim of this study was to provide a descriptive account of carbapenem resistance and risk factors for mortality from invasive infections in the south of Sweden.

Methods: Blood isolates with growth of species between 2010 and 2019 in Skåne county were subtyped using MALDI-TOF and subjected to susceptibility testing against clinically relevant antibiotics. Association between risk factors and 30-day mortality were analysed in univariate and multivariate logistic regression models.

Convalescent plasma treatment in severely immunosuppressed patients hospitalized with COVID-19: an observational study of 28 cases.

Background: Immunosuppressed patients are particularly vulnerable to severe infection from the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), risking prolonged viremia and symptom duration. In this study we describe clinical and virological treatment outcomes in a heterogeneous group of patients with severe immunosuppression due to various causes suffering from COVID-19 infection, who were all treated with convalescent plasma (CCP) along with standard treatment.

Methods: We performed an observational, retrospective case series between May 2020 to March 2021 at three sites in Skåne, Sweden, with a population of nearly 1.

Convalescence plasma treatment of COVID-19: results from a prematurely terminated randomized controlled open-label study in Southern Sweden.

Objective: Convalescent plasma has been tried as therapy for various viral infections. Early observational studies of convalescent plasma treatment for hospitalized COVID-19 patients were promising, but randomized controlled studies were lacking at the time. The objective of this study was to investigate if convalescent plasma is beneficial to hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

Association between convalescent plasma treatment and mortality in COVID-19: a collaborative systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials.

Background: Convalescent plasma has been widely used to treat COVID-19 and is under investigation in numerous randomized clinical trials, but results are publicly available only for a small number of trials. The objective of this study was to assess the benefits of convalescent plasma treatment compared to placebo or no treatment and all-cause mortality in patients with COVID-19, using data from all available randomized clinical trials, including unpublished and ongoing trials (Open Science Framework, https://doi.org/10.

Guided Aspiration for Determining the Microbiological Aetiology of Aortic Vascular Graft and Endograft Infections.

Objective: Open and endovascular aortic repair may be complicated by aortic vascular graft or endograft infection (VGEI). Confirming the microbiological aetiology is a key element in providing the best available treatment to patients with a VGEI. The primary aim of this study was to describe the technique of direct aneurysm sac guided aspiration (DASGA) in determining the microbiological aetiology in a cohort of patients with VGEIs, and to report its diagnostic value.

16S rRNA is a valuable tool in finding bacterial aetiology of community-acquired pleural empyema-a population-based observational study in South Sweden.

Background: The incidence of community-acquired pleural empyema is increasing. Knowledge of the bacterial aetiology is important in order to base recommendations on empirical antimicrobial treatment. The primary aim of the present study was to describe the bacterial aetiology of adult patients with culture proven and/or 16S rRNA-positive community-acquired pleural infection.

Bacteremia with ESBL-producing Enterobacterales is associated with IgG antibodies reacting with CTX-M-15 and/or CTX-M-27.

Objectives: The adaptive humoral immune response following clinical infection with extended spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Enterobacterales (EPE) has not been thoroughly investigated. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of anti-CTX-M-15 and/or anti-CTX-M-27 IgG antibodies in bacteremia patients diagnosed with EPE compared to a control group consisting of patients suffering from bacteremia with third generation cephalosporin-susceptible Escherichia coli (3GCSE).

Methods: Patientswith EPE (n = 59) or 3GCSE (n = 42) bacteremia were recruited in this case control study in the Skåne County (South of Sweden).

A Cross-Sectional Cohort Study of Extended-Spectrum-Beta-Lactamase-Producing in Patients with Traveler's Diarrhea.

Patients with traveler's diarrhea (TD) can acquire extended-spectrum-beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing members of the (EPE) during travel to areas of endemicity. The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence and characteristics of EPE carriage in travelers from southern Sweden who were sampled for bacterial diagnostics of TD compared to those of EPE carriage 10 years ago. Clinical samples sent for culture of common causes of bacterial enterocolitis, if the referral stated foreign travel, were included in the study.

Risk factors associated with prolonged intestinal colonization of ESBL-producing - a prospective cohort study.

Background: Extended spectrum β-lactamase-producing (EPE) are responsible for a major part of the widespread antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Increased understanding of risk factors associated with intestinal colonization of EPE is crucial to implement adequate actions against AMR. The aim of this study was to define potential risk factors for prolonged intestinal colonization with EPE.