Toxigenic Corynebacterium diphtheriae Infections in Low-Risk Patients, Switzerland, 2023.

We report a cluster of infections with genetically related toxigenic Corynebacterium diphtheriae linked to an outbreak among asylum seekers in Switzerland that subsequently affected patients without known exposure. This discovery highlights the importance of rapid, interdisciplinary outbreak investigations and regular vaccination status assessment, especially in elderly populations with waning immunity.

Multicenter Evaluation of the QIAstat-Dx and the BioFire Multiplex Panel Tests for the Detection of Respiratory Pathogens.

Syndromic multiplex panel testing enables simultaneous detection of multiple respiratory pathogens, but limited data is available on the comparative diagnostic performance of different testing systems. In this multicenter prospective study, we aimed to compare the QIAstat-Dx Respiratory Panel 2.0 (QIAstat-Dx-RP2.

A cross-sectional observational study of quality of life in adult short bowel syndrome patients: What role does autologous gut reconstruction play?

Background: Intestinal failure (IF) describes a condition of insufficient absorption capacity and general function of the gastrointestinal tract and may necessitate long-term intravenous fluid and nutrient supplementation. Quality of life (QoL) may be reduced in these patients. The aim of the study was to analyze QoL by two tools (SBS-QoL and SF-12) to elucidate which parameters impact QoL in patients with IF.

Exposure of gut bacterial isolates to the anthelminthic drugs, ivermectin and moxidectin, leads to antibiotic-like phenotypes of growth inhibition and adaptation.

Due to their broad-spectrum activities, ivermectin and moxidectin are widely used anthelminthics in veterinary and human medicine. However, ivermectin has recently been shown to perturbate bacterial growth. Given the macrolide-like structure of both ivermectin and moxidectin, there is a need to characterize the antibiotic spectrum of these anthelminthics and their potential implications in the development of cross-resistance to macrolides and other families of antibiotics.

Radical Cystectomy with Ileal Orthotopic Neobladder after 70 Years Leads to Worse Health-Related Quality of Life.

Radical cystectomy (RC) with the formation of an ileal orthotopic neobladder (ONB) may adversely affect long-term health-related quality of life (HRQOL). An advanced age at the time of ONB construction could further exacerbate the decline in HRQOL. This study aims to establish an evidence-based age threshold at the time of RC with ONB, beyond which a significant deterioration in HRQOL is observed.