Transplantation in the Pandemic Era: Perspectives on the Utilization of COVID-19 Positive Organs.

Background: At early stages of the pandemic, most organ procurements organizations considered COVID-19 infected donors to be ineligible for organ donation. The aim of this survey is to describe the current practices of the utilization of COVID-19 positive organs donors among American Society of Transplant Surgeons (ASTS) members.

Methods: An anonymous 40-question redcap survey was emailed to ASTS members from June to August 2022.

A Retrospective Characterization of Dexmedetomidine-Suspected Fever and Its Consequences in Adult Critically Ill Patients.

Background: Current evidence for dexmedetomidine-suspected fever (DSF) is limited. Lack of recognition may lead to costly or potentially harmful interventions for critically ill patients.

Objective: The primary objective was to characterize escalations of care related to DSF.

"If the glove fits": Hospital-wide universal gloving is associated with improved hand hygiene and may reduce infection.

Objective: To determine whether a hospital-wide universal gloving program resulted in increased hand hygiene compliance and reduced inpatient Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) rates.

Design: We carried out a multiple-year before-and-after quasi-experimental quality improvement study. Gloving and hand hygiene compliance data as well as hospital-acquired infection rates were prospectively collected from January 1, 2015, to December 31, 2017, by secret monitors.

Chronic therapeutic anticoagulation is associated with decreased thrombotic complications in SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Background: Thrombotic disease complicates severe SARS-CoV-2 infection and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Various anticoagulation strategies have been evaluated in hospitalized patients to prevent complications. The impact of chronic anticoagulation before SARS-CoV-2 infection on the risk for subsequent thrombosis has not been systematically studied.

Probable Donor-Derived Human Adenovirus Type 34 Infection in 2 Kidney Transplant Recipients From the Same Donor.

Human adenovirus type 34 (HAdV-34) infection is a recognized cause of transplant-associated hemorrhagic cystitis and, in rare cases, tubulointerstitial nephritis. The source of such infections is often difficult to assess, that is, whether acquired as a primary infection, exposure to a pathogen in the transplanted organ, or reactivation of an endogenous latent infection. We present here 2 cases of likely transplant-acquired HAdV-34 infection from the same organ donor, manifesting as tubulointerstitial nephritis in 1.

CNS Melioidosis in a Traveler Returning from Cabo, Mexico.

Melioidosis is caused by the gram-negative bacillus , endemic to northern Australia and Southeast Asia. We present a patient who traveled to Mexico, returned to the United States, and developed progressive manifestations of melioidosis, culminating as central nervous system disease. Standard therapy was contraindicated, and a prolonged intensive phase was employed.

The clinical impact of pneumocystis and viral PCR testing on bronchoalveolar lavage in immunosuppressed patients.

Introduction: Pulmonary infiltrates in immunosuppressed patients are common. Yields from bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) has been reported to be between 31 and 65%. The clinical impact of pneumocystis and viral Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing on BAL has not been extensively evaluated in a mixed immunosuppressed patient population.

Nasopharyngeal viral PCR in immunosuppressed patients and its association with virus detection in bronchoalveolar lavage by PCR.

Background And Objective: Pulmonary infiltrates are common in immunosuppressed patients. Bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) is often used to evaluate their aetiology. However, it may not always be easily performed.

A case of Lemierre's syndrome with septic shock and complicated parapneumonic effusions requiring intrapleural fibrinolysis.

Lemierre's syndrome is a septic thrombophlebitis of the internal jugular vein, which can lead to severe systemic illness. We report a case of an otherwise healthy 26-year-old man who suffered from pharyngitis followed by septic shock requiring intubation and vasopressor support from Fusobacterium necrophorum bacteremia. The septic emboli to his lungs caused complicated bilateral parapneumonic effusions, which recurred after initial drainage.

Achieving high treatment success for multidrug-resistant TB in Africa: initiation and scale-up of MDR TB care in Ethiopia--an observational cohort study.

Background: In Africa, fewer than half of patients receiving therapy for multidrug-resistant TB (MDR TB) are successfully treated, with poor outcomes reported for HIV-coinfected patients.

Methods: A standardised second-line drug (SLD) regimen was used in a non-governmental organisation-Ministry of Health (NGO-MOH) collaborative community and hospital-based programme in Ethiopia that included intensive side effect monitoring, adherence strategies and nutritional supplementation. Clinical outcomes for patients with at least 24 months of follow-up were reviewed and predictors of treatment failure or death were evaluated by Cox proportional hazards models.

Legionella micdadei: A Forgotten Etiology of Growing Cavitary Nodules: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Background. Legionella micdadei is a Gram negative bacterium that can stain weakly acid fast. It was first described in 1979 after immunosuppressed patients developed pneumonia at a Pittsburgh VA, initially given the name Pittsburgh Pneumonia Agent.

Impact and cost of the serum galactomannan assay at a tertiary care facility.

Background: Invasive aspergillosis carries a high mortality with a rising prevalence in immunocompromised hosts. Diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis is challenging and delays in treatment are associated with poor outcomes. The galactomannan assay (GM), a non-culture-based surrogate marker of fungal infection, is widely used in diagnosis.

Excess deaths associated with tigecycline after approval based on noninferiority trials.

Background: On the basis of noninferiority trials, tigecycline received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in 2005. In 2010, the FDA warned in a safety communication that tigecycline was associated with an increased risk of death.

Methods: PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, and ClinicalTrials.