Diabetes Mellitus, Hypertension, and Death among 32 Patients with MERS-CoV Infection, Saudi Arabia.

Diabetes mellitus and hypertension are recognized risk factors for severe clinical outcomes, including death, associated with Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus infection. Among 32 virus-infected patients in Saudi Arabia, severity of illness and frequency of death corresponded closely with presence of multiple and more severe underlying conditions.

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Infection Dynamics and Antibody Responses among Clinically Diverse Patients, Saudi Arabia.

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) shedding and antibody responses are not fully understood, particularly in relation to underlying medical conditions, clinical manifestations, and mortality. We enrolled MERS-CoV-positive patients at a hospital in Saudi Arabia and periodically collected specimens from multiple sites for real-time reverse transcription PCR and serologic testing. We conducted interviews and chart abstractions to collect clinical, epidemiologic, and laboratory information.

Infectious MERS-CoV Isolated From a Mildly Ill Patient, Saudi Arabia.

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is associated with a wide range of clinical presentations, from asymptomatic or mildly ill to severe respiratory illness including death. We describe isolation of infectious MERS-CoV from the upper respiratory tract of a mildly ill 27-year-old female in Saudi Arabia 15 days after illness onset.

Utility of surveillance blood cultures in patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Background: Surveillance blood cultures are often obtained in hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) patients for detection of bloodstream infection. The major aims of this retrospective cohort study were to determine the utility of the practice of obtaining surveillance blood cultures from asymptomatic patients during the first 100 post-transplant days and to determine if obtaining more than one positive blood culture helps in the diagnosis of bloodstream infection.

Methods: We conducted a 17-month retrospective analysis of all blood cultures obtained for patients admitted to the hospital for HSCT from January 2010 to June 2011.

Characterisation of MRSA strains isolated from patients in a hospital in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Background: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is spreading worldwide and poses a serious public health problem, being present in hospital settings and communities. However, from the Middle East and the Arabian Peninsula few molecular typing data on MRSA strains are currently available. In order to obtain data on the population structure of MRSA in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 107 clinical and environmental MRSA isolates were genotyped using a microarray-based assay.

Outbreak of Burkholderia cepacia bacteremia in immunocompetent children caused by contaminated nebulized sulbutamol in Saudi Arabia.

Background: An outbreak of 5 inpatient and otherwise healthy children admitted for respiratory problems developed dry fever and cough after a few days of hospitalization. Burkhuldaria cepacia was isolated from their blood culture. The Infection Control Department (ICD) in the King Fahad Medical City (KFMC) detected and investigated the outbreak to identify the source of the organism and mode of transmission.

Staphylococcal toxic shock syndrome in a small infant.

Non menstrual staphylococcal toxic shock syndrome is rare in small infants. This is a 4-month-old infant presented to us with a picture of bronchiolitis and few postuler skin lesions, treated with antistapylococcal antibiotics in addition to other supportive medications. On the 4th day of therapy the patient developed sunburn like erythroderma, hypotension, and high grade fever.

Ceftriaxone treatment failure of meningitis due to penicillin and ceftriaxone resistant streptococcus pneumonia.

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