Characteristics and Prevalence of Vancomycin-variable Enterococcus faecium bacteremia in southern Taiwan.

Background: Vancomycin-variable enterococci (VVE) are vanA-carrying Enterococcus faecium that are phenotypically susceptible to vancomycin and can only be detected using molecular methods, leading to the possibility of treatment failure and posing threats to infection control. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of VVE and its associated clinical risk factors.

Methods: This retrospective study was conducted in two hospitals in southern Taiwan.

Multicenter study on clinical outcomes and poor prognostic factors in patients with Klebsiella pneumoniae bacteremia receiving cefoperazone/sulbactam treatment.

Background: Infections caused by Klebsiella pneumoniae are common and result in high mortality rates. In vitro studies demonstrated the potency of cefoperazone/sulbactam (CPZ/SUL) against Klebsiella pneumoniae. However, the clinical efficacy of CPZ/SUL for the treatment of K.

In vitro induction and selection of fluoroquinolone-resistant mutants in Elizabethkingia anophelis.

For 29 parent strains, recognized by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, the MICs multiplied significantly in the ciprofloxacin group than levofloxacin group, following the first and third induction cycle. Ser83Arg in GyrA was the most common site of mutations. No mutation in ParC nor ParE was identified in the selected mutants.

Tennis shot side-view and top-view data set for player analysis in Tennist.

Tennis is a popular sport, and the introduction of technology has allowed players to diversify their training. Tennis ball tracking is currently a focal point, serving not only to assist referees but also to enhance sports analysis. We introduce the Tennis Shot Side-View and Top-View Dataset, which serves as an invaluable resource for analyzing tennis movements and verifying landing positions after flight.

The impact of the fluconazole trailing effect on the persistence of Candida albicans bloodstream infection when treated with fluconazole.

Objectives: The trailing effect of Candida species is a phenomenon characterized by reduced but persistent growth at antifungal concentrations above the MIC. We assessed the impact of trailing growth on the persistence of Candida albicans candidemia in patients receiving fluconazole (FLC) therapy.

Methods: We retrospectively investigated candidemia isolates at three hospitals in southern Taiwan between 2013 and 2020.

In Vitro and In Vivo Antimicrobial Activities of Vancomycin and Rifampin against .

has emerged as a critical human pathogen, and a number of isolated reports have described the successful treatment of infections with vancomycin, a drug that is typically used to target Gram-positive bacteria. This study employed in vitro broth microdilution checkerboard and time-kill assays, as well as in vivo zebrafish animal models to evaluate the individual and combination antimicrobial effects of vancomycin and rifampin against . The minimum inhibitory concentration ranges of vancomycin and rifampin against 167 isolates of were 16-256 mg/L and 0.

Application of machine learning for mortality prediction in patients with candidemia: Feasibility verification and comparison with clinical severity scores.

Background: Clinical severity scores, such as acute physiology, age, chronic health evaluation II (APACHE II), sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA), Pitt Bacteremia Score (PBS), and European Confederation of Medical Mycology Quality (EQUAL) score, may not reliably predict candidemia prognosis owing to their prespecified scorings that can limit their adaptability and applicability.

Objectives: Unlike those fixed and prespecified scorings, we aim to develop and validate a machine learning (ML) approach that is able to learn predictive models adaptively from available patient data to increase adaptability and applicability.

Methods: Different ML algorithms follow different design philosophies and consequently, they carry different learning biases.

Magnusiomyces Capitatus Lung Nodule in a Patient with Nasopharyngeal and Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Magnusiomyces capitatus is a dimorphic yeast commonly isolated from the environment and was uncommonly reported as a disease in Asia. It may cause invasive infection in patients with hematological malignancies, especially those with neutropenia, and resulting in high mortality. Herein, we reported a man with nasopharyngeal carcinoma and hepatocellular carcinoma suffered from intermittent fever after pulmonary nodules resection.

Effect of immunological non-response on incidence of Non-AIDS events in people living with HIV: A retrospective multicenter cohort study in Taiwan.

Background: People living with HIV (PLWH) are susceptible to non-AIDS-related events, particularly those with immunological nonresponses (INRs) to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). This study assessed the association of INRs with incident non-AIDS-related events among PLWH.

Methods: This multicenter retrospective cohort study enrolled PLWH who had newly diagnosed stage 3 HIV and received HAART between January 1, 2008, and December 31, 2019.

Optimal Frequency of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) RNA Testing for Detection of Acute HCV Infection Among At-risk People With Human Immunodeficiency Virus: A Multicenter Study.

Using 3-stage pooled-plasma hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA testing performed quarterly among at-risk people with human immunodeficiency virus (PWH), we found that if testing had been performed every 6 or 12 months, 58.6%-91.7% of PWH who recently acquired HCV would be delayed for diagnosis and might contribute to onward HCV transmission with longer durations.

Facile and Unplugged Surface Plasmon Resonance Biosensor with NIR-Emitting Perovskite Nanocomposites for Fast Detection of SARS-CoV-2.

The emergence of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic prompted researchers to develop portable biosensing platforms, anticipating to detect the analyte in a label-free, direct, and simple manner, for deploying on site to prevent the spread of the infectious disease. Herein, we developed a facile wavelength-based SPR sensor built with the aid of a 3D printing technology and synthesized air-stable NIR-emitting perovskite nanocomposites as the light source. The simple synthesis processes for the perovskite quantum dots enabled low-cost and large-area production and good emission stability.

Emergence of a predominant sequence type ST7363 and the increasing trend of resistance to cefixime and ceftriaxone in Neisseria gonorrhoeae in Southern Taiwan, 2019-2021.

Background/purpose: Multi-drug resistance and the presence of epidemic lineages of Neisseria gonorrhoeae locally and globally were important clinical and public health issues. We aimed to investigate the molecular epidemiology and the antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of N. gonorrhoeae in Southern Taiwan.

The effect of lung recruitment maneuverer in COVID-19 induced acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is a highly spread infectious disease around the world. This infectious disease impacts whole body systems, specifically on respiratory system. This 57-year-old women had diagnosed COVID-19 positive and progress to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) within 1 week.

Correlation of Vitek 2 and Agar dilution for levofloxacin susceptibility testing and clinical outcomes of Enterobacterales bacteremia with 2019 CLSI breakpoints.

In 2019, the CLSI lowered the susceptible levofloxacin breakpoints for Enterobacterales from a MIC of ≤2 μg/mL to ≤0.5 μg/mL. The study evaluated the correlation between the susceptibility profiles obtained by the Vitek 2 and agar dilution (AD) methods in levofloxacin MIC ≤2 μg/mL isolates and its clinical impacts.

Effect of Intragenomic Sequence Heterogeneity among Multiple 16S rRNA Genes on Species Identification of .

Accurate identification of species mostly requires the use of molecular techniques, and 16S rRNA gene sequencing is generally considered the method of choice. In this study, we evaluated the effect of intraspecific diversity among the multiple copies of the 16S rRNA gene on the accuracy of species identification in the genus Sequences of 16S rRNA genes obtained from the 32 complete whole-genome sequences of deposited in GenBank and from 218 clinical isolates collected from 5 hospitals in Taiwan were analyzed. Four or five copies of 16S rRNA were identified in the species with complete genome sequences.

Correlation Between Cefoperazone/Sulbactam MIC Values and Clinical Outcomes of Escherichia coli Bacteremia.

Introduction: The clinical efficiency of cefoperazone/sulbactam (CPZ/SUL) against Escherichia coli bacteremia was unknown. This study aimed to explore the relationship between CPZ/SUL MIC values and clinical outcomes in Escherichia coli bacteremia.

Methods: A multicenter, retrospective, observational cohort study was conducted in Taiwan between January 2015 and December 2020.

The first invasive infection in Taiwan.

, a multidrug resistant pathogenic yeast, has spread worldwide and caused several outbreaks in healthcare settings. Here, we report the first case of candidemia in Taiwan in a patient with a two-month history of hospitalization in Vietnam. We performed further investigation on the isolate from the present case as well as the previously reported isolate identified from a wound in 2018 in Taiwan, which was the first case reported in Taiwan.

Mutant Prevention Concentrations of Ciprofloxacin and Levofloxacin and Target Gene Mutations of Fluoroquinolones in Elizabethkingia anophelis.

Fluoroquinolones are potentially effective against Elizabethkingia anophelis. We investigated the MIC, mutant prevention concentration (MPC), and target gene mutations of fluoroquinolones in . Eighty-five s isolates were collected from five hospitals in Taiwan.

Comparison of a novel lateral-flow device to galactomannan assay at different time periods for detections of invasive aspergillosis.

Purpose: To compare a lateral-flow device (LFD) method to the galactomannan assay (GM) for the diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis (IA).

Methods: First, 20 GM-positive serum samples stored for two years were retested with both the GM and LFD assays. Second, 153 serum samples from 91 immunocompromised patients suspected of having IA were tested prospectively, including 56 hematologic malignancies and 35 chronic illnesses with steroid therapy.

Epidemiological and Clinical Characteristics, Antifungal Susceptibility, and MLST-Based Genetic Analysis of Isolates in Southern Taiwan in 2013-2020.

Cryptococcal meningoencephalitis (CM) is a treatable condition, but it leads to excessive morbidity and mortality. We collected 115 non-duplicated Cryptococcus clinical isolates during 2013−2020 in southern Taiwan to perform antifungal susceptibility testing. Multi-locus sequence typing was performed on 96 strains from patients with CM (n = 47) or cryptococcemia (n = 49).

Short time to positivity of blood culture predicts mortality and septic shock in bacteremic patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: The value of time to positivity (TTP) on diagnosis for catheter-related bloodstream infection and distinguishment on bacteria group and infection source has been investigated. However, the relationship between TTP and patient outcome requires verification, and we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Methods: We searched PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Web of Science for publications associated with the topic.