Purpose: To analyze the longitudinal epidemiology and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) patterns of Gram-negative bloodstream infections (BSI) in Germany.
Methods: Post-hoc analysis of prospectively documented BSI due to Escherichia coli, Klebsiella spp., Enterobacter spp.
Background: Patients with chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI) and infected leg ulcers are at risk of amputation and postinterventional sepsis.
Methods: This retrospective, single-center study included patients with CLTI and infected leg ulcers who underwent endovascular treatment (EVT) between 2012 and 2021.
Results: The study included 712 patients, 286 (40.
Recently, an update of the Duke criteria for the diagnosis of infectious endocarditis has been published: the 2023 Duke-ISCVID criteria. To gain an insight into which proportion of patients are affected by the new criteria, and which criteria might be the most relevant for the expected increase in sensitivity, we analysed data from a registry of cardiovascular infections. The 2023 Duke-ISCVID criteria were applied to patients who were diagnosed with and treated for endocarditis after having been classified as "possible" endocarditis according to the 2015 ESC Modified Duke criteria.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: This study investigates the care provision and the role of infectious disease (ID) specialists during the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Methods: A survey was conducted at German study sites participating in the Lean European Open Survey on SARS-CoV-2 infected patients (LEOSS). Hospitals certified by the German Society of Infectious diseases (DGI) were identified as ID centers.
Patients with chronic limb-threatening ischaemia (CLTI) are at risk of foot infections, which is associated with an increase in amputation rates. The use of antibiotics may lead to a higher incidence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in subsequent episodes of ischaemic foot infections (IFI). This retrospective single-centre cohort study included 130 patients with IFI undergoing endovascular revascularisation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAfter contracting COVID-19, a substantial number of individuals develop a Post-COVID-Condition, marked by neurologic symptoms such as cognitive deficits, olfactory dysfunction, and fatigue. Despite this, biomarkers and pathophysiological understandings of this condition remain limited. Employing magnetic resonance imaging, we conduct a comparative analysis of cerebral microstructure among patients with Post-COVID-Condition, healthy controls, and individuals that contracted COVID-19 without long-term symptoms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCOVID-19 vaccination has been shown to prevent and reduce the severity of COVID-19 disease. The aim of this study was to explore the cardioprotective effect of COVID-19 vaccination in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. In this retrospective, single-center cohort study, we included hospitalized COVID-19 patients with confirmed vaccination status from July 2021 to February 2022.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Limited evidence on utilisation of health care by recently arrived asylum seekers and refugees in high-income countries is available. This study aims to describe the implementation of an integrated care facility (ICF) in an initial reception centre and measure the utilisation of care and the influence of operational parameters.
Methods: In a retrospective cohort study design, using medical records, we followed inhabitants of a reception centre in Germany between 11.
Objectives: To investigate, whether inflammatory rheumatic diseases (IRD) inpatients are at higher risk to develop a severe course of SARS-CoV-2 infections compared to the general population, data from the German COVID-19 registry for IRD patients and data from the Lean European Survey on SARS-CoV-2 (LEOSS) infected patients covering inpatients from the general population with SARS-CoV-2 infections were compared.
Methods: 4310 (LEOSS registry) and 1139 cases (IRD registry) were collected in general. Data were matched for age and gender.
Medicine in Germany is currently facing major structural and economic challenges. Infectious Diseases, with the recent introduction of a new specialty in "Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases" and with the existing additional training for almost all specializations, will make an important contribution to overcoming these challenges. Expertise in infectious diseases has to be very broad and requires high interdisciplinarity, which makes infectious diseases an attractive and demanding specialty.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study aimed to analyze the effect of COVID-19 vaccination on the occurrence of ARDS in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. The study population of this retrospective, single-center cohort study consisted of hospitalized COVID-19 patients with known vaccination status and chest computed tomography imaging between July 2021 and February 2022. The impact of vaccination on ARDS in COVID-19 patients was assessed through logistic regression adjusting for demographic differences and confounding factors with statistical differences determined using confidence intervals and effect sizes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLancet Infect Dis
May 2024
Purpose: This study aims to describe clinical, virological and radiological characteristics as well as treatment strategies and outcomes of immunocompromised patients with persistent SARS-CoV-2 replication.
Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study of immunocompromised patients at the University Medical Center Freiburg between 01/2022 and 05/2023. Patients with substantial immunosuppression and persistent SARS-CoV-2 detection (Ct-value < 30 after 14 days) were included.
With the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), global researchers were confronted with major challenges. The German National Pandemic Cohort Network (NAPKON) was launched in fall 2020 to effectively leverage resources and bundle research activities in the fight against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. We analyzed the setup phase of NAPKON as an example for multicenter studies in Germany, highlighting challenges and optimization potential in connecting 59 university and nonuniversity study sites.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAllergic reactions to antibiotics belong to hypersensitivity drug reactions and can trigger both immunoglobulin E-mediated symptoms and T cell-mediated symptoms. Skin manifestations are the most common symptoms. Although reporting a penicillin allergy results in considerable restrictions in the treatment of acute infections, which may be associated with poor treatment outcomes, in most cases the label 'penicillin allergy' is not called into question or critically reviewed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDuring August-December 2022, toxigenic Corynebacterium diphtheriae was isolated from 25 refugees with skin infections and 2 refugees with asymptomatic throat colonization at a refugee reception center in Germany. None had systemic toxin-mediated illness. Of erosive/ulcerative skin infections, 96% were polymicrobial.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Recent studies point toward a potential benefit of doxycycline use for post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) or pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Although prescribing doxycycline in a prophylactic intention is not generally recommended yet, we noticed an increasing number of inquiries from individuals within the LGBTQ community for doxycycline prescriptions.
Methods: We conducted an anonymous online survey to evaluate the current extent of doxycycline use for PEP or PrEP within the LGBTQ community using REDCap electronic data capture tools.
The Covid-19 pandemic has pushed many hospitals to their capacity limits. Therefore, a triage of patients has been discussed controversially primarily through an ethical perspective. The term triage contains many aspects such as urgency of treatment, severity of the disease and pre-existing conditions, access to critical care, or the classification of patients regarding subsequent clinical pathways starting from the emergency department.
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