The expanding role of 16s ribosomal RNA PCR in the management of patients with infective endocarditis undergoing cardiac surgery.

Background: Aetiological diagnosis and targeted antibiotic therapy are essential to improve the prognosis of patients with infective endocarditis. Molecular tests on blood have been reported to be effective in identifying the causative organism and are recommended when blood cultures are negative. The role of molecular tests on the surgically excised valve is still unclear and needs further investigation.

Verification of the Vitek Reveal System for Direct Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing in Gram-Negative Positive Blood Cultures.

: The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 20776-2:2021, which replaces ISO 20776-2:2007, focuses solely on the performance of antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) assays, emphasizing the ISO 20776-1 broth microdilution method as the reference standard. Consequently, categorical agreement (CA) and associated errors should not be applied. We verified the Vitek Reveal AST assay according to both ISO 20776-2:2021 and ISO 20776-2:2007 criteria.

A New Easy-to-Perform Flow Cytometry Assay for Determining Bacterial- and Viral-Infection-Induced Polymorphonuclear Neutrophil and Monocyte Membrane Marker Modulation in Febrile Patients.

We developed a flow cytometry (FC) assay enabling the rapid and accurate identification of bacterial and viral infections using whole blood samples. The streamlined flow cytometry assay is designed to be user-friendly, making it accessible even for operators with limited experience in FC techniques. The key components of the assay focus on the expression levels of specific surface markers-CD64 on polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) as a marker for bacterial infection, and CD169 on monocytes (MO) for viral infection.

Reemergence of Streptococcus pyogenes Infections in a Large Italian Hospital: A déjà vu from past Years.

At the end of 2022 and in the following months, an increase in the incidence of Streptococcus pyogenes infections was observed in many European countries that was simultaneously accompanying to enhance of invasive infections (iGAS). We have showed a risen trend of S. pyogenes infections among preschoolers after the pandemic event.

Early assessment of blood culture negativity as a potential support tool for antimicrobial stewardship.

Objective: To assess whether 48-h negative blood culture (BC) bottles are still negative at the classic 120-h incubation endpoint and whether 48 h might be the time to make antimicrobial therapy decisions.

Methods: Data from the first collected bottles from bloodstream infection (BSI) episodes of single patients were retrospectively analyzed. Probabilities of bottles being negative at the classic endpoint were calculated from 0 to 120 h of incubation.

Chip-Based Molecular Evaluation of a DNA Extraction Protocol for Species from Positive Blood Cultures.

The diagnosis of bloodstream infection (BSI) may rely on a PCR-based analysis of a positive blood culture (PBC) obtained from the patient at the time of BSI. In this study, a yeast DNA extraction protocol for use on PBCs was developed and evaluated with the molecular mouse (MM) yeast blood (YBL) chip-based PCR assay, which allowed us to detect nine medically relevant species. We studied 125 simulated or clinical PBCs for species.

Usefulness of differential time to positivity between catheter and peripheral blood cultures for diagnosing catheter-related bloodstream infection: Data analysis from routine clinical practice in the intensive care unit.

Purpose: To assess the accuracy of differential time to positivity (DTP) method for the diagnosis of catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSI) in the routine practice of our intensive care unit (ICU).

Materials And Methods: Over a five-year study period, ICU patients with a central venous catheter in place for ≥48 h and undergoing DTP test with catheter tip culture were analyzed. We investigated: the accuracy of DTP test with the usual threshold of 120 min in confirming the clinical suspicion of CRBSI; the most accurate threshold value of DTP to detect CRBSI; the diagnostic accuracy of the ratio (rather than the difference) between times to positivity.

Susceptibility of Meropenem-Resistant and/or Carbapenemase-Producing Clinical Isolates of () and to Ceftazidime-Avibactam and Ceftolozane-Tazobactam as Assessed by In Vitro Testing Methods.

This study aimed to assess the comparability of in vitro susceptibility testing methods to ceftazidime-avibactam (CZA) and ceftolozane-tazobactam (C/T). Meropenem-resistant and/or carbapenemase-producing clinical isolates of () and were tested by both bioMérieux ETEST and VITEK-2 AST-N397 card and compared with a Micronaut AST-system broth microdilution (BMD) method. CZA and C/T MICs were interpreted using EUCAST breakpoints.

Simulated Pediatric Blood Cultures to Assess the Inactivation of Clinically Relevant Antimicrobial Drug Concentrations in Resin-Containing Bottles.

The bacteremia level as well as the administration of antibiotics before blood collection may significantly affect the recovery of bacterial pathogens from pediatric blood cultures in BacT/Alert Virtuo or Bactec FX BC systems, which remain the common techniques to diagnose bacteremia in pediatric patients. We simulated pediatric blood cultures with low or intermediate bacteremia level to evaluate BacT/Alert PF Plus and Bactec Peds Plus blood culture bottles for resin-based inactivation of 16 antibiotic-bacterium combinations. Overall, 105/192 (54.

Implementation of the eazyplex CSF direct panel assay for rapid laboratory diagnosis of bacterial meningitis: 32-month experience at a tertiary care university hospital.

We aimed to report a 32-month laboratory experience with the eazyplex CSF direct panel assay for the rapid diagnosis of meningitis due to six most common bacterial species (Escherichia coli, Haemophilus influenzae, Listeria monocytogenes, Neisseria meningitidis, Streptococcus agalactiae, and Streptococcus pneumoniae). We included all cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from patients admitted with a clinical suspicion of meningitis/encephalitis between May 2016 and December 2018 at our hospital. In addition to the eazyplex assay, both Gram stain microscopy and culture were performed, and results were confirmed with 16S rRNA PCR/sequencing.

Corrigendum: Evaluation of BACT/ALERT® VIRTUO®, BACT/ALERT 3D®, and BACTEC™ FX Automated Blood Culture Systems for Detection of Microbial Pathogens Using Simulated Human Blood Samples.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.

Direct use of eazyplex SuperBug CRE assay from positive blood cultures in conjunction with inpatient infectious disease consulting for timely appropriate antimicrobial therapy in and bloodstream infections.

To describe a rapid workflow based on the direct detection of () and () producing CTX-M extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) and/or carbapenemases (eg, KPC, VIM) from blood cultures (BCs) and the infectious disease (ID) consulting for timely appropriate antimicrobial therapy. This observational, retrospective study included adult patients with a first episode of or bloodstream infection (BSI) in a large Italian university hospital, where an inpatient ID consultation team (IDCT) has been operational. Results from the BCs tested for detecting , , , , and genes by the eazyplex SuperBug CRE assay in and organisms had been notified for antimicrobial therapy consulting.

Simplified Testing Method for Direct Detection of Carbapenemase-Producing Organisms from Positive Blood Cultures Using the NG-Test Carba 5 Assay.

We directly tested 484 organisms from clinical ( = 310) and simulated ( = 174) positive blood cultures using the NG-Test Carba 5 assay for carbapenemase-producing detection. The assay identified all but 4 of the KPC (170/171), OXA-48-like (22/22), VIM (19/21), and NDM (14/15) producers with no false positives. Among the clinical organisms tested, 122 of 123 KPC, 1 of 1 OXA-48-like, and 1 of 2 VIM producers were detected by the assay.

Evaluation of BACT/ALERT® VIRTUO®, BACT/ALERT 3D®, and BACTEC™ FX Automated Blood Culture Systems for Detection of Microbial Pathogens Using Simulated Human Blood Samples.

Blood culture (BC) is still the standard for diagnosing bloodstream infections (BSIs), especially those caused by bacteria and fungi. Infection-complicating sepsis or septic shock often occurs at BSI onset, making necessary to improve the diagnostic yield of positive BCs. Among the BC systems currently available, the BACT/ALERT® VIRTUO® (VIRTUO) system has been developed to shorten time to detection (TTD) of positive BCs.

Age-related Trends in Adults with Urinary Tract Infections Presenting to the Emergency Department: A 5-Year Experience.

Introduction: Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are among the most common bacterial infections, affecting 150 million people worldwide each year. Importantly, the incidence of UTI increases markedly with age. The increasing resistance to empirically prescribed antimicrobial agents complicates the management of this disease.

Incidence and antimicrobial resistance trends in bloodstream infections caused by ESKAPE and Escherichia coli at a large teaching hospital in Rome, a 9-year analysis (2007-2015).

The proportion of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) among the ESKAPE and Escherichia coli (ESKAPEEc) pathogens causing bloodstream infection (BSI) increased worldwide. We described longitudinal trends in ESKAPEEc BSI and AMR over 9 years (2007-2015) at a large teaching hospital in Italy. Of 9720 unique BSI episodes, 6002 (61.

A rapid diagnostic workflow for cefotaxime-resistant Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae detection from blood cultures by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry.

Background: Nowadays, the global spread of resistance to oxyimino-cephalosporins in Enterobacteriaceae implies the need for novel diagnostics that can rapidly target resistant organisms from these bacterial species.

Methods: In this study, we developed and evaluated a Direct Mass Spectrometry assay for Beta-Lactamase (D-MSBL) that allows direct identification of (oxyimino)cephalosporin-resistant Escherichia coli or Klebsiella pneumoniae from positive blood cultures (BCs), by using the matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) technology.

Results: The D-MSBL assay was performed on 93 E.

Susceptibility Testing of Common and Uncommon Aspergillus Species against Posaconazole and Other Mold-Active Antifungal Azoles Using the Sensititre Method.

We tested 59 common and 27 uncommon species isolates for susceptibility to the mold-active azole antifungal agents itraconazole, voriconazole, and posaconazole using the Sensititre method. The overall essential agreement with the CLSI reference method was 96.5% for itraconazole and posaconazole and was 100% for voriconazole.

Comparison of Mycoplasma IES, Mycofast Revolution and Mycoplasma IST2 to detect genital mycoplasmas in clinical samples.

Introduction: Culture is regarded as the gold standard for the detection of genital mycoplasma in clinical samples. Commercially available diagnostic kits, based on liquid broth cultures, provide interesting alternatives to conventional culture. We assessed the laboratory performances of Mycoplasma IES (IES), the Mycofast Revolution (REV) and Mycoplasma IST 2 (IST2) compared to A7 agar plates for the detection of Ureaplasma urealyticum and Mycoplasma hominis in clinical samples.