Risk factors of cardiac device infection: Glove contamination during device procedures.

Background: Infections in cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) constitute a serious complication. We sought to identify contamination of gloves before handling the device in primary and replacement CIED procedures.

Methods: Two groups of 30 patients underwent primary CIED implantation or replacement.

Azithromycin vs. Placebo for the Clinical Outcome in Campylobacter concisus Diarrhoea in Adults: A Randomized, Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial.

Unlabelled: Campylobacter concisus has been associated with prolonged mild diarrhoea, but investigations regarding the efficacy of antimicrobial treatment have not been reported previously. We initiated a phase 3, single-centre, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study comparing the efficacy of 500 mg once-daily dose of azithromycin with a 500 mg once-daily dose of placebo for three days, for the treatment of C. concisus diarrhoea in adult patients with a follow-up period of ten days.

Multiple hospital outbreaks of vanA Enterococcus faecium in Denmark, 2012-13, investigated by WGS, MLST and PFGE.

Objectives: In Denmark, the incidence of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREfm) has increased since 2012. The aim of this study was to investigate the epidemiology and clonal relatedness of VREfm isolates in Danish hospitals in 2012-13 using WGS. The second aim was to evaluate if WGS-based typing could replace PFGE for typing of VREfm.

Polycarbonate filtration technique is noninferior to mCCDA for isolation of Campylobacter species from stool samples.

A total of 5963 diarrheic stool samples were cultivated for Campylobacter spp. with use of modified charcoal cefoperazone deoxycholate agar (mCCDA) plates as well as a polycarbonate (PC) filter technique on blood agar plates. A total of 376 Campylobacter jejuni/coli were isolated from both PC and mCCDA.

Psychometric scores and persistence of irritable bowel after Campylobacter concisus infection.

Objective: Gastroenteritis with Campylobacter concisus is an emerging infection, but the risk of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) following it is unknown.

Material And Methods: In a prospective, community-based study of gastroenteritis with C. concisus and C.

Clinical manifestations of Campylobacter concisus infection in children.

Background: There is only sparse information about the clinical impact of Campylobacter concisus infections in children.

Methods: A study was performed during a 2-year period to determine the clinical manifestations in C. concisus-positive children with gastroenteritis.

Comparison of polycarbonate and cellulose acetate membrane filters for isolation of Campylobacter concisus from stool samples.

One thousand seven hundred ninety-one diarrheic stool samples were cultivated for Campylobacter spp. We found a high prevalence of Campylobacter concisus with use of a polycarbonate filter (n = 114) compared to a cellulose acetate filter (n = 79) (P < .0001).

Evaluation of fecal calprotectin in Campylobacter concisus and Campylobacter jejuni/coli gastroenteritis.

Calprotectin (CP) is a calcium-binding cytosolic neutrophil protein and the concentration in feces reflects the migration of neutrophils into the gut lumen. Testing for fecal CP (f-CP) in patients with negative cultures for enteric pathogens is widely accepted as a useful screening tool for identifying patients who are most likely to benefit from endoscopy for suspected inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) with the assumption that a negative f-CP is compatible with a functional disorder. Campylobacter concisus has recently been reported to have a high incidence in the Danish population almost equal to Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli and has been reported to cause prolonged watery diarrhea.

Clostridium difficile 027-associated pseudomembranous colitis after short-term treatment with cefuroxime and cephalexin in an elderly orthopedic patient: a case report.

Background: Clostridium difficile ribotype 027 has become increasingly prevalent in European countries. The clinical picture varies from self-limiting diarrhea to pseudomembranous colitis with toxic megacolon and ultimately death. Use of antibiotics is the principal risk factor; others include comorbidity, advanced age and hospitalization.

Oral and fecal Campylobacter concisus strains perturb barrier function by apoptosis induction in HT-29/B6 intestinal epithelial cells.

Campylobacter concisus infections of the gastrointestinal tract can be accompanied by diarrhea and inflammation, whereas colonization of the human oral cavity might have a commensal nature. We focus on the pathophysiology of C. concisus and the effects of different clinical oral and fecal C.

Utilization of serology for the diagnosis of suspected Lyme borreliosis in Denmark: survey of patients seen in general practice.

Background: Serological testing for Lyme borreliosis (LB) is frequently requested by general practitioners for patients with a wide variety of symptoms.

Methods: A survey was performed in order to characterize test utilization and clinical features of patients investigated for serum antibodies to Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato. During one calendar year a questionnaire was sent to the general practitioners who had ordered LB serology from patients in three Danish counties (population 1.

Simultaneous use of serum IgG and IgM for risk scoring of suspected early Lyme borreliosis: graphical and bivariate analyses.

The laboratory diagnosis of early disseminated Lyme borreliosis (LB) rests on IgM and IgG antibodies in serum. The purpose of this study was to refine the statistical interpretation of IgM and IgG by combining the diagnostic evidence provided by the two immunoglobulins and exploiting the whole range of the quantitative variation in test values. ELISA assays based on purified flagella antigen were performed on sera from 815 healthy Danish blood donors as negative controls and 117 consecutive patients with confirmed neuroborreliosis (NB).

Salmonella or Campylobacter gastroenteritis prior to a cancer diagnosis does not aggravate the prognosis: a population-based follow-up study.

We hypothesized that preceding zoonotic Salmonella or Campylobacter gastroenteritis aggravated the prognosis in cancer patients. Exposed patients comprised all of those diagnosed with first-time Salmonella/Campylobacter gastroenteritis from 1991 and with first-time cancer diagnosis thereafter (through 2003) in two Danish counties. These patients were matched for main cancer type, gender, age and calendar period to unexposed cancer patients, i.

Emerging role of Candida in deep sternal wound infection.

Background: This study evaluated the overall incidence, prognosis, and risk factors for microbiologically documented Candida deep sternal wound infection (DSWI) after cardiac operations.

Methods: A retrospective observational study was performed at Aalborg Hospital, Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark, from January 1999 through November 2006. Included were all 83 of 4222 cardiac surgical patients with microbiologically documented DSWI requiring surgical revision.

Increased short- and long-term risk of inflammatory bowel disease after salmonella or campylobacter gastroenteritis.

Background & Aims: Various commensal enteric and potentially pathogenic bacteria may be involved in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). We compared the risk of IBD between a cohort of patients with documented Salmonella or Campylobacter gastroenteritis and an age- and gender-matched control group from the same population in Denmark.

Methods: We identified 13,324 patients with Salmonella/Campylobacter gastroenteritis from laboratory registries in North Jutland and Aarhus counties, Denmark, from 1991 through 2003, and 26,648 unexposed controls from the same counties.

Trends in occurrence of antimicrobial resistance in Campylobacter jejuni isolates from broiler chickens, broiler chicken meat, and human domestically acquired cases and travel associated cases in Denmark.

Campylobacter jejuni is a frequent cause of bacterial gastroenteritis. Often it causes self-limiting disease but severe or prolonged cases may require antimicrobial treatment. The agricultural use of antimicrobial agents selects for resistance among C.

Are host characteristics or exposure factors mainly involved in the acquisition of zoonotic Salmonella and Campylobacter coinfection in humans?

We hypothesized that patients coinfected with zoonotic Salmonella and Campylobacter were frailer than monoinfected Salmonella or Campylobacter patients. The study cohort included all first-time Salmonella/Campylobacter infections in Aarhus and North Jutland counties, Denmark, from 1991 through 2003. Data on comorbidity, hospitalization in relation to the Salmonella/Campylobacter infection, and 1-year mortality were obtained from electronic registries.

Severity of human non-typhoid salmonellosis as a predictor of short- and long-term mortality.

We hypothesized that severity of human non-typhoid Salmonella (NTS) infection was a marker of 0-30 and 31-365-d mortality. All patients with first-time detection of NTS in stool specimens in North Jutland County, Denmark, 1995-2003, were categorized into 4 groups. Group 1 was not hospitalized in relation to their NTS infection, group 2 was hospitalized without sampling of blood cultures, group 3 was hospitalized with blood cultures obtained in which pathogenic micro-organisms were not detected, and group 4 had blood culture-proven bacteraemia.

Increased risk of zoonotic Salmonella and Campylobacter gastroenteritis in patients with haematological malignancies: a population-based study.

We hypothesised that haematological malignancies increase the risk of acquiring zoonotic Salmonella or Campylobacter gastroenteritis. The population-based study comprised all first-time Salmonella/Campylobacter gastroenteritis cases in two Danish counties (1991-2003), with age- and gender-matched controls from the background population. We linked the study cohort to registries to obtain data on malignancies, chemotherapy (yes/no), and main comorbidities diagnosed before Salmonella/Campylobacter gastroenteritis.

Increased prescription rate of antibiotics prior to non-typhoid Salmonella infections: a one-year nested case-control study.

We conducted a nested case-control study of antibiotic consumption 1 y prior to a non-typhoid Salmonella (NTS) infection. We included all 1882 NTS patients diagnosed in 1994-2003 in North Jutland County, Denmark, and for each case we retrieved 10 controls among all residents in the county, matched for the specimen date, gender, and age. Antibiotic redemptions were retrieved from a countywide prescription database.

Neuroborreliosis recurrence: reinfection or relapse?

We report the case of a 47-y-old female with documented neuroborreliosis, who had a complete recovery after 10 d of intravenous high-dose penicillin followed after 9 months by a new episode of documented neuroborreliosis. The case probably represents a rare case of true reinfection rather than relapse.

Morbidity and mortality of elderly patients with zoonotic Salmonella and Campylobacter: a population-based study.

Objectives: To evaluate the impact of age and comorbidity on the risk and prognosis of zoonotic Salmonella and Campylobacter gastroenteritis in elderly individuals.

Methods: Registry-based study comprising all first-time zoonotic Salmonella/Campylobacter gastroenteritis infections in two Danish counties from 1991 through 2003. Cases were elderly (>or=65 years) Salmonella/Campylobacter patients.

Serological and molecular evidence of Rickettsia helvetica in Denmark.

Recent seroepidemiological studies and examinations of Ixodes ricinus ticks in Europe have demonstrated the presence of an emerging tick-borne infection with Rickettsia helvetica. We conducted a serosurvey in 168 Danish patients seropositive for borreliosis reflecting their exposure to I. ricinus ticks.