Assessment of dental personal protective equipment (PPE) and the relationship between manual dexterity and dissemination of aerosol and splatter during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background/purpose: Asymptomatic COVID-19 patients visit the dental clinic for routine treatment, during which, high-speed handpieces, and third-use sprayers can produce aerosols. We focused on the effect and possible inadequacy of personal protective equipment (PPE) while cleaning teeth and assessed whether doctors' proficiency was related to the range of spraying droplets.

Materials And Methods: Doctors were divided into three different groups: attending physicians, residents, and intern respectively.

Emergence of aac(6')-Ie-aph(2'')-Ia-positive enterococci with non-high-level gentamicin resistance mediated by IS1216V: adaptation to decreased aminoglycoside usage in Taiwan.

Objectives: To explore the mechanisms mediating the different levels of gentamicin resistance in enterococci.

Methods: Susceptibility testing with gentamicin and PCR of resistance determinants were performed in 149 enterococcal isolates. Genetic relatedness was characterized by MLST and PFGE analysis.

A Possible Role of Insertion Sequence IS in Dissemination of Multidrug-Resistant Elements MES and MES between and ST59 .

Sequence type 59 (ST59) is the dominant type of community-associated methicillin-resistant (MRSA) in Taiwan. Previously, we reported that ST59 MRSA harbors enterococcal IS-mediated multidrug-resistant composite transposons MES or MES. The MES were found to have a mosaic structure, largely originating in enterococci and partly native to .

Using groEL as the target for identification of Enterococcus faecium clades and 7 clinically relevant Enterococcus species.

Background/purpose: Accurate identification is important for effective treatment because Enterococcus species have talents to cope with various antibiotics either by intrinsic resistance or by acquisition of mobile genetic elements. The groEL gene is a permissive target in identification of bacteria. We aimed to develop simple assays based on groEL for identification of enterococci.

The epidemiology, antibiograms and predictors of mortality among critically-ill patients with central line-associated bloodstream infections.

Background/purpose: For high risk of central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) in patients of intensive care units (ICUs) and scarcely epidemiology and therapeutic recommendations in Asia, we aimed to evaluate the annual change in epidemiology, antibiogram, and risk factors for 14-day mortality.

Methods: A retrospective study of ICUs patients with CLABSIs at a medical center in Taiwan (2010-2016), where central line care bundle implemented since 2014, by reviewing clinical data, pathogens, and the antibiogram.

Results: Gram-negative bacteria (59.