Biomedical subjects

Jan T M van der Meer

Publications and source records attributed to Jan T M van der Meer.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Staphylococcus aureus endocarditis: a consequence of medical progress.

CONTEXT: The global significance of infective endocarditis (IE) caused by Staphylococcus aureus is unknown. OBJECTIVES: To document the international emergence of health care-associated S aureus IE and methicillin-resistant S aureus (MRSA) IE and to evaluate regional variation in patients with S aureus IE. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Prospective observational cohort study set in 39 medical centers in 16 countries. Participants were a population of 1779 patients with definite IE as defined by Duke criteria who were enrolled in the International Collaboration on Endocarditis-Prospective Cohort Study from June 2000 to December 2003. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: In-hospital mortality. RESULTS: S aureus was the most common pathogen among the 1779 cases of definite IE in the International Collaboration on Endocarditis Prospective-Cohort Study (558 patients, 31.4%). Health care-associated infection was the most common form of S aureus IE (218 patients, 39.1%), accounting for 25.9% (Australia/New Zealand) to 54.2% (Brazil) of cases. Most patients with health care-associated S aureus IE (131 patients, 60.1%) acquired the infection outside of the hospital. MRSA IE was more common in the United States (37.2%) and Brazil (37.5%) than in Europe/Middle East (23.7%) and Australia/New Zealand (15.5%, P<.001). Persistent bacteremia was independently associated with MRSA IE (odds ratio, 6.2; 95% confidence interval, 2.9-13.2). Patients in the United States were most likely to be hemodialysis dependent, to have diabetes, to have a presumed intravascular device source, to receive vancomycin, to be infected with MRSA, and to have persistent bacteremia (P<.001 for all comparisons). CONCLUSIONS: S aureus is the leading cause of IE in many regions of the world. Characteristics of patients with S aureus IE vary significantly by region. Further studies are required to determine the causes of regional variation.

Cross Infection↗

PubMed2003

Management of patients with Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia in a university hospital: a retrospective study.

The clinical presentation of patients with Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia (SAB) varies from uncomplicated bacteraemia to a fulminant or deep-seated infection. To assess the clinical presentation and outcome and to detect possible flaws in management of these patients, a retrospective study was conducted including 75 adult patients with SAB admitted to a university hospital in The Netherlands between July 1999 and December 2000. In 26 of the 75 (35%) patients, SAB was complicated by a deep-seated infection. In 2 patients the diagnosis of infective endocarditis was missed. The overall mortality rate was 23%. In 10 (13%) patients death could be directly ascribed to SAB. In 3 of these 10 patients antimicrobial treatment had been inadequate. Relapse of infection occurred in 9 (12%) patients. Seven of these 9 patients were treated inadequately during the first infectious period. Two of the 9 patients died and another 2 suffered serious complications during relapse of infection. These findings stress the need for consultation of infectious disease specialists in management of patients with SAB and the urgent need for standardization and a guideline considering the approach of a patient with SAB. A proposal for such a guideline is presented in this manuscript.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Post-exposure prophylaxis.

The mean risk of acquiring HIV after an occupational exposure, injecting drug use or sexual exposure varies from < 0.1 to 3%. A high plasma HIV-RNA of the source increases the risk of each of the exposures. Other factors, such as the volume of the inoculum involved to which the individual was exposed, other sexually transmitted diseases and ruptures of mucous membranes are associated with a higher risk of HIV transmission. Based on the calculated risk, post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) should be recommended. In the Netherlands, prescription of PEP in the occupational setting is a standard procedure and has proved to be feasible. This was associated with a high percentage (62%) of mild and reversible toxicity and a small percentage (2%) of serious adverse events related to antiretroviral drugs, i.e. nephrolithiasis (due to indinavir) and toxic hepatitis (due to nevirapine). In The Netherlands so far no HIV-seroconversions have been recorded after an occupational accident.

Adult↗