Chest wall soft tissue tuberculosis: a protracted course over a 10-year period.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Riad Khatib.
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Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia often persists. The reasons for persistence and its outcome are poorly defined. We conducted a prospective-observational study among 245 consecutive S. aureus (MRSA: n=125; MSSA: n=120) bacteremias (>or=1 positive blood cultures (BC)) among 234 adults (18-103-y-old; median=59 y) hospitalized during 1 January 2002-31 December 2002 at a 600-bed teaching hospital. Measurements included bacteremia duration, complication-rate (metastatic infection, relapse or attributable mortality) and outcome. Bacteremia duration was measured based on follow-up BC among 193 patients and estimated based on symptoms resolution in the rest. Measured (1-59 d; median=2) and estimated (median=1 d) duration correlated (r=0.885) though positive follow-up BC was often detected without fever (57/105 patients, 54.3%). Persistence (defined as bacteremia for >or=3 d) was noted in 84 cases (38.4%). Complication-rate increased steadily with bacteremia duration (6.6%, 24.0% and 37.7% in bacteremia for 1-2, 3 and >or=4 d, respectively; p=0.05). Cox regression analysis revealed that bacteremia duration correlated positively with endovascular sources (p=0.006), vancomycin treatment (p=0.016), cardiovascular prosthesis (p=0.025), metastatic infections (p=0.025) and diabetes (p=0.038). It is concluded that persistent bacteremia is a feature of S. aureus infection, irrespective of oxacillin susceptibility, associated with worse outcome. Risk factors include endovascular sources, cardiovascular prosthesis, metastatic infections, vancomycin treatment and diabetes. Patients at risk may benefit from novel treatment strategies.
BACKGROUND: Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia often persists and causes metastatic infections. It is unknown whether the time between blood culture incubation and growth detection (i.e., the time to positivity) in a continuously monitored system--a probable surrogate marker of bacteremia severity--correlates with outcome. METHODS: We performed a prospective, observational study involving adult inpatients who had S. aureus bacteremia between 1 January 2002 and 30 June 2003 at a 600-bed teaching hospital. Measurements included time to positivity in initial blood culture series, duration of bacteremia, rate of metastatic infection, and outcome. RESULTS: A total of 376 S. aureus bacteremias (> or = 1 positive blood culture result) were reported for 357 patients aged 18-103 years (median age, 59 years); 64 bacteremias were excluded because blood was drawn after antibiotic therapy was started (n = 59) or through an intravascular catheter (n = 5). The source of infection was identified in 244 series (78.2%). Metastatic infection was detected in 25 bacteremias (8.0%). The mortality rate was 25.6%. The duration of bacteremia (determined in 251 series) was 1-59 days (median duration, 1 day; 70th percentile, 3 days). The time to positivity ranged from 4.2 to 98.2 h (median time to positivity, 15.5 h) and was significantly shorter for patients with an endovascular source of infection (14.9+/-5.4 vs. 19.5+/-10.6 h; P < .0005), extended duration (i.e., > or = 3 days) of bacteremia (14.1+/-4.2 vs. 18.6+/-9.2 h; P < .0005), and metastatic infection (12.9+/-5.9 vs 18.0+/-9.3 h; P = .007). Analysis of a range of cutoff values demonstrated that a time to positivity of < or = 14 h yielded the best sensitivity and specificity for predicting the source and outcome of infection. Logistic regression analyses revealed that a time to positivity of < or = 14 h was an independent predictor of an endovascular source of infection (P < .0005), extended bacteremia (P < .0005), metastatic infection (P < .0005), and attributable mortality (P = .017). CONCLUSIONS: Time to positivity in S. aureus bacteremia may provide useful diagnostic and prognostic information. Growth of S. aureus within 14 h after the initiation of incubation may identify patients with a high likelihood of endovascular infection sources, delayed clearance, and complications.
Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia often causes metastatic infection and endocarditis. The incidence of these complications in soft tissue-associated bacteremia is not well defined. We conducted a prospective observational study of all adult in patients with S. aureus bacteremia originating from soft tissues from 1 January 2002 to 30 June 2003, in a 600-bed teaching hospital. 376 patients with > or =1 positive blood cultures for S. aureus were encountered; 50 (13.3%) had a soft tissue source, and 46% were nosocomial. Age was 21-103 y (median 60 y). The majority (96%) had comorbid conditions. Predisposing factors such as surgery, trauma and miscellaneous skin conditions were common (88%). Oxacillin-resistant isolates accounted for 26 cases (52%). Metastatic infections were uncommon (6%). Duration of bacteremia was 1-13 d (median 1 d). Bacteremia persisted for 2-13 d in 11 (28.9%) patients; only 2 had apparent complications. Duration of treatment was 5-42 d (median 14 d); it was < or =15 d in 23/41 (56.1%) patients. Therapy was all intravenous (68%) or intravenous/oral (32%). Attributable mortality rate was 6% and relapse was encountered in 1/25 survivors (4%) with follow-up. These findings suggest that soft tissue-associated S. aureus bacteremia has a favorable prognosis with rapid clearance and infrequent metastatic infections. It may persist without an obvious complication. Oral therapy after a brief intravenous treatment appears safe and warrants further assessment.
Vancomycin susceptibility was checked in isolates from initial and final blood samples obtained from 22 patients with persistent or recurrent methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia. The minimum inhibitory concentration of vancomycin was determined using Etest and found to have increased in 2 pairs of isolates, and results of screening in 4 mu g vancomycin and a modified population analysis profile suggested heteroresistance in 3 isolates (13.6%). Heteroresistance is not a common cause of persistent or recurrent bacteremia.
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The long-term outcome of compliance with standard treatment recommendations for Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia was assessed. Cases of S. aureus bacteremia at our institution over a 2-y period were reviewed and follow-up performed by review of subsequent admissions or contact with primary care physicians. We encountered 226 cases (age 64.7 +/- 15.8 y) and most (171/226, 75.7%) had no removable source. In-hospital mortality rate was 32.7% (74/226). Follow-up of 104/152 (68.4%) survivors (for 386.7 +/- 449.8 d) revealed 23.1% (24/104) relapses: recurrent bacteremia (n = 19), distant site (n = 3) and local recurrence (n = 2). Most relapses (21124; 87.5%) occurred within 90 d of therapy. Relapse rate was higher with vancomycin treatment (20148 vs. 4/56; p < 0.001), bacteremia for > or = 3 d (9/20 vs. 15/84; p = 0.001), and failure to remove the source (6/7 vs. 6/22; p = 0.006). Vancomycin effect was independent of oxacillin susceptibility. Treatment for less than the standard 2-week duration among 19 patients with short duration of bacteremia (< 3 d) did not increase relapse rate (1/19; 5.3%). Duration of bacteremia, vancomycin therapy and failure to remove the source were predictors of relapse. Prospective studies are needed to determine if S. aureus bacteremias of short duration can be treated for 2 weeks or less, and define the optimal duration for prolonged bacteremia when vancomycin is used.
Molecular analysis of the first blood culture from 41 patients with Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia and 20 bacteremia-associated catheter tip isolates revealed indistinguishable blood colonies in 39 patients (95.1%) and two related variants in two patients (4.9%). Polyclonal bacteremia was not observed in any patient, including four with genetic diversity in the catheter tip isolate.
BACKGROUND: Pyogenic sacroiliitis occurs infrequently during the peripartum period. CASE: A case at our institution and a review of the literature were analyzed. A total of 15 cases were discovered. The onset of illness was during pregnancy (40% of cases), within 3 weeks postpartum (40%) or post-abortion (20%), and the presentation was usually acute (< 7 days in 67% of cases). Frequent manifestations included localized pain in the hips or buttock, sacroiliac joint tenderness and fever. Computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging revealed joint involvement in all cases tested. Microbiology was confirmed by blood (40%) or joint aspirate (75%), and most patients were treated with antibiotics. Surgical intervention took place in five cases. Preterm labor was reported in only one case. All patients responded well to therapy without locomotive disability, and persistent pain was uncommon. CONCLUSION: Septic sacroiliitis should be considered in peripartum patients who present with fever and severe localized pain. Medical management is usually curative, and without an adverse effect on pregnancy.
A patient from the American Midwest developed hydrocephalus after a trip to southwest California, necessitating placement of a ventriculo-peritoneal shunt. Coccidioidal meningitis was diagnosed incidentally 3 y later, during evaluation for shunt malfunction.
A 34-y-old African-American male developed Actinomyces liver abscess 8 months after appendectomy. Review of the English language literature revealed 56 additional cases of hepatic actinomycosis. Affected patients were typically immunocompetent, had a wide age range (4-86 y) and were predominantly male (70.2%). Infection was frequently (80.7%) cryptogenic, presenting with fever (83.3%), abdominal pain (74.5%) and weight loss (50.9%) over a 3.7 +/- 5.1 month period. The most common radiographic finding was a single hypodense mass/abscess (68.4%). Extension to surrounding tissues was evident in 19 cases (33.3%). Diagnosis was usually accomplished microscopically and culture was often (33.3%) negative. Infection was often (35.2%) mixed, usually with anaerobic bacteria. A surgical or percutaneous approach was diagnostic in 29/35 (82.9%) and 24/33 (72.7%) cases, respectively. The overall mortality rate was 8.8%; it was 10.7% with medical therapy alone and 4.0% using a combined medical/intervention approach (p = 0.6). In conclusion, hepatic actinomycosis is a rare subacute infection that may mimic neoplasm. It is usually cryptogenic, is more common among immunocompetent individuals and male subjects and is highly responsive to medical therapy.
We report a case of isolated cryptococcal myositis involving the paraspinal muscle without evidence of disseminated disease in a patient with a large B-cell lymphoma diagnosed at the time of presentation. Biopsy of the muscle involved grew a pure culture of Cryptococcus neoformans and periodic acid-Schiff staining showed numerous budding yeast consistent with Cryptococcus spp. The patient responded to systemic antifungal therapy with complete resolution of his infection. We also present a review of 5 previously published cases of cryptococcal myositis.
Mycobacterium marinum infection developed in the nostril of an immunocompetent host whose only risk factors were infrequent swimming and cleaning of a small fish bowl on a single occasion. The lesion relapsed after 2 surgical excisions but resolved slowly with a 9-month course of trimethoprim/sulfa therapy.
Single positive culture was encountered in 61/235 patients (26%) with Staphylococcus aureus in blood culture over a 2-y period. It represented either true bacteremia (n = 52 cases; 85.2%) or contamination (n = 9; 14.8%). In comparison to cases with < or = 2 positive cultures, these patients did not have less severe disease or a lower incidence of complications.
A 52-y-old diabetic male developed severe necrotizing fasciitis due to group G Streptococcus. A review of the English language literature revealed 8 additional cases. The mean age of the total of 9 cases was 65.5 y (range: 49-80 y) and the majority (n = 5; 55.6%) had no comorbid conditions. The duration of symptoms prior to presentation was 1-5 d (mean +/- SD = 2.5 +/- 1.5 d). Presenting manifestations were swelling with redness (6/6 cases; 100%), severe pain (5/6 cases; 83.3%) and blister formation (3/6 cases; 50%); blisters developed eventually in 5/6 (88.3%) patients. Muscle involvement was noted in 2 patients (22.2%). Progression to toxic shock-like syndrome occurred in 3 cases (33.3%). The organism was isolated from the involved sites in all cases. Bacteremia was documented in 1/3 patients. Treatment included antibiotics (n = 9) and varying degrees of surgical debridement (n = 8). The mortality rate was 33.3%; all patients who died developed toxic shock-like syndrome. These findings illustrate that, similar to Streptococcus pyogenes-induced fasciitis, necrotizing fasciitis due to group G Streptococcus can be severe and life-threatening. Early diagnosis, immediate surgical debridement and antibiotic therapy are essential in order to improve the outcome.
OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of stool colonization with vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) among healthcare workers (HCWs) and their families. DESIGN: Prospective assessment of fecal colonization with VRE. SETTING: A 603-bed, tertiary-care teaching hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Healthy volunteers recruited from hospital employees and their households were screened to exclude pregnancy, diabetes mellitus, immunosuppressive disorders, and recent use of antimicrobials. INTERVENTION: Self-obtained stool swabs were used to obtain cultures. Isolated enterococci were screened for vancomycin resistance and species were identified. Intra-household isolates were genotyped using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). RESULTS: The participants (n = 228; age range, 28 days to 80 years) were from 137 households with and 91 without employees who had contact with patients. Enterococcus species were isolated from 127 stool specimens (55.7%). VRE were detected in 12 individuals, representing 6 E. casseliflavus, 5 E. faecium, and 1 E. gallinarum. VRE were more commonly isolated in employees who had contact with patients (5 of 52 vs 0 of 40; relative risk [RR], 1.9; 95% confidence interval [CI95], 1.5 to 2.2; P = .07) and their household members (10 of 137 vs 2 of 91; RR, 3.3; CI95, 0.7 to 14.8; P = .13). In 2 households (2 adults in a physician's household and an adult plus a child in a nurse's household) PFGE analysis demonstrated identical intra-household strains of vancomycin-resistant E. faecium. CONCLUSIONS: VRE colonization was found in 5.3% of screened stools and was more prevalent in HCWs who had contact with patients and their households. Identical PFGE patterns between 2 employees who had contact with patients and their household members demonstrated probable intra-household spread. Although the mode of acquisition was uncertain, the association with employees who had contact with patients suggests possible occupational sources. These findings demonstrate the spread of VRE within the household and implicate occupational risk for its acquisition.
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The utility of a pre-optimized kit for random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) was assessed in typing diverse strains of Candida albicans from epidemiologically unrelated inpatients (interpatient analysis) and in detecting clonal variations that maybe present within individual patient isolates (intrapatient analysis). Stool samples from inpatients were cultured on Inhibitory Mold agar. Nine individual colonies from all patients with > or =9 colonies of C. albicans (n = 18) were selected, frozen, and karyotyped using CHEF genomic DNA plug kits and CHEF-DRIII. Each of the selected colonies was then analyzed by RAPD, utilizing the selected kit, with 6 primers. Interpatient analysis revealed 9 karyotypes and 17 RAPD composites. RAPD discrimination was significantly better (p < 0.001). Intrapatient analysis revealed 34 (21%) and 33 (20.4%) variants among 162 colonies tested by RAPD and karyotyping, respectively. The results were discordant in 25 variants, all with differences of 1-3 bands. These results illustrate that this pre-optimized kit for RAPD provides excellent discrimination of genetically unrelated strains. Its performance in delineating subtle clonal differences was comparable with karyotyping; both methods failed to detect all minor genetic variations. The ease of use and quick turnaround time of this kit offer a practical and reliable method for typing diverse strains of C. albicans, but may be inadequate for assessing microevolution.