Scandinavian journal of infectious diseases
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Scand. J. Infect. Dis. · Jan 2008
Comparative StudyTreatment of infective endocarditis caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: teicoplanin versus vancomycin in a retrospective study.
Infective endocarditis caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is increasing. Vancomycin and teicoplanin are 2 intravenous glycopeptides appropriate for its treatment. There is no human study comparing teicoplanin and vancomycin for the treatment of MRSA endocarditis. ⋯ Overall, 7 patients died in hospital. There was no statistically significant difference in hospital mortality rate (42% vs 47%) and bacteriologic failure rate (34% vs 40%) between 36 patients treated with vancomycin and 15 patients treated with teicoplanin. Teicoplanin can be an alternative therapy of MRSA infective endocarditis.
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Scand. J. Infect. Dis. · Jan 2008
Staphylococcus aureus skin/soft-tissue infections: the impact of SCCmec type and Panton-Valentine leukocidin.
We assessed the role of Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) and SCCmec type in community associated (CA) and healthcare associated (HC) Staphylococcus aureus (SA) skin/soft-tissue infections (STI). We prospectively monitored microbiology results (11 January 2005 to 6 January 2006), screened inpatients with SA in tissue samples or blood, and selected adults with STI. We recorded clinical/microbiological characteristics, and tested saved isolates for PVL genes (real time PCR) and SCCmec type (conventional multiplex PCR). ⋯ These findings suggest that SCCmec type and PVL status influence STI manifestations and contribute to MRSA-MSSA differences. PVL is implicated in abscess formation but not bacteremia. Bacteremia is likely related to host condition and/or other virulence factors that were not studied.
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Scand. J. Infect. Dis. · Jan 2007
Review Case ReportsPrimary sternal osteomyelitis in a healthy child due to community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and literature review.
Primary sternal osteomyelitis is a rare condition. Most of the recent cases have been reported in intravenous drug abusers. ⋯ While bacteriological culture results are pending, antibiotic therapy with Staphylococcus aureus coverage should be initiated empirically and the possibility of community-acquired methicillin-resistant S. aureus must be borne in mind. In this report we also review the literature of paediatric primary sternal osteomyelitis.
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Scand. J. Infect. Dis. · Jan 2007
The use of procalcitonin in the diagnosis of late-onset infection in neonatal intensive care unit patients.
We evaluated the semi-quantitative procalcitonin level for diagnosing late-onset infections in 176 neonates. Using a cut-off level of 0.5 ng/ml, the sensitivity was 84.4%+/-0.19, specificity was 93.9%+/-0.04, positive predictive value was 82.6%+/-0.1, and negative predictive value was 94.6%+/-0.04. Procalcitonin could be a useful marker of late-onset infection in neonates.
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Scand. J. Infect. Dis. · Jan 2007
Diagnostic value of soluble CD163 serum levels in patients suspected of meningitis: comparison with CRP and procalcitonin.
The aim of the study was to evaluate and compare the diagnostic value of sCD163 serum levels with CRP and PCT in meningitis and bacterial infection. An observational cohort study was conducted between February 2001 and February 2005. The study population comprised 55 patients suspected of meningitis on admission to a 27-bed infectious disease department at a Danish university hospital. ⋯ However, sCD163 may be helpful in rapid identification of patients with systemic bacterial infection. If used as an adjunct to lumbar puncture, PCT and CRP had very high diagnostic accuracy for distinguishing between bacterial and viral infection in patients with spinal fluid pleocytosis. However, none of the markers was useful as an independent tool for the clinical diagnosis of patients with purulent meningitis.