Infection
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Case Reports
Raoultella planticola peritonitis in a patient on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis.
A 65-year-old man on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis was admitted with peritonitis. Empirical antibiotic therapy was initiated, and Raoultella planticola was identified in the peritoneal fluid culture. We treated the patient with intraperitoneally administered ciprofloxacin and ceftazidime according to the antibiotic susceptibility. His condition improved, and he was well treated with a 2-week antibiotic course.
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Observational Study
Sepsis in standard care: patients' characteristics, effectiveness of antimicrobial therapy and patient outcome--a cohort study.
Fast diagnosis and initiation of appropriate antibiotic therapy is pivotal for the survival of sepsis patients. However, most studies on suspected sepsis patients are conducted in the intensive care unit or in the emergency room setting, neglecting the standard care setting. This study evaluated sepsis risk factors, microbiological accurateness of the initial empiric antimicrobial therapy and its effect on hospital mortality in standard care patients. ⋯ A significant proportion of bacteremic sepsis patients receive inappropriate empiric antimicrobial therapy. Our results indicate that rapid availability of microbiological results is vital, since inappropriate antimicrobial therapy tended to increase the hospital mortality of sepsis patients.
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Nephropathia epidemica is a milder form of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, caused by Puumala virus. The clinical picture is characterized by a rapid loss of renal function (acute kidney injury) and thrombocytopenia. The purpose of the current analysis was to compare the clinical course of patients presenting with or without severe thrombocytopenia. ⋯ No major bleeding (e.g., intracranial bleeding or gastrointestinal bleeding) occurred in either group. Creatinine peak levels were higher and proteinuria was more frequently present in the severely thrombocytopenic group. In conclusion, severe thrombocytopenia is common in nephropathia epidemica and is associated with a more severe course of the disease; however, bleeding complications are rare.
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A growing body of evidence points out that a large amount of patients with sepsis are admitted and treated in medical ward (MW). With most of the sepsis studies conducted in intensive care unit (ICU), these patients, older and with more comorbidities have received poor attention. Provided the differences between the two groups of patients, results of diagnostic and therapeutic trials from ICU should not be routinely transferred to MW, where sepsis seems to be at least as common as in ICU. ⋯ The combination of innovative and non-invasive tools for sepsis rule in/out, as quick alternatives to blood cultures (gold standard) with bedside integrated ultrasonography could impact triage, diagnosis and prognosis of septic patients managed in MW, preventing ICU admissions, poor outcomes and costly complications, especially in elderly that are usually highly vulnerable to invasive procedures.
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A 37-year-old man presented with a 4-day history of nonbloody diarrhea, fever, chills, productive cough, vomiting, and more recent sore throat. He worked for the municipality in a village in the Swiss Alps near St. Moritz. ⋯ Further testing confirmed that the isolate was F. tularensis (subspecies holarctica) belonging to the subclade B. FTNF002-00 (Western European cluster). This case may alert physicians that tularemia may occur in high-altitude regions such as the Swiss Alps.