Search

Background: To prioritize healthcare investments, ranking of infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria should be based on accurate incidence data., Objectives: We performed a systematic review to estimate frequency measures of antimicrobial resistance for six key bacteria causing bloodstream infections (BSI) in European countries., Data Sources: We searched PubMed, Web of Science, Embase databases, and the ECRAID-Base Epidemiological-Network platform., Study Eligibility Criteria: We included studies and surveillance systems assessing resistance-percentage, prevalence, or incidence-density of BSI because of carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Escherichia coli, third-generation cephalosporins-resistant E. coli and K. pneumoniae, vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium, and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus., Methods: Reviewers independently assessed published data and evaluated study quality with the modified Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tool. Pooled estimates were determined using random effects meta-analysis. Consistency of data was assessed using random effects meta-regression (Wald test, p > 0.05)., Results: We identified 271 studies and 52 surveillance systems from 32 European countries. Forty-five studies (16%) reported on BSI, including 180 frequency measures most commonly as resistance-percentage (88, 48.9%). Among 309 frequency measures extracted from 24 (46%) surveillance systems, 278 (89%) were resistance-percentages. Frequency measures of methicillin-resistant S. aureus and vancomycin-resistant E. faecium BSI were more frequently reported from Southern Europe and Western Europe (80%), whereas carbapenem-resistant P. aeruginosa BSI from Northern Europe and Western Europe (88%). Highest resistance-percentages were detected for carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii (66% in Central Eastern Europe) and carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae (62.8% in Southern Europe). Pooled estimates showed lower resistance-percentages in community versus healthcare-associated infections and in children versus adults. Estimates from studies and surveillance systems were mostly consistent among European regions. The included data was of medium quality., Discussion: Pathogen-specific frequency measures of antimicrobial resistance in BSI are insufficient to inform antibiotic stewardship and research and development strategies. Improving data collection and standardization of frequency measures is urgently needed., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Background: Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteraemia is a common and serious infection. No consensus exists regarding whether definitive combination therapy is superior to monotherapy. We aimed to evaluate the impact of combination therapy on mortality., Methods: This was a multicentre retrospective study (nine countries, 25 centres), including 1277 patients with P. aeruginosa bacteraemia during 2009-15. We evaluated the association between β-lactam plus aminoglycoside or quinolone combination therapy versus β-lactam monotherapy and mortality. The primary outcome was 30 day all-cause mortality. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were conducted, introducing combination as a time-dependent variable. Propensity score was conducted to adjust for confounding for choosing combination therapy over monotherapy., Results: Of 1119 patients included, 843 received definitive monotherapy and 276 received combination therapy (59% aminoglycoside and 41% quinolone). Mortality at 30 days was 16.9% (189/1119) and was similar between combination (45/276; 16.3%) and monotherapy (144/843; 17.1%) groups (P = 0.765). In multivariate Cox regression, combination therapy was not associated with reduced mortality (HR 0.98, 95% CI 0.64-1.53). No advantage in terms of clinical failure, microbiological failure or recurrent/persistent bacteraemia was demonstrated using combination therapy. Likewise, adverse events and resistance development were similar for the two regimens., Conclusions: In this retrospective cohort, no mortality advantage was demonstrated using combination therapy over monotherapy for P. aeruginosa bacteraemia. Combination therapy did not improve clinical or microbiological failure rates, nor affect adverse events or resistance development. Our finding of no benefit with combination therapy needs confirmation in well-designed randomized controlled trials., (© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Background: The optimal antibiotic regimen for Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteremia is controversial. Although β-lactam monotherapy is common, data to guide the choice between antibiotics are scarce. We aimed to compare ceftazidime, carbapenems, and piperacillin-tazobactam as definitive monotherapy., Methods: A multinational retrospective study (9 countries, 25 centers) including 767 hospitalized patients with P. aeruginosa bacteremia treated with β-lactam monotherapy during 2009-2015. The primary outcome was 30-day all-cause mortality. Univariate and multivariate, including propensity-adjusted, analyses were conducted introducing monotherapy type as an independent variable., Results: Thirty-day mortality was 37/213 (17.4%), 42/210 (20%), and 55/344 (16%) in the ceftazidime, carbapenem, and piperacillin-tazobactam groups, respectively. Type of monotherapy was not significantly associated with mortality in either univariate, multivariate, or propensity-adjusted analyses (odds ratio [OR], 1.14; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.52-2.46, for ceftazidime; OR, 1.3; 95% CI, 0.67-2.51, for piperacillin-tazobactam, with carbapenems as reference in propensity adjusted multivariate analysis; 542 patients). No significant difference between antibiotics was demonstrated for clinical failure, microbiological failure, or adverse events. Isolation of P. aeruginosa with new resistance to antipseudomonal drugs was significantly more frequent with carbapenems (36/206 [17.5%]) versus ceftazidime (25/201 [12.4%]) and piperacillin-tazobactam (28/332 [8.4%] (P = .007)., Conclusions: No significant difference in mortality, clinical, and microbiological outcomes or adverse events was demonstrated between ceftazidime, carbapenems, and piperacillin-tazobactam as definitive treatment of P. aeruginosa bacteremia. Higher rates of resistant P. aeruginosa after patients were treated with carbapenems, along with the general preference for carbapenem-sparing regimens, suggests using ceftazidime or piperacillin-tazobactam for treating susceptible infection., (© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

This study aimed to evaluate risk factors for 30-day mortality among hospitalised patients with Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteraemia, a highly fatal condition. A retrospective study was conducted between 1 January 2009 and 31 October 2015 in 25 centres (9 countries) including 2396 patients. Univariable and multivariable analyses of risk factors were conducted for the entire cohort and for patients surviving ≥48 h. A propensity score for predictors of appropriate empirical therapy was introduced into the analysis. Of the 2396 patients, 636 (26.5%) died within 30 days. Significant predictors (odds ratio and 95% confidence interval) of mortality in the multivariable analysis included patient-related factors: age (1.02, 1.01-1.03); female sex (1.34, 1.03-1.77); bedridden functional capacity (1.99, 1.24-3.21); recent hospitalisation (1.43, 1.07-1.92); concomitant corticosteroids (1.33, 1.02-1.73); and Charlson comorbidity index (1.05, 1.01-1.93). Infection-related factors were multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas (1.52, 1.15-2.1), non-urinary source (2.44, 1.54-3.85) and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score (1.27, 1.18-1.36). Inappropriate empirical therapy was not associated with increased mortality (0.81, 0.49-1.33). Among 2135 patients surviving ≥48 h, hospital-acquired infection (1.59, 1.21-2.09), baseline endotracheal tube (1.63, 1.13-2.36) and ICU admission (1.53, 1.02-2.28) were additional risk factors. Risk factors for mortality among patients with P. aeruginosa were mostly irreversible. Early appropriate empirical therapy was not associated with reduced mortality. Further research should be conducted to explore subgroups that may not benefit from broad-spectrum antipseudomonal empirical therapy. Efforts should focus on prevention of infection, mainly hospital-acquired infection and multidrug-resistant pseudomonal infection., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a clear and present danger to patients in any intensive care unit (ICU) around the world. Whereas AMR may affect any patient in the hospital, patients in the ICU are particularly at risk of acquiring AMR infections due to the intensity of the treatment, use of invasive devices, increased risk of transmission and exposure to antibiotics. AMR is present in every ICU, although prevalence is geographically different and AMR pathogens encountered are variable. Intensive care and infectious disease specialists from the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine, European Society of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases and World Alliance Against Antimicrobial Resistance, united in the ANTARCTICA (Antimicrobial Resistance in Critical Care) coalition, call for increased awareness and action among health care professionals to reduce AMR development in critically ill patients, to improve treatment of AMR infections and to coordinate scientific research in this high-risk patient population. Close collaboration with other specialties, and combining these and other interventions in antibiotic stewardship programmes should be a priority in every ICU. Considerate antibiotic use and adopting strict infection control practices to halt AMR remains a responsibility shared by all healthcare workers, from physicians to maintenance personnel, from nurses to physiotherapists, from consultants to medical students. Together, we can reduce AMR in our ICUs and continue to treat our patients effectively.

The continued rise in infections caused by extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing pathogens is recognized globally as one of the most pressing concerns facing the healthcare community. Carbapenems are widely regarded as the antibiotics of choice for the treatment of ESBL-producing infections, even when in vitro activity to other β-lactams has been demonstrated. However, indiscriminant carbapenem use is not without consequence, and carbapenem overuse has contributed to the emergence of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae. The use of non-carbapenem β-lactams for the treatment of ESBL infections has yielded conflicting results. In this review, we discuss the available data for the use of cephamycins, cefepime, piperacillin-tazobactam, ceftolozane-tazobactam, and ceftazidime-avibactam for the treatment of ESBL infections., (© The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

A matched case-control study and a qualitative investigation were used to identify adverse events in diverse dimensions associated with isolation. Overall satisfaction with care was similar among patients in isolation, but staff was found to be less responsive. Isolation was also associated with depression, but not with increased anxiety., (Copyright © 2015 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)