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Antibiotic-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii is associated with nosocomial infections worldwide. Here, we used clinically isolated A. baumannii strains as models to demonstrate whether antibiotic resistance is correlated with an increased susceptibility to bacteriophages. In this study, 24 active phages capable of infecting A. baumannii were isolated from various environments, and the susceptibilities of both antibiotic-sensitive and antibiotic-resistant strains of A. baumannii to different phages were compared. In our study, a total of 403 clinically isolated A. baumannii strains were identified. On average, the phage infection percentage of the antibiotic-resistant A. baumannii strains was 84% (from 81–86%), whereas the infection percentage in the antibiotic-sensitive A. baumannii strains was only 56.5% (from 49–64%). In addition, the risk of phage infection for A. baumannii was significantly increased in the strains that were resistant to at least four antibiotics and exhibited a dose-dependent response (p-trend A. baumannii isolates, 75.6% were phage typeable. The results of phage typing might also reveal the antibiotic-resistant profiles of clinical A. baumannii strains. In conclusion, phage susceptibility represents an evolutionary trade-off in A. baumannii strains that show adaptations for antibiotic resistance, particularly in medical environments that have high antibiotic use.

Elizabethkingia species are ubiquitous bacteria that uncommonly cause human infection. Elizabethkingia anophelis was first identified in 2011 from the mosquito Anopheles gambiae. The currently available bacterial typing systems vary greatly with respect to labour, cost, reliability, and ability to discriminate among bacterial strains. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based fingerprinting using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) is commonly used to identify genetic markers. To our knowledge, no system coupling RAPD-PCR and capillary gel electrophoresis (CGE) has been utilized for the epidemiological typing of E. anophelis. Thus, the aim of the present study was to establish a reliable and reproducible molecular typing technique for E. anophelis isolates based on a multi-centre assessment of bacteraemia patients. Here, we used a rapid CGE-light-emitting diode-induced fluorescence (LEDIF)-based method in conjunction with RAPD-PCR to genotype E. anophelis with a high level of discrimination. All clinical isolates of E. anophelis were found to be typeable, and isolates from two hospitals formed two distinct clusters. The results demonstrated the potential of coupling RAPD and CGE as a rapid and efficient molecular typing tool, providing a reliable method for surveillance and epidemiological investigations of bacterial infections. The proposed method shows promise as a novel, cost-effective, high-throughput, first-pass typing method.

Although the association of hyperuricemia and cardiovascular diseases is well established by previous research studies, the relationship between gout and deep vein thrombosis (DVT) remains unclear. We conducted a nationwide longitudinal cohort study to investigate the relationship between gout and DVT. We used the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database to identify patients with gout diagnosed in Taiwan during 2000–2011, and we followed up these patients to determine the incidence of DVT among them. The association between gout and DVT was analyzed by cox proportional hazard model. The study cohort included 35,959 patients with history of gout attack and 35,959 matched controls without gout attack. During the median follow-up of 7.5 ± 3.6 years, the incidence rate of DVT was significantly higher in patients with gout than that in control group (13.48 versus 9.77 per 104 person-years, p

Although oral antidiabetic drugs (OADs) have been associated with immunomodulation in preclinical studies, little is still known about the association between the use of OADs and the risk of sepsis. Using a cohort of patients, extracted from Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Research Database, with type 2 diabetes who were newly diagnosed between 2010 and 2012 and treated with OADs, we conducted a nested case-control study involving 43,015 cases (patients who were first hospitalized for sepsis) and 43,015 matched controls. Compared with non-use, metformin use was associated with a decreased risk of developing sepsis (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 0.80, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.77–0.83, P P