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Purpose: Early clinical failure criteria (ECFC) were recently introduced to predict unfavorable outcomes in patients with Gram-negative bloodstream infections (BSI). ECFC include hypotension, tachycardia, tachypnea or mechanical ventilation, altered mental status, and leukocytosis evaluated at 72-96 h after BSI. The aim of this retrospective cohort study was to assess performance of ECFC in predicting 28-day mortality in Enterococcus species BSI., Methods: Hospitalized adults with Enterococcus species BSI at Prisma Health hospitals from 1 January 2015 to 31 July 2018 were identified. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine the association between ECFC and 28-day mortality. Area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve was used to measure model discrimination., Results: Among 157 patients, 28 (18%) died within 28 days of BSI. After adjustments in multivariate model, the risk of 28-day mortality increased in the presence of each additional ECFC (OR 1.6, 95% CI 1.2-2.3, p = 0.005). Infective endocarditis (OR 3.9, 95% CI 1.4-10.7, p = 0.01) was independently associated with 28-day mortality. AUROC curve of ECFC model in predicting 28-day mortality was 0.74 with ECFC of 2 identified as the best breakpoint. Mortality was 8% in patients with ECFC < 2 compared to 33% in those with ECFC ≥ 2 (p < 0.001)., Conclusion: ECFC had good discrimination in predicting 28-day mortality in patients with Enterococcus species BSI. These criteria may have utility in future clinical investigations., (© 2022. This is a U.S. government work and not under copyright protection in the U.S.; foreign copyright protection may apply.)

Objectives: This cross-sectional population-based study aims to determine overall incidence rate of Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) in the State of South Carolina and provide an estimated cost of hospitalization due to community-associated CDI (CA-CDI)., Methods: All CDI cases in South Carolina were identified through National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) and the South Carolina Infectious Disease and Outbreak Network (SCION) from January 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016, excluding infants < 1 year of age., Results: During the 18-month study period, 10,254 CDI events were identified in South Carolina residents with an overall incidence rate of 139/100,000 person-years. Over one-half of CDI cases were CA-CDI (5192; 51%) with an incidence rate of 71/100,000 person-years. Among patients with CA-CDI, 2127 (41%) required hospitalization with a median length of stay of 5 days. The annual burden of CA-CDI in South Carolina was estimated to be 9282 hospital days and $16,217,295 in hospitalization costs., Conclusion: The incidence rate of CA-CDI in South Carolina has surpassed both community-onset healthcare facility associated and hospital-onset CDI combined. The heavy burden of CA-CDI justifies dedication of public health resources to combat CDI in ambulatory settings, through antimicrobial stewardship initiatives.

Purpose: This case-case-control study aims to identify clinical predictors for pneumonia due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) which is (1) susceptible to all routinely tested antipseudomonal beta-lactams (APBL-S) and (2) resistant to at least one antipseudomonal beta-lactam (APBL-R)., Methods: Hospitalized adults with acute bacterial pneumonia at Palmetto Health hospitals in Columbia, SC, USA from January 1, 2012 to April 15, 2014 were identified. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine risk factors for pneumonia due to APBL-S PA and APBL-R PA., Results: Among 326 unique patients, 119 had pneumonia due to APBL-S PA (cases), 44 due to APBL-R PA (cases) and 163 due to ceftriaxone-susceptible bacteria (controls). Bronchiectasis [odds ratio (OR) 5.7, 95% confidence intervals (CI) 1.3-39.2], interstitial lung disease (OR 6.2, 95% CI 1.5-42.6), prior airway colonization with APBL-S PA (OR 7.2, 95% CI 1.1-139.4) and recent exposure to both antipseudomonal beta-lactam (APBL; OR 2.2, 95% CI 1.1-4.5) and nonpseudomonal beta-lactams (OR 2.6, 95% CI 1.0-6.8) were independently associated with increased risk of APBL-S PA pneumonia. Bronchiectasis (OR 8.3, 95% CI 1.7-46.6), prior airway colonization with APBL-R PA (OR 14.9, 95% CI 2.0-312.9) and recent use of only APBL (OR 7.7, 95% CI 3.4-17.9) were predictors for APBL-R PA pneumonia., Conclusions: Stratification of hospitalized patients with pneumonia based on structural lung disease, prior airway colonization and recent antimicrobial exposure may improve empirical antimicrobial selection. Expansion of antimicrobial regimen from ceftriaxone to APBL or combination therapy is suggested in patients with risk factors for APBL-S or APBL-R PA, respectively.

Purpose: Optimal antimicrobial treatment duration for Gram-negative bloodstream infection (BSI) remains unclear. This retrospective cohort study examined effectiveness of short (7-10 days) and long (>10 days) courses of antimicrobial therapy for uncomplicated Gram-negative BSI., Methods: Hospitalized adults with uncomplicated Gram-negative BSI at Palmetto Health hospitals in Columbia SC, USA from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2013 were identified. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression with propensity score adjustment was used to examine risk of treatment failure in the two groups., Results: During the study period, 117 and 294 patients received short and long courses of antimicrobial therapy for uncomplicated Gram-negative BSI, respectively. Overall, the median age was 67 years, 258 (63%) were women, 282 (69%) had urinary source of infection, and 271 (66%) had BSI due to Escherichia coli. The median duration of antimicrobial therapy was 8.5 and 13.3 days in the short and long treatment groups, respectively. After adjustment for the propensity to use a short course of therapy, risk of treatment failure was higher in patients receiving short compared to long courses of antimicrobial agents (HR 2.60, 95% CI: 1.20-5.53, p = 0.02). Other risk factors for treatment failure included liver cirrhosis (HR 5.83, 95% CI: 1.89-15.02, p = 0.004) and immune compromised status (HR 4.30, 95% CI: 1.57-10.80, p = 0.006). Definitive antimicrobial therapy with intravenous or highly bioavailable oral agents was associated with reduced risk of treatment failure (HR 0.33, 95% CI: 0.14-0.73, p = 0.006)., Conclusions: The current results support common clinical practice of 2 weeks of antimicrobial therapy for uncomplicated Gram-negative BSI.