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Background: Whether active therapy with β‐lactam/β‐lactamase inhibitors (BLBLI) is as affective as carbapenems for extended‐spectrum β‐lactamase‐producing Enterobacterales (ESBL‐E) bloodstream infection (BSI) secondary to urinary tract infection (UTI) in kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) remains unclear. Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 306 KTR admitted to 30 centers from January 2014 to October 2016. Therapeutic failure (lack of cure or clinical improvement and/or death from any cause) at days 7 and 30 from ESBL‐E BSI onset was the primary and secondary study outcomes, respectively. Results: Therapeutic failure at days 7 and 30 occurred in 8.2% (25/306) and 13.4% (41/306) of patients. Hospital‐acquired BSI (adjusted OR [aOR]: 4.10; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.50‐11.20) and Pitt score (aOR: 1.47; 95% CI: 1.21‐1.77) were independently associated with therapeutic failure at day 7. Age‐adjusted Charlson Index (aOR: 1.25; 95% CI: 1.05‐1.48), Pitt score (aOR: 1.72; 95% CI: 1.35‐2.17), and lymphocyte count ≤500 cells/μL at presentation (aOR: 3.16; 95% CI: 1.42‐7.06) predicted therapeutic failure at day 30. Carbapenem monotherapy (68.6%, primarily meropenem) was the most frequent active therapy, followed by BLBLI monotherapy (10.8%, mostly piperacillin‐tazobactam). Propensity score (PS)‐adjusted models revealed no significant impact of the choice of active therapy (carbapenem‐containing vs any other regimen, BLBLI‐ vs carbapenem‐based monotherapy) within the first 72 hours on any of the study outcomes. Conclusions: Our data suggest that active therapy based on BLBLI may be as effective as carbapenem‐containing regimens for ESBL‐E BSI secondary to UTI in the specific population of KTR. Potential residual confounding and unpowered sample size cannot be excluded (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02852902). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The incidence of diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) has been reported to be 4-10% globally, with a one-in-four risk of ulceration during an individual's lifetime. The mortality rate of diabetes and diabetes-related complications is greater than the 5-year mortality rate of breast, colon and prostate cancer combined (Armstrong et al, 2007). DFUs are the foremost cause of hospital admissions in people with diabetes, with increasing incidence of wound infection on initial presentation over the past 5 years. This has also been associated with an up to 10-fold increase in cost and poor outcomes with increasing length of bed stays and recurrence, indeed, it has been reported that 55% of individuals with diabetes and lower-extremity amputation will require a further amputation in less than 3 years (Izumi et al, 2006). This poor prognosis for patients with foot ulceration results in psychological, physical and financial burdens for those patients affected. This 2-year prospective audit has shown the importance of multiprofessional working and robust care pathways in ensuring that patients have access to the right medical interventions at the optimum time, demonstrating that early referral to specialist care and inpatient and outpatient multidisciplinary teams can reduce amputation rates and time to healing and multidisciplinary teams (inpatient and community-based/outpatient) can reduce amputation rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of microscopy, Gram stain and the culture of tissue samples in the antibiotic treatment of patients with diabetic foot infection. A retrospective review of patients with a diabetic foot infection was undertaken. Data analysed included the severity of infection, antibiotic prescribing patterns, microscopy and culture results. A total of 71 patients were included, from whom 114 tissue samples were collected. Gram stain results were in agreement with final culture results in 45·8% ( n = 54) of samples. Overall sensitivity and specificity of the Gram stains were low (74·5% and 69·8%, respectively), although the specificity for Gram-negative rods was high (98·5%). The presence or absence of 'pus cells' on microscopy was a poor predictor of culture results. Empirical prescribing of antibiotics was in accordance with local policy in 31·1% of patients, improving to 86·8 % following culture results. Microscopy, a skilled laboratory procedure, was generally a poor predictor of tissue culture results. However, the presence of Gram-negative rods was suggestive of isolation in the culture of such organisms and could allow the early broadening of antibiotic treatment. Despite initial poor compliance of empirical antibiotic treatment regimens, prescribing was adjusted in light of culture results, suggesting these were important for clinicians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are scarce data on the efficacy of ertapenem in the treatment of bacteremia due to extended-spectrum-beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Enterobacterales (ESBL-E) in kidney transplant (KT) recipients. We evaluated the association between treatment with ertapenem or meropenem and clinical cure in KT recipients with nonsevere bacteremic urinary tract infections (B-UTI) caused by ESBL-E. We performed a registered, retrospective, international (29 centers in 14 countries) cohort study (INCREMENT-SOT, NCT02852902). The association between targeted therapy with ertapenem versus meropenem and clinical cure at day 14 (the principal outcome) was studied by logistic regression. Propensity score matching and desirability of outcome ranking (DOOR) analyses were also performed. A total of 201 patients were included; only 1 patient (treated with meropenem) in the cohort died. Clinical cure at day 14 was reached in 45/100 (45%) and 51/101 (50.5%) of patients treated with ertapenem and meropenem, respectively (adjusted OR 1.29; 95% CI 0.51 to 3.22; P  = 0.76); the propensity score-matched cohort included 55 pairs (adjusted OR for clinical cure at day 14, 1.18; 95% CI 0.43 to 3.29; P  = 0.74). In this cohort, the proportion of cases treated with ertapenem with better DOOR than with meropenem was 49.7% (95% CI, 40.4 to 59.1%) when hospital stay was considered. It ranged from 59 to 67% in different scenarios of a modified (weights-based) DOOR sensitivity analysis when potential ecological advantage or cost was considered in addition to outcome. In conclusion, targeted therapy with ertapenem appears as effective as meropenem to treat nonsevere B-UTI due to ESBL-E in KT recipients and may have some advantages.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of microscopy, Gram stain and the culture of tissue samples in the antibiotic treatment of patients with diabetic foot infection. A retrospective review of patients with a diabetic foot infection was undertaken. Data analysed included the severity of infection, antibiotic prescribing patterns, microscopy and culture results. A total of 71 patients were included, from whom 114 tissue samples were collected. Gram stain results were in agreement with final culture results in 45·8% (n = 54) of samples. Overall sensitivity and specificity of the Gram stains were low (74·5% and 69·8%, respectively), although the specificity for Gram-negative rods was high (98·5%). The presence or absence of 'pus cells' on microscopy was a poor predictor of culture results. Empirical prescribing of antibiotics was in accordance with local policy in 31·1% of patients, improving to 86·8 % following culture results. Microscopy, a skilled laboratory procedure, was generally a poor predictor of tissue culture results. However, the presence of Gram-negative rods was suggestive of isolation in the culture of such organisms and could allow the early broadening of antibiotic treatment. Despite initial poor compliance of empirical antibiotic treatment regimens, prescribing was adjusted in light of culture results, suggesting these were important for clinicians., (© 2016 Medicalhelplines.com Inc and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Diagnosing tuberculous peritonitis can be challenging, with mycobacterial culture potentially taking weeks for a positive result. This report describes 2 cases where a prompt diagnosis of tuberculous peritonitis was made employing the Xpert MTB/RIF assay (Cepheid Inc., Sunnyvale, CA, USA)., (Copyright © 2016 International Society for Peritoneal Dialysis.)