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Background: Antimicrobial resistance in ESKAPEEc (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterobacter species, and Escherichia coli) pathogens causing bloodstream infections is a growing threat to clinicians and public health. Objectives: Our purpose was to determine the prevalence and susceptibility of ESKAPEEcs causing bloodstream infection over five years (2016 to 2020) at a large tertiary hospital in Istanbul, Turkey. Methods: Of 2591 unique isolates obtained from blood culture specimens, 1.281 (49.4%) were positive for ESKAPEEc pathogens. The ESKAPEEc rates increased from 2016 to 2019 and decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: The most common pathogen was K. pneumoniae (34.3%). Carbapenem resistant K. pneumoniae was 61.8% and A. baumannii was 90.4%. The percentages of methicillin-resistant S. aureus and vancomycin-resistant E. faecium were 38.6% and 29.4%, respectively. Conclusions: Our findings showed a high incidence of ESKAPEEc and antimicrobial resistance in bloodstream infections. Antibiotic policies and restrictions in health care settings and the community will play an essential role in the solution in the future.

Background: Candida species have emerged as one of the most common causes of bloodstream infections (BSIs). There are limited data on the distribution of Candida spp. and susceptibility by year. Objectives: In this study, we analyzed changes in the distribution of Candida spp. and their antifungal susceptibility profiles from blood cultures. Methods: Records from January 2016 to December 2020 were obtained from the microbiology laboratory in Istanbul. Antifungal susceptibility tests were performed using the VITEK 2 compact system and evaluated according to EUCAST breakpoints. A total of 241 unique candidemia episodes were included in this study. Results: Candida albicans was the predominant pathogen (n = 95, 39.42%), followed by C. parapsilosis (n = 82, 34.02%), C. glabrata (n = 18, 7.47%), C. tropicalis (n = 17, 7.05%), C. krusei (n = 15, 6.22%), and other Candida spp. (n = 14, 5.79%). There was no statistically significant difference in the percentage of episodes of Candida spp. After data analysis, a tendency to shift from C. albicans to C. parapsilosis was observed in the period analyzed in this study. Candida albicans was the most common species in intensive care units (ICUs), hematology and hemopoietic stem cell transplantation units, and surgical clinics, with C. parapsilosis predominant in medical clinics. In general, micafungin susceptibility was the highest, and fluconazole was the lowest. There was reduced sensitivity to fluconazole and voriconazole for C. albicans and C. parapsilosis over 5 years. Conclusions: Detecting changes in the distribution of Candida spp. and antifungal susceptibility over time will lead to the selection of appropriate empirical therapy and monitor phenomena of antifungal resistance. Empirical treatment with antifungal agents is associated with high costs, toxicities, and risk of antifungal resistance. Therefore, it is mandatory to determine and monitor Candida spp. and antifungal susceptibility testing to select appropriate antifungal agents.

Empirical antimicrobial therapy is usually started in febrile neutropenic patients without having culture results. The aim of this study was to help determine the policies of empirical antibiotic usage in febrile neutropenic children by detecting the antimicrobial susceptibility profile in this group of patients. In this study 811 blood cultures taken from neutropenic children hospitalized at the Department of Oncology of Gaziantep Children Hospital November 2007 and February 2010 were retrospectively evaluated. Blood cultures were routinely collected in aerobic and anaerobic media and incubated using the BACTEC system. Identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing of the isolates to antimicrobial agents was performed using the Vitek2(A (R)) system according to the recommendations of the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute. Of 811 isolates analyzed, 128 (56.4%) were gram positive cocci, 43 (18.9%) were gram negative bacilli and fungi accounted for 56 (24.7%). The main isolated Gram-positive bacteria from blood were coagulase-negative staphylococcus (56.7%), followed by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (14.1%). S. aureus and Streptococcus spp. were all susceptible to linezolid, vancomycin and teicoplanin. S aureus was still susceptible to few other antimicrobial agents such as tetracycline (82.4%), chloramphenicol (55.6%). Seven E. faecium, 7 E. fecalis and 1 E. hirae was isolated from blood cultures. Vancomycin resistance was detected in 6 out of 15 (40%) Enterococcus spp. isolates. Among gram-negative bacteria E. coli (30.2%) was followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae (20.9%) and Proteus spp. (18.6%). Imipenem (89.2%), meropenem (86.6%), chloramphenicol (88.9%), amicasin (82.4%) and fosfomycin (81.3%) showed highest susceptibility in vitro activity against all Gram-negative isolates. To know the antimicrobial susceptibility profile of the pathogens frequently isolated from febrile neutropenic children and to consider this profile before starting an empirical antibiotic therapy would help the clinics which have any role in the treatment of these patients to determine the empirical antibiotic usage policies.

Introduction: In this study, the changes in the epidemiology and resistance profiles among nosocomial gram-negative microorganisms over a 10-year period were compared. Materials and Methods: The surveillance data accumulated in Gazi University Hospital during the periods January-July 1998 and January-December 2008 were compared. Nosocomial gram-negative microorganisms were obtained from the clinical specimens of the patients. The clinical and laboratory data of the patients were obtained from patient files, fever and drug charts and clinicians. Only the isolates related to nosocomial infections were included in the study. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests were performed by agar dilution method in 1998 and by disk diffusion test in 2008. Results: 251 gram-negative microorganisms isolated in 1998 and 888 isolated in 2008 were included in the study. The most frequently isolated microorganisms were Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas spp., Acinetobacter baumannii and Klebsiella spp. in 1998 and A. baumannii, E. coli, Pseudomonas spp. and Klebsiella spp. in 2008. An increase in the frequency of Acinetobacter isolates and a decrease in Pseudomonas and E. coli isolates were found to be statistically significant between 1998 and 2008. The percentages of gramnegative microorganisms isolated from intensive care units were 42% and 70% in 1998 and 2008, respectively. The most frequently seen nosocomial infection type was urinary tract infection in 1998 and pneumonia in 2008. Antimicrobial susceptibility test results revealed a statistically significant increase in resistance rates among the gram-negative microorganisms, especially in the Acinetobacter species, between 1998 and 2008. Conclusion: The frequency of Acinetobacter infections significantly increased over the study period. An increasing number of intensive care unit beds in our hospital resulted in changes in the frequency of nosocomial pathogens and nosocomial infection types, as well as a remarkable increase in resistance rates to antibiotics. The rapid development of antibiotic resistance among the gram-negative microorganisms, including to new antibiotics, necessitates the application of proper infection control measures and rational antibiotic use.

Infective endocarditis is a serious life-threatening infection. Since 1940, guidelines about prophylaxis for infective endocarditis have been developed and updated. Here, we describe a case of complicated infective endocarditis secondary to dental extraction without prophylaxis because the patient was under amoxicillin clavulanate treatment due to upper respiratory tract infection. Her medical history revealed acute rheumatic fever with cardiac involvement and mitral valve prolapsus. Currently, infective endocarditis prophylaxis in moderate risk groups such as rheumatic valve diseases is not recommended in the guidelines published in developed countries. The importance of bacteremia caused by daily activities was emphasized, and ensuring proper oral hygiene was considered more important. Certainly, this condition is important in each patient and population; however, this approach is controversial in countries where the incidence of rheumatic valve diseases and the risk of infective endocarditis are high. Furthermore, the timing and dosage of the antibiotic must also be taken into account in order to maintain efficient serum and tissue concentrations of the drug.

Combined antifungal therapy has been suggested to enhance the efficacy and reduce the toxicity of antifungal agents. The aim of the study was to investigate the in vitro synergistic activity of caspofungin, voriconazole, and fluconazole with amphotericin B against ten isolates of Candida parapsilosis and Candida albicans strains which were resistant to azoles or amphotericin B. Three different antifungal combinations (amphotericin B [AP] — caspofungin [CS], amphotericin B — fluconazole [FL], and AP — voriconazole [VO]) were evaluated for in vitro synergistic effect by the microdilution checkerboard and E-test methods. For the majority of strains, the combination test showed indifferent activity. Via the E-test method, synergistic activity was seen in 3 strains in response to AP-CS combination treatment and in one strain after administration of AP-FL; however, no synergy was observed in response to combination treatment with P-VO. Antagonistic activity was the result in 1 strain treated with AP-CS as well as in 6 strains treated with AP-FL and AP-VO combinations. Via the microdilution test, no synergistic activity was seen after treatment with all 3 combinations. Antagonistic activity was the result in 2 strains with AP-CS, in 6 strains with AP-VO and in 5 strains with AP-FL combinations. Agreement between the checkerboard and E-test methods was observed to be approximately 72%. These combinations may be used in the case of antifungal resistance.

Staphylococcal meningitis frequently develops in the presence of risk factors, and difficulties in the treatment may be seen. We report herein a 43-year-old male patient with meningitis-cerebritis secondary to otitis-mastoiditis, which developed three months after frontal sinus and nasal polyp operation due to Samter’s syndrome. A methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus was isolated from the cerebrospinal fluid. The patient was treated with linezolid 2 x 600 mg/day, 15 days intravenously followed by 25 days peroral. The patient recovered successfully with the treatment, and no recurrence or complication was detected during the two-year follow-up.

Introduction: Hospital-acquired pneumonia, especially ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), caused by methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is considered among the important nosocomial infections. In the current guidelines, linezolid or vancomycin treatment is recommended in the empirical treatment of VAP when suspected from MRSA. Patients and Methods: In our retrospective study, we analyzed the patients that have been applied mechanical ventilation in the anesthesiology and reanimation, neurology, and neurosurgery intensive care units between October 2005 and January 2008. The patients were diagnosed as VAP evidenced by MRSA isolation from the endotracheal aspirate cultures. Results: Among the 32 patients, 3 of them died in the first 24 hours, and 2 of them succumbed to underlying diseases before the completion of treatment. Clinical improvement was observed in 48-72 hours in all of the 27 patients who completed 14-day linezolid treatment. Microbiological eradication was the case in 23 of 25 patients according to the endotracheal culture results obtained in the 48- 72 hours of treatment. When all the patients are taken into consideration, clinical success was the result in 84.4% of the patients, and microbiological eradication was 71.8%. Conclusion: In Turkey, the data about clinical experience of linezolid treatment in MRSA-VAP cases is very limited, and our study provides some data in this field. Our results suggest that linezolid is effective in the treatment of MRSA-VAP cases due to its high clinical and microbiological effectiveness, however, these observations need to be supported with well planned controlled clinical studies.

Introduction: Medical students, as well as other healthcare workers, are at risk for various infectious diseases, some of which are preventable through vaccination. There is insufficient study indicating seroprevalence of these infections among medical students in our country and there is no vaccination program. The aim of the study is to determine the seroprevalence of vaccine-preventable diseases among medical students, in order to make an emphasis on the need for a vaccination program. Materials and Methods: One hundred seventyseven students, who were in their fifth year of medical school, were enrolled in the study during 2002-2003. With a brief questionnaire, disease and vaccination history of every student was noted. Serologic investigations of HBsAg, anti-HBs and anti-HBc total for hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, and measles, mumps, rubella, varicella, tetanus IgG and hepatitis A virus (HAV) total antibody titers were investigated by an ELISA method. Results: Seropositivity rates were as follows: HBsAg 2.8%, anti-HBs 67.2%, anti-HBc total 41.2%, measles 56.5%, rubella 96%, mumps 92.1%, varicella 56.5%, tetanus IgG 80% and HAV IgG 74%. There was no correlation between history of illness or vaccination and seropositivity. Conclusion: This study indicated that a large proportion of the students were at risk for measles, varicella, hepatitis A and B. Medical students should be tested serologically for these infections prior to beginning their medical studies or at least prior to clinical studies, and an immunization program should be established for all medical students.

Multidrug-resistant (MDR) Acinetobacter baumannii is one of the most important pathogens in intensive care units related to morbidity and mortality, especially in ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). In this study, 80.5% of isolates were MDR. The antimicrobial susceptibilities for 12 different antibiotics of MDR A. baumannii isolated from VAP were tested. Among the MDR A. baumannii isolates, resistance rates were found to be 95.5%, 72.7%, 80.3%, 71.2% and 68.2% for ciprofloxacin, cefepime, imipenem, meropenem and cefoperazone/sulbactam, respectively. Netilmicin resistance was detected in 30.3% of the isolates. Resistance rates for colistin and tigecycline were 0% and 25.8%, respectively. It is obvious that new alternative drugs are needed for the treatment of MDR A. baumannii-related VAP owing to high resistance to carbapenems, quinolones, aminoglycosides and cefoperazone/sulbactam. Although colistin appears to be a good choice, adverse reactions and unavailability of colistin limit its wide used in Turkey. Tigecycline, which will shortly be introduced commercially in Turkey, is very effective against MDR A. baumannii isolates and shows promising results to solve the problem, however resistance rates should be monitored closely. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. and the International Society of Chemotherapy. All rights reserved.

The treatment of brucellosis is still problematic, because of high rates of treatment failure or relapses. As the microorganism is an intracellular pathogen, treatment requires combined regimens. However, limited existing data on in vitro combinations are avaliable for Brucellae. The aim of this study was to investigate the in vitro efficacy of various traditional and new antibiotic combinations against 16 Brucella melitensis strains. The combination effect of antimicrobial agents was evaluated by E-test synergy method to obtain a fractional inhibitory concentration (FIC) index. Co-Trimoxazole (SXT) and moxifloxocin (MXF) exhibited the lowest MIC, while Rifampin (RIF) had the highest MIC in the study. Combinations with RIF showed the best synergistic activity (100% of RIF-tetracycline (TET), and 87.5% of RIF-SXT). Synergistic activity was also detected at seven (43.7%) of ciprofloxocin (CIP)-SXT, four (25%) of TET-MXF, and two (12.5%) of TET-SXT combinations. The combinations that demonstrated additivity were TET-SXT, CIP-SXT and TET-MXF. Antagonism was observed only with the TET-Streptomycin (STR) combination in three strains (18.8%). Further work including randomized controlled clinical trials is required to fully evaluate the usefulness of these data.O tratamento da brucelose é problemático devido à alta freqüência de tratamentos mal sucedidos e recidivas. Por tratar-se de um patógeno intracelular, o tratamento requer procedimentos combinados. Entretanto, existem poucos dados sobre combinações in vitro para Brucellae. O objetivo deste trabalho foi investigar a eficiência de vários tratamentos tradicionais e novas combinações de antibióticos contra 16 isolados de Brucella melitensis. O efeito combinado foi avaliado através do método do E-test para obtenção do FIC (índice de concentração inibitória fracional). Co-trimoxazol (SXT) e moxifloxocina (MXF) apresentaram o MIC mais baixo, enquanto rifampicina (RIF) apresentou o MIC mais alto. Combinações com RIF mostraram a melhor atividade sinergística (100% para RIF-tetraciclina e 87,5% para RIF-SXT). Atividade sinergística foi também detectada para sete (43,7%) combinações de ciprofloxacina (CIP-STX), quatro (25%) de TET-MXF e duas (12,5%) de TET-SXT. As combinações que apresentaram efeito aditivo foram TET-SXT, CIP-SXT e TET-MXF. Antagonismo foi observado somente para a combinação TET-estreptomicina (STR) em três isolados (18,8%). Mais pesquisas utilizando ensaios clínicos randomizados controlados são necessárias para avaliar a utilidade desses dados.

Recurrent candida esophagitis are usually seen in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected patients. In HIV negative patients with some risk factors, candida esophagitis cases were also reported but its insidance is unknown. In small number of studies on this population, recurrent infection is not defined. Fluconazole resistant candida esophagitis is not reported in patients without HIV infection, either. In this case, a recurrent fluconazole resistant candida esophagitis in a patient, without HIV infection nor any specific immunodeficiency, is presented. As there was no response to fluconazole; both of the episodes described were treated with caspofungin.

Cryptococcus neoformans is a widely distributed saprophytic fungus that may cause opportunistic infections in normal and immunocompromised individuals particularly in patients with HIV infection. Disseminated infection in HIV-negative individuals is occasionally seen: a 57-year-old HIV-negative Turkish female initially presented with enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes and a large pulmonary parenchymal nodule, eventually diagnosed with disseminated cryptococcosis and tuberculosis.

Antimicrobial susceptibilities to the various antibiotics of 251 gram-negative bacteria isolated from hospital infections were detected by agar dilution and E-test methods. Escherichia coli was the most common isolate among the gram-negative bacteria (31.8%). The others, isolated were respectively as Pseudomonas aeruginosa (29.5%), Acinetobacter baumannii (18.3%) ve Klebsiella spp. (13.2%). Meropenem, ciprofloxacin and cefoperazone-sulbactam were detected the most efficient three antibiotics against enteric gram-negative bacteria. In the nonfermentative group, the most efficient antibiotics were ciprofloxacin, cefoperazone-sulbactam and piperacillin-tazobactam for P. aeruginosa; and meropenem, cefoperazonesulbactam and ciprofloxacin for A. baumannii.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency, risk factors and treatment outcomes in continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients with peritonitis. Fifty-five CAPD patients followed in our peritoneal dialysis unit between January 2000-September 2003 were enrolled. Data of the patients included demographic properties, educational status, symptoms at diagnosis, physical examination findings, laboratory findings, results of peritoneal fluid cultures and the treatment was given to the patients at the beginning were collected retrospectively from their hospital files. Of the 55 patients on PD 35 peritonitis episodes was found in 23 (41.8%) patients, and tunnel infections in 4 (7.2%) patients. The most common presenting complaints of the patients with an average of 29 months prevalence of peritonitis included abdominal pain and tenderness. In 9 (25.7%) patients with peritonitis, a microorganism has been isolated from their peritoneal fluid. Of the patients experiencing peritonitis 5 (21.7%) were changed to hemodialysis while 2 (8.6%) lost their lives. Diabetes mellitus and the first 12 months of the peritoneal dialysis were determined to be risk factors for episodes of peritonitis. Peritonitis is still continues to be an important problem for the dialysis patient group. Because of the increased risk in diabetic patients and those starting peritoneal dialysis for the first time careful follow up is necessary.

Maghsoudi, Behzad/0000-0002-1279-8799; Kritsotakis, Evangelos/0000-0002-9526-3852; Yalcin, Ata Nevzat/0000-0002-7243-7354; Mikaszewska-Sokolewicz, Malgorzata A/0000-0002-1148-7817; ALDEMIR KOCABAS, Bilge/0000-0002-6396-5243; Masjedi, Mohammad Reza/0000-0002-6871-382X; Masjedi, Mansoor/0000-0001-6175-9289; Gan, Chin Seng/0000-0002-6758-4798; Oncul, Oral/0000-0002-1681-1866; Sabetian, Golnar/0000-0001-8764-2150; YAMAN, Ayhan/0000-0002-5651-1286; Ozdemir, Halil/0000-0002-7318-1688; Leon, Hector Armando Rincon/0000-0003-0715-200X; Delia, Muntean/0000-0001-9100-4530; Atasay, Fatma Begum/0000-0002-9114-5293; Zand, Farid/0000-0003-3489-3372; Kuchenbecker, Ricardo/0000-0002-4707-3683; Medeiros, Eduardo A/0000-0002-6205-259X; ROMERO LOPEZ-ALBERCA, CRISTINA/0000-0001-5856-8668; Salomao, Reinaldo/0000-0003-1149-4598; ozdemir, sonay incesoy/0000-0003-2863-901X; Meco, Basak Ceyda/0000-0003-2951-9634; Horoz, Ozden Ozgur/0000-0001-7590-650X; Horhat, Florin George/0000-0001-6133-0204; Kazi, Mohammad Mukhit/0000-0003-3824-5540; Ciftci, Ergin/0000-0002-4955-160X; Abouqal, Redouane/0000-0002-6117-4341; Leblebicioglu, Hakan/0000-0002-6033-8543; Garcell, Humberto Guanche/0000-0001-7279-0062; Kendirli, Tanil/0000-0001-9458-2803; de Souza, Maria Cecilia B V/0000-0003-0318-3087; Sanaei Dashti, Anahita/0000-0002-2827-3575; UNAL, SERHAT/0000-0003-1184-4711; alvarez Moreno, carlos Arturo/0000-0001-5419-4494; Barahona G., Nayide/0000-0003-3559-6900; Rodriguez Ferrer, Marena Luz/0000-0002-8053-8454; Karabay, Oguz/0000-0003-0502-432X; Kaya, Sehnaz/0000-0003-0002-1517; ERDEVE, OMER/0000-0002-3193-0812; Gonzalez Martinez, Marisela del Rocio/0000-0003-1474-736X; Gikas, Achilleas/0000-0002-8455-9631; Baylan, Orhan/0000-0002-6529-7824; Mitrev, Zan/0000-0001-7859-8821; yildizdas, dincer/0000-0003-0739-5108; Ngo, Quy Chau/0000-0002-6787-2757; Duszynska, Wieslawa/0000-0002-5880-4904; KAYA, ZEYNEP/0000-0002-8468-2103; Dragan, Barbara/0000-0003-3108-4211; Gupta, Umesh/0000-0001-7717-1404; Navarro Fuentes, Karla Reyna/0000-0002-6894-8872; zali, Mohammadreza/0000-0002-9027-4560; Morocho Tutillo, Diego Rolando/0000-0002-4974-7856; El Kholy, Amani/0000-0002-0645-7664; Kanj, Souha/0000-0001-6413-3396; Assiri, Abdullah/0000-0002-5605-2876; Unal, Necmettin/0000-0002-9440-7893; Jayatilleke, Kushlani/0000-0002-3931-6630; KARABAY, OGUZ/0000-0003-1514-1685 WOS: 000341307100001 PubMed: 25179325 We report the results of an International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC) surveillance study from January 2007-December 2012 in 503 intensive care units (ICUs) in Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Europe. During the 6-year study using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) U.S. National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) definitions for device-associated health care-associated infection (DA-HAI), we collected prospective data from 605,310 patients hospitalized in the INICC's ICUs for an aggregate of 3,338,396 days. Although device utilization in the INICC's ICUs was similar to that reported from ICUs in the U.S. in the CDC's NHSN, rates of device-associated nosocomial infection were higher in the ICUs of the INICC hospitals: the pooled rate of central line-associated bloodstream infection in the INICC's ICUs, 4.9 per 1,000 central line days, is nearly 5-fold higher than the 0.9 per 1,000 central line days reported from comparable U. S. ICUs. The overall rate of ventilator-associated pneumonia was also higher (16.8 vs 1.1 per 1,000 ventilator days) as was the rate of catheter-associated urinary tract infection (5.5 vs 1.3 per 1,000 catheter days). Frequencies of resistance of Pseudomonas isolates to amikacin (42.8% vs 10%) and imipenem (42.4% vs 26.1%) and Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates to ceftazidime (71.2% vs 28.8%) and imipenem (19.6% vs 12.8%) were also higher in the INICC's ICUs compared with the ICUs of the CDC's NHSN. Copyright (C) 2014 by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The emergence of extensive drug-resistant (XDR) Acinetobacter baumannii limits the therapeutic options and leads to high mortality in intensive care units. Combined antibiotic therapy is frequently recommended for the treatment of these infections. Colistin (CO) and tigecycline (TIG), alone or in combination with other antimicrobials, are the most commonly used antibiotics in the treatment of these resistant infections. In this study, the in vitro synergistic activity of TIG and CO were tested for 25 XDR-A. baumannii strains isolated from ventilator-associated pneumonia by the Etest method. Resistance to CO was not detected, whereas 8% of the strains were resistant to TIG. The TIG-CO combination was more synergistic than TIG-rifampin and CO-rifampin according to the fractional inhibitory concentration index. No antagonism was detected between the drugs in the study. There was no strong correlation between the activity of the combinations with reference to strains or genotypes. Our results suggest that the combined use of TIG and CO may be useful for the treatment of XDR-A. baumannii infections. The Journal of Antibiotics (2010) 63, 51-53; doi:10.1038/ja.2009.117; published online 27 November 2009

The aim of this study was to determine the in vitro activities of doripenem, imipenem, and meropenem against clinical gram-negative isolates. A total of 596 clinical isolates were obtained from intensive care unit (ICU) and non-ICU patients in 10 centers over Turkey between September-December 2008. The origin of the isolates was patients with nosocomial pneumonia (42.4%), bloodstream infections (%40.4), and complicated intraabdominal infections (17.1%). Of the isolates, 51.8% were obtained from ICU patients. The study isolates consisted of Pseudomonas spp. in 49.8%, Enterobacteriaceae in 40.3%, and other gram-negative agents in 9.9%. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) for doripenem, imipenem and meropenem were determined for all isolates in each center using Etest® strips (AB Biodisk, Solna, Sweden). Of the isolates, 188 (31.5%) were resistant to at least one of the carbapenems. MIC50 of doripenem against Pseudomonas spp. Was 1 mg/L which was similar to that of meropenem and two-fold lower than imipenem. Susceptibility to carbapenems in P.aeruginosa was 64% for doripenem at an MIC level of 2 mg/L, 53.9% and 63% for imipenem and meropenem at an MIC level of 4 mg/L, respectively. Doripenem and meropenem showed similar activity with the MIC90 of 0.12 mg/L whereas imipenem was four-fold less active at 0.5 mg/L. Against other gramnegative pathogens, mostly Acinetobacter spp., MIC50 was 8 mg/L for doripenem and 32 mg/L for other two carbapenems. P.aeruginosa isolates were inhibited 84.2% with doripenem and 72.1% with meropenem at the MIC level of 8 mg/L. Doripenem generally showed similar or slightly better activity than meropenem and better activity than imipenem against pathogens collected in this study. Against Pseudomonas spp., doripenem was the most active of the three carbapenems. Doripenem and meropenem were equally active against Enterobacteriaceae and at least four-fold more active than imipenem. It was concluded that doripenem seemed to be a promising agent in the treatment of nosocomial pneumonia, blood stream infections and intraabdominal infections particularly in patients who were under risk of developing antimicrobial resistance.

Objectives: Doripenem is a new carbapenem recently introduced into Europe. The COMParative Activity of Carbapenem Testing (COMPACT) study compared the susceptibility of common Gram-negative bacilli causing serious infections in hospitalized patients with doripenem, imipenem and meropenem. Methods: Gram-negative isolates (4498 total: 2171 Pseudomonas species; 1910 Enterobacteriaceae; and 417 other Gram-negative bacilli) were collected from 80 centres in 16 countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa during 2008-09. The MICs of doripenem, imipenem and meropenem were determined using Etest methodology and broth microdilution. Susceptibility was interpreted according to CLSI, EUCAST and FDA breakpoints. Results: The MIC(90)s of doripenem, imipenem and meropenem for all isolates were 8, >= 64 and 32 mg/L, respectively. Doripenem had the lowest MIC90 for Pseudomonas species at 16 mg/L, with imipenem and meropenem values of >= 64 mg/L. Enterobacteriaceae were highly susceptible to all three carbapenems, with MIC(90)s of doripenem, imipenem and meropenem of 0.06, 0.5 and 0.12 mg/L, respectively. Other Gram-negative isolates, predominantly Acinetobacter baumannii, were resistant to all three carbapenems (MIC90 >= 64 mg/L). Susceptibility to doripenem was observed in 14.9% of isolates resistant to imipenem and/or meropenem. Conclusions: Doripenem showed excellent activity against Gram-negative isolates; generally it was more active than imipenem and at least as good as meropenem. Against Pseudomonas species, doripenem was more active than both imipenem and meropenem, with doripenem susceptibility observed for some imipenem-and/or meropenem-resistant isolates.

Although brucellosis is endemic in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean countries, febrile neutropenia caused by Brucella species has rarely been reported in childhood. In this report the authors described an unusual case of febrile neutropenia due to Brucella melitensis.

Background Brucellosis continues to be an important cause of fever in underdeveloped countries and in the rural areas of developed world. It is a multisystemic disease, associated with a wide variety of symptoms. A wide variety of symptoms, including hematologic abnormalities, such as anemia, thrombocytopenia, pancytopenia, dissemine intravascular coagulation, and leucopenia could be seen. The aim of the study is to review the hematologic findings of brucellosis in childhood. Procedure In this short study, the records of 146 children with brucellosis were evaluated for hematologic manifestation retrospectively. Among them, 9 patients had pancytopenia and 5 had brucella-induced immune thrombocytopenia and were identified in a 5-year period between June 2004 and July 2009. Results Eight of the 9 patients with pancytopenia had Brucella melitensis isolated from blood cultures and/or bone marrow cultures, and all 9 patients had Brucella agglutination titers of at least 1:320. All patients with immune thrombocytopenia blood cultures were positive for Brucella. Except 1 patient the pancytopenia in these patients regressed completely and their peripheral blood counts returned to normal after treatment of Brucella infection. One patient was not responding to the brucella treatment and underwent allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. All patients with brucella-induced immune thrombocytic purpura were symptomatic and had severe thrombocytopenia, they were placed on intravenous gamma globulin for 2 days. Between day 3 and day 5 platelet counts increased in these patients. Conclusion Brucellosis should be considered as a possible diagnosis among patients with pancytopenia and immune thrombocytopenic purpura in endemic regions.

The epidemiological and antifungal susceptibility data for 35 episodes of candidemia in intensive care units (ICU) in 2007 were evaluated by prospective active surveillance. The incidence of fungaemia was 39.1 cases per 1000 ICU admissions and 2.85 cases per 1000 patient-days. The crude mortality was 65.7%; 70.8% of the fatalities occurred within 7 days of admission to the ICU. Only 2 species were isolated, Candida parapsilosis (77.1%) and Candida albicans (22.9%). There was no association between mortality and patient characteristics, prior antifungal usage, Candida subspecies or antifungal resistance (p > 0.05). Of the isolates, 5.7% were resistant to fluconazole and caspofungin, and 3.4% to voriconazole and amphotericin B. In molecular analysis of the isolates, 2 clusters of C. parapsilosis in the neurology and anaesthesiology ICUs were detected by randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), suggesting a nosocomial transmission. In conclusion, a high incidence and high mortality rate of C. parapsilosis candidaemia were found in the ICUs. An excessive use of invasive procedures, total parenteral nutrition and broad-spectrum antibiotics in the ICUs, combined with a lack of proper infection control measures, may possibly explain the high incidence of C. parapsilosis candidaemia in our hospital.

Background: Burkholderia cepacia has the potential to cause fatal infections in ICUs, and multidrug resistance makes them a serious threat in hospital settings. The aim of this study was to evaluate the epidemiology of B. cepacia infections in our hospital. Methodology: The incidence, clinical characteristics, antimicrobial susceptibility, and outcomes of nosocomial B. cepacia infections during a five-year period were retrospectively analysed according to the infection control committee records. Results: A total of 39 cases with nosocomial B. cepacia infection were included in the study. B. cepacia was identified from 0.7% of the nosocomial isolates. Its incidence was 0.26 per 1,000 admissions with 53.8% crude mortality rate. The most frequent nosocomial B. cepacia infection was pneumonia (58.9%), followed by bloodstream infections (25.6%), surgical site infections (7.6%), urinary tract infections, (5.1%), and skin-soft tissue infections (2.5%). Nosocomial B. cepacia infections were most commonly observed in intensive care units (61.5%). The most active antimicrobial agents were piperacillin-tazobactam, cefoperazone-sulbactam, and carbapenems. Conclusions: The incidence of nosocomial B. cepacia infections was rare in our hospital, and no outbreak was detected during the study period. However, infections caused by B. cepacia should be taken into consideration because of their high mortality due to multidrug resistance in ICU settings.

Purpose: To report initial results from a European ICU surveillance programme focussing on antibiotic consumption, microbial resistance and infection control. Methods: Thirty-five ICUs participated during 2005. Microbial resistance, antibiotic consumption and infection control stewardship measures were entered locally into a web-application. Results were validated locally, aggregated by project leaders and fed back to support local audit and benchmarking. Results: Median (range) antibiotic consumption was 1,254 (range 348–4,992) DDD per 1,000 occupied bed days. The proportion of MRSA was median 11.6% (range 0–100), for ESBL phenotype of E. coli and K. pneumoniae 3.9% (0–80) and 14.3% (0–77.8) respectively, and for carbapenem-resistant P. aeruginosa 22.5% (0–100). Screening on admission for alert pathogens was commonly omitted, and there was a lack of single rooms for isolation. Conclusions: The surveillance programme demonstrated wide variation in antibiotic consumption, microbial resistance and infection control measures. The programme may, by providing rapid access to aggregated results, promote local and regional audit and benchmarking of antibiotic use and infection control practices. The original publication is available at www.springerlink.com: Håkan Hanberger, Dilek Arman, Hans Gill, Vlastimil Jindrák, Smilja Kalenic, Andrea Kurcz, Monica Licker, Paul Naaber, Elizabeth A. Scicluna, Václav Vanis and Sten M. Walther, Surveillance of microbial resistance in European Intensive Care Units: a first report from the Care-ICU programme for improved infection control, 2009, (35), 1, 91-100, Intensive Care Medicine. Copyright: Springer-Verlag, www.springerlink.com

Antimicrobial resistance in Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) has become an increasing problem in hospital settings. These strains often reveal resistance to various drug classes in addition to beta-lactam resistance. Clindamycin, as a well-tolerated and cost-effective antimicrobial agent, is used widely in the treatment of intra-abdominal and skin-soft tissue infections. However, a major concern with regard to the use of clindamycin for staphylococcal infections is the possible presence of inducible resistance to clindamycin. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of constitutive and inducible clindamycin resistance among nosocomially acquired S. aureus and CNS strains. A total of 375 staphylococcal isolates were tested for clindamycin and erythromycin by the disk diffusion induction test (D-test) according to CLSI criteria. Oxacillin disks were used for the detection of methicillin resistance. The isolates resistant to erythromycin (ER-R) and susceptible to clindamycin (CL-S) with a D-shaped zone around clindamycin disk were considered positive for inducible resistance (D-test positive). Constitutive clindamycin resistance was found in 64.6% of methicillin-resistant S. aureus, 11.8% of methicillin-susceptible S.aureus, 53.8% of methicillin-resistant CNS and 4.9% of methicillin-susceptible CNS. Erythromycin-resistant clindamycin-susceptible (ER-R/CL-S) phenotype was found more frequent in CNS than in S. aureus strains. Among these strains, inducible clindamycin resistance was detected in 90% of S. aureus and 52.2% of CNS. In conclusion, to avoid using clindamycin when the antibiotic susceptibility test result showed an ER-R/CL-S phenotype may prevent a possible clindamycin treatment failure since inducible clindamycin resistance is frequent among such isolates, however, it may also deter the use of clindamycin in the treatment of infections that would likely respond to clindamycin therapy. Decision about clindamycin use for staphylococci with the ER-R/CL-S phenotype should be made according to the local prevalence data.

The treatment of brucellosis is still problematic, because of high rates of treatment failure or relapses. As the microorganism is an intracellular pathogen, treatment requires combined regimens. However, limited existing data on in vitro combinations are avaliable for Brucellae. The aim of this study was to investigate the in vitro efficacy of various traditional and new antibiotic combinations against 16 Brucella melitensis strains. The combination effect of antimicrobial agents was evaluated by E-test synergy method to obtain a fractional inhibitory concentration (FIC) index. Co-Trimoxazole (SXT) and moxifloxocin (MXF) exhibited the lowest MIC, while Rifampin (RIF) had the highest MIC in the study. Combinations with RIF showed the best synergistic activity (100% of RIF-tetracycline (TET), and 87.5% of RIF-SXT). Synergistic activity was also detected at seven (43.7%) of ciprofloxocin (CIP)-SXT, four (25%) of TET-MXF, and two (12.5%) of TET-SXT combinations. The combinations that demonstrated additivity were TET-SXT, CIP-SXT and TET-MXF. Antagonism was observed only with the TET-Streptomycin (STR) combination in three strains (18.8%). Further work including randomized controlled clinical trials is required to fully evaluate the usefulness of these data. O tratamento da brucelose é problemático devido à alta freqüência de tratamentos mal sucedidos e recidivas. Por tratar-se de um patógeno intracelular, o tratamento requer procedimentos combinados. Entretanto, existem poucos dados sobre combinações in vitro para Brucellae. O objetivo deste trabalho foi investigar a eficiência de vários tratamentos tradicionais e novas combinações de antibióticos contra 16 isolados de Brucella melitensis. O efeito combinado foi avaliado através do método do E-test para obtenção do FIC (índice de concentração inibitória fracional). Co-trimoxazol (SXT) e moxifloxocina (MXF) apresentaram o MIC mais baixo, enquanto rifampicina (RIF) apresentou o MIC mais alto. Combinações com RIF mostraram a melhor atividade sinergística (100% para RIF-tetraciclina e 87,5% para RIF-SXT). Atividade sinergística foi também detectada para sete (43,7%) combinações de ciprofloxacina (CIP-STX), quatro (25%) de TET-MXF e duas (12,5%) de TET-SXT. As combinações que apresentaram efeito aditivo foram TET-SXT, CIP-SXT e TET-MXF. Antagonismo foi observado somente para a combinação TET-estreptomicina (STR) em três isolados (18,8%). Mais pesquisas utilizando ensaios clínicos randomizados controlados são necessárias para avaliar a utilidade desses dados.

Brucellosis may be seen in any age group, but it still involves young and middle aged adults more frequently. Our aim was to investigate the relationship between age and the duration of disease on clinical findings of brucellosis in adults in this study. One hundred and sixty-three patients with brucellosis, treated in our hospital, between 1997 and 2003, were evaluated retrospectively. Fever was found in 60.7% of the patients, and it was significantly higher when the duration of disease was less than one month (p = 0.03). Fever was significantly lower in the ≥ 65 age group (p = 0.01). Sacroiliitis was detected in 44.1% of patients. Sacroiliitis was significantly higher in the 15–35 age group (p = 0.03). There were no differences between age groups and other clinical and laboratory findings. Sacroiliac involvement was noted particularly in young adults who manifested lumbar pain and fever, but this might not be a major symptom of brucellosis in the elderly, or in patients showing symptoms for more than a month.

I n spite of great advances in the antimicrobial chemotherapy era, staphylococci are still the most important nosocomial pathogens in many countries. The methicihn-resistant strains are often resistant not only to p-lactam agents but also to chloramphenicol, clindamycin, tetracyclines and aminoglycosides. Vancomycin and teicoplanin are the drugs of choice for the treatment of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections. Since the relationship between plasma levels of teicoplanin and clinical outcome is not well established, vancomycin remains the preferred agent. Various in vitro antibiotic combinations have been tested in attempis to find a better treatment regimen for staphylococcal infections [1-4]. Because vancomycin is the drug generally available for multiresistant staphylococcal species, the synergistic activities of vancomycin with rifampin, amikacin, ciprofloxacin or imipenem were tested. Five MRSA and five methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) strains isolated from blood, pus and catheters of patients hospitalized in different intensive care units of the same hospital were used in the study, and S. aureus ATCC 29213 was used as the control strain. The antibiotics were kindly provided by the manufacturers: vancomycin (Lilly, USA), amikacin (EczacibaSi, Turkey), rifampin (Sifar, Turkey), ciprofloxacin (Bayer, Turkey) and imipenem (MSD, USA). Methicillin-resistant strains were identified by the disk diffusion method with a 1-pg oxacillin disk. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were determined by the broth microdilution method as described by the NCCLS [5]. According to MIC values of the antibiotics, checkerboard microdilution panels were prepared and fractional inhibitory concentrations (FICs) of vancomycin-rifampin, vancomycin-amikacin, vancomycin-ciprofloxacin and vancomycin-imipenem were determined as described elsewhere [6]. Fractional inhibitory concentration indices (FICIs) were determined for each combination. FICIs0.5 was defined as synergy, 0.5 4 as antagonism [6]. The MIC ranges of the antibiotics tested are given in Table 1. The mean FICls of the antibiotic combinations are given in Table 2. Vancomycin-amikacin was synergistic for all MSSA strains and one MRSA strain. Vancomycin-rifampin was indifferent against the S. aureus strains tested, either methicilhn sensitive or

Summary Here we describe a case of a neuroblastoma patient with recurrent vancomycin-resistant enterococcal infection successfully treated with ciprofloxacin. This is the first case of recurrent vancomycin-resistant enterococal infection in our hospital and Turkey.

Brucella endocarditis, although a rare complication of brucellosis, is a life threatening and often under-diagnosed complication. Despite its high mortality rate with combined medical and surgical treatment, has a low occurrence rate in cases of brucellosis. Here we describe a patient who underwent mitral valve replacement for 3 times due to underdiagnosis of Brucella endocarditis. If a valve replacement fails because of an unknown reason, the doubt of a Brucella infection should be kept in mind for accurate treatment of such patients.

PubMed ID: 22177310, Background: Training of infectious disease (ID) specialists is structured on classical clinical microbiology training in Turkey and ID specialists work as clinical microbiologists at the same time. Hence, this study aimed to determine the clinical skills and knowledge required by clinical microbiologists.Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out between June 1, 2010 and September 15, 2010 in 32 ID departments in Turkey. Only patients hospitalized and followed up in the ID departments between January-June 2010 who required consultation with other disciplines were included.Results: A total of 605 patients undergoing 1343 consultations were included, with pulmonology, neurology, cardiology, gastroenterology, nephrology, dermatology, haematology, and endocrinology being the most frequent consultation specialties. The consultation patterns were quite similar and were not affected by either the nature of infections or the critical clinical status of ID patients.Conclusions: The results of our study show that certain internal medicine subdisciplines such as pulmonology, neurology and dermatology appear to be the principal clinical requisites in the training of ID specialists, rather than internal medicine as a whole. © 2011 Erdem et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.