Search

Background: Limited data is available to evaluate the burden of device associated healthcare infections (HAI) [central line associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI), catheter associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI), and ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP)] in low and-middle-income countries. Our aim is to investigate the population attributable mortality fraction and the absolute mortality difference of HAI in a broad population of critically ill patients from Brazil., Methods: Multicenter cohort study from September 2019 to December 2023 with prospective individual patient data collection. VAP, CLABSI, and CAUTI were diagnosed by each center in accordance with Brazilian regulatory agency guidance. If a patient fulfilled all diagnostic criteria, he was deemed to have Confirmed HAI. An adjusted disability multistate model was used to evaluate the population attributable in-hospital mortality fraction (PAF) and the absolute in-hospital mortality difference (AMD)., Results: A total of 128,247 patients were included. 4066 (3.2%) distinct patients had at least one diagnosis of HAI (1493 CLABSI, 433 CAUTI, 2742 VAP, and 435 patients with more than one HAI) during the ICU stay. The PAF was 3.89% (95% CI 3.68-4.11%) for HAI, 2.16% (2.05-2.33%) for VAP, 1.2% (1.08-1.32%) for CLABSI, 0.11% (0.07-0.16%) for CAUTI, and 0.33% (0.26-0.4%) for ≥ 2 HAI. The AMD for HAI was 33.69% (95% CI 32.27-35.33%), 29.01% (27.15-30.98%) for VAP, 31.64% (29.3-34.81%) for CLABSI, 9.94% (3.88-15.54%) for CAUTI and 35.6% (28.93-42.99%) for ≥ 2 HAI., Conclusions: Device-associated HAI significantly contribute to hospital mortality and impose a high excess risk of death for critically ill patients., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: All procedures performed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. The study was approved by the institutional review board of the coordinating center HCor (IRB approval number 3,025,217) and in appointed IRBs of all participating hospitals. A waiver of informed consent was obtained given the collection of routine clinical data with no intervention from study investigators and assurance of anonymization of datasets for data analysis, in accordance with Brazilian law and current regulations. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Shorter courses of antimicrobial therapy have been shown to be non-inferior to longer durations for the management of several infections. However, data on critically ill patients with severe infections by multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (MDR-GNB) are scarce. In the duratiOn of theraPy in severe infecTIons by MultIdrug-reSistant gram-nEgative bacteria (OPTIMISE) trial, we assessed the non-inferiority of 7-day versus 14-day antimicrobial therapy for patients with intensive care unit (ICU)-acquired severe infections by MDR-GNB., Methods: This was a randomised multicenter, open-label, parallel controlled, non-inferiority trial. Adult patients with severe infections by MDR-GNB initiated ≥ 48 h of ICU admission were eligible if they were hemodynamically stable and without fever > 48 h on the 7th day of appropriate antimicrobial therapy. Patients were 1:1 randomised to discontinue antimicrobial therapy on the 7th (± 1) day or to continue for a total of 14 (± 1) days. The primary outcome was clinical failure, defined as death or relapse of infection within 28 days of randomisation. An upper edge of the two-tailed 95% confidence interval (CI) of the delta between the clinical failure rate in the 7- and the 14-day lower than 10% in both intention-to-treat (ITT) and per protocol (PP) analyses was set as the non-inferiority criteria., Results: A total of 106 patients composed the ITT population: 59 and 47 allocated to 7- and 14-day groups, respectively. The PP population included 75 patients: 47 and 28 in the 7- and 14-day groups, respectively. Clinical failure occurred in 42.4% and 44.7% of the ITT population in 7- and 14-day groups, respectively, (risk difference (RD) - 2.3, 95%CI - 21.3 to 16.7), and in 46.8% and 50.0% of the PP population in 7- and 14-day groups, respectively (RD - 3.2, 95%CI - 26.6 to 20.2).  Most infections were of the respiratory tract (73/68.9%) and caused by carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (42/39.6%). The study was interrupted before reaching planned sample size due to low recruitment rate., Conclusion: The OPTIMISE trial could not determine the non-inferiority of 7-day compared to 14-day therapy for severe infections caused by MDR-GNB due to early termination related to the low recruitment rate., Trial Registration: NCT05210387 on January 13, 2022., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: The study protocol and amendments were approved by the research ethics committee (institutional review board, IRB) of the coordinating centre (Hospital Moinhos de Vento), as well as IRBs from all other participant sites. Written informed consent was obtained from the patients (or from a legal representative, if the patient was not capable of providing it at that moment). Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: BA received support for attending meetings and/or travel by MSD. G.M.N received payment for lectures for Pfizer and MSD and received support for attending meetings and/or travel by Pfizer. A.P.Z. is a research fellow of the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), Ministry of Science and Technology, Brazil. All other authors have no conflicts to declare., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Importance: Despite its implementation in several countries, there has not been a randomized clinical trial to assess whether telemedicine in intensive care units (ICUs) could improve clinical outcomes of critically ill patients., Objective: To determine whether an intervention comprising daily multidisciplinary rounds and monthly audit and feedback meetings performed by a remote board-certified intensivist reduces ICU length of stay (LOS) compared with usual care., Design, Setting, and Participants: A parallel cluster randomized clinical trial with a baseline period in 30 general ICUs in Brazil in which daily multidisciplinary rounds performed by board-certified intensivists were not routinely available. All consecutive adult patients (aged ≥18 years) admitted to the participating ICUs, excluding those admitted due to justice-related issues, were enrolled between June 1, 2019, and April 7, 2021, with last follow-up on July 6, 2021., Intervention: Remote daily multidisciplinary rounds led by a board-certified intensivist through telemedicine, monthly audit and feedback meetings for discussion of ICU performance indicators, and provision of evidence-based clinical protocols., Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was ICU LOS at the patient level. Secondary outcomes included ICU efficiency, in-hospital mortality, incidence of central line-associated bloodstream infections, ventilator-associated events, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, ventilator-free days at 28 days, patient-days receiving oral or enteral feeding, patient-days under light sedation, and rate of patients with oxygen saturation values under that of normoxemia, assessed using generalized linear mixed models., Results: Among 17 024 patients (1794 in the baseline period and 15 230 in the intervention period), the mean (SD) age was 61 (18) years, 44.7% were female, the median (IQR) Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score was 6 (2-9), and 45.5% were invasively mechanically ventilated at admission. The median (IQR) time under intervention was 20 (16-21) months. Mean (SD) ICU LOS, adjusted for baseline assessment, did not differ significantly between the tele-critical care and usual care groups (8.1 [10.0] and 7.1 [9.0] days; percentage change, 8.2% [95% CI, -5.4% to 23.8%]; P = .24). Results were similar in sensitivity analyses and prespecified subgroups. There were no statistically significant differences in any other secondary or exploratory outcomes., Conclusions and Relevance: Daily multidisciplinary rounds conducted by a board-certified intensivist through telemedicine did not reduce ICU LOS in critically ill adult patients., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03920501.

Microscopes generally achieve better 2D imaging compared to 3D, and super-resolution microscopes often aggravate such axial-lateral resolution mismatch. A prime example is vortex phase-based stimulated emission depletion (STED) fluorescence microscopy, which only narrows the point-spread function laterally, thereby increasing the point-spread function (PSF) anisotropy. In this study, we developed a semi-analytical theory based on the Nijboer-Zernike expansion, developed a set of metrics and performed experiments to establish the merits of the alternative, bivortex phase-based, coherent-hybrid STED. We find that this mode reduces the axial-lateral resolution mismatch by providing access to PSF geometries that are strictly forbidden to the two conventional single-beam modes, emulating noisier multi-beam approaches. Both theory and experiment indicate that bivortex STED not only addresses the axial-lateral resolution gap but also delivers a higher signal-to-background ratio than the two more common STED modes that it bridges.

Background: Critically ill patients are at increased risk of health care-associated infections due to various devices (central line-associated bloodstream infection, catheter-associated urinary tract infection, and ventilator-associated pneumonia), which pose a significant threat to this population. Among several strategies, daily bathing with chlorhexidine digluconate, a water-soluble antiseptic, has been studied as an intervention to decrease the incidence of health care-associated infections in the intensive care unit; however, its ability to reduce all health care-associated infections due to various devices is unclear. We designed the Daily Chlorhexidine Bath for Health Care Associated Infection Prevention (CLEAN-IT) trial to assess whether daily chlorhexidine digluconate bathing reduces the incidence of health care-associated infections in critically ill patients compared with soap and water bathing., Methods: The CLEAN-IT trial is a multicenter, open-label, cluster randomized crossover clinical trial. All adult patients admitted to the participating intensive care units will be included in the trial. Each cluster (intensive care unit) will be randomized to perform either initial chlorhexidine digluconate bathing or soap and water bathing with crossover for a period of 3 to 6 months, depending on the time of each center's entrance to the study, with a 1-month washout period between chlorhexidine digluconate bathing and soap and water bathing transitions. The primary outcome is the incidence of health care-associated infections due to devices. The secondary outcomes are the incidence of each specific health care-associated infection, rates of microbiological cultures positive for multidrug-resistant pathogens, antibiotic use, intensive care unit and hospital length of stay, and intensive care unit and hospital mortality., Conclusion: The CLEAN-IT trial will be used to study feasible and affordable interventions that might reduce the health care-associated infection burden in critically ill patients.

Forensic entomology plays a crucial role in death investigations, particularly in estimating the postmortem interval (PMI). This study presents a forensic entomology case involving a corpse found in a buried utility vehicle. The victim was in an advanced state of decomposition, with autopsy findings revealing gunshot wounds. Cadaveric fauna was collected at the scene and during the autopsy. The analysis revealed a diverse insect community, with predominance of Compsomyiops fulvicrura and Piophila casei. The time of development of species like Dermestes maculatus and Necrobia rufipes was used to estimate the minimum PMI. The presence and low abundance of Calliphora vicina, a species preferring lower temperatures, shed light on the seasonal conditions at the time of death and suggested possible body concealment shortly after death. This research is the first to report insects as evidence in a corpse found in a buried vehicle and contributes to the body of knowledge in forensic entomology. The study also suggests that the use of entomological evidence can provide additional information about the season in which the body was concealed, making it a valuable tool in death investigation and crime scene reconstruction. Finally, it emphasizes the need for proper sampling, expert identification, and close collaboration between forensic entomologists and pathologists., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Background: The dopaminergic agonist cabergoline (CAB) has been used in the pharmacological treatment of Cushing's disease (CD). The effect is attributed to the frequent expression of the dopamine receptor subtype 2 in corticotroph tumors. However, in-vivo studies have demonstrated the normalization of 24-h urinary cortisol (24-h UC) in approximately 30-40% of patients over the long term, mainly after surgical failure. The aim was to evaluate the effect of CAB as monotherapy in the early preoperative period and on the recurrence of CD., Methods: A single-center retrospective study was conducted in a tertiary referral center. Twenty-one patients with confirmed CD were included. The median age was 32 years (13-70), 86% were female, 10 had microadenomas, and 11 had macroadenomas. They were diagnosed from 1986 to 2016 and used CAB as monotherapy either in the preoperative period (N.=7, CABi) or upon recurrence before any other treatment (N.=14, CABr). A "complete response" was considered 24-h UC normalization and a "partial response" was considered a 24-h UC reduction of >50%. UC was obtained at the last follow-up evaluation. The normalization of late-night salivary cortisol (LNSC) after CAB use was evaluated in most patients, as well as the tumor diameter by pituitary MRI, before and after CAB treatment., Results: Complete response was achieved in 29% (6/21) of subjects after 14.9±16.4 months of treatment, with an average dose of 2.2±1.0 mg/week. Partial response occurred in 9.5% (2/21). LNSC normalized in 35% (6/17) of patients, and no variation in tumor diameter before and after CAB use was observed (N.=13): 6.8±6.8 vs. 7.2±7.1 mm. There was no normalization of 24-h-UC in the CABi subgroup at the end of the treatment, whereas 43% (6/14) of patients in the CABr subgroup reached complete response. The CABi subgroup was treated for 4.7±1.9 months, and the CABr subgroup was treated for 20.1±18.1 months. Both groups were administered similar doses of CAB (CABi 2.1±0.9 and CABr 2.3±1.1 mg/week). Interestingly, the difference between the subgroups' complete response was evident early on in the three months of treatment: no patients in the CABi subgroup vs. 6/10 (60%) in the CABr subgroup (P=0.035), despite a lower dose in the CABr subgroup (1.1 vs. 1.6; P=0.008). The normalization of LNSC occurred in 20% of the CABi subgroup and in 42% of the CABr subgroup., Conclusions: The normalization of 24-h UC and LNSC occurred in approximately 30% of all patients, mainly in those who used CAB for the recurrence of CD. Despite the small number of subjects in the CABi subgroup, the absence of hormone control in this subgroup discourages the use of this medication as primary therapy or as a preoperative treatment option.

Importance: Maneuvers assessing fluid responsiveness before an intravascular volume expansion may limit useless fluid administration, which in turn may improve outcomes., Objective: To describe maneuvers for assessing fluid responsiveness in mechanically ventilated patients., Registration: The protocol was registered at PROSPERO: CRD42019146781., Information Sources and Search: PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, SCOPUS, and Web of Science were search from inception to 08/08/2023., Study Selection and Data Collection: Prospective and intervention studies were selected., Statistical Analysis: Data for each maneuver were reported individually and data from the five most employed maneuvers were aggregated. A traditional and a Bayesian meta-analysis approach were performed., Results: A total of 69 studies, encompassing 3185 fluid challenges and 2711 patients were analyzed. The prevalence of fluid responsiveness was 49.9%. Pulse pressure variation (PPV) was studied in 40 studies, mean threshold with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) = 11.5 (10.5-12.4)%, and area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC) with 95% CI was 0.87 (0.84-0.90). Stroke volume variation (SVV) was studied in 24 studies, mean threshold with 95% CI = 12.1 (10.9-13.3)%, and AUC with 95% CI was 0.87 (0.84-0.91). The plethysmographic variability index (PVI) was studied in 17 studies, mean threshold = 13.8 (12.3-15.3)%, and AUC was 0.88 (0.82-0.94). Central venous pressure (CVP) was studied in 12 studies, mean threshold with 95% CI = 9.0 (7.7-10.1) mmHg, and AUC with 95% CI was 0.77 (0.69-0.87). Inferior vena cava variation (∆IVC) was studied in 8 studies, mean threshold = 15.4 (13.3-17.6)%, and AUC with 95% CI was 0.83 (0.78-0.89)., Conclusions: Fluid responsiveness can be reliably assessed in adult patients under mechanical ventilation. Among the five maneuvers compared in predicting fluid responsiveness, PPV, SVV, and PVI were superior to CVP and ∆IVC. However, there is no data supporting any of the above mentioned as being the best maneuver. Additionally, other well-established tests, such as the passive leg raising test, end-expiratory occlusion test, and tidal volume challenge, are also reliable., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Ventilator-associated tracheobronchitis is a common condition among invasively ventilated patients in intensive care units, for which the best treatment strategy is currently unknown. We designed the VATICAN (Ventilator-Associated Tracheobronchitis Initiative to Conduct Antibiotic Evaluation) trial to assess whether a watchful waiting antibiotic treatment strategy is noninferior to routine antibiotic treatment for ventilator-associated tracheobronchitis regarding days free of mechanical ventilation., Methods: VATICAN is a randomized, controlled, open-label, multicenter noninferiority trial. Patients with suspected ventilator-associated tracheobronchitis without evidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia or hemodynamic instability due to probable infection will be assigned to either a watchful waiting strategy, without antimicrobial administration for ventilator-associated tracheobronchitis and prescription of antimicrobials only in cases of ventilator-associated pneumonia, sepsis or septic shock, or another infectious diagnosis, or to a routine antimicrobial treatment strategy for seven days. The primary outcome will be mechanical ventilation-free days at 28 days, and a key secondary outcome will be ventilator-associated pneumonia-free survival. Through an intention-to-treat framework with a per-protocol sensitivity analysis, the primary outcome analysis will address noninferiority with a 20% margin, which translates to a 1.5 difference in ventilator-free days. Other analyses will follow a superiority analysis framework., Conclusion: The VATICAN trial will follow all national and international ethical standards. We aim to publish the trial in a high-visibility general journal and present it at critical care and infectious disease conferences for dissemination. These results will likely be immediately applicable to the bedside upon trial completion and will provide information with a low risk of bias for guideline development.

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate a new therapeutic option for the spasticity using ultrasound neuromodulation in an animal model of spastic cerebral palsy., Methods: Thirty-two adult male Wistar rats were randomly distributed in: negative control (NC); positive control (PC); untreated model (UTM); and treated model (TM). Rats in the control groups received sham surgery, and rats in the model groups received the spastic cerebral palsy model surgery. The rats' motor functions were evaluated by the Rotarod and CatWalk tests before and after surgery. PC and TM groups underwent ultrasonic neuromodulation by a physiotherapeutic ultrasound (intensity 0.1 W/cm2, at 1 MHz) continuous mode for 5 seconds, for seven days., Results: Twelve rats showed a spastic pattern (UTM = 6 and TM = 6), motor limitations (UTM = 6 and TM = 6), and ten had difficulty feeding (UTM = 5 and TM = 5). One UTM group rat could not recover its preoperative latency time, while the other rats in the model groups did. The speed at which the limbs swung reduced after surgery and increased in subsequent assessments, demonstrating greater instability and a deficit in locomotion balance., Conclusions: Results were not yet sufficient to assert ultrasound neuromodulation as a possible therapy for spasticity in spastic cerebral palsy in the parameters used, and more studies are necessary.

Objective: To evaluate deaths, hospitalizations, and persistence of symptoms in patients with COVID-19 after infection in an outpatient setting during the first COVID-19 wave in Brazil., Methods: This prospective cohort was between April 2020 and February 2021. Hospitalized or non-hospitalized COVID-19 patients until five days after symptom onset were included. The outcomes measured were incidence of death, hospitalization, and persistence of more than two symptoms 60 days after discharge., Results: Out of 1,198 patients enrolled in the study, 66.7% were hospitalized. A total of 289 patients died (1 [0.3%] non-hospitalized and 288 [36%] hospitalized). At 60 days, patients non-hospitalized during admission had more persistent symptoms (16.2%) compared to hospitalized (37.1%). The COVID-19 severity variables associated with the persistence of two or more symptoms were increased age (OR= 1.03; p=0.015), respiratory rate at hospital admission (OR= 1.11; p=0.005), length of hospital stay of more than 60 days (OR= 12.24; p=0.026), and need for intensive care unit admission (OR= 2.04; p=0.038)., Conclusion: COVID-19 survivors who were older, tachypneic at admission, had a hospital length of stay >60 days, and were admitted to the intensive care unit had more persistent symptoms than patients who did not require hospitalization in the early COVID-19 waves.ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04479488.

Importance: Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors improve outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes, heart failure, and chronic kidney disease, but their effect on outcomes of critically ill patients with organ failure is unknown., Objective: To determine whether the addition of dapagliflozin, an SGLT-2 inhibitor, to standard intensive care unit (ICU) care improves outcomes in a critically ill population with acute organ dysfunction., Design, Setting, and Participants: Multicenter, randomized, open-label, clinical trial conducted at 22 ICUs in Brazil. Participants with unplanned ICU admission and presenting with at least 1 organ dysfunction (respiratory, cardiovascular, or kidney) were enrolled between November 22, 2022, and August 30, 2023, with follow-up through September 27, 2023., Intervention: Participants were randomized to 10 mg of dapagliflozin (intervention, n = 248) plus standard care or to standard care alone (control, n = 259) for up to 14 days or until ICU discharge, whichever occurred first., Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was a hierarchical composite of hospital mortality, initiation of kidney replacement therapy, and ICU length of stay through 28 days, analyzed using the win ratio method. Secondary outcomes included the individual components of the hierarchical outcome, duration of organ support-free days, ICU, and hospital stay, assessed using bayesian regression models., Results: Among 507 randomized participants (mean age, 63.9 [SD, 15] years; 46.9%, women), 39.6% had an ICU admission due to suspected infection. The median time from ICU admission to randomization was 1 day (IQR, 0-1). The win ratio for dapagliflozin for the primary outcome was 1.01 (95% CI, 0.90 to 1.13; P = .89). Among all secondary outcomes, the highest probability of benefit found was 0.90 for dapagliflozin regarding use of kidney replacement therapy among 27 patients (10.9%) in the dapagliflozin group vs 39 (15.1%) in the control group., Conclusion and Relevance: The addition of dapagliflozin to standard care for critically ill patients and acute organ dysfunction did not improve clinical outcomes; however, confidence intervals were wide and could not exclude relevant benefits or harms for dapagliflozin., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05558098.

Introduction: Hospital-associated infections (HAIs) are associated with increased mortality and prolonged hospital length-of-stay (LOS). Although some studies have shown that HAIs are associated with increased costs, these studies only used cost estimates, were carried out in a small number of centres, or only in high-income countries., Methods: We carried out a prospective cohort study in ten Brazilian intensive care units (ICUs) selected from a collaborative platform study (IMPACTO MR). We included all patients aged 18 years or older admitted from October 2019 to December 2021 and who had an ICU LOS of at least two days. The costs were adjusted for official inflation until December 2022 and converted into international dollars using the 2021 purchasing power parity (PPP) conversion rate. We used a propensity score matching method to compare patients with HAIs and patients without HAIs, and patients with and without ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), central-line bloodstream infection (CLABSI), catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CA-UTI) and multidrug-resistant (MDR) HAIs., Results: We included 7,953 patients in the study, of whom 574 (7.2%) had an HAI during their ICU stay. After propensity-score matching, patients with HAIs had ICU costs that were more than three times higher than those of patients without HAIs [$ 19,642 (IQR; 12,884-35,134) vs. 6,086 (IQR; 3,268-12,550); p <0.001). Patients with VAP, CLABSI, and CA-UTI, but not with MDR-HAIs also had higher total ICU costs., Conclusions: HAIs acquired in the ICU are associated with higher ICU costs. These findings were consistent across specific types of infection., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Angomonas deanei belongs to Trypanosomatidae family, a family of parasites that only infect insects. It hosts a bacterial endosymbiont in a mutualistic relationship, constituting an excellent model for studying organelle origin and cellular evolution. A lipidomic approach, which allows for a comprehensive analysis of all lipids in a biological system (lipidome), is a useful tool for identifying and measuring different expression patterns of lipid classes. The present study applied GC-MS and NMR techniques, coupled with principal component analysis (PCA), in order to perform a comparative lipidomic study of wild and aposymbiotic A. deanei grown in the presence or absence of FBS. Unusual contents of branched-chain iso C17:0 and C19:0- cis -9,10 and-11,12 fatty acids were identified in A. deanei cultures, and it was interesting to note that their content slightly decreased at the log phase culture, indicating that in the latter growth stages the cell must promote the remodeling of lipid synthesis in order to maintain the fluidity of the membrane. The combination of analytical techniques used in this work allowed for the detection and characterization of lipids and relevant contributors in a variety of A. deanei growth conditions.

Introduction: Infections acquired during healthcare setting stay pose significant public health threats. These infections are known as Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAI), mostly caused by pathogenic bacteria, which exhibit a wide range of antimicrobial resistance. Currently, there is no knowledge about the global cleaning process of hospitals and the bacterial diversity found in ICUs of Brazilian hospitals contributing to HAI., Objective: Characterize the microbiome and common antimicrobial resistance genes present in high-touch Intensive Care Unit (ICU) surfaces, and to identify the potential contamination of the sanitizers/processes used to clean hospital surfaces., Methods: In this national, multicenter, observational, and prospective cohort, bacterial profiles and several antimicrobial resistance genes from 41 hospitals across 16 Brazilian states were evaluated. Using high-throughput 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and real-time PCR, the bacterial abundance and resistance genes presence were analyzed in both ICU environments and cleaning products., Results: We identified a wide diversity of microbial populations with a recurring presence of HAI-related bacteria among most of the hospitals. The median bacterial positivity rate in surface samples was high (88.24%), varying from 21.62 to 100% in different hospitals. Hospitals with the highest bacterial load in samples were also the ones with highest HAI-related abundances. Streptococcus spp., Corynebacterium spp. , Staphylococcus spp. , Bacillus spp., Acinetobacter spp., and bacteria from the Flavobacteriaceae family were the microorganisms most found across all hospitals. Despite each hospital particularities in bacterial composition, clustering profiles were found for surfaces and locations in the ICU. Antimicrobial resistance genes mecA , bla KPC-like , bla NDM-like , and bla OXA-23-like were the most frequently detected in surface samples. A wide variety of sanitizers were collected, with 19 different active principles in-use, and 21% of the solutions collected showed viable bacterial growth with antimicrobial resistance genes detected., Conclusion: This study demonstrated a diverse and spread pattern of bacteria and antimicrobial resistance genes covering a large part of the national territory in ICU surface samples and in sanitizers solutions. This data should contribute to the adoption of surveillance programs to improve HAI control strategies and demonstrate that large-scale epidemiology studies must be performed to further understand the implications of bacterial contamination in hospital surfaces and sanitizer solutions., Competing Interests: DB, ACh, GC, and LO are currently full-time employees of BiomeHub (SC, Brazil), a research and consulting company specialized in microbiome technologies. BiomeHub funded the study design and analysis. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 de Bastiani, Silva, Christoff, Cruz, Tavares, de Araújo, Tomazini, Arns, Piastrelli, Cavalcanti, de Oliveira and Pereira.)

Aims: We developed three new analogs of the antimicrobial peptide (AMP) Citropin 1.1: DAN-1-13, AJP-1-1, and HHX-2-28, and tested their potential antimicrobial and antibiofilm activities against Staphylococcus aureus and S. pseudintermedius. Potential cytotoxic or hemolytic effects were determined using cultured human keratinocytes and erythrocytes to determine their safety., Methods and Results: To assess the antimicrobial activity of each compound, minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBC) were determined against methicillin-resistant and methicillin-susceptible strains of S. aureus and S. pseudintermedius. Activity against newly formed and mature biofilms was determined in two clinical isolates using spectrophotometry and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). All three compounds exhibited antimicrobial and bactericidal activity against all studied S. aureus and S. pseudintermedius strains, with MICs ranging from 4-32 μg ml-1 and MBCs ranging from 8-128 μg ml-1. Subinhibitory concentrations of all compounds also showed ant-biofilm activity in the two tested isolates. All compounds exhibited limited cytotoxic and hemolytic activity., Conclusions: Novel analogs of Citropin 1.1 exhibit antimicrobial and bactericidal activities against S. aureus and S. pseudintermedius isolates and inhibit the biofilm formation of these bacteria., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Applied Microbiology International.)

Self-assembled nanostructures such as those formed by peptide amphiphiles (PAs) are of great interest in biological and pharmacological applications. Herein, a simple and widely applicable chemical modification, a urea motif, was included in the PA's molecular structure to stabilize the nanostructures by virtue of intermolecular hydrogen bonds. Since the amino acid residue nearest to the lipid tail is the most relevant for stability, we decided to include the urea modification at that position. We prepared four groups of molecules (13 PAs in all), with varying levels of intermolecular cohesion, using amino acids with distinct β-sheet promoting potential and/or containing hydrophobic tails of distinct lengths. Each subset contained one urea-modified PA and nonmodified PAs, all with the same peptide sequence. The varied responses of these PAs to variations in pH, temperature, counterions, and biologically related proteins were examined using microscopic, X-ray, spectrometric techniques, and molecular simulations. We found that the urea group contributes to the stabilization of the morphology and internal arrangement of the assemblies against environmental stimuli for all peptide sequences. In addition, microbiological and biological studies were performed with the cationic PAs. These assays reveal that the addition of urea linkages affects the PA-cell membrane interaction, showing the potential to increase the selectivity toward bacteria. Our data indicate that the urea motif can be used to tune the stability of a wide range of PA nanostructures, allowing flexibility on the biomaterial's design and opening a myriad of options for clinical therapies.

In recent decades, peptide amphiphiles (PAs) have established themselves as promising self-assembling bioinspired materials in a wide range of medical fields. Herein, we report a dual-therapeutic system constituted by an antimicrobial PA and a cylindrical protease inhibitor (LJC) to achieve broad antimicrobial spectrum and to enhance therapeutic efficacy. We studied two strategies: PA-LJC nanostructures ( Encapsulation ) and PA nanostructures + free LJC ( Combination ). Computational modeling using a molecular theory for amphiphile self-assembly captures and explains the morphology of PA-LJC nanostructures and the location of encapsulated LJC in agreement with transmission electron microscopy and two-dimensional (2D) NMR observations. The morphology and release profile of PA-LJC assemblies are strongly correlated to the PA:LJC ratio: high LJC loading induces an initial burst release. We then evaluated the antimicrobial activity of our nanosystems toward gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. We found that the Combination broadens the spectrum of LJC, reduces the therapeutic concentrations of both agents, and is not impacted by the inoculum effect. Further, the Encapsulation provides additional benefits including bypassing water solubility limitations of LJC and modulating the release of this molecule. The different properties of PA-LJC nanostructures results in different killing profiles, and reduced cytotoxicity and hemolytic activity. Meanwhile, details in membrane alterations caused by each strategy were revealed by various microscopy and fluorescent techniques. Last, in vivo studies in larvae treated by the Encapsulation strategy showed better antimicrobial efficacy than polymyxin B. Collectively, this study established a multifunctional platform using a versatile PA to act as an antibiotic, membrane-penetrating assistant, and slow-release delivery vehicle., Competing Interests: Competing interests statement:The authors declare no competing interest.

Antimicrobial peptide amphiphiles (PAs) are a promising class of molecules that can disrupt the bacterial membrane or act as drug nanocarriers. In this study, we prepared 33 PAs to establish supramolecular structure-activity relationships. We studied the morphology and activity of the nanostructures against different Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains (such as Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii). Next, we used principal component analysis (PCA) to determine the key contributors to activity. We found that for S. aureus, the zeta potential was the major contributor to the activity while Gram-negative bacteria were more influenced by the partition coefficient (LogP) with the following order P. aeruginosa>E. coli>A. baumannii. We also performed a study of the mechanism of action of selected PAs on the bacterial membrane assessing the membrane permeability and depolarization, changes in zeta potential and overall integrity. We studied the toxicity of the nanostructures against mammalian cells. Finally, we performed an in vivo study using the wax moth larvae to determine the therapeutic efficacy of the active PAs. This study shows cationic PA nanostructures can be an intriguing platform for the development of nanoantibacterials., (© 2024 The Authors. Chemistry - A European Journal published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

The cardiovascular safety from azithromycin in the treatment of several infectious diseases has been challenged. In this prespecified pooled analysis of 2 multicenter randomized clinical trials, we aimed to assess whether the use of azithromycin might lead to corrected QT (QTc) interval prolongation or clinically relevant ventricular arrhythmias. In the COALITION COVID Brazil I trial, 667 patients admitted with moderate COVID-19 were randomly allocated to hydroxychloroquine, hydroxychloroquine plus azithromycin, or standard of care. In the COALITION COVID Brazil II trial, 447 patients with severe COVID-19 were randomly allocated to hydroxychloroquine alone versus hydroxychloroquine plus azithromycin. The principal end point for the present analysis was the composite of death, resuscitated cardiac arrest, or ventricular arrhythmias. The addition of azithromycin to hydroxychloroquine did not result in any prolongation of the QTc interval (425.8 ± 3.6 ms vs 427.9 ± 3.9 ms, respectively, mean difference -2.1 ms, 95% confidence interval -12.5 to 8.4 ms, p = 0.70). The combination of azithromycin plus hydroxychloroquine compared with hydroxychloroquine alone did not result in increased risk of the primary end point (proportion of patients with events at 15 days 17.2% vs 16.0%, respectively, hazard ratio 1.08, 95% confidence interval 0.78 to 1.49, p = 0.65). In conclusion, in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 already receiving standard-of-care management (including hydroxychloroquine), the addition of azithromycin did not result in the prolongation of the QTc interval or increase in cardiovascular adverse events. Because azithromycin is among the most commonly prescribed antimicrobial agents, our results may inform clinical practice. Clinical Trial Registration: NCT04322123, NCT04321278., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest Dr. Furtado reports research grants and personal fees from AstraZeneca, Bayer, Servier, and Apsen and research grants (received from his institution) from Pfizer, Libbs, Brazilian Ministry of Health, and University Health Network. Dr. Fonseca received research grants from AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Essity, Aché, Colgate, BioGen, and Brazilian Ministry of Health. Dr. Barros e Silva reports reports fees and research grants from Pfizer, Roche Diagnostics, and Bayer. Dr. Pereira reports research grants from Brazilian Ministry of Health through PROADI-SUS Program (not related to this article). Dr. Polanczyk received research grants and professional fees from AstraZeneca, Bayer, Pfizer, Novartis, Roche, Sanofi, and Brazilian Ministry of Health through PROADI Programs. Dr. Veiga received grants from Brazilian Ministry of Health through PROADI-SUS Program. Dr. Rosa received research grants from Pfizer, Merck Sharp & Dohme, and Brazilian Ministry of Health. Dr. Azevedo received professional fees from Baxter, Nestle, and Merck Sharp & Dohme not related to the present work and research grants from Brazilian Ministry of Health through PROADI-SUS Program. Dr. Avezum reports research grants from Bayer, Sanofi-Pasteur, and Population Health Research Institute. Dr. Cavalcanti reports research grants from Bayer. Dr. Lopes reports research support from Bristol-Myers Squibb, GlaxoSmithKline, Medtronic, Pfizer and consulting fees from Bayer, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Daiichi-Sankyo, GlaxoSmithKline, Medtronic, Merck, Pfizer, and Portola. Dr. Berwanger report research grants from Bayer, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Servier, Novartis, and Boehringer-Ingelheim. The remaining authors have no competing interest to declare., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Accurate centrosome separation and positioning during early mitosis relies on force-generating mechanisms regulated by a combination of extracellular, cytoplasmic, and nuclear cues. The identity of the nuclear cues involved in this process remains largely unknown. Here, we investigate how the prophase nucleus contributes to centrosome positioning during the initial stages of mitosis, using a combination of cell micropatterning, high-resolution live-cell imaging, and quantitative 3D cellular reconstruction. We show that in untransformed RPE-1 cells, centrosome positioning is regulated by a nuclear signal, independently of external cues. This nuclear mechanism relies on the linker of nucleoskeleton and cytoskeleton complex that controls the timely loading of dynein on the nuclear envelope (NE), providing spatial cues for robust centrosome positioning on the shortest nuclear axis, before nuclear envelope permeabilization. Our results demonstrate how nuclear-cytoskeletal coupling maintains a robust centrosome positioning mechanism to ensure efficient mitotic spindle assembly., (© 2024 Lima et al.)

Introduction: Shorter courses of antimicrobials have been shown to be non-inferior to longer, "traditional" duration of therapies, including for some severe healthcare-associated infections, with a few exceptions. However, evidence is lacking regarding shorter regimes against severe infections by multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (MDR-GNB), which are often caused by distinct strains and commonly treated with second-line antimicrobials. In the duratiOn of theraPy in severe infecTIons by MultIdrug-reSistant gram-nEgative bacteria (OPTIMISE) trial, we aim to assess the non-inferiority of 7-day versus 14-day antimicrobial therapy in critically ill patients with severe infections caused by MDR-GNB., Methods: This is a randomized, multicenter, open-label, parallel controlled trial to assess the non-inferiority of 7-day versus 14-day of adequate antimicrobial therapy for intensive care unit (ICU)-acquired severe infections by MDR-GNB. Adult patients with severe infections by MDR-GNB initiated after 48 h of ICU admission are screened for eligibility. Patients are eligible if they proved to be hemodynamically stable and without fever for at least 48 h on the 7th day of adequate antimicrobial therapy. After consenting, patients are 1:1 randomized to discontinue antimicrobial therapy on the 7th (± 1) day or to continue for a total of 14th (± 1) days., Planned Outcomes: The primary outcome is treatment failure, defined as death or relapse of infection within 28 days after randomization. Non-inferiority will be achieved if the upper edge of the two-tailed 95% confidence interval of the difference between the clinical failure rate in the 7-day and the 14-day group is not higher than 10%., Conclusion: The OPTIMISE trial is the first randomized controlled trial specifically designed to assess the duration of antimicrobial therapy in patients with severe infections by MDR-GNB., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT05210387. Registered on 27 January 2022. Seven Versus 14 Days of Antibiotic Therapy for Multidrug-resistant Gram-negative Bacilli Infections (OPTIMISE)., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Forensic entomology requires knowledge of the developmental rates of the species that colonize a body after death to estimate the postmortem interval (PMI). These developmental rates may vary depending not only on the species but also on the geographic location due to population differences. Therefore, the objectives of this work were to determine the developmental duration of the forensically important fly Chrysomya megacephala under constant controlled and field condition temperatures and to compare these results, through a meta-analysis, with data reported by other authors on populations from different localities. For this, C. megacephala colonies were established in the laboratory, and the duration of the life cycle was studied at two controlled temperatures (25 °C and 27 °C) and field conditions (27.5 ± 3.2 °C). Analysis of variance was performed to determine differences in developmental time and larval length between constant laboratory temperatures and field conditions. A generalized linear model was performed with predictor variables extracted from the literature (diet, relative humidity, latitude, longitude) to evaluate the effect of population variation on developmental times. The results showed significant differences in developmental times between 25 and 27 °C. As expected, the complete life cycle of C. megacephala was shorter at 27 °C. Finally, the meta-analysis suggested differences between the developmental times of different populations, based on temperature and geographic location. The results of this study provide fundamental developmental data to use C. megacephala in PMI estimations. Finally, we suggest that, when making expert reports, information from local populations should be used to determine a more accurate and reliable PMI., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Background: Critical illness is a major ongoing health care burden worldwide and is associated with high mortality rates. Sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors have consistently shown benefits in cardiovascular and renal outcomes. The effects of sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors in acute illness have not been properly investigated., Methods: DEFENDER is an investigator-initiated, multicenter, randomized, open-label trial designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of dapagliflozin in 500 adult participants with acute organ dysfunction who are hospitalized in the intensive care unit. Eligible participants will be randomized 1:1 to receive dapagliflozin 10mg plus standard of care for up to 14 days or standard of care alone. The primary outcome is a hierarchical composite of hospital mortality, initiation of kidney replacement therapy, and intensive care unit length of stay, up to 28 days. Safety will be strictly monitored throughout the study., Conclusion: DEFENDER is the first study designed to investigate the use of a sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitor in general intensive care unit patients with acute organ dysfunction. It will provide relevant information on the use of drugs of this promising class in critically ill patients., Clinicaltrials.gov Registry: NCT05558098.

Introduction: Certain criteria for ventilator-associated events (VAE) definition might influence the type of an event, its detection rate and consequently the resource expenditure in intensive care unit. The Impact of Infections by Antimicrobial-Resistant Microorganisms - Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia (IMPACTO MR-PAV) aims to evaluate the incidence and diagnostic accuracy of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) using the current criteria for VAP surveillance in Brazil versus the VAE criteria defined by the US National Healthcare Safety Network-Center for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) criteria., Methods and Analysis: The study will be conducted in around 15 centres across Brazil from October 2022 to December 2023. Trained healthcare professionals will collect data and compare the incidence of VAP using both the current criteria for VAP surveillance in Brazil and the VAE criteria defined by the CDC. The accuracy of the two criteria for identifying VAP will also be analysed. It will also characterise other events associated with mechanical ventilation (ventilator-associated condition, infection-related ventilator-associated complication) and adjudicate VAP reported to the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (ANVISA) using current epidemiological diagnostic criteria., Ethics and Dissemination: This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board under the number 52354721.0.1001.0070. The study's primary outcome measure will be the incidence of VAP using the two different surveillance criteria, and the secondary outcome measures will be the accuracy of the two criteria for identifying VAP and the adjudication of VAP reported to ANVISA. The results will contribute to the improvement of VAP surveillance in Brazil and may have implications for other countries that use similar criteria., Trial Registration Number: NCT05589727; Clinicaltrials.gov., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Objective: Bone recovery typically depends on the age of organisms or the prevalence of metabolic disorders such as osteoporosis, which is a metabolic condition characterized by decreased bone strength and bone mineral density (BMD). Therefore, low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS), a non-invasive method for osteogenic stimulation, presents promising results. However, heterogeneity in animal study designs is a typical characteristic. Hence, we conducted a systematic review to evaluate the effectiveness of LIPUS in the recovery of experimental bone defects using rat models. We examined the areal and volumetric BMD to identify LIPUS doses to be applied and evaluated the accuracy reported by previous studies., Methods: The Virtual Health Library regional portal, PubMed, Embase, EBSCOhost, Scopus and CAPES were reviewed for animal studies that compared fracture treatments based on LIPUS with sham or no treatments using rat models and reported BMD as an outcome. The tool provided by the Systematic Review Centre for Laboratory Animal Experimentation (SYRCLE) and the Collaborative Approach to Meta-Analysis and Review of Animal Data from Experimental Studies (CAMARADES) checklist were used to assess the bias and quality of such studies., Results: Of the six studies reviewed, the most frequently used LIPUS dose had an ultrasonic frequency of 1.0 MHz, repetition rate of 0.1 kHz and pulse duration of 2000 μs. An intensity (I SATA ) of 30 mW/cm 2 was the most preferred for bone recovery. However, the BMD could not solely irrefutably evaluate the effectiveness of LIPUS in bone recovery as the results were discordant with each other. The discrepancies in experimental methodologies, low-quality classifications and high risk of bias in the selected studies, however, did not validate the undertaking of a meta-analysis., Conclusion: On the basis of the BMD results, no sufficient evidence was found to recommend the use of LIPUS for bone recovery in rat models. Thus, this systematic review indicates that the accuracy of such reports must be improved to improve their scientific quality to facilitate a transition of LIPUS applications from pre-clinical research to clinic use., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest The authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2023 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The growing incidence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections is associated with increased mortality rates, which has generated interest in the development of antimicrobial peptides (AMP), such as those found in the giant ant Dinoponera quadríceps. In order to improve the net positive charge and the antibacterial activity of the AMP, amino acids with positive side chain single substituted analogues have been proposed, mainly arginine or lysine. The present work aims to study the antimicrobial activity of the analogues of M-PONTX-Dq3a, a 23 amino acid AMP identified in the D. quadriceps venom. M-PONTX-Dq3a[1-15], a fragment containing the 15 central amino acids, and eight derivatives of single arginine or lysine substituted analogues were proposed. The antimicrobial activity of peptides was evaluated against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538 P (MSSA) and ATCC 33591 (MRSA) strains, followed by minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum lethal concentration (MLC), and minimum biofilm inhibitory concentration (MBIC) measurement. The membrane permeability was then assessed via crystal violet assay and flow cytometry analysis. The effect of exposure time on microbial viability (Time-Kill) was evaluated. Finally, ultrastructural alterations were evaluated through scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Both arginine-substituted peptides [Arg] 3 M-PONTX-Dq3a[1-15] and [Arg] 4 M-PONTX-Dq3a[1-15], showed lowest MIC and MLC values (each 0.78 μM). In the biofilm formation assays, the peptide [Arg] 3 M-PONTX-Dq3a [1-15] showed MBIC of 3.12 μM against the two tested strains. Both peptides were able to alter the membrane permeability approximately by 80%. The treatment with MIC was able to eliminate bacteria after 2 h of contact on the other hand, treatment with half of the MIC, the population of both bacterial strains remained constant for up to 12 h, indicating a possible bacteriostatic effect. The SEM results showed that the treatment with the lowest concentration (0.78 μM) of both peptides caused disruption of the cell membrane, destabilization of the intercellular interaction and the CLM of [Arg] 4 M-PONTX-Dq3a [1-15] resulted in the complete eradication of the bacteria. Thus, this study describes two AMPs active against MSSA and MRSA and also inhibits the biofilm formation of these stains. This study finds [Arg] 3 M-PONTX-Dq3a[1-15] and [Arg] 4 M-PONTX-Dq3a[1-15] as alternative substances to treat resistant and/or biofilm-forming strains., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)