Search

Aims: To describe the General Movements (GMs) of hospitalized newborns to verify if their global and detailed GMA are related and if their GMs are associated with clinical features., Methods: Cross-sectional study. Thirty-eight preterm and full-term newborns, who were hospitalized in the neonatal intermediate care unit of a reference hospital, were included. Prechtl's General Movement Assessment (GMA), including the General Movement Optimality Score (GMOS) list, was used as an assessment tool. Clinical variables, such as preterm birth, birthweight, length of hospitalization, Apgar scores, pregnancy problems, admission at neonatal intensive care unit, use of invasive mechanical ventilation, and brain imaging findings were also collected. Newborns were videoed at a single time for 3 min before discharge., Results: Most newborns presented GMs with normal or poor repertoire quality. GMOS ranged from 17 to 42 points. Scores were lower in abnormal GMs. Abnormal GMs were associated with preterm birth, length of hospital stay >30 days and birthweight <2500 g. Accordingly, lower GMOSs were also associated with preterm birth, a birthweight <2500 g and a hospital stay >30 days but also with the invasive mechanical ventilation application., Conclusion: Preterm and full-term newborns presented normal or abnormal GMs during hospitalization. Preterm birth, low birthweight, longer hospital stay and a time period of invasive ventilation were associated with worse GM behaviors., 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 B.V. All rights reserved.)

The Curtobacterium genus is a member of the family Microbacteriaceae, and Curtobacterium species are recognized as plant pathogens. The aim of this study was to investigate a dubious result of species identification for an infection located on a catheter tip of a patient with Covid-19. A strain isolated from a catheter tip sample, identified by VITEK ® 2 as Cronobacter spp., was submitted to polyphasic analysis: Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) using VITEK ® MS, real-time polymerase chain reaction targeting dnaG gene, and 16S rRNA full gene Sanger sequencing analysis for confirmation. The strain presented negative result using qPCR and could not identified by MALDI-TOF MS. 16S rRNA full gene Sanger sequencing analysis identified the strain as Curtobacterium spp. The Gram-variable characteristic (Gram-negative instead of Gram-positive) of the isolated strain was the responsible for the misidentification by VITEK ® 2 and VITEK ® MS did not identify the strain. 16S rRNA full gene sequencing analysis identified the strain as Curtobacterium genus, but other complementary techniques are necessary to identify at species level., (© 2022 The Society for Applied Microbiology.)

Background: Data on the prevalence of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA) in patients with active or cured tuberculosis (TB) are scarce, mainly due to diagnostic difficulties. The diagnosis of CPA is based on pulmonary symptoms and chest computed tomography (CT) scans and is considered confirmed when there is microbiological or serological evidence of Aspergillus spp., Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of CPA in patients treated or undergoing treatment for PTB, seen in two referral hospitals in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil., Patients and Methods: A total of 193 consecutive patients who were treated or previously treated for pulmonary tuberculosis underwent prospective evaluation: (a) clinical evaluation; (b) chest CT scan; (c) sputum examination-culture for fungi and smears for direct mycology; (d) detection of anti-Aspergillus fumigatus antibodies using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay Platelia® test; and (e) anti-Aspergillus spp. antibodies were assessed via a DID test., Results: The global prevalence of CPA was 10.9% (95% confidence interval, 7.2%-16.1%), but it increased with the time of TB diagnosis. The variables independently associated with CPA were previous pulmonary tuberculosis over 4 years ago and haemoptysis. Cavities, pleural thickening and the presence of a fungal ball were the most frequent tomographic findings in patients with CPA., Conclusions: The high prevalence observed and its increase over time suggest the need for continuous surveillance of CPA in patients with active or previous pulmonary tuberculosis and throughout life, with clinical, tomographic and serological evaluations (ELISA) for a timely diagnosis and a better prognosis., (© 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Introduction: Paradoxical reaction in tuberculosis (TB) is defined as the reappearance of general symptoms, aggravation of pre-existing diseases, or appearance of new lesions despite adequate anti-TB therapy. It may result from the hyperactivity of the immune response, resulting in an intense inflammation. There are few cases of vertebral TB reported as paradoxical reaction, mainly among immunocompetents patients., Patient Concerns: We describe a male immunocompetent patient with confirmed pulmonary and meningeal TB. He was readmitted after 60 days of adequate treatment, with vertebral TB and paravertebral abscess, despite clinical improvement of the other locations. We defined as an uncommon case of a paradoxical reaction, confirmed by nuclear magnetic resonance and molecular rapid test for TB., Diagnosis: Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) was detected in cerebrospinal fluid by molecular rapid test (Gene Xpert MTB/ rifampicina method). Sputum research and culture were positive for the same agent. Lumbosacral spine nuclear magnetic resonance revealed bone destruction from T8 to T11, and a paravertebral collection was found. Gene Xpert MTB/rifampicina and culture were positive for M tuberculosis in the drained material of the paravertebral abscess., Interventions: The paravertebral abscess was drainage by tomography-guided. Treatment with 4 anti-TB drugs was extended for 60 days and 2 anti-TB drugs was maintained for 10 months. There was a complete clinical improvement., Outcome: After draining the paravertebral abscess, the patient progressively improved and was discharged for outpatient follow-up. He was on antituberculous drugs for 1 year; subsequently, complete resolution of the infection was reported., Conclusion: Paradoxical reaction may be a difficult diagnosis in immunocompetent patient. Vertebral TB as a paradoxical reaction is an uncommon presentation. Therapeutic failure or resistance to treatment should be ruled out to confirm the diagnosis of paradoxical reaction.

Chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA) is a slow and progressive disease that develops in preexisting lung cavities of patients with tuberculosis sequelae, and it is associated with a high mortality rate. Serological tests such as double agar gel immunodiffusion test (DID) or counterimmunoelectrophoresis (CIE) test have been routinely used for CPA diagnosis in the absence of positive cultures. However, these tests have been replaced with enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) and, a variety of methods. This systematic review compares ELISA accuracy to reference test (DID and/or CIE) accuracy in CPA diagnosis. It was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). The study was registered in PROSPERO under the registration number CRD42016046057. We searched the electronic databases MEDLINE (PubMed), EMBASE (Elsevier), LILACS (VHL), Cochrane library, and ISI Web of Science. Gray literature was researched using Google Scholar and conference abstracts. We included articles with patients or serum samples from patients with CPA who underwent two serological tests: ELISA (index test) and IDD and/or CIE (reference test). We used the test accuracy as a result. Original articles were considered without a restriction of date or language. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, and summary receiver operating characteristic curves were estimated. We included 14 studies in the review, but only four were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled sensitivities and specificities were 0.93 and 0.97 for the ELISA test. These values were 0.64 and 0.99 for the reference test (DID and/or CIE). Analyses of summary receiver operating characteristic curves yielded 0.99 for ELISA and 0.99 for the reference test (DID and/or CIE). Our meta-analysis suggests that the diagnostic accuracy of ELISA is greater than the reference tests (DID and/or CIE) for early CPA detection., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Rationale: Melioidosis is an emerging infectious disease in Brazil and caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei, with high morbidity and mortality rates. A total of 28 melioidosis cases were reported in Brazil until 2015. The majority of melioidosis cases were reported in the Northwest region of Brazil and such cases were not previously detected in the Midwest region of Brazil., Patient Concerns: A 42-year-old man was admitted with a non-productive cough, dyspnea, myalgia, diffuse abdominal pain. Pulmonary auscultation revealed a vesicular murmur, snoring sounds, and the presence of basal crackling rales in the left hemithorax. The patient evolved with several respiratory failures and he was diagnosed as the first case of community-acquired pneumonia with sepsis caused by B pseudomallei in Mato Grosso do Sul, Midwest state of Brazil., Diagnosis: The cell isolates were subjected to 16S rRNA gene sequencing to confirm the bacterial species., Interventions: Administration of trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole and meropenem stabilized the clinical condition of the patient. Subsequently upon discharge, the patient was also treated with trimethoprim/sulfametothoxazole for a year., Outcome: We reported the first case of community-acquired pneumonia with sepsis caused by B pseudomallei in Mato Grosso do Sul, Midwest state of Brazil and the patient survived., Lessons: The emergence of melioidosis in the Midwest region is being neglected and underestimated and melioidosis must be considered of the differential diagnosis in community infections.

Introduction: Infections caused by multidrug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae are difficult to treat and pose a serious threat to public health worldwide. Here, we describe the presence of carbapenemase-producing K. pneumoniae in intensive care units (ICU) of three major Mato Grosso do Sul hospitals located in the Midwest region of Brazil., Methodology: A total of 165 K. pneumoniae isolates with reduced susceptibility to carbapenems as identified by the VITEK-2 compact system were studied. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed using the disk diffusion method, as recommended by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute, and the E-test method. The detection of carbapenemase was performed using the modified Hodge test and polymerase chain reaction., Results: The blaKPC gene was identified in 88.1% (n=89) of the selected K. pneumoniae isolates from Beneficent Association of Campo Grande, 94.9% (n=34) of the isolates from the Regional Hospital of Mato Grosso do Sul and 95.2% (n=26) of the isolates from Maria Aparecida Pedrossian University Hospital. Resistance greater than 80% was observed against cephalosporins, aztreonam, ciprofloxacin and piperacillin/tazobactam. Carbapenemase-producing K. pneumoniae (Kp-KPC) isolates were considered important causative agents of urinary tract infections, pneumonia and bloodstream infections in ICU patients. While rarely reported in the literature, we documented three cases of meningoencephalitis caused by Kp-KPC., Conclusions: Our study documents the presence of Kp-KPC in three major Mato Grosso do Sul state hospitals, providing key national epidemiology data. This is an important mechanism of resistance in K. pneumoniae isolates from ICU patients and is associated with resistance to multiple classes of antimicrobial drugs.