Variation in clinical presentation, complications and outcomes for Māori and Pacific peoples among hospitalised adults with COVID-19 in 2022, Aotearoa New Zealand.

Background: Pacific region-specific data on the clinical course of COVID-19 are limited. We aimed to describe clinical features and outcomes from Aotearoa New Zealand patients, focusing on Māori and Pacific peoples.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study among adults (≥16 years) hospitalised due to COVID-19 at 11 hospitals from January to May 2022.

Outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy for patients with endocarditis using continuous infusion IV benzylpenicillin plus IV ceftriaxone.

Background: Many patients with endocarditis are clinically stable and able to leave hospital before completing antibiotic treatment, but data are lacking regarding some outpatient treatment options.

Objectives: To assess the outcomes for adults with endocarditis receiving outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) with continuous infusion IV benzylpenicillin plus bolus/continuous infusion IV ceftriaxone.

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed adults who received at least 2 weeks duration of OPAT for endocarditis with the above treatment regimen in the Auckland and Christchurch regions between July 2019 and September 2022.

Evaluation of risk prediction scores for adults hospitalized with COVID-19 in a highly-vaccinated population, Aotearoa New Zealand 2022.

Objectives: COVID-19 severity prediction scores need further validation due to evolving COVID-19 illness. We evaluated existing COVID-19 risk prediction scores in Aotearoa New Zealand, including for Māori and Pacific peoples who have been inequitably affected by COVID-19.

Methods: We conducted a multicenter retrospective cohort study in adults hospitalized with COVID-19 from January to May 2022, including all Māori and Pacific patients, and every second non-Māori, non-Pacific (NMNP) patient to achieve equal analytic power by ethnic grouping.

COVID-19-related hospitalizations among Aotearoa, New Zealand children during the Omicron era of SARS-CoV-2.

Objectives: This multicenter cohort study describes Aotearoa New Zealand children hospitalized during the country's first wave of sustained SARS-CoV-2 transmission, Omicron variant.

Methods: Children younger than 16 years, hospitalized for >6 hours with COVID-19 across New Zealand from January to May 2022 were included. Admissions for all Māori and Pacific and every second non-Maori non-Pacific children were selected to support equal explanatory power for ethnic grouping.

Strongyloidiasis in Auckland: A ten-year retrospective study of diagnosis, treatment and outcomes of a predominantly Polynesian and Fijian migrant cohort.

Background: Strongyloides stercoralis is not endemic in Aotearoa New Zealand (AoNZ). However, approximately one third of Auckland residents are born in endemic countries. This study aimed to describe the epidemiology and management of strongyloidiasis in Auckland, with a focus on migrants from Pacific Island Countries and Territories.

Anticoagulation Strategies in Non-Critically Ill Patients with Covid-19.

BACKGROUND: Optimal thromboprophylaxis for hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) is uncertain. METHODS: In an open-label, adaptive platform trial, we randomly assigned hospitalized adults with Covid-19 to low-dose low-molecular-weight heparin thromboprophylaxis or intermediate-dose or low-dose plus aspirin. In response to external evidence, the aspirin intervention was discontinued and a therapeutic-dose arm added.

Clinical features of patients hospitalised with COVID-19 from February to October 2020, during the early waves of the pandemic in New Zealand.

Aim: As New Zealand transitions towards endemic SARS-CoV-2, understanding patient factors predicting severity, as well as hospital resourcing requirements will be essential for future planning.

Methods: We retrospectively enrolled patients hospitalised with COVID-19 from 26 February to 5 October 2020 as part of the COVID-19 HospitalisEd Patient SeverIty Observational Study NZ (COHESION). Data on demographics, clinical course and outcomes were collected and analysed as a descriptive case series.

A machine learning PROGRAM to identify COVID-19 and other diseases from hematology data.

Aim: We propose a method for screening full blood count metadata for evidence of communicable and noncommunicable diseases using machine learning (ML).

Materials & Methods: High dimensional hematology metadata was extracted over an 11-month period from Sysmex hematology analyzers from 43,761 patients. Predictive models for age, sex and individuality were developed to demonstrate the personalized nature of hematology data.

The emergence of azole resistance in Aspergillus fumigatus complex in New Zealand.

Background: Azole resistance in Aspergillus fumigatus (A. fumigatus) is increasing globally. A pan-azole-resistant isolate prompted genetic analysis of local azole-resistant isolates to determine resistance genotypes.

Outpatient continuous-infusion benzylpenicillin combined with either gentamicin or ceftriaxone for enterococcal endocarditis.

Background: Treatment regimens requiring multiple daily dosing for enterococcal endocarditis are challenging to deliver in the outpatient setting. Continuous-infusion benzylpenicillin via a 24 h elastomeric infusor, combined with either once-daily gentamicin or ceftriaxone, requires only one nursing encounter daily and is commonly used in New Zealand.

Objectives: To assess the therapeutic success and adverse antibiotic effects of these regimens.

Pneumocystis pneumonia in HIV-negative adults: missed opportunities for prevention.

Aim: Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) has a high mortality rate in HIV-negative immunocompromised patients, but is preventable with antimicrobial prophylaxis. We aimed to determine the incidence of PCP in three hospitals in Auckland, New Zealand that would have been potentially preventable if patients had been prescribed prophylaxis according to commonly proposed indications.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of HIV-negative adults with PCP who were admitted to Middlemore, North Shore or Waitakere Hospitals between January 2011 and June 2017.

Successful treatment of carbapenemase producing Enterobacteriaceae peritonitis: 'Old therapy for a new bug'.

Multidrug-resistant organisms cause significant morbidity and mortality. Infections due to resistant gram-negative bacilli are increasingly being reported. For years, carbapenem antibiotics have been successfully used to treat infections due to resistant Enterobacteriaceae, such as and , including those producing extended spectrum β-lactamases, a subset of β-lactamase enzymes that confer broad resistance to penicillins and cephalosporins.

Incidence of bacteremia and antimicrobial resistance, and associated factors among patients transferred from long-term care hospital.

Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of bacteremia and antimicrobial resistance, and associated factors among infectious patients transferred from long-term care hospitals (LTCHs).

Methods: Consecutive adult patients who were transferred for suspected infection from affiliated LTCH's to study hospital emergency department (ED) over a 12 month period from January to December 2016 were included retrospectively. Patients with positive blood cultures (excluding contaminants as clinically determined) were defined as primary measure and subjected to further analysis according to antimicrobial resistance pattern.

Effect of Piperacillin-Tazobactam vs Meropenem on 30-Day Mortality for Patients With E coli or Klebsiella pneumoniae Bloodstream Infection and Ceftriaxone Resistance: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Extended-spectrum β-lactamases mediate resistance to third-generation cephalosporins (eg, ceftriaxone) in Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Significant infections caused by these strains are usually treated with carbapenems, potentially selecting for carbapenem resistance. Piperacillin-tazobactam may be an effective "carbapenem-sparing" option to treat extended-spectrum β-lactamase producers.

Managing diabetic foot infections: a survey of Australasian infectious diseases clinicians.

Background: Diabetic foot infections (DFI) present a major morbidity, mortality and economic challenge for the tertiary health sector. However, lack of high quality evidence for specific treatment regimens for patients with DFIs may result in inconsistent management. This study aimed to identify DFI caseload proportion and patterns of clinical practice of Infectious Diseases (ID) Physicians and Trainees within Australia and New Zealand.

Whole genome analysis of cephalosporin-resistant Escherichia coli from bloodstream infections in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore: high prevalence of CMY-2 producers and ST131 carrying blaCTX-M-15 and blaCTX-M-27.

Objectives: To characterize MDR Escherichia coli from bloodstream infections (BSIs) in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore.

Methods: We collected third-generation cephalosporin-resistant (3GC-R) E. coli from blood cultures in patients enrolled in a randomized controlled trial from February 2014 to August 2015.

Bilateral Neck Pyomyositis Caused by and in a Diabetic Adult.

We report a case of pyomyositis of the paraspinal neck muscles caused by two coagulase-negative staphylococci: and Inflammation in the spermatic cords was an additional feature of this infection. Treatment with six weeks of first-generation cephalosporin therapy resulted in complete clinical and radiological resolution.

Salmonella paratyphi A-infected ovarian cyst in returning traveller--an unusual complication of enteric fever.

We report a case of Salmonella paratyphi A enteric fever in a returned New Zealand traveller complicated by an infected ovarian cyst, which resulted in clinical and microbiological relapse despite appropriate antibiotic treatment. Extraintestinal manifestations of enteric fever are infrequent but should be considered in situations where treatment response to first-line antibiotics for adequate duration is suboptimal.

Severe Clostridium difficile infection in New Zealand associated with an emerging strain, PCR-ribotype 244.

Aim: To compare disease severity and clinical outcome of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) due to PCR-ribotype (RT) 244 with CDI due to other strains present in Auckland.

Method: A retrospective, case-control study was conducted. Ten cases with CDI due to RT 244 were compared with 20 controls infected with other C.

Prevalence and correlated factors of sexually transmitted diseases-chlamydia, Neisseria, cytomegalovirus--in female rape victims.

Introduction: Prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) was not well known in female rape victims.

Aim: To assess the prevalence and correlated factors of STIs--especially Chlamydia trachomatis (CT), Neisseria gonorrhea (NG), and cytomegalovirus (CMV) in female rape victims presenting to a dedicated regional referral center in South Korea after settle down of intergrated service center for sexual abuse in study hospital.

Main Outcome Measures: Positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) result for CT, NG, and CMV.

Bartonella henselae aortic valve endocarditis mimicking systemic vasculitis.

A 28-year-old man with a bicuspid aortic valve presented with facial droop and slurred speech with several months of constitutional symptoms of night sweats, weight loss and productive cough. Examination confirmed aortic regurgitation, palpable spleen and left facial droop. Multiple peripheral blood cultures were negative.

Evaluation of the BD Phoenix automated microbiology system for identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing of Enterobacteriaceae.

We evaluated the accuracy of the BD Phoenix system for the identification (ID) and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) of 251 isolates of the family Enterobacteriaceae representing 31 species. Organisms were inoculated onto the Phoenix panel according to the manufacturer's instructions. The results from conventional biochemical tests were used for the reference method for ID.

Evaluation of the BD Phoenix automated microbiology system for identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing of staphylococci and enterococci.

We evaluated the Phoenix automated microbiology system (BD Diagnostic Systems, Sparks, MD) for the identification (ID) and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) of challenge and clinical staphylococci and enterococci recovered from patients in a tertiary-care medical center. In total, 424 isolates were tested: 90 enterococci; 232 Staphylococcus aureus isolates, including 14 vancomycin-intermediate S. aureus isolates; and 102 staphylococci other than S.