Association of antimicrobial consumption with incidence across the departments of an academic medical centre.

Background: infection is a common gastrointestinal disease in healthcare settings, ranging from uncomplicated diarrhoea to life-threatening pseudomembranous colitis. It is associated with increased morbidity, mortality and healthcare costs. The aim of the study was to correlate CDI incidence with total and specific antibiotic consumption across 17 clinical departments of an academic hospital.

Nosocomial outbreak of vancomycin-resistant (VRE) ST796, Switzerland, 2017 to 2020.

A large clonal outbreak caused by vancomycin-resistant (VRE) affected the Bern University Hospital group from the end of December 2017 until July 2020. We describe the characteristics of the outbreak and the bundle of infection prevention and control (IPC) measures implemented. The outbreak was first recognised when two concomitant cases of VRE bloodstream infection were identified on the oncology ward.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Inpatient Antibiotic Consumption in Switzerland.

The aim of this study was to analyze inpatient antibiotic consumption during the first 16 months of the COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland. The entire period (January 2018−June 2021) was divided into the prepandemic period, the first and second waves, and the intermediate period. In the first year of the pandemic, total overall inpatient antibiotic consumption measured in defined daily doses (DDD) per 100 bed-days remained stable (+1.

Emergence of vancomycin-resistant enterococci in Switzerland: a nation-wide survey.

This nation-wide survey on the epidemiology of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) included 142 healthcare institutions and showed an increasing number of VRE colonizations and infections in Switzerland, probably for the most part due to nosocomial dissemination. The introduction and spread of a new clone, gaps in VRE screening policies as well as heterogeneity regarding the management of VRE clusters may be possible explanations.

Outbreak of vancomycin-resistant clone ST796, Switzerland, December 2017 to April 2018.

A large outbreak of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) is affecting four hospitals in the Canton of Bern, Switzerland, since December 2017. Of 89 cases identified as carriers, 77 (86.5%) VRE isolates were virtually indistinguishable using whole genome sequencing, and identified as multilocus sequence type (MLST) ST796.

Personalized Medicine for Chronic Respiratory Infectious Diseases: Tuberculosis, Nontuberculous Mycobacterial Pulmonary Diseases, and Chronic Pulmonary Aspergillosis.

Chronic respiratory infectious diseases are causing high rates of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Tuberculosis, a major cause of chronic pulmonary infection, is currently responsible for approximately 1.5 million deaths per year.

Pulmonary Disease Caused by Non-Tuberculous Mycobacteria.

Non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) include more than 160 ubiquitous, environmental, acid-fast-staining bacterial species, some of which may cause disease in humans. Chronic pulmonary infection is the most common clinical manifestation. Although patients suffering from chronic lung diseases are particularly susceptible to NTM pulmonary disease, many affected patients have no apparent risk factors.

Mesenterial involvement of Mycobacterium genavense infection: hard to find, hard to treat.

Mycobacterium genavense is a rare pathogen affecting severely immunosuppressed patients. We report the case of persistent relapsing M. genavense infection in a 48-year-old African man with a positive diagnosis of HIV infection.

Relapse of Tropheryma whipplei endocarditis treated by trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, cured by hydroxychloroquine plus doxycycline.

The best treatment for Tropheryma whipplei infections is controversial. We report a patient who suffered from T. whipplei aortic native valve endocarditis that relapsed despite surgery and four weeks of intravenous ceftriaxone followed by several months of oral trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole.

Arsenic-induced APL differentiation in cerebrospinal fluid.

Although new approaches have dramatically improved, the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) involvement of the central nervous system (CNS) confers a bad prognosis in the disease. Here, we report a patient who was diagnosed with relapsed APL preferentially involving the CNS. Treatment with arsenic trioxide led to impressive morphological changes in CNS cellularity consistent with the induction of a differentiation syndrome.

Plasmodium falciparum dhfr but not dhps mutations associated with sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine treatment failure and gametocyte carriage in northern Ghana.

Both use of sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) and SP-resistance of Plasmodium falciparum are increasing in sub-Saharan Africa. Mutations in the P. falciparum dihydrofolate reductase (dhfr) and dihydropteroate synthase (dhps) genes can predict treatment failure of SP, however, the degree of this relationship varies regionally.

A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial on sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine alone or combined with artesunate or amodiaquine in uncomplicated malaria.

The therapeutic efficacy of sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) alone, SP plus amodiaquine (AQ), and SP plus artesunate (AS) was assessed in a randomized, placebo-controlled, and double-blind trial among 438 children with uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in northern Ghana. Clinical and parasitological responses were monitored for 28 days following treatment; 86%, 98% and 97% of SP-, SP + AQ-, and SP + AS-treated patients achieved adequate clinical and parasitological response (ACPR) within 2 weeks, respectively. Parasite clearance was better with SP + AS than with SP or SP + AQ treatment but re-infections were more common.