Longitudinal molecular epidemiology of ceftriaxone-resistant enterobacterales in intra-abdominal and urinary tract infections: A decade-long SMART surveillance study in Taiwan (2009-2019).

Background: Third-generation cephalosporin-resistant Enterobacterales is a recognized global concern. This study investigated the molecular epidemiology of β-lactamase genes and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns among ceftriaxone-resistant Enterobacterales causing intra-abdominal and urinary tract infections in Taiwan between 2009 and 2019.

Methods: Data from the SMART surveillance program were analyzed, including Enterobacterales isolates with ceftriaxone minimum inhibitory concentrations ≥4 μg/mL.

Clinical insights into mixed and bacterial bloodstream infections: a retrospective cohort study.

Mixed bloodstream infections (BSIs) involving and other bacterial pathogens present significant diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. The incidence of these co-infections has been increasing. However, the limited literature on this topic necessitates a deeper understanding of its epidemiological and clinical characteristics.

A comparative analysis of HbA1c, glycated albumin, and fasting plasma glucose for glycemic assessment in people living with HIV.

Background: People living with HIV (PLWH) are at increased risk for metabolic disorders, including diabetes and prediabetes. While hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) is widely used for glycemic assessment, its reliability in PLWH is questioned due to altered red blood cell turnover. Glycated albumin (GA) has been proposed as an alternative, but its diagnostic utility remains unclear in PLWH.

Real-world viral effectiveness of two-drug versus three-drug regimens for HIV in Taiwan: Impact of adherence and treatment selection.

Background: Adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) is critical for successful viral suppression in people living with HIV (PLHIV). The comparative effectiveness of two-drug regimens (2DRs) versus three-drug regimens (3DRs)-particularly in Asian populations-is an underexplored topic.

Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted at two hospitals in Taiwan between November 2023 and January 2025.

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent STI assays: development, current status and future perspective.

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) continue to pose major public health challenges globally, with millions of new cases reported annually. The asymptomatic characteristic of many STIs makes accurate and cost-effective diagnostic methods essential for screening and diagnosis. This paper evaluates the utility of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) in diagnoses of HIV, HPV, HSV, HBV, HCV, Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Trichomonas vaginalis and Treponema pallidum.

Design of Antimicrobial Peptides against Carbapenem-Resistant Infections with Enhanced Activity by Nanoformulation.

Carbapenem-resistant (CRAB) has emerged as a critical public health menace. Its resistance to last-resort antibiotics highlights the urgent need for innovative treatment approaches. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are promising candidates to address this challenge.

activity of isavuconazole, ravuconazole, and comparison of the Sensititre YeastOne and CLSI broth microdilution methods against clinical isolates of species.

This study aimed to evaluate the activity of isavuconazole and ravuconazole against clinical isolates. Additionally, we assessed the performance of the Sensititre YeastOne (SYO) assay compared to the reference Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) broth microdilution (BMD) method for antifungal susceptibility testing. A total of 267 clinical isolates were collected from multiple centers in Taiwan between 2008 and 2020.

Prevalence and treatment outcomes of latent tuberculosis infection among older patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in an area with intermediate tuberculosis burden.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and aging both increase the risk of tuberculosis (TB), an important infectious disease in human. Exploring the burden and predictors of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) and treatment outcomes for older individuals with COPD is essential to guide LTBI intervention policy. We enrolled patients aged over 60 years with COPD between January 2021 and June 2023 for LTBI screening using interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA).

Do Hospitalized Adult Patients with Acute Pharyngotonsillitis Need Empiric Antibiotics? The Impact on Antimicrobial Stewardship.

Acute pharyngotonsillitis is a common reason to visit primary care providers. Group A Streptococcal (GAS) pharyngitis is the most common bacterial infection which needs antibiotic treatment. GAS accounts for only 10-15% of adult acute pharyngitis cases.

Evaluation of PERFORMANCE of the IMMY and Dynamiker Aspergillus Galactomannan lateral flow assays for the diagnosis of invasive Aspergillosis.

Current laboratory diagnostic techniques for invasive aspergillosis (IA), such as fungal cultures and enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for the galactomannan antigen (GM), are limited by their low sensitivity, labor-intensive nature, and prolonged processing times. Some lateral flow assays (LFAs) have been developed for the diagnosis of IA; however, clinical validation and comparative studies are lacking. This study assessed the diagnostic performance of two CE-marked GM-LFAs, IMMY-GM-LFA and QuicGM-LFA.

Real-world use and treatment outcomes of ceftazidime-avibactam in gram-negative bacterial infection in Taiwan: A multicenter retrospective study.

Objectives: Ceftazidime-avibactam (CAZ-AVI) has been launched in Asian countries for five years, but local real-world data about patient characteristics, efficacy, and safety of CAZ-AVI is limited. We conducted a multicenter, retrospective study to investigate the clinical characteristics, microbiology, and outcomes of patients treated with CAZ-AVI for Gram-negative bacterial infection in Taiwan.

Methods: This investigation was conducted as a multicenter retrospective cohort study involving five medical centers in Taiwan.

Prevalence of Naturally Occurring HIV-1 Capsid Inhibitor Resistance-Related Mutations in Antiretroviral Therapy-Naïve and -Experienced Individuals in Taiwan.

Background: It is generally believed that HIV-1 capsid inhibitor-naïve populations are susceptible to capsid inhibitors. Moreover, conventional HIV-1 resistance genotyping does not include the CA region, leading to limited surveillance data.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective study to investigate the presence of mutations at positions associated with capsid inhibitor resistance before the introduction of the first HIV-1 capsid inhibitor, lenacapavir, in Taiwan.

Implementation of 2% Chlorhexidine Bathing to Reduce Healthcare-Associated Infections Among Patients in the Intensive Care Unit.

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) significantly increase morbidity, mortality, length of hospital stays, and costs, particularly among ICU patients. Despite standard interventions, catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) and central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) remain major HAI contributors. This study evaluated the efficacy of daily 2% chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) bathing in reducing HAI incidence, specifically CAUTI, CLABSI, and multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs), in a 20-bed ICU at a regional hospital.

Comparative In vitro antibacterial activity of nemonoxacin and other fluoroquinolones in correlation with resistant mechanisms in contemporary methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus blood isolates in Taiwan.

Background: Nemonoxacin is a new quinolone with an antibacterial efficacy against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Certain sequence types (STs) have been emerging in Taiwan, including fluoroquinolone-resistant ST8/USA300. It's an urgent need to determine nemonoxacin susceptibility against ST8/USA300 and other emerging lineages, if any.

Comparison of clinical and laboratory data between hantavirus infection and leptospirosis: a retrospective case series study in southern Taiwan.

Background: Leptospirosis (LS) and hantavirus (HV) are rodent-borne diseases and share similar clinical manifestations, posing diagnostic challenges.

Methods: This retrospective study compared clinical characteristics, laboratory data, complications and outcomes of 33 LS and nine HV cases in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, from 2006 to 2021.

Results: Both LS and HV diseases had high rates of acute kidney injury (84.

Development of the novel gene chip and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) methods for rapid detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex in broth culture.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is a major global public health issue. Prompt and accurate TB diagnosis is crucial for starting appropriate treatments and preventing the disease's spread. Current diagnostic techniques are either slow or expensive.

Patient-Reported Outcomes After Switching to a 2-Drug Regimen of Fixed-Dose Combination Dolutegravir/Lamivudine: 48-Week Results from the SALSA Study.

Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) facilitate communication between patients and providers, enhancing patient-centered care. We report PROs for virologically suppressed people living with HIV-1 who switched to dolutegravir/lamivudine (DTG/3TC) or continued their 3- or 4-drug current antiretroviral regimen (CAR) in the phase 3 SALSA study. Secondary endpoints included change from baseline in HIV Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire (status version; HIVTSQs) and HIV Symptom Distress Module (HIV-SDM) at Weeks 4, 24, and 48.

One-month daily and three-month weekly rifapentine plus isoniazid are comparable in completion rate and safety for latent tuberculosis infection in non-HIV Population: a randomized controlled trial.

Objectives: The weekly rifapentine plus isoniazid for 3 months (3HP) improves completion rate of latent tuberculosis infection treatment, but flu-like symptoms are common. The novel 1HP regimen, involving daily rifapentine plus isoniazid for 28 days, has demonstrated low toxicity in HIV-infected populations. We aimed to investigate whether 1HP has a lower incidence rate of systemic drug reaction (SDR) compared with 3HP during treatment in non-HIV populations.

Multicenter study on clinical outcomes and poor prognostic factors in patients with Klebsiella pneumoniae bacteremia receiving cefoperazone/sulbactam treatment.

Background: Infections caused by Klebsiella pneumoniae are common and result in high mortality rates. In vitro studies demonstrated the potency of cefoperazone/sulbactam (CPZ/SUL) against Klebsiella pneumoniae. However, the clinical efficacy of CPZ/SUL for the treatment of K.

Sputum bacterial microbiota signature as a surrogate for predicting disease progression of nontuberculous mycobacterial lung disease.

Objectives: Predicting progression of nontuberculous mycobacterial lung disease (NTM-LD) remains challenging. This study evaluated whether sputum bacterial microbiome diversity can be the biomarker and provide novel insights into related phenotypes and treatment timing.

Methods: We analyzed 126 sputum microbiomes of 126 patients with newly diagnosed NTM-LD due to Mycobacterium avium complex, M.

Enhancing indicator condition-guided HIV testing in Taiwan: a nationwide case-control study from 2009 to 2015.

Background: Although indicator condition (IC)-guided HIV testing (IC-HIVT) is effective at facilitating timely HIV diagnosis, research on IC categories and the related HIV risk in Taiwan is limited. To improve the adoption and spread of IC-HIVT in Taiwan, this study compared the IC categories of people living with HIV (PLWH) and non-HIV controls and investigated delays in the diagnosis of HIV infection.

Methods: This nationwide, retrospective, 1:10-matched case-control study analyzed data from the Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System and National Health Insurance Research Database to evaluate 42 ICs for the 5-year period preceding a matched HIV diagnostic date from 2009 to 2015.

The impact of the fluconazole trailing effect on the persistence of Candida albicans bloodstream infection when treated with fluconazole.

Objectives: The trailing effect of Candida species is a phenomenon characterized by reduced but persistent growth at antifungal concentrations above the MIC. We assessed the impact of trailing growth on the persistence of Candida albicans candidemia in patients receiving fluconazole (FLC) therapy.

Methods: We retrospectively investigated candidemia isolates at three hospitals in southern Taiwan between 2013 and 2020.