Infection

PURPOSE AND METHOD: Many post-COVID patients suffer from dyspnea on exertion. To visualize exercise-induced dyspnea, a post-COVID patient and a healthy volunteer underwent an exercise test on a treadmill under stress relevant to everyday life monitored by electrical impedance tomography (EIT). RESULTS: The lung-healthy volunteer showed an even ventilation distribution throughout the assessment, a large ventilated area, and a butterfly-like lung shape with a convex lung rim...

PURPOSE: Anaemia remains a serious concern among pregnant women, and thus, it is closely monitored from the onset of pregnancy through to delivery to help prevent adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes. In malaria-endemic settings, continuous low-level carriage of P. falciparum parasites is common and its contribution to maternal anaemia should not be underestimated. In this study, we evaluated the impact of adherence to malaria control measures [number of antenatal clinics (ANC) attended, supervised intake of sulphadoxine pyrimethamine (SP), and use of insecticide treated bed nets (ITNs)] on asymptomatic malaria and anaemia outcomes among pregnant women on ANC in hospitals in the Central region of Ghana...

PURPOSE: The development of guidelines tailored to the departments' needs and counselling during ward rounds are important antibiotic stewardship (AS) strategies. The aim was to analyse the impact of AS ward rounds and institutional guidelines as well as patient-related factors on antibiotic use in vascular surgical patients. METHODS: A retrospective prescribing-analysis of 3 months (P1, P2) before and after implementing weekly AS ward rounds and antimicrobial treatment guidelines was performed...

PURPOSE: The number of homeless people in Germany is steadily increasing. Due to their often precarious living conditions, this specific population may be increasingly exposed to ectoparasites that can transmit various pathogens. To assess the prevalence and thus the risk of such infections, we analyzed the seropositivity of rickettsiosis, Q fever, tularemia and bartonellosis in homeless individuals. METHODS: A total of 147 homeless adults from nine shelters in Hamburg, Germany, were included...

PURPOSE: The study evaluates the effects on sero-immunity, health status and quality of life of children and adolescents after the upsurge of the Omicron variant in Germany. METHODS: This multicenter cross-sectional study (IMMUNEBRIDGE Kids) was conducted within the German Network University Medicine (NUM) from July to October 2022. SARS-CoV-2- antibodies were measured and data on SARS-CoV-2 infections, vaccinations, health and socioeconomic factors as well as caregiver-reported evaluation on their children's health and psychological status were assessed...

PURPOSE: To demonstrate the feasibility of continuous infusion of meropenem-vaborbactam to optimize the treatment of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales. METHODS: Report of a case of a Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC)-producing K. pneumoniae bloodstream infection comfirmed by whole genome sequencing and therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) of meropenem. RESULTS: A patient with augmented renal clearance (ARC) went into septic shock caused by an ST11 KPC-3-producing K...

BACKGROUND: In May 2022, a multi-national mpox outbreak was reported in several non-endemic countries. The only licensed treatment for mpox in the European Union is the orally available small molecule tecovirimat, which in Orthopox viruses inhibits the function of a major envelope protein required for the production of extracellular virus. METHODS: We identified presumably all patients with mpox that were treated with tecovirimat in Germany between the onset of the outbreak in May 2022 and March 2023 and obtained demographic and clinical characteristics by standardized case report forms...

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PURPOSE: Human Borna disease virus (BoDV-1) encephalitis is an emerging disease in Germany. This study investigates the spectrum of human BoDV-1 infection, characterizes anti-BoDV-1-antibodies and kinetics, and compares laboratory test performances. METHODS: Three hundred four encephalitis cases, 308 nation-wide neuropsychiatric conditions, 127 well-defined psychiatric cases from Borna disease-endemic areas, and 20 persons with contact to BoDV-1 encephalitis patients or animals were tested for BoDV-1 infections by serology and PCR...

PURPOSE: Vaccination against Streptococcus pneumoniae is recommended in transplant recipients to reduce the morbidity and mortality from invasive pneumococcal disease. Previous studies indicate that transplant recipients can produce specific antibodies after vaccination with the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine Prevenar 13 (PCV13) or the pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine Pneumovax 23 (PPSV23). National guidelines recommend sequential vaccination with PCV13 followed by PPSV23 in kidney transplant patients...

PURPOSE: We aimed to assess symptoms in patients after SARS-CoV-2 infection and to identify factors predicting prolonged time to symptom-free. METHODS: COVIDOM/NAPKON-POP is a population-based prospective cohort of adults whose first on-site visits were scheduled ≥ 6 months after a positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR test. Retrospective data including self-reported symptoms and time to symptom-free were collected during the survey before a site visit...

Infectious diseases and their imperative awareness gain major relevance through global warming and multi-continent refugee crises. Here, we demonstrate the challenges of malaria diagnosis, disease course, and treatment, including post-artesunate hemolysis in a Syrian refugee with severe falciparum malaria, most probably infected during migrant smuggling from Türkiye to Germany.

INTRODUCTION: Bloodstream infections with Enterococcus faecalis are associated with relevant morbidity and mortality. Targeted antimicrobial therapy is essential. The choice of an adequate treatment may be challenging when susceptibility testing offers different options. Selective reporting of antibiotic susceptibility test results might lead to a more tailored antibiotic therapy and could therefore be an important antimicrobial stewardship program intervention. The aim of this study was to analyse whether the introduction of selective reporting of antibiotic test results leads to a more targeted antibiotic therapy in patients with bloodstream infection with Enterococcus faecalis...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

PURPOSE: Identification of patients at risk of complicated or more severe COVID-19 is of pivotal importance, since these patients might require monitoring, antiviral treatment, and hospitalization. In this study, we prospectively evaluated the SACOV-19 score for its ability to predict complicated or more severe COVID-19. METHODS: In this prospective multicenter study, we included 124 adult patients with acute COVID-19 in three German hospitals, who were diagnosed in an early, uncomplicated stage of COVID-19 within 72 h of inclusion...

PURPOSES: Despite reports of a declining incidence over the last decade, Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is still considered the most important healthcare-associated causes of diarrhea worldwide. In Germany, several measures have been taken to observe, report, and influence this development. This report aims to analyze the development of hospital coding for CDI in Germany over the last decade and to use it to estimate the public health burden caused by CDI. METHODS: Reports from the Institute for Hospital Remuneration Systems, German Federal Statistical Office (DESTATIS), the Robert-Koch-Institute (RKI), Saxonian authorities and hospital quality reports during 2010-2021 were examined for CDI coding and assessed in a structured expert consultation...

PURPOSE: Tocilizumab, a monoclonal IL-6 receptor blocker, is an effective agent for severe-to-critical cases of COVID-19; however, its target patients for the optimum use need to be detailed. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to define its effect among severely ill but non-intubated cases with COVID-19. METHODS: We searched PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, MEDLINE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Medrxiv, and Biorxiv until February 13, 2022, for non-intubated cases, and included randomized-controlled trials (RCT) based on bias assessment...

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has highlighted the importance of viable infection surveillance and the relevant infrastructure. From a German perspective, an integral part of this infrastructure, genomic pathogen sequencing, was at best fragmentary and stretched to its limits due to the lack or inefficient use of equipment, human resources, data management and coordination. The experience in other countries has shown that the rate of sequenced positive samples and linkage of genomic and epidemiological data (person, place, time) represent important factors for a successful application of genomic pathogen surveillance...

PURPOSE: People with hematologic malignancies have a significantly higher risk of developing severe and protracted forms of SARS-CoV-2 infection compared to immunocompetent patients, regardless of vaccination status. RESULTS: We describe two cases of prolonged SARS-CoV-2 infection with multiple relapses of COVID-19 pneumonia in patients with follicular lymphoma treated with bendamustine and obinutuzumab or rituximab. The aim is to highlight the complexity of SARS-CoV-2 infection in this fragile group of patients and the necessity of evidence-based strategies to treat them properly...