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In a multicenter, prospective study of filamentous fungal keratitis in Greece, predisposing factors, etiology, treatment practices, and outcome, were determined. Corneal scrapings were collected from patients with clinical suspicion of fungal keratitis, and demographic and clinical data were recorded. Fungal identification was based on morphology, molecular methods, and matrix assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass-spectrometry. A total of 35 cases were identified in a 16-year study period. Female to male ratio was 1:1.7 and median age 48 years. Corneal injury by plant material, and soft contact lens use were the main risk factors (42.8% and 31.4%, respectively). Trauma was the leading risk factor for men (68.1%), contact lens use (61.5%) for women. Fusarium species were isolated more frequently (n = 21, 61.8%). F. solani was mostly associated with trauma, F. verticillioides and F. proliferatum with soft contact lens use. Other fungi were: Purpureocillium lilacinum (14.7%), Alternaria (11.8%), Aspergillus (8.8%), and Phoma foliaceiphila, Beauveria bassiana and Curvularia spicifera, one case each. Amphotericin B and voriconazole MIC 50 s against Fusarium were 2 mg/L and 4 mg/L respectively. Antifungal therapy consisted mainly of voriconazole locally or both locally and systemically, alone or in combination with liposomal AmB. Cure/improvement rate with antifungal therapy alone was 52%, keratoplasty was required in 40% of cases, and enucleation in 8%. In conclusion, filamentous fungal keratitis in Greece is rare, but with considerable morbidity. A large proportion of cases resulted in keratoplasty despite appropriate antifungal treatment., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

Objectives: This study aimed to determine potential host-, pathogen-, infection- and treatment-related risk factors that might predict a fulminant fatal course of bacteraemia caused by extensively drug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (XDR-Aba)., Methods: Eighty-seven patients with monomicrobial growth of XDR-Aba in blood cultures within a 6-year period (2011-2016) were studied. Patients were divided into three groups according to ICU outcome: Group A (n=40) consisted of patients who survived; Group B (n=10) included patients with fulminant sepsis who died early (≤48h); and Group C (n=37) included patients who died later (>48h) after the onset of bacteraemia., Results: Regarding patient co-morbidities, patients who died from fulminant XDR-Aba bacteraemia had a significantly higher prevalence of chronic renal failure compared with patients who survived (40.0% vs. 7.5%; P=0.029). Patients with fulminant sepsis showed more severe organ dysfunction based on SOFA score compared with survivors (10.83±2.93 vs. 6.65±3.6; P=0.013). The primary to secondary bacteraemia ratio and appropriate treatment were similar among the three outcome groups. Patients with fulminant bacteraemia displayed higher rates of colistin-, tigecycline- and pandrug-resistant strains, although not statistically significant., Conclusions: Patients suffering from a fulminant course of XDR-Aba bacteraemia showed significantly higher rates of chronic renal failure and multiple organ dysfunction. Resistance patterns of XDR-Aba isolates and receipt of appropriate treatment did not affect outcomes. Further studies including larger samples of patients along with investigation of specific virulence determinants of individual Aba strains are needed., (Copyright © 2018 International Society for Chemotherapy of Infection and Cancer. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: The efficacy and applicability of molecular testing to guide the selection of antibiotics in triple Helicobacter pylori ( H. pylori) eradication regimens have not been reported. We tested a 7-day, genotypic resistance-guided triple H. pylori eradication therapy in a high-resistance setting., Methods: Consecutive dyspeptic patients with H. pylori infection were prospectively enrolled. Genotypic resistances to clarithromycin ( 23SrRNA mutations) and fluoroquinolones ( gyrA mutations) were determined from gastric biopsy specimens using a commercially available molecular assay (GenoType â HelicoDR). A tailored genotypic resistance-guided 7-day triple therapy comprised esomeprazole, amoxicillin, and either clarithromycin (wild-type 23SrRNA ), levofloxacin ( 23SrRNA mutated/wild-type gyrA ) or rifabutin (both 23SrRNA / gyrA mutated). H. pylori eradication was confirmed by 13 C-urea breath test., Results: Of 148 subjects screened, 51 patients were enrolled (male/female: 27/24, mean age: 50.7±11.4 years, treatment-naïve/-experienced: 32/19). The molecular kit was easily implemented, allowing for rapid (within 24 h) and relatively inexpensive determination of H. pylori resistance (clarithromycin: 47.1%, fluoroquinolones: 15.7%, dual clarithromycin/fluoroquinolones: 7.8%). For patients who received clarithromycin-, levofloxacin- and rifabutin-containing triple therapy, the respective eradication rates were 24/27, 20/20, and 2/4 by intention-to-treat (ITT); and 24/24, 19/19 and 2/3 by per-protocol (PP) analysis. Overall eradication rates were 90.2% (95% confidence interval [CI] 77.8-96.3%) by ITT and 97.8% (95%CI 87-99.8%) by PP analysis, showing no significant difference between treatment-naïve and -experienced patients (ITT: 87.5% vs. 94.7%, P=0.64; PP: 96.4% vs. 100%, respectively, P=1.00)., Conclusions: Regardless of prior treatment history, a genotypic resistance-guided 7-day triple therapy, based on a simple molecular assay, achieved a high H. pylori eradication rate., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest: None

Purpose To evaluate the in vitro efficacy of several anti-staphylococcal agents against a nationwide collection of contemporary Staphylococcus aureus clinical isolates from several healthcare centres in Greece. Methods Thirty hospitals throughout Greece (18 in Attica) provided all clinical isolates of S.aureus from April 2012 to May 2013 to a central lab to be re-submitted to susceptibility testing. The MICs were evaluated by Vitek® 2 with the exception of ceftaroline (OXOID M.I.C. Evaluator™). Vancomycin and daptomycin MICs were also evaluated by Etest®. Heterogeneously vancomycin-intermediate strains (hVISA) were detected by the Etest® GRD. VISA phenotype was confirmed by PAP-AUC. Results A total of 1005 isolates (39% MRSA) were studied. Susceptibility rates were: erythromycin 66.5%, clindamycin 79.2%, SXT 98.9%, rifampicin 97.3%, fusidic acid 67%, moxifloxacin 78.8%, vancomycin 99.9%, ceftaroline 92.9% and linezolid, tigecycline and daptomycin 100%. For mupirocin, high level resistance could be excluded for 98.9% of isolates. Vancomycin Etest® MIC 50/90 were 1.5/1.5 mg/L, 58.5% of isolates exhibited a MIC > 1 and 8.7% a MIC of 2 mg/L, while Vitek® MIC 50/90 were 1/1 and 3.1% showed MIC > 1 mg/L. One VISA strain was detected. Among the selected 175 isolates that were screened for hVISA phenotype, six (3.4%) were positive. In 315 bloodstream isolates, 64.1% had a vancomycin Etest® MIC > 1 mg/L. Conclusions This multi-centre surveillance study revealed that a significant percentage of contemporary S.aureus isolates from Greek patients have a vancomycin MIC (> 1 mg/L) that may compromise the clinical efficacy of the drug for the treatment of serious infections. The in vitro activity of SXT, rifampicin, mupirocin, linezolid, tigecycline, daptomycin and ceftaroline remains excellent.