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Objectives: The usefulness of routine microbiological testing for rationalising antibiotic use in hospitalised patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) continues to be a subject of debate. We aim to determine the effect of positive microbiological testing on antimicrobial de-escalation and clinical outcomes in CAP. Methods: A retrospective analysis of a prospectively collected cohort of non-immunosuppressed adults hospitalised with CAP was performed. The primary study outcome was antimicrobial de-escalation. Secondary outcomes included 30-day case-fatality rate, adverse events, and CAP recurrence. Adjustment for confounders was performed by inverse probability weighting propensity score, logistic regression, and cause-specific Cox model. Results: Of 3677 patients with CAP, 1924 (52.3%) had any positive microbiological test. Antimicrobial de-escalation was performed in 648/1924 (33.7%) of patients with positive microbiological testing and in 179/1753 (10.2%) of those with non-positive results. When propensity score was entered into the multivariate analysis, positive microbiological testing (adjusted OR (AOR)], 2.59; 1.96-3.41) and clinical stability at day 3 (AOR 1.87; 1.45-2.10) were two of the main factors independently associated with antimicrobial de-escalation. After applying an adjusted cause-specific Cox model, antimicrobial de-escalation was not associated with a higher 30-day case-fatality rate (adjusted hazard ratio (AHR), 0.44 (95% CI, 0.14-1.43)), higher frequency of adverse events (AHR, 0.77 (95% CI, 0.53-1.12)), or CAP recurrence (AHR, 0.65 (95% CI, 0.35-1.14)). Discussion: Antimicrobial de-escalation was more often performed in hospitalised patients with CAP who had positive microbiological tests than in those with non-positive results, and it did not adversely affect relevant clinical outcomes.

We describe an outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 (B.1.351) in a nursing home. At the outbreak onset 96% of residents and 76% of HCW had received two doses of BNT162b2. Twenty-eight residents (28/53) and six HCW (6/33) were infected. Infected residents had lower levels of anti-S antibodies compared to those who were not infected (157 vs 552 U/mL). Among 50 residents with available serological status, nineteen (19/25) with serum concentration 300 U/mL and seven (7/25) with concentration 300 U/mL acquired SARS-CoV-2 (RR 2.7 [95 %CI 1.4-5.3]). The quantification of circulating antibodies could be useful in detecting people with an impaired immune response who are at high risk of acquiring and spreading SARS-CoV-2.

Eva Dopico,1,2 Francisco Rodriguez-Frias,3– 5 Itziar Ubillos,6 Ariadna Rando-Segura,3 Damir Garcia-Cehic,4,7 Josep Gregori,4,7 Yolanda Rando-Matos,8,9 Luis Solsona,8,9 Jordi Niubó,1,2 Juan Ignacio Esteban,4,7 Josep Costa,4,10 Miguel J Martínez,10,11 Josep Quer4,5,7 1Microbiology Department, Laboratori Clínic Territorial Metropolitana Sud, Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge, Institut Català de la Salut (ICS), Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain; 2Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain; 3Biochemistry Department, Vall d’Hebron Institut de Recerca (VHIR), Vall d’Hebron Hospital Universitari, Vall d’Hebron Barcelona Hospital Campus, Barcelona, Spain; 4Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBERehd), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; 5Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Bellaterra, Spain; 6Laboratory Clínic Territorial Metropolitana Sud, Institut Català de la Salut (ICS), Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain; 7Liver Diseases-Viral Hepatitis, Liver Unit, Vall d’Hebron Institut de Recerca (VHIR), Vall d’Hebron Hospital Universitari, Vall d’Hebron Barcelona Hospital Campus, Barcelona, Spain; 8Equip d’Atenció Primà ria Florida Nord, Gerència d’Àmbit d’Atenció Primà ria Metropolitana Sud, Institut Català de la Salut (ICS), Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain; 9Fundació Institut Universitari per a la recerca a l’Atenció Primà ria de Salut Jordi Gol i Gurina (IDIAPJGol), Barcelona, Spain; 10Microbiology Department, Hospital Clínic, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; 11ISGlobal, Hospital Clínic - Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, SpainCorrespondence: Josep Quer, Liver Diseases-Viral Hepatitis, Liver Unit, Vall d’Hebron Institut de Recerca (VHIR), Vall d’Hebron Hospital Universitari, Vall d’Hebron Barcelona Hospital Campus, Barcelona, Spain, Tel +34 934894034, Email josep.quer@vhir.org Miguel J Martínez, Microbiology Department, Hospital Clínic, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain, Email MYOLDI@clinic.catBackground: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major cause of chronic liver infection with 71 million people infected worldwide. Pakistan has the second highest prevalence of HCV infection and more than half (52%) of Pakistani living in Spain reside in Barcelona. The aim of this study was to analyse the seroprevalence and viraemic rate and determine the genotypes and subtypes of HCV among Pakistanis living in the southern metropolitan area of Barcelona.Methods: We included all Pakistani patients seeking primary healthcare in the southern metropolitan area of Barcelona from August 2011 to July 2014. Serum samples were screened for HCV antibodies. HCV viral load was determined by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and genotypes and subtypes were performed using Versant HCV Genotype and/or deep-sequencing. Screening for hepatitis B virus (HBV) was also carried out.Results: Among 5877 Pakistani patients, 565 (9.61%) were screened for anti-HCV antibodies, with 68 (12.04%) being positive. The viral load was determined in 65, with 31 presenting active infection and the viraemic rate was 47.69% (95% confidence interval 36.02– 59.62). HCV genotyping and subtyping were performed in 24 individuals. Most infections corresponded to HCV genotype 3 (91.67%), and high resolution HCV subtyping was performed in 18 samples, 16 of which presented subtype 3a. One subject presented HBV coinfection with undetectable HBV DNA. During the study period, we identified a possible case of HCV vertical transmission followed by spontaneous viraemia clearance in a chronically infected mother with a C/T IL28B genetic polymorphism.Conclusion: These results suggest that general HCV screening protocols in patients from high prevalence countries, such as Pakistan, would be helpful to identify and treat active HCV infections. This could avoid further transmission and contribute to building targeted health policies for micro-elimination of HCV infection in specific communities.Keywords: hepatitis C virus, migrants, HCV genotype, HCV subtype