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Background Our aim in this retrospective cohort study was to assess the impact on mortality of the empirical use of polymyxin as therapy for carbapenem-resistant gram-negative bacteria (CR-GNB) in septic patients. The study was performed at a tertiary academic hospital in Brazil, from January 2018 to January 2020, the pre–coronavirus disease 2019 period. Methods We included 203 patients with suspected sepsis. The first doses of antibiotics were prescribed from a "sepsis antibiotic kit", which contained a selection of drugs, including polymyxin, with no preapproval policy. We developed a logistic regression model to assess risk factors associated with 14-day crude mortality. Propensity score for polymyxin was used to control biases. Results Seventy (34%) of 203 patients had infections with at least 1 multidrug-resistant organism isolated from any clinical culture. Polymyxins in monotherapy or in combination therapy were prescribed to 140 of the 203 (69%) patients. The overall 14-day mortality rate was 30%. The 14-day crude mortality was associated with age (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.03; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01–1.05; P =.01), SOFA (sepsis-related organ failure assessment) score value (aOR, 1.2; 95% CI, 1.09–1.32; P <.001), CR-GNB infection (aOR, 3.94; 95% CI, 1.53–10.14; P =.005), and time between suspected sepsis and antibiotic administration (aOR, 0.73; 95% CI,.65–.83; P <.001). The empirical use of polymyxins was not associated with decreased crude mortality (aOR, 0.71; 95% CI,.29–1.71; P =.44). Conclusions Empirical use of polymyxin for septic patients in a setting with high CR-GNB prevalence was not associated with decreased crude mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs (ASPs) are associated with positive outcomes, but seem to be consolidated in few hospitals. This study aimed to evaluate ASPs in Brazilian hospitals and the barriers to their consolidation from the pharmacists' perspective. This is a cross-sectional study. Data were collected through an online questionnaire applied to hospital pharmacists. Data analysis was performed by descriptive statistics and Spearman's ordinal correlation test. A total of 83 pharmacists participated in the study and 45.8% stated that the hospital in which they worked had an ASP. The ASPs were predominantly implemented in public hospitals, with a greater number of beds in the intensive care unit and beds in general. The main barriers to the consolidation of ASPs were: reduced number of pharmacists, time allocated to other demands of the pharmacy, the ineffectiveness of the communication process with doctors, and lack of access to reliable information about antimicrobials in the hospital. Pharmacists that work in hospitals where ASPs were implemented were more confident (p = 0.000) and with a better perception of the barriers that prevent their consolidation (p = 0.003. The ASP was commonly adopted in public hospitals with a greater number of beds. The main obstacles to consolidation were infrastructure, economic, and educational resources., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval: The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Federal University of Alfenas (UNIFAL-MG) under protocol number 5.239.322 and CAAE 52933621.2.0000.5142. Conflict of interests: We have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (© 2024. The Author(s) under exclusive licence to Sociedade Brasileira de Microbiologia.)

The use of antibiotics by dentist surgeons faces a lack of consensus among professionals and researchers, whether in relation to prophylaxis, or at least regarding the real need for their use. Recent studies increasingly question the use of prophylactic antibiotic therapy in healthy patients. This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge of dentist surgeons working in offices across Brazil regarding antibiotic use protocols and antibiotic resistance. A questionnaire was made via Google Forms and sent by email. The results showed that most dentists prescribe antibiotics for all surgical procedures performed in their office, regardless of the complexity and the patient. Furthermore, low scientific basis was observed among some of the professionals interviewed regarding the best therapeutic choice and the role of antibiotics in the surgical procedure. The present study highlights the urgent need to improve the knowledge of these professionals in Brazil, to reduce the impact on antibiotic resistance., Competing Interests: Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Ethics approval and consent to participate: This study was approved by the Ethical Committee from Universidade São Francisco (Process Number: 58541322.5.0000.5514). This study is in accordance with Brazilian General Data Protection Law (LGPD) available in Portuguese language in https://www.gov.br/defesa/pt-br/acesso-a-informacao/lei-geral-de-protecao-de-dados-pessoais-lgpd/arquivos/PortariaGMMDn5.814DiretrizparaaProteodeDadosPessoais.pdf . All subjects consent to participate in this study before being included and consent with data publication in a scientific media. Consent for publication: All authors consent to publication of this study. The participants were not identified in this study. All participants consent to publish these results in a scientific journal., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

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Candidiasis is a fungal disease caused by Candida albicans or other members of the genus Candida. Descriptions of candidiasis are comparatively reduced in veterinary relative to human medicine, with no cases of mammary candidiasis being identified in pet animals. This report presents the cytological, pathological, and molecular findings of mammary candidiasis with embolic dissemination in a postpartum dog. A 1-year-old, female Shih-tzu dog that had recently given birth was admitted to a veterinary teaching hospital in Southern Brazil after repeated episodes of intermittent mammary disease and a neurological syndrome. The dog was euthanized due to worsened clinical status and poor prognosis despite adequate clinical therapy and was submitted for routine post-mortem evaluation to determine the cause of the neurological manifestations. Cytological analysis of purulent mastitis identified intralesional fungal hyphae. Gross evaluation revealed multiple masses within the kidneys, liver, myocardium, pancreas, and brain. Routine histopathology and histochemistry identified fungal nephritis, hepatitis, myocarditis, pancreatitis, and encephalitis associated with intralesional fungal hyphae, frequently with fungal emboli and vasculitis. Pure cultures of C. albicans were obtained from fragments of the masses observed at the myocardium and kidneys, with the typical germ tube of C. albicans being identified by microscopic evaluation. A PCR assay that targeted the ITS1 and 4 generic regions of fungi, amplified the desired amplicon, and direct sequencing confirmed C. albicans. Immunohistochemical and molecular assays designed to identify common infectious disease pathogens of dogs did not confirm the participation of canine distemper virus, canine parvovirus, or canine adenovirus in the target tissues of this dog. These findings suggest that this dog suffered an initial cutaneous lesion, that probably served as portal of entry to the mammary gland, resulting in mammary candidiasis with subsequent embolic dissemination to multiple organs. This report represent the first description of mammary candidiasis in pet animals and probably one of the few pathological descriptions of mammary candidiasis in domestic animals. In this case, the cause of the fungal infection was probably associated with factors intrinsic to abdominal surgery, pregnancy, and the utilization of antibiotics. • Diseases caused by Candida albicans are infrequent in domestic animals. • Mammary candidiasis with embolic dissemination is described in a postpartum dog. • These findings represent the first report of mammary candidiasis in pet animals. • Concomitant infectious disease pathogens were not identified. • Infection was associated with factors induced by pregnancy, surgery, and antibiotic therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study was carried out in dairy cows to elucidate whether treatment of clinical mastitis quarters with Spectramast® LC (ceftiofur hydrochloride, 125 mg, Zoetis) created a reason for discarding milk from adjacent untreated healthy quarters. The antibiotic was infused once daily in the affected mammary quarter for four days. Forty-nine cows were evaluated after diagnosis of clinical mastitis in three or fewer udder quarters. In all cases, quarters that did not receive treatment had milk samples collected one day after the end of treatment. All milk samples from untreated quarters were below the maximum permissible limit for the presence of antibiotic residues after analysis with the BetaStar S Combo test. Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic characteristics may explain this finding. We conclude that it is feasible to use milk from untreated quarters of animals that have been treated with Spectramast® LC. We also reiterate the need to carry out tests with other pharmacological bases, and that the results found in this experiment cannot be extrapolated to other drugs.Dairy cattle have considerable importance in the development of the Brazilian economy, being directly linked to economic and social progress. In the first half of 2020, 12.1 billion liters of milk were produced in Brazil and in 2019, there was a new record of 25.01 billion liters produced (IBGE, 2020). This production comes from a wide variety of production systems, coming from smallholder farmers as well as from large companies that use the latest technologies available on the market. Dairy production is a complex activity. For one to obtain economical success, several aspects must be monitored. Maintaining the health of animals is a top priority, and the literature suggests that various diseases are a common challenge for dairy producers. Mastitis is the main disease that affects dairy cows, responsible for considerable economic loss and significant zootechnical and productive challenges (Ruegg, ). It is considered the second leading cause of cow culling in dairy herds, behind reproductive problems. Mastitis is characterized by infection of the mammary gland and may or may not occur with inflammation, generating changes in the mammary tissue and properties of the milk. It is classifield into clinical or subclinical mastitis, according to presence or absence of clinical signs, and into contagious or environmental based on the causative agent (Correa et al ., ).

Increased resistance to polymyxin in Klebsiella pneumoniae (ColRKP) has been observed. Molecular epidemiology, as well as the clinical impact of these difficult to treat pathogens need to be better characterized. We present the clinical outcomes of 28 patients infected by ColRKP in a tertiary hospital. Isolates with MIC >2 by Vitek 2 were confirmed by the microdilution broth test. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed for blaKPC, blaNDM, blaOXA-48 and blamcr-1 genes in the isolates, and Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) was performed in six isolates. Seventeen (61%) patients were female and the mean age was 50 years old. In-hospital and 30-day mortality were 64% (18/28) and 53% (15/28), respectively. Central line-associated bloodstream infection in addition to bacteremia episodes due to other sources were the most frequent (61%). Mean APACHE and Charlson comorbidity index were 16 and 5, respectively. Twenty patients (71%) received at least one active drug and ten (35%) received two drugs: tigecycline 46% (13/28); amikacin 21% (6/28) and fosfomycin 3% (1 case). Twenty-six out of 28 tested cases were positive for blaKPC. Eight different clusters were identified. Four STs were detected (ST11, ST23, ST340, and ST437). Mutations on pmrA, arnB, udg, and yciM genes were present in all six isolates submitted to WGS; lpxMand mgrB mutations were also detected in all but one isolate. In conclusion, we observed resistance to polymyxin in severely ill patients mostly from intensive care units and/or immunosuppressed patients with high mortality rates in whom a diversity of ColRKP clusters was identified and might indicate selective pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Early antibiotic switch and early discharge protocols have not been widely studied in Latin America. Our objective was to describe real-world treatment patterns, resource use, and estimate opportunities for early switch from intravenous to oral antibiotics and early discharge for patients hospitalized with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus complicated skin and soft-tissue infections., Materials/methods: This retrospective medical chart review recruited 72 physicians from Brazil to collect data from patients hospitalized with documented methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus complicated skin and soft tissue infections between May 2013 and May 2015, and discharged alive by June 2015. Data collected included clinical characteristics and outcomes, hospital length of stay, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus-targeted intravenous and oral antibiotic use, and early switch and early discharge eligibility using literature-based and expert-validated criteria., Results: A total of 199 patient charts were reviewed, of which 196 (98.5%) were prescribed methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus -active therapy. Only four patients were switched from intravenous to oral antibiotics while hospitalized. The mean length of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus-active treatment was 14.7 (standard deviation, 10.1) days, with 14.6 (standard deviation, 10.1) total days of intravenous therapy. The mean length of hospital stay was 22.2 (standard deviation, 23.0) days. The most frequent initial methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus-active therapies were intravenous vancomycin (58.2%), intravenous clindamycin (19.9%), and intravenous daptomycin (6.6%). Thirty-one patients (15.6%) were discharged with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus -active antibiotics of which 80.6% received oral antibiotics. Sixty-two patients (31.2%) met early switch criteria and potentially could have discontinued intravenous therapy 6.8 (standard deviation, 7.8) days sooner, and 65 patients (32.7%) met early discharge criteria and potentially could have been discharged 5.3 (standard deviation, 7.0) days sooner., Conclusions: Only 2% of patients were switched from intravenous to oral antibiotics in our study while almost one-third were early switch eligible. Additionally, one-third of hospitalized patients with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus complicated skin and soft tissue infections were early discharge eligible indicating opportunity for reducing intravenous therapy and days of hospital stay. These results provide insight into possible benefits of implementation of early switch/early discharge protocols in Brazil., (Copyright © 2019 Sociedade Brasileira de Infectologia. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)