Search

Background Colonization with multi-drug resistant bacteria (MDR) in solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients increases the risk of post-transplant bacterial infection. MDR colonization impact on graft survival and mortality is not well established. Methods A search was executed by an expert librarian on PROSPERO, OVID Medline, Ovid EMBASE, Wiley Cochrane Library, ProQuest dissertations and Theses Global and SCOPUS, from inception until October 26, 2021. Adult SOT colonized with Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE), Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) or AmpC producing bacteria, carbapenem resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), or MDR Pseudomonas were included and compared to non-colonized SOT. Pairs of reviewers screened abstracts and full studies for inclusion, and extracted data independently. We used RevMan to conduct a meta-analysis using random effects models to calculate the pooled risk ratio (RR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) for the incidence of infection, mortality, and graft failure. Statistical heterogeneity was determined using the I2 statistic. Figure-1 PRISMA chart, systemic review and metanalysis on Impact Of Colonization By Multi Drug Resistant Bacteria on Graft Survival, Risk of Infection, and Mortality in Recipients of Solid Organ Transplant. Results 59 articles spanning from 1989 to 2021 were included (Figure-1). Liver transplant (43 studies) and VRE colonization (17 studies) were the most common organ and MDR pathogen. MDR surveillance was performed by culture (71%) and PCR (6.7%). In liver transplant recipients, VRE and MRSA colonization were associated with increased infection risk, but not mortality (VRE infection: RR= 2.40 (95%CI 1.54-3.73; p< 0.001), I2= 66%; VRE mortality: RR= 1.64 (95%CI 0.88-3.05; p=0.12), I2= 44%; MRSA infection: RR= 4.07 (95%CI 2.66-6.24; p< 0.001), I2= 59%; MRSA mortality RR=1.47 (95%CI 0.79-2.76; p=0.23), I2= 35%). ESBL and CRE colonization were associated with increased risk of infection (ESBL: RR=9.87 (6.12-15.93); p< 0.001), I2=13%; CRE: RR= 13.64 (95%CI 5.73-32.47); p< 0.001), I2= 66%). CRE colonization was associated with increased mortality, RR=5.79 (95% CI 1.80-18.63; p=0.003), I2=0%. Conclusion While colonization with MRSA and VRE in liver transplant was not associated with increase mortality, CRE colonization was associated with almost 6-fold increased risk of death. These data should be taken into account when stratifying the risk of transplant. Disclosures Carlos Cervera, Associate Professor, Astra-Zeneca: Advisor/Consultant|AVIR Pharma: Grant/Research Support|AVIR Pharma: Honoraria|Lilly: Advisor/Consultant|Merck: Advisor/Consultant|Merck: Grant/Research Support|Merck: Honoraria|Sunovion: Advisor/Consultant|Takeda: Advisor/Consultant|Takeda: Honoraria|VerityPharma: Advisor/Consultant Dima Kabbani, MD, MSc, AVIR Pharma: Grant/Research Support|AVIR Pharma: Honoraria|GSK: Honoraria|Merck: Grant/Research Support.

Objective To describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes of hospitalized coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients in a middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) referral hospital during the peak months of the pandemic. Design A single-center case series of hospitalized individuals with confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections in King Saud University Medical City (KSUMC), an academic tertiary care hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Clinical and biochemical markers were documented. Risks for ventilatory support, intensive care unit (ICU) admission and death are presented. Results Out of 12,688 individuals tested for SARS-CoV-2 by real time reverse transcriptase polymerase reaction (RT-PCR) from June 1 to August 31, 2020, 2,683 (21%) were positive for COVID-19. Of the latter, 605 (22%) patients required hospitalization with a median age of 55, 368 (61%) were male. The most common comorbidities were hypertension (43%) and diabetes (42%). Most patients presented with fever (66%), dyspnea (65%), cough (61%), elevated IL-6 (93.5%), D-dimer (90.1%), CRP (86.1%), and lymphopenia (41.7%). No MERS-CoV co-infection was detected. Overall, 91 patients (15%) died; risk factors associated with mortality were an age of 65 years or older OR 2.29 [95%CI 1.43–3.67], presence of two or more comorbidities OR 3.17 [95%CI 2.00–5.02], symptoms duration of seven days or less OR 3.189 [95%CI (1.64 – 6.19]) lymphopenia OR 3.388 [95%CI 2.10–5.44], high CRP OR 2.85 [95%CI 1.1–7.32], high AST OR 2.95 [95%CI 1.77–4.90], high creatinine OR 3.71 [95%CI 2.30–5.99], and high troponin-I OR 2.84 [95%CI 1.33–6.05]. Conclusion There is a significant increase in severe cases of COVID-19. Mortality was associated with older age, shorter symptom duration, high CRP, low lymphocyte count, and end-organ damage.

Objectives: To identify pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) delayed inpatient diagnosis duration and contributing factors in an academic center in Saudi Arabia (SA). Methods: Retrospective review of all culture-confirmed PTB cases between May 2015 and April 2019. The outcomes were the timing between admission and suspicion of PTB or isolation to either early group (within 24 hours of admission) and late group (24 hours after admission). Results: Forty-nine cases were included with a median age of 49 years; a third of them were above 65 years of age. Most patients were of Saudi nationality and male. Approximately 38% of the cases were in the delayed group, half of them were smear-positive, with an average delay of 5.5 days. This was significant with age above 65 years (odds ratio [OR]=8.93, 95% confidence interval [CI]=2.22-35.95) presence of non-respiratory symptoms (OR=5.6, 95% CI=1.56-19.98), malignancy (OR=13.38, 95% CI=1.46-122.71), chronic medical problems (OR=4.90, 95% CI=1.31-18.32), missed chest x-ray findings (OR= 48, 95% CI=8.63-266.88) or procalcitonin level above 0.5 ng/mL (OR=12, 95% CI=1.58-91.08). Conclusion: Physicians in SA need to have a low threshold for PTB consideration in elderly patients or those with a history of malignancy. A careful review of the initial chest x-ray might help to overcome missing cases of PTB.

Post rollout safety for the coronavirus disease vaccines is crucial and recommended. To explore the early solicited adverse events (AE) following BNT162b2 mRNA vaccination in Saudi Arabia, we distributed an online survey to adults vaccinated with BNT162b2 over the first week of June 2021, to collect data on first (V1), second doses (V2), symptoms, severity, and outcome after an informed consent was obtained. We recruited 3639 BNT162b2 vaccinated individuals, of which one-third had received two doses, 63.3% were female, 77% were healthy, and 89% had 18–55 years of age, while only 9.8% had a history of allergy. Overall, 50.3% had any AEs after any dose, especially those younger than 55 years of age, female, history of comorbidity, and when adjusted for age and gender, lung or cardiovascular diseases. Overall, the most common AE were pain at the injection site (44%), tiredness (39%), or body ache (31%). Compared to V1, a higher rate of post-V2 systemic AE (36% vs. 51%). Most AEs started very early (within 3 days), and rarely delayed in recovery (>2 weeks). Anti-pyretic was the most commonly used (51.7%), a third of which was unnecessary. Only 1.7% required hospital admission. By multivariate analysis, predictors for admission were the presence of lung or immunocompromising diseases. In conclusion, common AEs after BNT162b2 in the real world were generally mild, self-limiting, higher after the second dose, and largely mimicking that reported in clinical trials. The causality of these AE and the persistence of post-vaccination symptoms needs to be investigated further.

Background Infections with Fusobacterium, an anaerobic bacterium, have various clinical presentations, including bacteremia and Lemierre syndrome. Here, we report a case series of Fusobacterium bacteremia (FBB) from the largest academic center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and provide a review of cases in the available literature. Method Records were retrospectively reviewed for all patients with at least one blood culture positive for Fusobacterium spp. admitted at King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, between May 2015 to April 2019. Literature review We conducted a MeSH Search on MedLine using the following terms: (“Bacteremia"[Mesh]) AND “Fusobacterium"[Mesh] for studies conducted from January 1, 1990, until March 30, 2019, excluding articles that lacked adequate clinical or microbiological details for individuals patients. Odds ratios and results of Chi-Square testing obtained in SPSS (Version 23.0, SPSS, Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) were considered statistically significant at p-values Results Seven cases from our center and 205 cases from the literature were reviewed in this first reported case series for the region. Our patient series was similar to previous ones in terms of median age (45 vs. 45.5 years) and male predominance (85% vs. 65.9%). The species of Fusobacterium cultured from our cases were F. nucleatum (4 cases), F. varium (1 case), F. mortiferum (1 case), and one that could not be identified to the species level (1 case). We also report one case of FBB with renal vein thrombosis resembling that of atypical Lemierre syndrome. Analysis of literature cases revealed that bacteremia caused by the species most commonly associated with FBB, F. necrophorum, tended to be present in patients less than 40 years of age and be associated with head and neck infections and other complications, whereas F. nucleatum tended to affect people more than 40 years of age and be associated with mortality. Conclusion Although FBB is rarely reported in the literature, this case series and review of the literature suggests it is associated with morbidity and mortality. The type and duration of therapy used in these cases are underreported. Further research is needed to determine the most appropriate screening approach for FBB-associated complications and explore the relationship between FBB and specific malignancies, as well as optimal treatment type and duration.

Actinomycosis is an uncommon but curable chronic infection caused by Actinomyces spp. The cervicofacial region is the most susceptible to infection; however, other sites may also become infected. Data on the current prevalence of this rare disease in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia is lacking. We herein report a case series of four patients with actinomycosis from a single tertiary care center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Three patients presented to us with slowly progressing actinomycosis and one patient developed an acute abdomen, secondary to viscus perforation. Two of the patients had cervicofacial disease, including hard palate actinomycosis. Tissue cultures were sent for three patients; however, tests for actinomycosis were negative. Subsequently, the diagnosis was made through histopathological examination. Therapy involved a combination of surgical resection and debridement and prolonged antimicrobial treatment tailored to each patient. The cases reported in this series highlight the difficulty in diagnosing actinomycosis. For most patients, the diagnosis was delayed or accidentally discovered on histopathological examination. We conclude that increased awareness among physicians is needed for early diagnosis and treatment of actinomycosis.

Background Limited information is available regarding sleep medicine education worldwide. Nevertheless, medical education has been blamed for the under-recognition of sleep disorders among physicians. This study was designed to assess the knowledge of Saudi undergraduate medical students about sleep and sleep disorders and the prevalence of education on sleep medicine in medical schools as well as to identify the obstacles to providing such education. Methods We surveyed medical schools that were established more than 10 years ago, asking fourth- and fifth-year medical students (men and women) to participate. Seven medical schools were selected. To assess knowledge on sleep and sleep disorders, we used the Assessment of Sleep Knowledge in Medical Education (ASKME) Survey, which is a validated 30-item questionnaire. The participants were separated into two groups: those who scored ≥60% and those who scored Results A total of 348 students completed the survey (54.9% male). Among the participants, 27.7% had a specific interest in sleep medicine. More than 80% of the study sample had rated their knowledge in sleep medicine as below average. Only 4.6% of the respondents correctly answered ≥60% of the questions. There was no difference in the scores of the respondents with regard to university, gender, grade-point average (GPA) or student academic levels. Only five universities provided data on sleep medicine education. The time spent teaching sleep medicine in the surveyed medical schools ranged from 0-8 hours with a mean of 2.6 ±2.6 hours. Identified obstacles included the following: (1) sleep medicine has a lower priority in the curriculum (53%) and (2) time constraints do not allow the incorporation of sleep medicine topics in the curriculum (47%). Conclusions Medical students in the surveyed institutions possess poor knowledge regarding sleep medicine, which reflects the weak level of education in this field of medicine. To improve the recognition of sleep disorders among practicing physicians, medical schools must provide adequate sleep medicine education.