Search

BACKGROUND: Candidemia is the most frequent pediatric fungal infection, but incompletely elucidated in population-based settings. We performed a nationwide cohort study including all pediatric patients with candidemia in Denmark from 2004 to 2014 to determine age, incidence, species distribution, underlying diseases, patient management and outcomes.METHODS: All candidemia episodes were identified through the active nationwide fungemia surveillance program. Susceptibility testing followed the EUCAST E.Def 7 (European Committee on Antifungal Susceptibility Testing, Edition Definitive) reference method. χ test, Fisher exact test and Venn diagrams were used for statistical analyses.RESULTS: One hundred fifty-three pediatric patients (≤ 15 years) with 158 candidemia episodes were identified. The overall annual incidence rate was 1.3/100,000 population, higher for neonates (5.7/100,000 live births) and low birth weight neonates (103.8/100,000 live births). From 2004 to 2009 to 2010 to 2014, the proportion of Candida albicans decreased from 74.4% to 64.7%, whereas fluconazole resistance increased from 7.8% to 17.7%. Virtually all patients had at least 1 underlying disease (98.6%) and multimorbidity was common (43.5%, ≥2 underlying diseases). Underlying diseases differed by age with heart malformations and gastrointestinal disease prevalent in children younger than 3 years. The overall 30-days mortality was 10.2% and highest for neonates (17.1%). Mortality increased from 2004 to 2010 to 2014, driven by an increase among older children.CONCLUSION: This first nationwide epidemiologic study of pediatric candidemia confirmed a high incidence among neonates and a substantial burden of comorbidities. Moreover, an increasing proportion of fluconazole resistant nonalbicans species was observed. Our findings underline the importance of choosing correct treatment and continuous surveillance of pediatric candidemia.

BACKGROUND: Travelers to India are often colonized with extended-spectrum beta-lactamase producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL-E) or Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE). The aim of this study was to investigate if the probiotic species Lactobacillus Rhamnosus GG (LGG) could prevent the colonization of the gut with multi-drug resistant bacteria.METHODS: Adult Danish travelers traveling to India for 10-28 days were randomized to receive either LGG or no probiotics during travel. Rectal swabs and questionnaires were obtained before travel, immediately after and six months after return. Swaps were screened for the presence of ESBL-E and CPE.RESULTS: 31 travelers were randomized to the LGG group and 30 to the control group. Before traveling, 6/50 (12.0%) were colonized with ESBL-E. After return, 41/44 (93.2%) of those not colonized before travel were colonized and 11/36 (30.6%) were still colonized after six months. There was no statistically significant difference in the colonization rate between the group receiving LGG and the control group. No CPE was detected in any cases.CONCLUSIONS: The study confirms the very high incidence of colonization with ESBL-E associated with travel to India with >90% colonized upon return and one third were intestinal carriers for at least six months. Use of LGG did not have any effect on the risk of colonization with ESBL-E.

Background: Denmark has a high incidence rate of candidaemia. A Nordic study suggested a higher Danish prevalence of haematological malignancies as an underlying reason. This nationwide study ascertained clinical characteristics of Danish candidaemia patients and investigated potential factors contributing to the high incidence and mortality. Methods: Microbiological and clinical data for candidaemia patients in 2010-2011 were retrieved. 30-day mortality was estimated by hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI, Cox regression). Results: Data were available for 912/973 candidaemia episodes (93.7%). Intensive care unit (ICU) held the largest share of patients (43.2%). Prevalent host factors were multi-morbidity (≥2 underlying diseases, 74.2%) and gastrointestinal disease (52.5%). Haematological disease was infrequent (7.8%). Risk factors included antibiotic exposure (90.5%), CVC (71.9%) and Candida colonisation (66.7%). 30-day mortality was 43.4%, and 53.6% in ICU. Mortality was lower for patients with recent abdominal surgery (HR 0.70, 95% CI: 0.54-0.92). Conclusion: A substantial prevalence of multi-morbidity and a high 30-day mortality was found. We hypothesise, that an increasing population of severely ill patients with prolonged supportive treatment and microbiological testing may in part explain the high candidaemia incidence in Denmark. Nationwide studies are warranted to clarify this issue. Keywords: Candidaemia, Candida, Epidemiology, Outcome, Mortality

Karen Rokkedal Lausch,1 Mette Søgaard,2,3 Flemming Schønning Rosenvinge,4,5 Helle Krogh Johansen,6 Trine Boysen,7 Bent Løwe Røder,8 Klaus Leth Mortensen,1,9Lene Nielsen,10 Lars Lemming,9 Bente Olesen,10 Christine Leitz,11 Lise Kristensen,9,12 Esad Dzajic,13 Lars Jørgen Østergaard,1 Henrik Carl Schønheyder,14,15 Maiken Cavling Arendrup6,16,17 1Department of Infectious Disease, Aarhus University Hospital, 8200 Aarhus, Denmark; 2Department of Cardiology, Aalborg University Hospital, 9000 Aalborg, Denmark; 3Aalborg Thrombosis Research Unit, Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health, Aalborg University, 9000 Aalborg, Denmark; 4Department of Clinical Microbiology, Odense University Hospital, 5000 Odence C, Denmark; 5Department of Clinical Microbiology, Lillebaelt Hospital, 5500 Middelfart, Denmark; 6Department of Clinical Microbiology, Rigshospitalet, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark; 7Department of Clinical Microbiology, Hvidovre Hospital, 2650 Hvidovre, Denmark; 8Department of Clinical Microbiology, Hospital of Slagelse, Slagelse Sygehus, 4200 Slagelse, Denmark; 9Department of Clinical Microbiology, Aarhus University Hospital, 8200 Aarhus, Denmark; 10Department of Clinical Microbiology, Herlev and Gentofte Hospital, University of Copenhagen, 2730 Herlev, Denmark; 11Department of Clinical Microbiology, Viborg Regionshospital, 8800 Viborg, Denmark; 12Department of Clinical Microbiology, Herning Regionshospital, 7400 Herning, Denmark; 13Department of Clinical Microbiology, Sydvestjysk Sygehus, 6700 Esbjerg, Denmark; 14Department of Clinical Microbiology, Aalborg University Hospital, 9000 Aalborg, Denmark; 15Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Aalborg, 9000 Aalborg, Denmark; 16Unit of Mycology, Statens Serum Institute, 2300 København, Denmark; 17Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, 2200 Copenhagen, Denmark Background: In accordance with international guidelines, primary antifungal treatment (AFT) of candidemia with echinocandins has been nationally recommended in Denmark since 2009. Our nationwide cohort study describes the management of candidemia treatment focusing on the impact of prophylactic AFT on species distribution, the rate of adherence to the recommended national guidelines for AFT, and the effect of AFT on patient outcomes.Materials and methods: Incident candidemia cases from a 2-year period, 2010–2011, were included. Information on AFT was retrospectively collected from patient charts. Vital status was obtained from the Danish Civil Registration System. HRs of mortality were reported with 95% CIs using Cox regression.Results: A total of 841 candidemia patients was identified. Prior to candidemia diagnosis, 19.3% of patients received AFT (162/841). The risk of non-albicans candidemia increased after prior AFT (59.3% vs 45.5% among nontreated). Echinocandins as primary AFT were given for 44.2% (302/683) of patients. Primary treatment with echinocandins resulted in adequate treatment in a higher proportion of patients (97.7% vs 72.1%) and was associated with lower 0- to 14-day mortality compared with azole treatment (adj. HR 0.76, 95% CI: 0.55–1.06). Significantly lower 0- to 14-day mortality was observed for patients with Candida glabrata and Candida krusei with echinocandin treatment compared with azole treatment (adj. HR 0.50, 95% CI: 0.28–0.89), but not for patients with Candida albicans or Candida tropicalis.Conclusion: The association shown between prior AFT and non-albicans species underlines the importance of treatment history when selecting treatment for candidemia. Compliance with national recommendations was low, but similar to previously reported international rates. Primary treatment of candidemia with echinocandins compared with azoles yielded both a higher proportion of adequately treated patients and improved mortality rates. This real-life setting supports guidelines recommendation, and further focus on compliance with these seems warranted. Keywords: candidemia, candida, antifungal treatment, echinocandin, azole, Candida albicans, Candida glabrata

A patient with Candida spondylitis failed two weeks of fluconazole combined with caspofungin, and the infection relapsed despite six weeks of liposomal amphotericin B followed by two months of fluconazole. Six months therapy with high dose liposomal amphotericin B combined with flucytosine effectively cured the patient., Highlights • A Candida osteomyelitis case failing caspofungin+fluconazole treatment is described. • A relapse was diagnosed after ambisome followed by fluconazole therapy. • Prolonged therapy with increasing dose L-AMB and 5-FC eradicated the infection. • Further clinical studies are warranted to define optimal treatment strategies.

Rotavirus infection is the most common aetiology of acute gastroenteritis (AGE) among young children. In adults, diagnostics focus mainly on bacterial causes, though recent studies suggest that rotavirus is a frequent agent. The aim of this study was to examine the proportion of rotavirus in adults hospitalised with AGE and to identify possible predictors.During a 24-month period from 1 May 2010 adults (15 years) with AGE admitted to one of four hospitals in the Central Denmark Region were examined for rotavirus with VIKIA Rota-Adeno rapid test in addition to routine culture for bacterial pathogens.A total of 265 adult patients were included. 9.4% tested positive for rotavirus. Enteropathogenic bacteria were found in 24.5% of the cases. In the majority of cases (62.3%), no pathogen was found. Overall, rotavirus was the second-most frequent pathogen, exceeded only by Campylobacter spp. Immunosuppression and a C-reactive protein (CRP) below 50 mg/l (0-8 mg/l) were associated with rotavirus. The seasonality of rotavirus differed markedly from that of bacterial gastroenteritis.Rotavirus is the second-most frequently identified pathogen in adults hospitalised with AGE. Close contact to children or travel activity does not predict rotavirus gastroenteritis, but immunosuppression and a CRP below 50 mg/l do. The seasonality of rotavirus differs from that of bacterial gastroenteritis, making rotavirus the most frequently identified cause of AGE in adults admitted to hospital in the colder months.The trial was funded by an unrestricted grant from Sanofi Pasteur MSD.not relevant.

Background. Observational studies have suggested that BCG may have nonspecific beneficial effects on survival. Low-birth-weight (LBW) children are not given BCG at birth in Guinea-Bissau; we conducted a randomized trial of BCG at birth (early BCG) vs delayed BCG. Methods. In the period 2004-2008 we recruited 2320 LBW children in Bissau. The children were visited at home at 2, 6, and 12 months of age. With a pretrial infant mortality of 250 per 1000, we hypothesized a 25% reduction in infant mortality for LBW children. Results. Infant mortality was only 101 per 1000 during the trial. In the primary analysis, infant mortality was reduced insignificantly by 17% (mortality rate ratio [MRR] = .83 [.63-1.08]). In secondary analyses, early BCG vaccine was safe with an MRR of .49 (.21-1.15) after 3 days and .55 (.34-.89) after 4 weeks. The reduction in neonatal mortality was mainly due to fewer cases of neonatal sepsis, respiratory infection, and fever. The impact of early BCG on infant mortality was marked for children weighing

Whether neonatal vitamin A supplementation (NVAS) should be policy in areas with vitamin A deficiency is debated. We observed that a smaller dose of vitamin A may decrease mortality more than a larger dose and conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in Guinea-Bissau with the primary aim of comparing the effect of 50,000 with 25,000 IU neonatal vitamin A on infant mortality. The secondary aim was to study the effect of NVAS vs. placebo, including a combined analysis of NVAS trials. Between 2004 and 2007, normal-birth-weight neonates were randomly assigned in a 1:1:1 ratio to be administered 2 different doses of vitamin A (50,000 or 25,000 IU) or placebo. Infant mortality rates (MRs) were compared in Cox models providing MR ratios (MRRs). Among 6048 children enrolled, there were 160 deaths in 4125 person-years (MR = 39/1000). There was no difference in mortality between the 2 dosage groups: the MRR for 25,000 vs. 50,000 IU was 0.96 (95% CI: 0.67, 1.38). Neither dose of NVAS was associated with lower mortality than placebo (MRR = 1.28; 95% CI: 0.91, 1.81). In a combined analysis of the present trial and 2 previous NVAS trials in Guinea-Bissau, the effect of receiving NVAS (any dose) vs. placebo was 1.13 (95% CI: 0.94, 1.36) and differed significantly (P = 0.01) between boys (0.80; 95% CI: 0.58, 1.09) and girls (1.35; 95% CI: 1.04, 1.75). We could not confirm that a smaller dose of neonatal vitamin A reduces mortality more than a larger dose. We confirmed 2 other trials in Guinea-Bissau that showed no beneficial effect of NVAS. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00168610.

The global spread of multi-resistant Enterobacteriaceae is a new challenge in health care. Travelling in high endemic areas has been associated with colonisation. This study was performed among patients hospitalised for any reason, with recent travel abroad to identify the rate for colonisation with multi-resistant bacteria.In a 3-month period (2011) all patients admitted to a the Department of Infectious Diseases, Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark with a travel history within the last three months were screened for multi-drug resistant bacteria by a rectal swab.A total of 88 adult patients were included. None were carriers of carbapenemase-producing bacilli. 12.5% were colonised with extended spectrum beta-lactamase producing Escherichia coli (ESBL-EC). Diarrhoea during travel was significantly associated with colonisation. More than 80% of the ESBL-EC colonised patients had been abroad longer than two weeks (P 0.05). Less than 40% of patients with ESBL-EC had self-limiting diarrhoea at the time of admission.A significant proportion of patients with a recent travel history was colonised with ESBL-EC at hospitalisation (12.5%). Less than half of the travellers with ESBL-EC had gastrointestinal symptoms. Diarrhoea during travel and travelling time two weeks were associated with colonisation with ESBL-EC.

Background Studies from low-income countries have suggested that diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP) vaccine provided after Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccination may have a negative effect on female survival. The authors examined the effect of DTP in a cohort of low birthweight (LBW) infants. Methods 2320 LBW newborns were visited at 2, 6 and 12 months of age to assess nutritional and vaccination status. The authors examined survival until the 6-month visit for children who were DTP vaccinated and DTP unvaccinated at the 2-month visit. Results Two-thirds of the children had received DTP at 2 months and 50 deaths occurred between the 2-month and 6-month visits. DTP vaccinated children had a better anthropometric status for all indices than DTP unvaccinated children. Small mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) was the strongest predictor of mortality. The death rate ratio (DRR) for DTP vaccinated versus DTP unvaccinated children differed significantly for girls (DRR 2.45; 95% CI 0.93 to 6.45) and boys (DRR 0.53; 95% CI 0.23 to 1.20) (p=0.018, homogeneity test). Adjusting for MUAC, the overall effect for DTP vaccinated children was 2.62 (95% CI 1.34 to 5.09); DRR was 5.68 (95% CI 1.83 to 17.7) for girls and 1.29 (95% CI 0.56 to 2.97) for boys (p=0.023, homogeneity test). While anthropometric indices were a strong predictor of mortality among boys, there was little or no association for girls. Conclusion Surprisingly, even though the children with the best nutritional status were vaccinated early, early DTP vaccination was associated with increased mortality for girls.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of vitamin A supplementation and BCG vaccination at birth in low birthweight neonates. DESIGN: Randomised, placebo controlled, two by two factorial trial. SETTING: Bissau, Guinea-Bissau. PARTICIPANTS: 1717 low birthweight neonates born at the national hospital. INTERVENTION: Neonates who weighed less than 2.5 kg were randomly assigned to 25 000 IU vitamin A or placebo, as well as to early BCG vaccine or the usual late BCG vaccine, and were followed until age 12 months. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Mortality, calculated as mortality rate ratios (MRRs), after follow-up to 12 months of age for infants who received vitamin A supplementation compared with those who received placebo. RESULTS: No interaction was observed between vitamin A supplementation and BCG vaccine allocation (P=0.73). Vitamin A supplementation at birth was not significantly associated with mortality: the MRR of vitamin A supplementation compared with placebo, controlled for randomisation to "early BCG" versus "no early BCG" was 1.08 (95% CI 0.79 to 1.47). Stratification by sex revealed a significant interaction between vitamin A supplementation and sex (P=0.046), the MRR of vitamin A supplementation being 0.74 (95% CI 0.45 to 1.22) in boys and 1.42 (95% CI 0.94 to 2.15) in girls. When these data were combined with data from a complementary trial among normal birthweight neonates in Guinea-Bissau, the combined estimate of the effect of neonatal vitamin A supplementation on mortality was 1.08 (95% CI 0.87 to 1.33); 0.80 (95% CI 0.58 to 1.10) in boys and 1.41 (95% CI 1.04 to 1.90) in girls (P=0.01 for interaction between neonatal vitamin A and sex). CONCLUSIONS: The combined results of this trial and the complementary trial among normal birthweight neonates have now shown that, overall, it would not be beneficial to implement a neonatal vitamin A supplementation policy in Guinea-Bissau. Worryingly, the trials show that vitamin A supplementation at birth can be harmful in girls. Previous studies and future trials should investigate the possibility that vitamin A supplementation has sex differential effects. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00168610.