Comparative activity of 9 beta-lactamines, clindamycin and metronidazole on strictly anaerobic bacteria

The in vitro activities of amoxicillin, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, piperacillin, cefoxitin, cefotetan, cefotaxime, cefmenoxime, ceftizoxime, latamoxef, clindamycin and metronidazole, were determined by agar dilution method for 196 clinical isolates of anaerobic bacteria. No metronidazole resistant strains could be found, 10% of tested strains were resistant to clindamycin. The majority of these strains was susceptible to amoxicillin-clavulanic acid and piperacillin; less than 10% were resistant to latamoxef, cefoxitin, cefotaxime and ceftizoxime; whereas 15 to 20% were resistant to amoxicillin, cefotetan and cefmenoxime.     

Comparative study of first-line ceftriaxone and amikacin in the treatment of severe urinary tract infections in the adult

After randomization in 2 groups of 20, 40 adult patients with a severe urinary tract infection (post-urologic surgery, pyelonephritis, prostatitis, neurologic bladder dysfunction, Foley catheter) received as first-line therapy, ceftriaxone (CFX) 1 g/24 h im or amikacin (AMK) 500 mg/24 h im during at least 5 days. The clinical and bacteriological efficiency and the tolerance of the 2 agents are equivalent. In the 2 groups, all patients but one are clinically cured. In the CFX group, 2 patients had resistant organisms (E. cloacae, strepto D) to first-line antibiotic. 48 hours after the beginning and at the end of the treatment, the percentage of urine sterilization was respectively 65 and 88 in the CFX group and 50 in the AMK group. In both groups, 60% of the patients showed negative first-month follow-up urine specimen. Underlying urinary tract pathology contributed to persistence of the original infecting organism, reinfection or relapse; the responsible isolate remained sensitive to the first-line antibiotic.     

A rare case of brainstem encephalitis by Listeria monocytogenes with isolated mesencephalic localization. Case report and review

We describe a case of brainstem infection by Listeria monocytogenes with right oculomotor palsy and lip drop, facial hypoesthesia, left arm paresthesia, positive blood culture, and sterile liquor in a 63-year-old man. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed an isolated mesencephalic lesion. Localization of this kind accounted for 3% of 111 cases reviewed.     

AID and partners: for better and (not) for worse

Post-rearrangement diversification of the antibody repertoire relies on a DNA editing factor, the cytidine deaminase AID. How B lymphocytes avoid generalized mutagenesis while expressing high levels of AID remained a long-standing question. Genome-wide studies of AID targeting combined to the discovery of several co-factors controlling its recruitment and its local activity shed new light on this enigma.     

Relapse of Enterococcus hirae prosthetic valve endocarditis

Enterococcus hirae, a gram-positive bacterium, is a rare isolate in clinical specimens. We report an unusual case of a relapse of prosthetic valve endocarditis due to E. hirae 6 months after the initial episode. Clonal relationship was proven by genomic analysis.     

First report of a hip prosthetic and joint infection caused by Lactococcus garvieae in a woman fishmonger

We describe the first case of hip prosthetic infection due to Lactococcus garvieae. The patient, a 71-year-old woman fishmonger, developed a hip infection 7 years after total hip arthroplasty. The origin of infection was possibly due to the manipulation or intake of seafood or fish contaminated with Lactococcus garvieae.     

From substance dependence to addiction: impact of a conceptual shift on therapeutic approaches?

Switching from the concept of substance or alcohol dependence to that of addiction has profoundly modified our ways of approaching, treating and organizing the care of this disease. This more complex and subtle approach gives less importance to the substance and its effects and focuses more on the initiation of pathological behavior. It is important to keep in mind that the addictive process associates a substance (more or less addictive), an individual (more or less vulnerable) and an environment (more or less condoning). Today, it is no longer possible to consider that a drug acts on only one receptor or one system. Current understanding of inner regulation mechanisms integrates the interactions between the various stimulated brain pathways. Addiction treatments which should benefit from advances in genetics, neuropsychology and neuroimaging could be increasingly individualized in the years to come. The "addictology" approach has triggered thinking about other therapeutic approaches such as modification of therapeutic objectives toward "risk reductions" or applying this model to behavioral addictions (food, sex, sport, gaming...). This conceptual shift seems to enrich clinical analysis, the therapeutic possibilities and the avenues for research.     

Effect of zinc gluconate on propionibacterium acnes resistance to erythromycin in patients with inflammatory acne: in vitro and in vivo study

Tetracyclines and macrolide antibiotics have been in use for acne treatment for more than 20 years. Since 1992 increasing resistance to these antibiotics, and especially to erythromycin, is reported with Propionibacterium acnes. Zinc salts have demonstrated their efficacy in inflammatory acne treatment as well as their bacteriostatic activity against Propionibacterium acnes. The objective of our work was firstly to determine whether the clinical anti-inflammatory efficacy of zinc salts was altered in the presence of erythromycin resistant strains in vivo, and secondly to study the in vitro and in vivo effect of zinc on the sensitivity of Propionibacterium acnes strains to erythromycin. Thirty patients with inflammatory acne were treated by zinc gluconate with a daily dose of 30 mg for two months and bacteriologic samples were taken at D0, D30 and D60. In vivo, this study displayed a reduction in the number of inflammatory lesions after a 2-month treatment whether or not Propionibacterium acnes carriage was present. Concurrently, in vitro addition of zinc salts in the culture media of Propionibacterium acnes reduced resistance of Propionibacterium acnes strains to erythromycin. Thus, association of zinc salts via a systemic route and topical erythromycin treatment seems an interesting option in the light of an increasing number of patients carrying erythromycin resistant Propionibacterium acnes strains.     

Usefulness of procalcitonin for the diagnosis of ventilator-associated pneumonia

OBJECTIVE: To assess the predictive capacity for the diagnosis of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) of serum procalcitonin levels before and on the day it is suspected. DESIGN AND SETTING: Single-center observational study in the intensive care unit of a teaching hospital. PATIENTS AND PARTICIPANTS: Consecutive patients whose serum procalcitonin levels were available on the day that VAP was clinically suspected (day 1) and at some time within the preceding 5 days ("before"). MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: Serum procalcitonin levels were determined on day 1 and "before". Among the 73 suspected episodes VAP was confirmed by quantitative bronchoalveolar lavage cultures in 32 and refuted in 41. Respective median "before" procalcitonin levels were 1.89 ng/ml (interquartile range 0.18-6.01) and 2.14 (0.76-5.75) in patients with and without VAP, but their respective median day-1 procalcitonin levels did not differ: 1.07[Symbol: see text]ng/ml (0.39-6.57) vs. 1.40 (0.67-3.39). On day 1 a 0.5[Symbol: see text]ng/ml procalcitonin threshold had 72% sensitivity but only 24% specificity for diagnosing VAP. Between "before" and day 1, procalcitonin increased in 41% and 15% of patients with and without VAP, respectively. Thus a procalcitonin rise on day 1, compared to its "before" level, had 41% sensitivity and 85% specificity for diagnosing VAP, with respective positive and negative predictive values of 68% and 65%. CONCLUSIONS: Crude values and procalcitonin rise had poor diagnostic value for VAP in this particular setting and thus should not be used to initiate antibiotics when VAP is clinically suspected.