Risk of mortality with a bloodstream infection is higher in the less severely ill at admission

RATIONALE: Health care-associated bloodstream infections are common in critically ill patients; however, investigators have had difficulty in quantifying the clinical impact of these infections given the high expected mortality among these patients. OBJECTIVE: To estimate the impact of health care-associated bloodstream infections on in-hospital mortality after adjusting for severity of illness at critical care admission. METHOD: A cohort of medical and surgical intensive care unit patients. MEASUREMENTS: Severity of illness at admission, bloodstream infection, and in-hospital mortality. MAIN RESULTS: Among the 2,783 adult patients, 269 developed unit-associated bloodstream infections. After adjusting for severity of illness, patients with a lower initial severity of illness who developed an infection had a greater than twofold higher risk for in-hospital mortality (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.42, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.70, 3.44) when compared with patients without infection and with a similar initial severity of illness. In contrast, patients with a higher initial severity of illness who subsequently developed an infection did not have an increased risk for in-hospital mortality (HR = 0.96, 95%CI 0.76, 1.23) when compared with patients without infection but with a similar initial severity of illness. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that these infections in less ill patients have a higher attributable impact on subsequent mortality than in more severely ill patients. Focusing interventions to prevent bloodstream infections in less severely ill patients would be expected to have a greater benefit in terms of mortality reduction.     

Seasonality of staphylococcal infections

Characterization of seasonal variation of Staphylococcus aureus is important in understanding the epidemiology of, and designing preventive strategies against this highly virulent and ever-evolving pathogen. In this review, we summarize the findings of epidemiological studies that have evaluated seasonality in S. aureus colonization and infection. Although most studies published to date are methodologically weak, some seasonal variation in the occurrence of S. aureus infection appears to exist, particularly an association of warm-weather months with S. aureus skin and soft-tissue infections. We highlight the limitations of the published literature, and provide suggestions for future studies on this topic.     

双探头SPECT心肌灌注显像中位移伪影的实验研究

目的 探讨双探头SPECT心肌灌注显像时位移伪影的影像特征和识别方法。方法 将心脏模型置于检查床上，与受检患者的心脏方向一致。在图像采集过程中，模型依次沿相当于患者左右、头尾和前后方向分别在不同起始点、对不同帧数作一定距离的位移。结果位移伪影的共同特点是表现为室壁放射性分布不均匀，“热区”与“冷区”交替出现，在短轴上最早出现，且表现最为明显；伪影进一步发展会在水平长轴和垂直长轴上表现为心尖附近放射性稀疏或缺损，出现与相邻室壁伴行且形态相近的“伴影”。结论位移伪影主要表现为室壁放射性分布不均，“热区”与“冷区”交替出现，在短轴图像上易于早期发现。     

Acquired immune hemolytic anemia associated with IgA erythrocyte coating: investigation of hemolytic mechanisms

We have investigated the hemolytic mechanisms in a patient with acquired immune hemolytic anemia whose red cells appeared to be coated with IgA alone. The clinical course was similar to that of patients with hemolytic anemia mediated by warm-reacting IgG antibody. Splenic sequestration of red cells was demonstrated, and marked reduction of hemolysis occurred after corticosteroid therapy. Antibody was eluted from the patient's red cells and used to sensitize normal red cells in vitro. These sensitized red cells were not lysed by fresh autologous serum, nor did they fix detectable amounts of C3. However, red cells sensitized by eluted antibody were lysed by normal human peripheral blood monocytes in a system designed to demonstrate antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity. Monocyte-mediated hemolysis of sensitized red cells was inhibited by the addition of low concentrations of normal serum IgA to the system, but not by IgG. The ability of the eluate to induce monocyte-mediated hemolysis was abolished by its adsorption on Sepharose-bound anti-IgA, but not by preincubation with Sepharose-bound anti-IgG. In addition, normal human monocytes were demonstrated to ingest eluate-sensitized red cells. These data demonstrate an in vitro interaction of IgA-sensitized red cells with leukocytes and suggest a possible mechanism for the patient's hemolysis.     

腓骨高位截骨在膝关节骨性关节炎的应用

目的:探讨腓骨高位截骨术对膝关节骨性关节炎的短中期疗效。方法:2014年10月至2016年7月,采用腓骨高位截骨治疗膝关节骨性关节炎76例,男22例,女54例;年龄47~82岁,平均61.62岁。术前查体膝关节内侧压痛,内侧麦氏征阳性,摄膝关节负重正侧位X线片显示内侧间隙变窄,术后行膝内侧间隙、股骨胫骨角、VAS疼痛评分及AKS评分进行评价。结果:术后随访10~18个月,平均8.9个月。与术前相比,术后膝内侧间隙明显变宽,股骨胫骨角度变大。术前VAS疼痛评分5.70±1.56,术后1周3.70±1.03,1个月3.20±0.95,3个月2.35±0.99,1年2.10±0.97。膝关节功能AKS评分术前疼痛14.45±1.76,活动度12.60±1.98,稳定性12.15±1.72;末次随访疼痛42.60±2.28,活动度21.80±2.14,稳定性20.85±2.16。VAS评分术前与术后各时间段相比差异有统计学意义,AKS评分术前与术后差异均有统计学意义。结论:腓骨高位截骨操作简单,并发症少,能有效减轻膝关节疼痛,改善膝关节功能,临床效果满意。     

内毒素耐受THP-1细胞中糖皮质激素受体-α在炎症反应中的作用

目的:应用脂多糖(Lipopolysaccharide,LPS)刺激人单核细胞白血病细胞系THP-1细胞,模拟体外脓毒症模型,了解单核细胞系统在产生内毒素耐受时,糖皮质激素受体-α(Glucocorticoid receptor-α,GR-α)在转录水平上的表达。方法:用无血清培养基培养人THP-1细胞,将细胞随机分为4组(A、B、C、D),分别用不同浓度LPS刺激THP-1细胞24 h后,再改变LPS浓度刺激上述各组细胞24 h,分别提取RNA和蛋白质,以逆转录聚合酶链反应(RT-PCR)检测GR-α的mRNA表达,用西部印迹法(Western Blotting)检测NF-κB蛋白质表达,以酶联免疫吸附试验(ELISA)检测培养液中肿瘤坏死因子-α(TNF-α),白细胞介素1β(IL-1β),白细胞介素10(IL-10)水平。结果:A、B、C、D组GR-αmRNA与-βactin比值,NF-κB蛋白与GAPDH比值差异有统计学意义(P<0.01),在受到LPS刺激时,GR-αmRNA与NF-κB蛋白的表达负相关(r=0.816,P<0.01)。结论:内毒素耐受的THP-1细胞GR-α表达上调,这可能在THP-1细胞的内毒素耐受时炎症反应的发生起到重要作用。     

Childhood Pityriasis Rosea

Abstract: Pityriasis rosea (PR) is an acute, self‐limiting papulosquamous disorder of unknown etiology. Published studies of childhood PR are scarce and most are reviews. The aim of this study was to determine the demographic and clinical features of childhood PR.     

Efficient recovery of fluoroquinolone-susceptible and fluoroquinolone-resistant Escherichia coli strains from frozen samples.

We assessed the rate of recovery of fluoroquinolone-resistant and fluoroquinolone-susceptible Escherichia coli isolates from culture of frozen perirectal swab samples compared with the results for culture of the same specimen before freezing. Recovery rates for these 2 classes of E. coli were 91% and 83%, respectively. The majority of distinct strains recovered from the initial sample were also recovered from the frozen sample. The strains that were not recovered were typically present only in low numbers in the initial sample. These findings emphasize the utility of frozen surveillance samples.     

Cerebrospinal fluid amino acid levels in newborn infants with intracranial hemorrhage

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) amino acid levels including excitatory amino acids (i.e. glutamate and aspartate) in 25 preterm and 18 full-term newborn infants with no serious disease except intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) were measured. ICH was detected in 13 preterm and six full-term infants on the basis of the clinical, lumbar puncture (LP) and cranial ultrasonography (CraUSG) findings. Twelve preterm and 12 full-term infants who were neurologically healthy comprised the control group. The mean concentration of CSF amino acids did not differ between preterm and full-term infants. The CSF concentrations of taurine, threonine, glycine, alanine, valine, isoleucine, leucine, tyrosine and phenylalanine in preterm infants, and threonine, aspartic acid and alanine in full-term infants were significantly elevated in infants with ICH. These abnormalities, especially in preterm infants, are probably related to cerebral hypoxia in CSF amino acid concentrations in newborn infants with ICH.