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。     

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.     

山东沿海农村地区的新生儿听力筛查

目的探讨如何在农村地区开展新生儿听力筛查。方法调查2004年1-12月在山东省莱州市人民医院出生的3922例新生儿，2004年莱州市年鉴显示：农业人口约占79％。采用瞬态诱发耳声发射快速筛查程序对出生后2～7d的新生儿进行听力筛查。未通过者在生后的4～6周进行复筛，复筛仍未通过者随访并做诊断性检查。结果3612例接受筛查占该院总出生人数的92．1％（3612／3922）；其中6％贫困儿享受免费筛查。初筛通过2527例，占总筛查人数的69．96％；未通过1085例（30．4％）。未接受筛查310例（7．9％）。应复筛1085例，实际按时复筛633例（58．34％），未能复筛452例（41．66％）。其中高危新生儿163例，按时筛查114例（69．94％），放弃筛查49例（30．06％）。复筛未通过者共14例，11例接受了诊断性听性脑干反应检查，2例双耳中度听力损伤，2例双耳重度听力损伤，4例单耳轻度听力损伤，3例正常。结论在农村地区开展新生儿听力筛查是可行的，也是必要的，建议应该尽快地建立和完善农村地区新生儿听力筛查模式，让更多的贫困婴儿享受免费筛查，真正做到人人享有健康。