Effectiveness of bacteriophages in the sputum of cystic fibrosis patients

Bacteriophages have been shown to be effective for treating acute infections of the respiratory tract caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria in animal models, but no evidence has yet been presented of their activity against pathogens in complex biological samples from chronically infected patients. We assessed the efficacy of a cocktail of ten bacteriophages infecting Pseudomonas aeruginosa following its addition to 58 sputum samples from cystic fibrosis (CF) patients collected at three different hospitals. Ten samples that did not contain P. aeruginosa were not analysed further. In the remaining 48 samples, the addition of bacteriophages led to a significant decrease in the levels of P. aeruginosa strains, as shown by comparison with controls, taking two variables (time and bacteriophages) into account (p = 0.024). In 45.8% of these samples, this decrease was accompanied by an increase in the number of bacteriophages. We also tested each of the ten bacteriophages individually against 20 colonies from each of these 48 samples and detected bacteriophage-susceptible bacteria in 64.6% of the samples. An analysis of the clinical data revealed no correlation between patient age, sex, duration of P. aeruginosa colonization, antibiotic treatment, FEV1 (forced expiratory volume in the first second) and the efficacy of bacteriophages. The demonstration that bacteriophages infect their bacterial hosts in the sputum environment, regardless of the clinical characteristics of the patients, represents a major step towards the development of bacteriophage therapy to treat chronic lung infections.     

Dual infections with different Legionella strains

In 2010 a case of a dual infection with Legionella pneumophila serogroup (sg) 1 and sg 3 was identified by culture of a blood sample collected from a female Austrian patient with septic pneumonia. Subsequently all 35 European National Legionella Reference Laboratories were interviewed regarding the frequency of dual infections in legionellosis. The Reference Laboratories in Denmark, the UK and Germany reported the detection of another 14 cases of dual infections with different Legionella strains between 2002 and 2012. Among the 15 cases, there were four cases with different Legionella species, six cases with different L. pneumophila serogroups, and five cases of dual infections with L. pneumophila sg 1 with different MAb-types. The median age of the 15 cases was 56 years and the male to female ratio 1:1.14. Six of the 15 patients were receiving immunosuppressive treatment following organ transplantation (n = 3) or for underlying haematological and solid malignancies (n = 3). Five of the 15 cases died within 30 days following diagnosis. Efforts to detect dual infections with different Legionella strains will improve our ability to correctly elucidate the causative sources of infection and enhance our understanding of the epidemiology of Legionella infections.     

头孢呋辛钠联合清开灵对老年肺气肿合并感染的临床效果及预后分析

目的探讨头孢呋辛钠联合清开灵治疗老年肺气肿合并感染的临床疗效,并分析其对患者的预后影响。方法选取我院2013年12月~2017年12月期间所收治的680例老年肺气肿合并感染患者作为本次研究对象,按照就诊时间将其分为研究组和对照组,对照组患者应用清开灵治疗,研究组采取头孢呋辛钠联合清开灵治疗,对比分析两组患者的平均住院时间、症状缓解时间与体温恢复正常时间,并观察两组的临床治疗总有效率。结果研究组显效204例,有效124例,对照组显效126例,有效150例,研究组临床总有效率为96.47%,明显高于对照组(81.18%),研究组患者的平均住院时间(10.52±2.34)d、体温恢复正常时间(3.11±1.39)d与症状缓解时间(5.74±1.49)d均低于对照组,差异有统计学意义(P0.05)。结论老年肺气肿合并感染患者应用头孢呋辛钠与清开灵联合治疗的效果显著,能够有效改善患者的临床症状,缩短住院时间,值得应用。     

Granulocyte transfusions in the management of invasive fungal infections

Granulocyte transfusions have a long history of being used in patients with neutropenia or neutrophil dysfunction to prevent and treat invasive fungal infections. However, there are limited and conflicting data concerning its clinical effectiveness, considerable variations in current granulocyte transfusion practices, and uncertainties about its benefit as an adjunct to modern antifungal therapy. In this review, we provide an overview on granulocyte transfusions and summarize the evidence on their role in the prevention and treatment of invasive fungal infections.     

围产期B族链球菌感染筛查及防治在基层医院中的推广应用

目的 探讨基层医院实施围产期B族链球菌感染筛查及防治的价值。方法 回顾性分析我院2019年7月至2020年7月纳入的4220例围产期孕妇作为研究对象,收集并整理其齐全资料,并在我院接受阴道与直肠的B族链球菌感染筛查,经B族链球菌感染筛查结果,将其中507例阳性者作为阳性组,另3713例阴性者作为阴性组,分析围产期B族链球菌感染筛查及防治运用于基层医院中的价值。结果 本院所有研究对象均接受B族链球菌感染筛查,结果发现阳性者507例,阳性率为12.01%;阴性者3713例,阴性率为87.99%。两组在剖宫产、产后出血、产褥感染、新生儿窒息、胎儿窘迫上比较,差异无统计学意义(P0.05);但阳性组的绒毛膜羊膜炎、羊水污染、胎膜早破、新生儿感染发生率均高于阴性组(P0.05)。结论 基层医院中实施围产期B族链球菌感染筛查具有重要意义,应受到医疗界重点关注,经过筛查后尽早给予有效干预,从而避免不良妊娠结局产生,保障母婴安全。