ContextClinicians order blood cultures liberally among patients in whom bacteremia is suspected, though a small proportion of blood cultures yield true-positive results. Ordering blood cultures inappropriately may be both wasteful and harmful.Objective To review the accuracy of easily obtained clinical and laboratory findings to inform the decision to obtain blood cultures in suspected bacteremia. Data Sources and Study SelectionA MEDLINE and EMBASE search (inception to April 2012) yielded 35 studies that met inclusion criteria for evaluating the accuracy of clinical variables for bacteremia in adult immunocompetent patients, representing 4566 bacteremia and 25 946 negative blood culture episodes.Data Extraction Data were extracted to determine the prevalence and likelihood ratios (LRs) of findings for bacteremia. Data SynthesisThe pretest probability of bacteremia varies depending on the clinical context, from low (eg, cellulitis: 2%) to high (eg, septic shock: 69%). Elevated temperatures alone do not accurately predict bacteremia (for Ն38°C [Ͼ100.3°F], LR, 1.9 [95% CI, 1.4-2.4]; for Ն38.5°C [Ͼ101.2°F], LR, 1.4 [95% CI, 1.1-2.0]), nor does isolated leukocytosis (LR, Ͻ1.7). The severity of chills graded on an ordinal scale (shaking chills, LR, 4.7; 95% CI, 3.0-7.2) may be more useful. Both the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and a multivariable decision rule with major and minor criteria are sensitive (but not specific) predictors of bacteremia (SIRS, negative LR, 0.09 [95% CI, 0.03-0.26]; decision rule, negative LR, 0.08 [95% CI, 0.04-0.17]).Conclusions Blood cultures should not be ordered for adult patients with isolated fever or leukocytosis without considering the pretest probability. SIRS and the decision rule may be helpful in identifying patients who do not need blood cultures. These conclusions do not apply to immunocompromised patients or when endocarditis is suspected.

ID consultation is associated with better adherence to quality measures, reduced in-hospital mortality, and earlier discharge in patients with SAB.

The aim of this study was to estimate the direct annual healthcare costs to the UK National Health Service (NHS) of managing community-acquired pneumonia.Using a prevalence-based burden of illness approach, health service resource use and corresponding costs attributable to the management of community-acquired pneumonia during 1992/1993 in the UK were obtained from published sources and commercial databases, and supplemented by a telephone survey of general practitioners, finance directors, community nurses, receptionists and nurses in out-patient respiratory clinics, ambulance services, and consultant respiratory physicians. The study was appraised by a Peer Review Panel, representing a cross-section of experts from different locations. This study was a predefined subgroup analysis of a previous, larger study that estimated the annual cost to the NHS of treating all community-acquired lower respiratory tract infections.The analysis shows that there are 261,000 episodes of community-acquired pneumonia annually in the UK, costing £440.7 million at 1992/1993 prices (32% of the annual cost for all community-acquired lower respiratory tract infections). Approximately 83,153 annual cases of community-acquired pneumonia are treated in hospital (32% of all episodes) and account for 96% of the annual cost. The average cost for managing pneumonia in the community is £100 per episode, compared to £1,700-£5,100 when the patient is hospitalized, depending on the length of hospitalization. Hospitalization accounts for 87% of the total annual cost.In conclusion, community-acquired pneumonia in the UK incurs a direct healthcare cost of £440.7 million annually at 1992/1993 prices. Developing and implementing strategies to prevent and minimize hospitalization will significantly reduce this annual cost and should be assessed in future studies.

BackgroundSingle large-scale mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) deletions (SLSMDs) are amongst the most frequently diagnosed mtDNA disorders in childhood, yet their natural history remains poorly understood. We report the natural history of a large multicentre cohort of such children.MethodsWe reviewed case notes from three different UK centres to determine the clinical course of 34 patients (16 female, 18 male) with childhood-onset mitochondrial disease caused by SLSMDs. Kaplan–Meier analysis was used to compare survival of patients presenting with haematological features (Pearson syndrome) and those with nonhaematological presentations.ResultsThe most frequent initial presentation was with isolated ptosis (16/34, 47 %). Eleven (32 %) patients presented with transfusion-dependent anaemia soon after birth and were diagnosed with Pearson syndrome, whilst ten were classified as having Kearns–Sayre syndrome, three as having progressive external ophthalmoplegia (PEO) and seven as having PEO-plus. Three patients did not conform to any specific mitochondrial syndrome. The most frequently affected organ during the disease course was the kidney, with documented tubular or glomerular dysfunction in 17 of 20 (85 %) cases who had detailed investigations. SLSMDs were present in blood and/or urine cells in all cases tested, indicating that muscle biopsy is not necessary for diagnosis in the paediatric age range. Kaplan–Meier survival analysis revealed significantly worse mortality in patients with Pearson syndrome compared with the rest of the cohort.ConclusionsMitochondrial disease caused by SLSMDs is clinically heterogeneous, and not all cases conform to a classical mitochondrial syndrome. Multisystem disease is the norm, with anaemia, renal impairment and endocrine disturbance being the most frequent extraneurological features. SLSMDs should be considered in the differential diagnosis of all children presenting with ptosis.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10545-014-9778-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

BackgroundHost factors and complications have been associated with higher mortality in infective endocarditis (IE). We sought to develop and validate a model of clinical characteristics to predict 6‐month mortality in IE.Methods and ResultsUsing a large multinational prospective registry of definite IE (International Collaboration on Endocarditis [ICE]–Prospective Cohort Study [PCS], 2000–2006, n=4049), a model to predict 6‐month survival was developed by Cox proportional hazards modeling with inverse probability weighting for surgery treatment and was internally validated by the bootstrapping method. This model was externally validated in an independent prospective registry (ICE‐PLUS, 2008–2012, n=1197). The 6‐month mortality was 971 of 4049 (24.0%) in the ICE‐PCS cohort and 342 of 1197 (28.6%) in the ICE‐PLUS cohort. Surgery during the index hospitalization was performed in 48.1% and 54.0% of the cohorts, respectively. In the derivation model, variables related to host factors (age, dialysis), IE characteristics (prosthetic or nosocomial IE, causative organism, left‐sided valve vegetation), and IE complications (severe heart failure, stroke, paravalvular complication, and persistent bacteremia) were independently associated with 6‐month mortality, and surgery was associated with a lower risk of mortality (Harrell's C statistic 0.715). In the validation model, these variables had similar hazard ratios (Harrell's C statistic 0.682), with a similar, independent benefit of surgery (hazard ratio 0.74, 95% CI 0.62–0.89). A simplified risk model was developed by weight adjustment of these variables.ConclusionsSix‐month mortality after IE is ≈25% and is predicted by host factors, IE characteristics, and IE complications. Surgery during the index hospitalization is associated with lower mortality but is performed less frequently in the highest risk patients. A simplified risk model may be used to identify specific risk subgroups in IE.

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Many residents with cognitive impairment or dementia enter nursing homes on PIMs. PIMs are more likely to be started in frail individuals following admission. Interventions to support deprescribing of PIMs should be implemented targeting frail individuals during the transition to nursing home.

We have successfully identified 2 measures for public reporting purposes and 5 measures that can be used internally in healthcare settings as quality indicators. These indicators can be implemented across diverse healthcare systems to enable ongoing evaluation of antimicrobial stewardship programs and complement efforts for improved patient safety.