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Sixty percent of MRSA carriers were successfully decolonized after the first eradication attempt and 62% were treated according to the guideline, which was associated with an increased treatment success.

AIMThe use of corticosteroids as adjunctive therapy might be effective in patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Oral administration of dexamethasone is a practical and safer alternative to the intravenous route. Since patients hospitalized with pneumonia might have delayed gastric emptying, this study explored systemic exposure in terms of area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) of oral dexamethasone in patients hospitalized with CAP. METHODSIn this randomized, open label study, 30 patients admitted with CAP were randomized to receive either 4 mg intravenous or 6 mg oral dexamethasone for 4 consecutive days. Serial blood samples were obtained before and after drug administration. RESULTSMedian AUC to infinity was 626 μg l −1 h (IQR 401-1161) for the intravenous group and 774 μg l −1 h (IQR 618-1146) for the oral group. The AUC ratio of 6 mg oral and 4 mg intravenous dexamethasone was 1.22 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.81, 1.82), which represents a bioavailability of 81% (95% CI 54, 121) after correction for differences in dexamethasone dose.

BackgroundMicroorganisms causing community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) can be categorised into viral, typical and atypical (Legionella species, Coxiella burnetii, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, and Chlamydia species). Extensive microbiological testing to identify the causative microorganism is not standardly recommended, and empiric treatment does not always cover atypical pathogens. In order to optimize epidemiologic knowledge of CAP and to improve empiric antibiotic choice, we investigated whether atypical microorganisms are associated with a particular season or with the patient characteristics age, gender, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).MethodsA data-analysis was performed on databases from four prospective studies, which all included adult patients hospitalised with CAP in the Netherlands (N = 980). All studies performed extensive microbiological testing.ResultsA main causative agent was identified in 565/980 (57.7 %) patients. Of these, 117 (20.7 %) were atypical microorganisms. This percentage was 40.4 % (57/141) during the non-respiratory season (week 20 to week 39, early May to early October), and 67.2 % (41/61) for patients under the age of 60 during this season. Factors that were associated with atypical causative agents were: CAP acquired in the non-respiratory season (odds ratio (OR) 4.3, 95 % CI 2.68–6.84), age <60 year (OR 2.9, 95 % CI 1.83–4.66), male gender (OR 1.7, 95 % CI 1.06–2.71) and absence of COPD (OR 0.2, 95 % CI 0.12–0.52).ConclusionsAtypical causative agents in CAP are associated with respectively non-respiratory season, age <60 years, male gender and absence of COPD. Therefore, to maximise its yield, extensive microbiological testing should be considered in patients <60 years old who are admitted with CAP from early May to early October.Trial registrationNCT00471640, NCT00170196 (numbers of original studies).Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12879-016-1641-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.