BackgroundPulmonary deterioration after B.cepacia complex (BCC) colonization has a heterogeneous pattern. The aim was to investigate the clinical outcome of BCC colonization in CF patients chronically colonized with P. aeruginosa.MethodsCF patients chronically colonized with P. aeruginosa were divided into three groups: intermittent (I), chronic (II) and no colonization (III) with BCC. Body mass index (BMI) percentile and spirometric parameters were analyzed at three different times in each group.ResultsFifty-six patients chronically colonized with P. aeruginosa were included. Of these, 27 also had evidence of BCC colonization (13 intermittent and 14 chronic). BMI percentile was significantly lower among patients chronically colonized by both P. aeruginosa and BCC. Mean values of FEV1 and FVC % were also significantly lower in these patients, both at the time of chronic BCC colonization and 24 months forward.ConclusionsChronic BCC colonization is associated with significant loss of lung function. Lower BMI might be a risk factor for chronic BCC colonization, preceding these events.

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Multidrug-resistant microorganisms are a well-known global problem, and gram-negative bacilli are top-ranking. When these pathogens are associated with bloodstream infections (BSI), outcomes become even worse. Here we applied whole-genome sequencing to access information about clonal distribution, resistance mechanism diversity and other molecular aspects of gram-negative bacilli (GNB) isolated from bloodstream infections in Brazil. It was possible to highlight international high-risk clones circulating in the Brazilian territory, such as CC258 for Klebsiella pneumoniae, ST79 for Acinetobacter baumannii and ST233 for Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Important associations can be made such as a negative correlation between CRISPR-Cas and K. pneumoniae CC258, while the genes blaTEM, blaKPC and blaCTX−M are highly associated with this clone. Specific relationships between A. baumannii clones and blaOXA−51 variants were also observed. All P. aeruginosa ST233 isolates showed the genes blaVIM and blaOXA486. In addition, some trends could be identified, where a new P. aeruginosa MDR clone (ST3079), a novel A. baumannii clonal profile circulating in Brazil (ST848), and important resistance associations in the form of blaVIM−2 and blaIMP−56 being found together in one ST233 strain, stand out. Such findings may help to develop approaches to deal with BSI and even other nosocomial infections caused by these important GNB.

Diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infections is mostly based on the nasopharyngeal swabs (NPS). However, this collection is invasive and uncomfortable, especially for children and patients with coagulopathies, whose NPS collection often causes bleeding. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness and accuracy of saliva for the diagnosis of COVID-19 in patients presenting bleeding disorders. Samples of NPS, oropharyngeal swabs (OPS), and saliva were collected simultaneously from 1159 hospitalized patients with hematological diseases and from 524 healthcare workers, both symptomatic and asymptomatic for SARS-CoV-2. All samples were evaluated for SARS-CoV-2 by qRT-PCR. SARS-CoV-2 was detected in NPS, OPS and saliva from 16.9%, 14.4% and 15.6% individuals, respectively. Tests in saliva showed sensitivity, specificity, and overall agreement of 73.3%, 96.9% and 92.7% (=0.74), respectively. Salivary tests had good accuracy (AUC = 0.7) for discriminating negative and positive qRT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2. Higher sensitivity was observed in symptomatic than in non-symptomatic patients, as well as in healthy subjects than in patients with hematological disease, in both OPS and saliva. The mean viral load in NPS was significantly higher than in OPS and in saliva samples (p < 0.001). Saliva is a good diagnostic tool to detect SARS-CoV-2, especially among patients symptomatic for COVID-19, and is a valuable specimen for mass screening of hospitalized patients with hematological diseases, especially for those that with bleeding disorders.

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