Reactive arthritis (ReA) is typically preceded by sexually transmitted disease or gastrointestinal infection. An association has also been reported with bacterial and viral respiratory infections. Herein, we report the first case of ReA after the he severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. This male patient is in his 50s who was admitted with COVID-19 pneumonia. On the second day of admission, SARS-CoV-2 PCR was positive from nasopharyngeal swab specimen. Despite starting standard dose of favipiravir, his respiratory condition deteriorated during hospitalisation. On the fourth hospital day, he developed acute respiratory distress syndrome and was intubated. On day 11, he was successfully extubated, subsequently completing a 14-day course of favipiravir. On day 21, 1 day after starting physical therapy, he developed acute bilateral arthritis in his ankles, with mild enthesitis in his right Achilles tendon, without rash, conjunctivitis, or preceding diarrhoea or urethritis. Arthrocentesis of his left ankle revealed mild inflammatory fluid without monosodium urate or calcium pyrophosphate crystals. Culture of synovial fluid was negative. Plain X-rays of his ankles and feet showed no erosive changes or enthesophytes. Tests for syphilis, HIV, anti-streptolysin O (ASO), Mycoplasma, Chlamydia pneumoniae, antinuclear antibody, rheumatoid factor, anticyclic citrullinated peptide antibody and Human Leukocyte Antigen-B27 (HLA-B27) were negative. Gonococcal and Chlamydia trachomatis urine PCR were also negative. He was diagnosed with ReA. Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug (NSAID)s and intra-articular corticosteroid injection resulted in moderate improvement.

In adult LTACH patients, carbapenem receipt was associated with increased hazard for high relative abundance of KPC-Kp in the gut microbiota. Increased relative abundance of KPC-Kp was associated with KPC-Kp bacteremia. Whether bacteremia arose directly from bacterial translocation or indirectly from skin contamination followed by bloodstream invasion remains to be determined.

Despite a number of studies on the efficacies of antiseptics for the prevention of blood culture contamination, it still remains unclear which antiseptic should be used. Although the combination of povidone-iodine and isopropyl alcohol has been traditionally used in many institutions, the application of povidone-iodine needs extra time, and there is little evidence that this combination could have an additive effect in reducing contamination rates. To elucidate the additive efficacy of povidone-iodine, we compared two antiseptics, 70% isopropyl alcohol only and 70% isopropyl alcohol plus povidone-iodine, in a prospective, nonrandomized, and partially blinded study in a community hospital in Japan between 1 October 2007 and 21 March 2008. All blood samples for culture were drawn by first-year residents who received formal training on collection techniques. Skin antisepsis was performed with 70% isopropyl alcohol plus povidone-iodine on all inpatient wards and with only 70% isopropyl alcohol in the emergency department. For the group of specimens from inpatient wards cultured, 13 (0.46%) of 2,797 cultures were considered contaminated. For the group of specimens from the emergency department cultured, 12 (0.42%) of 2,856 cultures were considered contaminated. There was no significant difference in the contamination rates between the two groups (relative risk, 0.90; 95% confidence interval, 0.41 to 1.98; P ‫؍‬ 0.80). In conclusion, the use of a single application of 70% isopropyl alcohol is a sufficient and a more cost-and time-effective method of obtaining blood samples for culture than the use of a combination of isopropyl alcohol and povidone-iodine. The extremely low contamination rates in both groups suggest that the type of antiseptic used may not be as important as the use of proper technique.The collection of blood samples for culture is essential for the diagnosis and management of patients with suspected bacteremia, and the importance of this practice has recently been reconfirmed in the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute's guideline Principles and Procedure for Blood Cultures in 2007 (5). However, the problem of false-positive results due to contamination has remained since the beginning of the use of modern techniques over 70 years ago. Contamination most commonly occurs when exogenous bacteria are inoculated into the culture medium from the patient's skin, the phlebotomist's hands, or phlebotomy kits. Contamination rates below 3% are generally considered acceptable (5, 9). Nevertheless, the reported rates of contamination vary from 0.8% to over 8% among institutions. Almost half of all positive results were reported to be contaminants at some institutions (1,4,15,18,20,23,24,26,31). With such a high contamination rate, it is not easy to interpret the results properly for clinicians. Consequently, contaminated blood cultures lead to extra costs because of the unnecessary use of antibiotics, prolonged hospitalization, and the subsequent possible development of antimicrobial resistance (3,15,23,25...

Abstract. Although meningitis secondary to chronic strongyloidiasis is a rare complication, it is associated with a high mortality rate. Recurrent meningitis can occur if the underlying parasitic infection is left untreated. We report five cases of recurrent meningitis related to chronic strongyloidiasis that were associated with human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) infection. Common causative organisms are Escherichia coli, Streptococcus bovis, and Klebsiella pneumonia. One patient died during the second episode of meningitis. Three patients showed significant gastrointestinal and respiratory symptoms before developing headache and fever. In four cases, patients developed multiple recurrences even with the treatment of thiabendazol. Ivermectin seems to be a better agent compared with thiabendazol to achieve eradication of strongyloidiasis.

Active screening for CRE is feasible, and screening patients transferred from outside facilities to the medical or surgical ICU resulted in the highest screen positivity rate. Furthermore, CRE carriage was inconsistently documented in transfer paperwork, suggesting that admission screening or enhanced inter-facility communication are needed to improve the identification of CRE-colonized patients.

A surge in the demand for N95 filtering facepiece respirators (N95 respirators) due to the worldwide spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has resulted in a global shortage of N95 respirators. This study was performed to evaluate the clinical validation of reusing N95 respirators following stringent fit test protocols. Methods After passing the first fit test, we prospectively enrolled healthcare workers who used N95 respirators for two hours per shift (duckbill-shaped HPR-R/HPR-S, dome-shaped Hi-Luck 350, and three-panel flat-fold respirators 9211) in settings such as bronchoscopy or respiratory specimen sampling. These procedures were repeated for up to three weeks, with the fit test performed every week. At each timing of the fit test, we used a fit-testing system for quantitatively evaluating particle leakage. Results A total of 41 participants were enrolled, including 24 doctors and 17 nurses, of whom 25 were women. The pass rate of successful reuse over three observational weeks using four fit tests was 85.4%, which was comparable among the three types of N95 respirators. Six (14.6%) participants failed the fit test, while no participants dropped out of protocol due to either N95 respirator damage or contamination. Among the six dropped out participants, four reused the duckbill-shaped type and two reused the three-panel flat-fold type. All participants using the cup-shaped type mask successfully completed the protocol. However, the passing rate of this study was not statistically different among the three types of N95 respirators. Conclusion This study shows that N95 respirators can be safely reused for a short period irrespective of their type, as quantitatively assessed by fit tests.

A 54-year-old female with a prosthetic mitral valve presented with a 3-day history of dizziness, subjective fever, and chills. Blood cultures were positive for a pleomorphic Gram-positive rod. Initial phenotypic testing could only support the identification of a Corynebacterium species. Nucleic acid sequencing (16S rRNA) and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) were conclusive for Corynebacterium diphtheriae. Definitive phenotypic testing classified the strain as nontoxigenic C. diphtheriae biotype Gravis. CASE REPORTA 54-year-old female with a prosthetic mitral valve presented with a 3-day history of dizziness, subjective fever, and chills. In addition, she suffered from left ankle pain that was so severe that she was unable to walk. Over the next 2 days, she continued to have dizziness, fever, and chills with the addition of lethargy that kept her in bed for most of the day. On the day of admission, she was seen by her primary care physician, who referred her for hospitalization. Her physical examination was notable for an elevated heart rate of 101 beats/min and a low blood pressure of 106/44 mmHg. There was also an irregular heart rhythm present without obvious murmur or gallop. In addition, her left ankle was exquisitely tender and swollen with a joint effusion. Three sets of blood cultures were drawn peripherally from the left antecubital fossa and the right hand, and only the three aerobic bottles revealed Gram-positive rods within 24 h. An abdominal computed tomography scan showed a wedge-shaped hypodensity of the spleen suggestive of an infarct. The patient's clinical history, including fever, chills, and dizziness combined with Gram-positive bacteremia and a spleen infarct, was suggestive of infective endocarditis. She was subsequently placed on empirical antibiotics consisting of vancomycin and piperacillin-tazobactam after the positive blood culture results were obtained.The patient's medical history included rheumatic heart disease with severe mitral valve stenosis. A 23-mm St. Jude mitral valve replacement and Maze procedure for atrial fibrillation were performed in 2009. In addition, she had peripheral vascular disease and had undergone a right femoral-popliteal artery bypass procedure. She also had a history of methamphetamine abuse that reportedly ended in 2005 and a 25-pack/year smoking history that ended in 2009 and admitted to being a current recreational marijuana user.A transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) was performed 2 days after the patient was admitted, and it revealed a nonmobile soft echo density along the atrial side of the prosthetic mitral valve (medial) measuring 0.7 by 1.0 cm. The appearance was most consistent with a thrombus and was not diagnostic of vegetation. A repeat TEE approximately 1 week later demonstrated an enlarging mass on the prosthetic mitral valve in the same location as the aforementioned echo density. In addition, there was a second mobile component on one of the mechanical leaflets, as well as increased t...

A 60-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia with a chief complaint of persistent low-grade fever and dry cough for two weeks. Thoracic computed tomography demonstrated a crazy paving pattern in the bilateral lower lobes. In a COVID-19 ward, we used a novel wireless stethoscope with a telemedicine system and successfully recorded and shared the lung sounds in real-time between the red and green zones. The fine crackles at the posterior right lower lung fields changed from mid-to-late (day 1) to late inspiratory crackles (day 3), which disappeared at day 5 along with an improvement in both the clinical symptoms and thoracic CT findings.