No abstract

Objective Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is an emerging nosocomial pathogen that causes fatal infections in critically ill or immunocompromised patients. S. maltophilia bacteremia (SMB) is a rare condition, and its clinical characteristics in Japanese settings are not well known. Methods The medical charts of patients with SMB were retrospectively reviewed at two medical facilities (Okayama University Hospital and Tsuyama Chuo Hospital) for seven years. The data were analyzed along with those previously reported from other Japanese facilities. Result A total of 181 patients (110 men and 71 women) were evaluated. The major underlying diseases included hematologic malignancy (36.5%), solid organ malignancy (25.4%), and neutropenia (31.5%). The recent use of carbapenem was seen in 56.9% of the cases in total, and more than one-third of the patients in our hospitals were treated with carbapenem at the onset of SMB. Of 28 (63.6%) of 44 cases treated for S. maltophilia, those who did not survive were more likely to have been treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics. A multivariate analysis revealed that a higher updated Charlson Comorbidity Index [odds ratio (95% confidence interval), 1.75 (1.11-2.75); p=0.015] and intubation [odds ratio (95% confidence interval), 12.6 (1.62-97.9); p=0.016] were associated with mortality in our cases. Pathogens were often resistant to ceftazidime but susceptible to minocycline, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, and fluoroquinolones. The overall mortality rates within 30 and 90 days were 37.5% and 62.5%, respectively. Conclusion The clinical characteristics of SMB in Japanese cases were similar to those reported from other countries. Clinicians should be aware that breakthrough infection by S. maltophilia may occur during administration of carbapenem.

ObjectiveWe conducted a retrospective study based on composite endpoints for treatment failure to evaluate the effect of pharmacist-led VCM initial dose planning for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteremia patients.MethodsA retrospective cohort study was performed between pharmacist intervention and non-intervention groups. In this study, four types of failure were defined as the composite endpoint. When any one of the following failures occurred: 1) Death within 30 days from the start of VCM therapy, 2) Positive blood culture 7 days after the start of VCM therapy, 3) Change of VCM to another anti-MRSA agent, and 4) Development of nephrotoxicity, we considered that VCM treatment had failed. Survival time analysis was conducted with the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox’s proportional hazard model that included seven predefined parameters: pharmacist intervention, age, sex, weight, baseline VCM trough concentration, Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), and Pitt Bacteremia score (PBS). The effect of pharmacist intervention was studied as the survival probability estimated from the period of time from the start of VCM administration to the earliest failure.ResultsThe survival rate at 30 days after starting VCM therapy, at the end of follow-up, was 53.1 and 82.1% in the non-intervention and intervention groups, respectively. A significant survival time prolongation was noted in the intervention group (p = 0.011, log rank test). Among the seven parameters, only pharmacist intervention was significantly different and its hazard ratio was 0.26 (p = 0.014). The survival probability of the intervention group was higher than that of the non-intervention group for the time to each failure. In subgroup analyses, a significant difference was noted in male patients between the intervention and non-intervention groups (p = 0.005). Age was categorized into those under and over 65 years old. For those over 65 years old, a significant difference was shown between the groups (p = 0.018).ConclusionTo our knowledge, this is the first study to evaluate the failure of VCM treatment based on the composite endpoint. Pharmacist intervention through the initial VCM dose planning could maintain a balance between the efficacy and safety of VCM treatment and might avoid treatment failure for patients with MRSA bacteremia. Further investigations with large sample sizes are required to confirm our findings.

Pharmacist intervention may have an impact on vancomycin therapy from the standpoint of balancing a higher vancomycin trough concentration with risk of nephrotoxicity.

Case A 74‐year‐old woman with a week‐long history of cold symptoms was diagnosed with Lemierre syndrome that involved her left external jugular vein. Outcome The patient was successfully treated with 4 weeks of antibiotics and anticoagulant treatment. Typical cases of Lemierre syndrome involve only the internal jugular vein. The external jugular vein is anatomically distant from the pharyngolaryngeal space and usually does not receive blood or lymphatic flow from there. Thus, Lemierre syndrome ordinarily does not involve the external jugular vein and clinical characteristics of external jugular vein‐involving Lemierre syndrome have not been uncovered, mainly due to its rarity. Based on our review, it would not much differ from those of typical cases. Conclusion Considering the potential severity and mortality, more attention should be paid to this potentially fatal disease that may demonstrate atypical manifestation, as shown in this case. Accumulation of cases would be needed for further understanding.