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INTRODUCTION: Little is known about the natural course of patients with chronic stable illnesses colonized with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The aim is to determine the impact of MRSA colonization in mortality among long-term health care facility (LTHCF) residents. METHOD: A multicenter, prospective, observational study was designed. Residents in 4 LTHCFs were classified according to MRSA carriage status and followed for 12 months. Treatment consisted of 5 days of nasal mupirocin in MRSA carriers. RESULTS: Ninety-three MRSA-carriers among 413 residents were identified. Thirty-one MRSA-colonized patients died during the study period, 11 of whom from an infectious disease. Independent predictors of their higher mortality rates included heart failure, current neoplasm, MRSA carriage and COPD at 3 months and these same factors plus stroke, Bar-thel index <40, pressure ulcers, and older age at 12 months. MRSA-persistence was 35% and 62.5% at 3 and 12 months, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: MRSA colonization among frail LTHCFs residents is highly prevalent, and is associated with higher mortality. Despite treatment of MRSA carriers, many remained colonized. Factors that promote persistence of MRSA colonization, and the impact of their modification on mortality rates in these patients, need further investigation.

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UNLABELLED: To determine the prevalence and risk factors (RF) for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) during stay in 1 acute care hospital (ACH) and 4 long-term care facilities (LTCF). After obtaining the informed consent, nasal and skin ulcer swabs were taken and a survey was conducted to determine RF for MRSA. Six hundred and ninety nine patients were included, 413 LTCF and 286 ACH patients and MRSA prevalence were 22.5% and 7.3% respectively. MRSA was located in the nares, skin ulcers, and in both in 61.4%, 21.1%, and 17.5%. Among MRSA carriers, 81% of the ACH and 66.7% of the LTCF patients were only colonized. The multivariate analysis for the ACH revealed the following factors to be associated with MRSA: referral from an LTCF (OR 4.84), pressure ulcers (OR 4.32), a Barthel score < 60 (OR 2.60), and being male (OR 5.21). For the LTCF: urinary catheterisation (OR 3.53), pressure ulcers (OR 2.44), other skin lesions (OR 2.64), antibiotic treatment in ≤ 6 months, (OR 2.23), previous MRSA colonization (OR 2.15), and a Barthel score <20 (OR 1.28). Molecular typing identified 2 predominant clones Q, P, present in all centres. No relationship was found between clones and antibiotic susceptibility. IN CONCLUSION: MRSA prevalence is high in all centres but is 3 times greater in LTCF. The risk factors most strongly associated with MRSA were pressure ulcers and a stay in an LTCF. We propose preventive isolation in these cases.

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Susceptibility to invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) correlates with age, younger children being the group with the highest burden of disease. The relevance of the innate immune response and particularly the role of mannose-binding lectin (MBL) in combating IPD is not well known. This is a 2-year prospective study (February 2011 to March 2013) including patients with IPD who attended two hospitals from Catalonia, Spain. Variables including attack rate of pneumococcal serotype (high or low invasive potential serotypes) and genotypes associated with low serum MBL levels were recorded. One hundred and forty-seven patients were included in the study. One hundred and two (69.4%) patients were children or adolescents <18 years and 45 (30.6%) were adults. Overall, low-MBL genotypes (O/O; XA/O) were detected in 23 (15.6%) patients. Children <2 years showed a higher frequency of low-MBL genotypes compared with other patients (31.0% vs. 11.9%; p = 0.031). Further sub-analysis revealed a higher proportion of low-MBL genotypes in children <2 years with IPD caused by opportunistic or low-attack-rate serotypes when compared with older patients (46.2% vs. 13.2%; p = 0.02). However, no statistically significant differences between the two groups were observed when including patients infected with invasive or high-attack-rate serotypes (18.8% vs. 10.0%; p = 0.59). Our data suggest that young children with a genetically determined low-MBL production are at a higher risk of developing IPD, particularly that caused by opportunistic or low-attack-rate pneumococcal serotypes.

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Needleless valve connectors were introduced to avoid needlestick injuries in healthcare workers but some concerns exist about their microbiological safety. A randomised controlled trial was performed to assess hub colonisation affecting positive-pressure valve connectors (PPVCs) compared to conventional caps used for radial arterial catheters inserted into critically ill patients. Patients were randomly assigned either to the PPVC (Smartsite Plus positive bolus valve) or to the conventional cap group. Only catheters inserted for >24h were analysed. Of 100 consecutive arterial lines, 80 were inserted for >24h (mean insertion duration 5.8 days), 41 in the PPVC group and 39 in the conventional cap group. Catheter hubs were colonised in eight cases in the control group (20.5%) and in one case in the PPVC group (2.4%). Hub colonisation was caused by coagulase-negative staphylococci in all cases. No attributable bacteraemia was observed. In multivariate analysis, PPVC (odds ratio: 0.09; 95% confidence interval: 0.1-0.79; P=0.03) and use of the line for continuous haemodynamic monitoring (0.16; 0.03-0.89; P=0.037) were independently associated with a lower incidence of hub colonisation.

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OBJECTIVE: To describe the epidemiology, clinical and laboratory features and outcome of children younger than 15 years with malaria in our hospital. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective case review of all children admitted to our hospital with malaria between 1997 and 2005 was performed. The following epidemiological data were analyzed: age, sex, nationality of the child and of the family, country and date of trip, chemoprophylaxis used, clinical features, laboratory parameters (hemogram and biochemistry), type of plasmodium and degree of parasitization, treatment, associated diseases, length of hospital stay, and outcome. RESULTS: A total of 24 children (16 boys) were diagnosed (median age, 6.5 years). All of the patients were immigrants or were the children of sub-Saharian immigrants. Thirteen patients had traveled to a malaria-endemic country during the summer holidays. Eleven children started chemoprophylaxis, but only two completed the whole course. The most common symptoms were fever (21 patients) and gastrointestinal symptoms (16 patients). Nineteen patients had anemia and six had thrombocytopenia. The most common species identified was Plasmodium falciparum (19 patients). After treatment, outcome was satisfactory in 21 patients. One patient had recurrence at 3 months, another showed sequelae, and one died after 30 days. CONCLUSIONS: Most children with imported malaria in our area were immigrants or the children of immigrants. Although treatment response is usually satisfactory, rapid diagnosis of this disease in the emergency room of any hospital capable of treating these patients is required.

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Objetivo Describir la epidemiología, la clínica, los datos de laboratorio y la evolución de los niños menores de 15 años diagnosticados de malaria en nuestro hospital. Material y métodos Revisión de historias clínicas de los casos diagnosticados de malaria entre 1997 y 2005. Se estudiaron datos epidemiológicos (edad, sexo, nacionalidad del niño y de la familia, país y época del viaje, quimioprofilaxis realizada, clínica, datos de laboratorio [hemograma y bioquímica]), tipo de plasmodio y grado de parasitación, tratamiento, patología asociada, días de estancia hospitalaria y evolución. Resultados Un total de 24 niños (16 varones) fueron diagnosticados de malaria (media de edad de 6,5 años). Todos eran inmigrantes o hijos de inmigrantes subsaharianos. Trece niños habían visitado países endémicos en malaria durante las vacaciones de verano. Once de ellos habían iniciado quimioprofilaxis pero sólo dos de ellos la habían completado correctamente. La fiebre (21 pacientes) y los síntomas gastrointestinales (16) fueron la clínica más habitual. Presentaban anemia 19 niños y seis trombocitopenia. Plasmodium falciparum fue la especie más aislada (19 casos). Después del tratamiento, la evolución fue correcta en 21 pacientes. Un paciente presentó una recidiva a los 3 meses. Otro, presenta secuelas tras el tratamiento y otro paciente falleció a los 30 días. Conclusiones En nuestro medio, la mayoría de pacientes diagnosticados de malaria importada son inmigrantes o hijos de inmigrantes. Aunque la respuesta al tratamiento suele ser satisfactoria, es necesario el diagnóstico en el área de urgencias de cualquier hospital que permita el rápido inicio de la terapia

Objective To describe the epidemiology, clinical and laboratory features and outcome of children younger than 15 years with malaria in our hospital. Material and methods A retrospective case review of all children admitted to our hospital with malaria between 1997 and 2005 was performed. The following epidemiological data were analyzed: age, sex, nationality of the child and of the family, country and date of trip, chemoprophylaxis used, clinical features, laboratory parameters (hemogram and biochemistry), type of plasmodium and degree of parasitization, treatment, associated diseases, length of hospital stay, and outcome. Results A total of 24 children (16 boys) were diagnosed (median age, 6.5 years). All of the patients were immigrants or were the children of sub-Saharian immigrants. Thirteen patients had traveled to a malaria-endemic country during the summer holidays. Eleven children started chemoprophylaxis, but only two completed the whole course. The most common symptoms were fever (21 patients) and gastrointestinal symptoms (16 patients). Nineteen patients had anemia and six had thrombocytopenia. The most common species identified was Plasmodium falciparum (19 patients). After treatment, outcome was satisfactory in 21 patients. One patient had recurrence at 3 months, another showed sequelae, and one died after 30 days. Conclusions Most children with imported malaria in our area were immigrants or the children of immigrants. Although treatment response is usually satisfactory, rapid diagnosis of this disease in the emergency room of any hospital capable of treating these patients is required

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La fiebre recurrente por espiroquetas del género Borrelia es una enfermedad transmitida por vectores, infradiagnosticada en nuestro medio. Sin embargo, la existencia de una prueba fácil de realizar desde el área de urgencias debería facilitar el diagnóstico de la enfermedad. Ello es básico para iniciar una pronta terapia antibiótica, ya que reduce la elevada morbilidad que la historia natural de la enfermedad conlleva. Presentamos el caso de un niño con fiebre recurrente por Borrelia, enfermedad contraída en su país de origen

Relapsing fever caused by spirochetes of the genus Borrelia is a vector-bone disease that is currently underdiagnosed in our area. However, a readly available diagnostic test performed in the emergency department could help identify this disease. The test would be essential to start early antibiotic therapy, which, in turn, would decrease the high rate of morbidity associated with the natural history of this condition. We present the case of a child with relapsing fever caused by Borrelia, who contracted the disease in his country of origin, and was seen and diagnosed in our emergency department

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The present study compares the risk factors, presentation and outcome of community-acquired Legionella pneumophila pneumonia in 138 sporadic-case patients (1994-2004) and 113 outbreak-case patients (2002) treated in two hospitals in Catalonia (Spain) since urinary antigen assays were adopted. Univariate and multivariate analysis were performed to compare epidemiological and clinical features, blood chemistry values, radiological findings and outcome of sporadic and epidemic legionnaires' disease. Univariate analysis showed that male sex, chronic lung disease, HIV infection and immunosuppressive therapy prevailed in sporadic cases. Presentation with respiratory symptoms, confusion and blood chemistry alterations, such as hyponatraemia, aspartate aminotransferase and blood urea nitrogen elevation, and partial pressure of oxygen P(O)(2) <7.98 KPa (60 mmHg) were also more frequent in sporadic cases, while headache prevailed in outbreak cases. Sporadic cases had a greater delay in treatment, were more severe and had a worse outcome than epidemic cases. Multivariate analysis showed significant differences in sex, chronic lung disease, HIV infection and headache. The clinical and outcome differences between the two groups may be explained by the detection of milder forms of legionnaires' disease, the earlier treatment and the lower severity of underlying disease in the outbreak cases.

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A community outbreak of Legionella pneumonia in the district of Cerdanyola, Mataró (Catalonia, Spain) was investigated in an epidemiological, environmental and molecular study. Each patient was interviewed to ascertain personal risk-factors and the clinical and epidemiological data. Isolates of Legionella from patients and water samples were subtyped by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Between 7 August and 25 August 2002, 113 cases of Legionella pneumonia fulfilling the outbreak case definition criteria were reported, with 84 (74%) cases being located within a 500-m radius of the suspected cooling tower source. In this area, the relative risk of being infected was 54.6 (95% CI 25.3-118.1) compared with individuals living far from the cooling tower. Considering the population residing in the Cerdanyola district (28,256 inhabitants) as a reference population, the attack rate for the outbreak was 399.9 cases/100,000 inhabitants, and the case fatality rate was 1.8%. A single DNA subtype was observed among the ten clinical isolates, and one of the subtypes from the cooling tower matched exactly with the clinical subtype. Nine days after closing the cooling tower, new cases of pneumonia caused by Legionella ceased to appear. The epidemiological features of the outbreak, and the microbiological and molecular investigations, implicated the cooling tower as the source of infection.

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Amikacin-resistant Escherichia coli strains are isolated rarely from clinical samples. In the present study, investigation of an amikacin-resistant clinical isolate of E. coli demonstrated the presence of two class 1 integrons carrying the aacA4 gene plus the aacA7 gene, and the dfrA17 gene plus the aadA5 gene, respectively. Resistance to amikacin in this E. coli isolate was related to the presence of both aacA4 and aacA7.

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BACKGROUND: Over the past several years, the emergence of gonococcal isolates with intermediate or full resistance to fluoroquinolones has become a significant concern in several countries, including Spain. GOAL: The goal was to determine the occurrence of ciprofloxacin resistance among Neisseria gonorrhoeae strains in Spain during 2000 to 2001 and determine the frequency and patterns of mutations at gyrA, gyrB, and parC genes in these isolates. STUDY DESIGN: Eleven ciprofloxacin-resistant strains (with MICs ranging from 1 to 64 micrograms/mL) and two intermediate isolates (with MICs of 0.12 and 0.5 microgram/mL) were found. Mutations were identified by polymerase chain reaction and direct sequencing of the amplified products. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Alterations at Ser-91 and Asp-95 in GyrA were detected in all strains except one, an isolate for which the MIC was 0.12 microgram/mL. Alterations in ParC were more variable, and there was no clear correlation between the number of parC mutations and the level of resistance. No alterations at gyrB gene associated with ciprofloxacin resistance were found. The resistance was distributed among different types of strains, suggesting that the increase in the incidence of ciprofloxacin-resistant strains in Spain was not exclusively due to the appearance of a single-strain outbreak.

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The study presented here aimed to contrast the marked clinical differences in the presentation of Schistosoma mansoni-induced infection between immigrants and travellers entering Spain from endemic regions, and to elucidate the therapeutic implications of these infections. A total of 200 African immigrants and 80 travellers with schistosomiasis were included in the study. Among the immigrants, 25 patients were diagnosed with Schistosoma mansoni infection; 15 presented with nonspecific symptoms, and 10 were asymptomatic. Hepatosplenomegaly was observed in nine. Among the travellers, 14 were diagnosed with Schistosoma mansoni infection; four were asymptomatic, four had Katayama syndrome, four had diarrhoea, and two had prostatitis. All of the patients were treated with praziquantel. Patients diagnosed with Katayama syndrome received praziquantel and dexamethasone for 3 days, with the praziquantel treatment being repeated at 3-4 weeks. The significant differences observed in the clinical presentation of Schistosoma mansoni-induced infection, indicate that a well-differentiated therapeutic strategy is required when this infection is diagnosed in a non-immune (traveller) or a semi-immune (immigrant) patient.

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In this prospective study, the authors assessed the incidence, aetiology, and outcome of patients with community-acquired pneumonia in the general population. From December 1993 to November 1995, a study was performed in a mixed residential-industrial urban population of the "Maresme" region in Barcelona, Spain. All subjects > or =14 yrs of age (annual average population size 74,368 inhabitants) with clinically suspected community-acquired pneumonia were registered. All cases were re-evaluated by chest radiographs on the 5th day of illness and at monthly intervals until complete recovery. Urine and blood samples were obtained for culture and antigen detection. When lower respiratory tract secretions were obtained, these were also cultured. There were 241 patients with community-acquired pneumonia, with an annual incidence rate of 1.62 cases (95% confidence interval, 1.42-1.82) per 1,000 inhabitants. Incidence rates increased by age groups and were higher in males than in females. Of 232 patients with aetiological data, 104 had an identifiable aetiology. A total of 114 pathogens were found (single pathogen 94, two pathogens 10). There were 81 episodes of bacterial infection and 33 of viral infection. The most common pathogens were Streptococcus pneumoniae, Chlamydia pneumoniae, and influenza A and B viruses. No case of Hantavirus infection was found. The rate of hospital admission was 61.4% with a mean+/-SD length of 11.7+/-10.1 days, a mean period of 23.0+/-14.3 days inactivity, and an overall mortality rate of 5%. The high rate of hospital admission, prolonged stay in hospital, and long period of inactivity all continue to constitute a social and health care burden of community-acquired pneumonia.

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OBJECTIVE: To study the current state and development in the sensitivity of Escherichia coli during 12 years, in order to find the use of 6 antimicrobials. DESIGN: A descriptive study of the annual sensitivity percentages of E. coli strains isolated from clinical samples between 1984 and 1995. SETTING: Microbiology Laboratories in 15 County Hospitals in the province of Barcelona. PATIENTS AND PARTICIPANTS: E. coli strains, isolated from clinically significant samples, were studied for sensitivity against antimicrobials. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Cefuroxime and Gentamicin had in vitro sensibility above 94%. Current sensitivity of E. coli to Norfloxacin was 85%. Amoxicillin-Clavulanic acid maintained its sensitivity at about 80% with few variations. Ampicillin and Co-trimoxazole had steady sensitivity figures, always below 50 and 70%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Progressive decrease in the sensitivity of E. coli strains to Norfloxacin was observed. There was excellent sensitivity to Cefuroxime and Gentamicin.

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The commercial Rosco-Neisseria system was evaluated in the identification of 228 oxidase-positive Gram-negative diplococci and it was compared with conventional tests. The procedure detects gamma-glutamyl aminopeptidase, ONPG, tributyrin hydrolysis, and sensitivity to the disk of 10 micrograms of colistin. A correct identification was obtained in the 65 strains of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the 33 of N. meningitidis, the 12 of N. lactamica, and the 56 of B. catarrhalis. The method was also able to discriminate 54 out of the 62 strains of nonpathogenic Neisseria. However, the 7 strains of Neisseria polysaccharea and one strain of N. subflava biovar perflava were erroneously identified as N. gonorrhoeae. None of the latter was superoxol positive in contrast with the 100% of cases of gonococcal strains. The Rosco-Neisseria system is simple and inexpensive but it should be applied on specimens that grow on selective media for gonococci (such as Thayer-Martin and others) and it should be complemented by superoxol test.

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The superoxol test, and prolyl aminopeptidase and gammaglutamyl aminopeptidase tests were evaluated for the detection of pathogenic Neisseria spp. using 317 strains of Neisseria-ceae. The superoxol test was positive for all 116 gonococci and 62 Moraxella (Branhamella) catarrhalis strains, but also for three strains of Neisseria meningitidis, one strain of Neisseria lactamica and eight saprophytic neisseriae. When using strains grown on Thayer-Martin medium, the positive and negative predictive values of the superoxol test for the identification of Neisseria gonorrhoeae were 96.7% and 100% respectively. Meningococci were the only neisseriae growing on Thayer-Martin medium that showed gamma-glutamyl aminopeptidase activity. The prolyl aminopeptidase test showed low specificity.

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