Monday, January 28, 2013

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus - induced thrombo-inflammatory response is reduced with timely antibiotic administration.


Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus - induced thrombo-inflammatory response is reduced with timely antibiotic administration.


Jan 2013


Source

Matthew T. Rondina, MD, University of Utah, Department of Internal Medicine, 50 North Medical Drive, Room 4B120, SLC, Utah 84132, USA, Tel.: +1 801 581 7818, Fax: +1 801 585 1393, E-mail: matthew.rondina@hsc.utah.edu.

Abstract


Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA ) induces a pro-thrombotic and pro-inflammatory milieu. Although timely antibiotic administration in MRSA sepsis may improve outcomes by arresting bacterial growth, the effects of antibiotics on mitigating injurious thrombo-inflammatory cellular responses remains unexplored. Using a newly developed human whole blood model and an in vivo mouse model of MRSA infection, we examined how antibiotics inhibit MRSA induced thrombo-inflammatory pathways. Human whole blood was inoculated with MRSA. Thrombin generation and inflammatory cytokine synthesis was measured in the presence or absence of linezolid and vancomycin. C57BL/6 mice were injected with MRSAand the effect of vancomycin administration was examined. MRSA accelerated thrombin generation in a time- and concentration-dependent manner and induced the release of cytokines, including interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, and monocyte chemotactic protein (MCP)-1. The increase in thrombin generation and inflammatory responses was mediated through the synthesis of tissue factor and cytokines, respectively, and the release of microparticles. The early administration of antibiotics restored normal thrombin generation patterns and significantly reduced the synthesis of cytokines. In contrast, when antibiotic administration was delayed, thrombin generation and cytokine synthesis were not significantly reduced. In mice infected with MRSA, early antibiotic administration reduced thrombin anti-thrombin complexes and cytokine synthesis, whereas delayed antibiotic administration did not. These data provide novel mechanistic evidence of the importance of prompt antibiotic administration in infectious syndromes.

Saturday, January 19, 2013

MRSA Nasal Carriage Patterns and the Subsequent Risk of Conversion between Patterns, Infection, and Death.


MRSA Nasal Carriage Patterns and the Subsequent Risk of Conversion between Patterns, Infection, and Death.


2013


Source

The National Center for Occupational Health and Infection Control (COHIC), Office of Public Health, Department of Veterans Affairs, Gainesville, Florida, United States of America ; Department of Medicine, Veterans Affairs Boston Health Care System, West Roxbury, Massachusetts, United States of America ; Massachusetts Veterans Epidemiology Research and Information Center, Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, United States of America ; Department of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.

Abstract


BACKGROUND:

Patterns of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) nasal carriage over time and across the continuum of care settings are poorly characterized. Knowledge of prevalence rates and outcomes associated with MRSA nasal carriage patterns could help direct infection prevention strategies. The VA integrated health-care system and active surveillance program provides an opportunity to delineate nasal carriage patterns and associated outcomes of death, infection, and conversion in carriage.

METHODS/FINDINGS:

We conducted a retrospective cohort study including all patients admitted to 5 acute care VA hospitals between 2008-2010 who had nasal MRSA PCR testing within 48 hours of admission and repeat testing within 30 days. The PCR results were used to define a baseline nasal carriage pattern of never, intermittently, or always colonized at 30 days from admission. Follow-up was up to two years and included acute, long-term, and outpatient care visits. Among 18,038 patients, 91.1%, 4.4%, and 4.6% were never, intermittently, or always colonized at the 30-day baseline. Compared to non-colonized patients, those who were persistently colonized had an increased risk of death (HR 2.58; 95% CI 2.18;3.05) and MRSA infection (HR 10.89; 95% CI 8.6;13.7). Being in the non-colonized group at 30 days had a predictive value of 87% for being non-colonized at 1 year. Conversion to MRSA colonized at 6 months occurred in 11.8% of initially non-colonized patients. Age >70 years, long-term care, antibiotic exposure, and diabetes identified >95% of converters.

CONCLUSIONS:

The vast majority of patients are not nasally colonized with MRSA at 30 days from acute hospital admission. Conversion from non-carriage is infrequent and can be risk-stratified. A positive carriage pattern is strongly associated with infection and death. Active surveillance programs in the year following carriage pattern designation could be tailored to focus on non-colonized patients who are at high risk for conversion, reducing universal screening burden.

Friday, January 11, 2013

Pharmacoeconomic analysis of the treatment of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus with daptomycin or vancomycin


Pharmacoeconomic analysis of the treatment of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus with daptomycin or vancomycin


Dec 2012

[Article in Spanish]

Source

Carlos Rubio Terrés, Health value, C/ Virgen de Aránzazu, 21. 5ºB, 28034, Madrid, Spain. crubioterres@healthvalue.org.

Abstract


Introduction. 
The increased morbidity, mortality and high costs associated with bacteremia caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a major public health problem. Pharmacoeconomic analysis was performed to compare the efficiency of daptomycin (DAP) against vancomycin (VAN) in the treatment of this infection. 

Methods. 
Retrospective, deterministic and probabilistic cost-effectiveness analysis. The effectiveness of the treatments was estimated from the results of a randomized clinical trial, which compared DAP (6 mg / kg IV daily) and VAN (1 g IV every 12 hours), both with or without gentamicin (1 mg / kg IV every 8 hours). Resource utilization was estimated from the clinical trial of the drug datasheets and Spanish sources, the unit costs were obtained also from Spanish sources. Monte Carlo probabilistic analysis and deterministic analysis were performed. 

Results. 
The clinical trial cure rates were higher with DAP (44.4%, 95% CI 43.5 to 45.4%) than with VAN (31.8%, 95% CI 30.9 to 32.7%) not statistically significant (p = 0.2203) but with economic impact. With DAP would occur less costs due to treatment failure (rescue antibiotics, additional tests, prolonged hospital stay and adverse reactions) than with VAN. In the base case the average cost of disease per patient was € 12,329 to € 12,696 with DAP and VAN (difference of 367 €). DAP treatment was dominant (more effective, with lower costs than VAN) both in the deterministic and probabilistic analysis. In the Monte Carlo simulation, DAP was the most cost-effective treatment in 100% of the 10,000 simulations, for a willingness to pay € 12,000 per additional cure (approximate cost of MRSA bacteraemia episode). 

Conclusions. 
According to this model, daptomycin is more cost-effective than vancomycin in treating MRSA bacteremia. The higher cost of acquisition of daptomycin does not imply a higher cost of treating this infection.

Friday, January 4, 2013

Matched-Cohort DNA Microarray Diversity Analysis of Methicillin Sensitive and Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Isolates from Hospital Admission Patients.


Matched-Cohort DNA Microarray Diversity Analysis of Methicillin Sensitive and Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Isolates from Hospital Admission Patients.


2012

Source

Institute of Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, Saarland University Medical Center, Homburg/Saar, Germany.

Abstract


As genotyping of S. aureus is important for epidemiologic research and for hygiene management, methods are required for standardized fast and easily applicable evaluation of closely related epidemic strains with high prevalence in hospitals. In this single centre matched control study we compared a new commercially available DNA microarray (IdentiBAC) with standard spa-typing for S. aureus genotyping. Included in the study was a subgroup of 46 MRSA and matched 46 MSSA nasal isolates of the Saarland University Medical Center collected during a state-wide admission prevalence screening. Microarray (MA) and also spa-typing could easily differentiate the genetically diverse MSSA group. However, due to the predominance of CC5/t003 in the MRSA group a sufficient subtyping required analysis of more complex genetic profiles as was shown here by the MA comprising a total number of 334 different hybridization probes. The genetic repertoire of the MRSA group was characterized by more virulence genes as compared to the MSSA group. The standard evaluation of MA results by the original software into CCs, agr-, SCCmec- and capsule-types was substituted in the present study by implementation of multivariate subtyping of closely related CC5 isolates using three different bioinformatic methods (splits graph, cluster dendrogram, and principal component analysis). Each method used was applicable for standardized and highly discriminative subtyping with high concordance. We propose that the identified S. aureus subtypes with characteristic virulence gene profiles are presumably associated also with virulence and pathogenicity in vivo; however, this remains to be analyzed in future studies. MA was superior to spa-typing for epidemiologic and presumably also provide functional respectively virulence associated characterization of S. aureus isolates. This is of specific importance for the hospital setting. In future, MA could become a new standard test for S. aureus typing in combination with multivariate bioinformatic analysis.