METHODS: Patients from TREAT Asia HIV Observational Database (September 2015 data transfer) aged 18 years and older with a CD4 count <50 cells/mm at ART initiation were included. The effect of macrolide prophylaxis on HIV-associated mortality or AIDS-defining conditions (as a combined outcome) and HIV-associated mortality alone were evaluated using competing risk regression. Sensitivity analysis was conducted in patients with a CD4 <100 cells/mm at ART initiation.
RESULTS: Of 1345 eligible patients, 10.6% received macrolide prophylaxis. The rate of the combined outcome was 7.35 [95% confidence interval (CI): 6.04 to 8.95] per 100 patient-years, whereas the rate of HIV-associated mortality was 3.14 (95% CI: 2.35 to 4.19) per 100 patient-years. Macrolide use was associated with a significantly decreased risk of HIV-associated mortality (hazard ratio 0.10, 95% CI: 0.01 to 0.80, P = 0.031) but not with the combined outcome (hazard ratio 0.86, 95% CI: 0.32 to 2.229, P = 0.764). Sensitivity analyses showed consistent results among patients with a CD4 <100 cells/mm at ART initiation.
CONCLUSIONS: Macrolide prophylaxis is associated with improved survival among Asian HIV-infected patients with low CD4 cell counts and on ART. This study suggests the increased usage and coverage of macrolide prophylaxis among people living with HIV in Asia.
METHODS: An online survey-based study of leading eye institutions in China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam was conducted. The survey was administered to 26 representative key opinion leaders from prominent tertiary eye institutions that are also national academic teaching institutions in Asia. Survey responses were collated and anonymized during analysis.
RESULTS: All surveyed institutions used povidone iodine for the preoperative antiseptic preparation of the eye, with notable variations in the concentration of povidone iodine used for conjunctival sac instillation. Preoperative topical antibiotics were prescribed by 61.5% and 69.2% of institutions in low-risk and high-risk cases, respectively. Regarding the use of intra-operative antibiotics, 60.0% and 66.7% of institutions administered intracameral antibiotics in low-risk and high-risk patients, respectively. Postoperative topical antibiotics use patterns were generally very similar in low-risk and high-risk patients. Over half of the institutions (52.2% and 68.0% in low-risk and high-risk patients, respectively) also indicated prolonged postoperative use of topical antibiotics (> 2 weeks). Not all surveyed institutions had established policies/protocols for perioperative antibiotic use in cataract surgery, endophthalmitis surveillance, and/or a monitoring program for emerging antimicrobial resistance.
CONCLUSION: There are variations in antimicrobial prophylaxis approaches to preoperative, intra-operative and postoperative regimens in cataract surgery in Asia. More evidence-based research is needed to support the development of detailed guidelines for perioperative antibiotic prophylaxis to reduce postoperative infections.
Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the patterns of intraperitoneal (IP) antibiotic utilization for the treatment of peritonitis in CAPD patients.
Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective study conducted at a tertiary hospital setting in Malaysia. Medical records of CAPD patients who were diagnosed with peritonitis and registered with National Kidney Registry from 2013 to 2018 were reviewed. Types of antibiotics used and its dose and duration were recorded and reported using the anatomical therapeutic chemical/defined daily dose (ATC/DDD) system.
Results: A total of 105 peritonitis episodes were recorded from 72 patients. The most common first-line empirical antibiotic combinations used were ceftazidime/cefazolin (40%, n = 42), followed by cefepime/cefazolin (30.5%, n = 32) and ceftazidime/cloxacillin (25.7%, n = 27). The definitive therapy for culture-proven CAPD-related peritonitis (CAPD-P) showed that vancomycin was the most frequently prescribed antibiotic (31.7%, n = 26/82), followed by amikacin (14.6%, n = 12/82), meropenem (11%, n = 9/82) and ampicillin (11%, n = 9/82). Ciprofloxacin was among the least prescribed definitive antibiotics for CAPD-P (2.4%, n = 2/82) but the DDD/100 patient-days estimates showed that it had the highest therapeutic intensity.
Conclusion: There are various IP antibiotics used for CAPD-P and the most common empirical therapy was the combination of ceftazidime and cefazolin while vancomycin is predominantly used for definitive therapy. Future studies to evaluate the clinical outcomes of the antibiotic use should be conducted to have a better insight on the efficacy of the peritonitis treatment.
METHODOLOGY: A retrospective cross-sectional study was employed to identify patients with positive AR bacteria between March 2019 and March 2022. The bacterial isolates and patients' data were identified from laboratory and medical records departments retrospectively. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the factors associated with AR and deaths. Multinominal logistic regression was applied to confirm the factors associated with AR classification.
RESULTS: AR Gram-negative bacteria decreased during and after the pandemic. However, S. aureus showed a negligible increase in resistance rate after pandemic, while E. faecium, recorded a higher-than-average resistance rate during the pandemic. The prevalence of pan drug resistance (PDR) during the pandemic (85.7%) was higher than before (0%) and after (14.3%), p = 0.001. The length of stay and time were significant predictors for AR classification. The odds of multi drug resistance (MDR) development to PDR during the pandemic were 6 times higher than before and after (OR = 6.133, CI =, p = 0.020). Age, nationality, COVID-19 infection, smoking, liver disease, and type and number of bacteria were associated with death of patients with positive AR.
CONCLUSIONS: Further studies are recommended to explore the prevalence of PDR and to justify the increased rates of E. faecium AR during the COVID-19 pandemic.