MATERIALS AND METHODS: Full-text articles on case-control and cohort studies published from 1st January 2010 to 1st October 2020 were searched using Google Scholar, PubMed and JSTOR. People of all age groups and Sg bacteraemia or colonisation were the type of participant and exposure used for the search strategy, respectively. Data collection was done by three reviewers and checked by two reviewers for discrepancies. All the papers were critically appraised using the STROBE statement. Qualitative synthesis was done by descriptive comparison, distribution of Sg according to stage comparison, method used for Sg detection comparison and risk of bias comparison.
RESULT: Seven out of 11 articles that fulfil the eligibility criteria were selected. Four papers have low overall risk of bias due to low confounding or selection bias. Sg is found to be a risk factor for CRC from three papers studied, whereas the other four papers did not include the strength of association. Only two papers studied the association between the distribution of Sg and stages of CRC, where the results were contradictory from each other, making it to be inconclusive. The most common method used for Sg detection is a culturing technique, followed by molecular and biochemical techniques.
CONCLUSION: There is insufficient evidence to prove the association between Sg bacteraemia as the risk factor for CRC as well as the association between the Sg distribution and stages of CRC. Culturing technique is the most common method used for the detection of bacteria, but it requires subsequent investigations to confirm the presence of Sg. Thus, it is recommended that more studies need to be done using strong statistical analysis to control for most of the confounders with comprehensive explanation and use of more methods in the detection of Sg.
METHODS: We prospectively followed 100 patients (50:50 cuffed and non-cuffed PICC) and compared CRBSI rate between these groups. Daily review and similar catheter care were performed until a PICC-related complication, completion of therapy, death or defined end-of-study date necessitate removal. CRBSI was confirmed in each case by demonstrating concordance between isolates colonizing the PICC at the time of infection and from peripheral blood cultures.
RESULTS: A total of 50 cuffed PICC were placed for 1864 catheter-days. Of these, 12 patients (24%) developed infection, for which 5 patients (10%) had a CRBSI for a rate of 2.7 per 1000 catheter-days. Another 50 tunnelled non-cuffed PICCs were placed for 2057 catheter-days. Of these, 7 patients (14%) developed infection, for which 3 patients (6%) had a CRBSI. for a rate of 1.5 per 1000 catheter-days. The mean time to development of infection is 24 days in cuffed and 19 days in non-cuffed groups. The mean duration of utilization was significantly longer in non-cuffed than in cuffed group (43 days in non-cuffed vs 37 days in cuffed group, p = 0.008).
CONCLUSIONS: Cuffed PICC does not further reduce the rate of local or bloodstream infection. Tunnelled non-cuffed PICC is shown to be as effective if not better at reducing risk of CRBSI and providing longer catheter dwell time compared to cuffed PICC.
METHODS: This was a prospective study conducted at a tertiary hospital in Malaysia, from 1st August 2010 until 31st July 2011. Children aged between 1 mo and 12 y who were admitted for CAP and had blood cultures performed before starting intravenous antibiotics were recruited. Children with congenital pneumonia, immunodeficiency, chronic cardiac or respiratory disorders, nosocomial pneumonia or those on corticosteroids, were excluded. Decision for admission was made by the attending Accident and Emergency physician.
RESULTS: One hundred and seventy-one children were enrolled. The median age was 13 mo (range: 38 d-10 y 3 mo) and 59 % were males. Blood cultures were positive in 1.2 % (2/171) of patients while the contamination rate was 1.8 % (3/171). Doctors altered antibiotics based on blood culture results in only one patient.
CONCLUSIONS: Both the yield and the impact of blood culture results on the adjustment of empiric antibiotic treatment were very small. There was a high contamination rate. The recommended practice of performing blood cultures in all children admitted with CAP should be reviewed.
METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort single-centre study from 1 November 2006 to 29 May 2019, in all adult patients admitted with first episode of PAB. Data collected included demographics, clinical management and outcomes for PAB and whether IDC occurred. In addition, 29 Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) stored isolates were available for Illumina whole genome sequencing to investigate if pathogen factors contributed to the mortality.
RESULTS: A total of 128 cases of PAB were identified, 71% received IDC. Patients who received IDC were less likely to receive inappropriate duration of antibiotic therapy (4.4%; vs 67.6%; p