International Journal of Infection最新文献

{"title":"Evaluation of Antibiotic Susceptibility, Carbapenemase and Metallobetalactamase-producing Strains of Acinetobacter baumannii Isolated from Hospitalized Patients in Zahedan During 2019 - 2022","authors":"Mojdeh Jahantigh, Roghayeh Javadi, Z. Bameri, Aslam Dehvari","doi":"10.5812/iji-143968","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5812/iji-143968","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Microbial resistance caused by Acinetobacter baumannii, which leads to various infectious diseases, is projected to result in ten million deaths by 2050. This is mainly due to the production of beta-lactamase enzymes, a significant concern for the World Health Organization. Objectives: This study utilized phenotypic analysis to examine isolates producing metallo-beta-lactamase and carbapenemase and to determine the pattern of antibiotic resistance in Acinetobacter baumannii. Methods: Following the isolation and identification of 372 Acinetobacter baumannii strains from clinical isolates using a variety of biochemical tests, the antibiotic resistance pattern was examined using the disc diffusion method. The production of beta-lactamase and carbapenemase was determined using the combined disc diffusion phenotypic test (CDDT) and the Modified Hodge Test (MHT), respectively. Results: Based on this study, minocycline (7.4%) exhibited the lowest resistance rate, while carbapenems (imipenem and meropenem) showed the highest resistance. All antibiotic groups demonstrated over 80% resistance, suggesting extensive drug resistance in all samples. Furthermore, 325 (94.6%) strains of Acinetobacter baumannii produced metallo-beta-lactamase, 215 (57.7%) strains strongly produced carbapenemase, and 135 (36.1%) strains weakly produced carbapenemase. Conclusions: Due to minimal resistance to colistin, minocycline, and ampicillin-sulbactam, it is advisable to use these drugs either individually or in combination for treatment.","PeriodicalId":13989,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Infection","volume":"44 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141683186","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Associations Between Blood Group and COVID-19 Mortality, Severity, and Length of Hospitalization","authors":"Motahare Abedi, Borna Safari-kish, Matin Bidares, K. Tavakol","doi":"10.5812/iji-142622","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5812/iji-142622","url":null,"abstract":"Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between ABO blood groups and the mortality rate, disease severity, and length of hospitalization (LOH) in patients with COVID-19. Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted from March 1 to June 1, 2020. Demographics, comorbidities, and biochemical data were gathered, and the association of ABO blood groups with mortality rate, disease severity (hospitalization in general ward or ICU), and LOH was investigated using standard univariate analysis and logistic regression. Results: Out of 398 patients who were positive for COVID-19, 65 (16.3%), 71 (17.8%), 9 (2.3%), and 252 (63.3%) had blood groups of A, B, AB, and O, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that for each day of hospitalization, the odds of death increased by 4% (OR = 1.04, P = 0.004). Also, the chance of death was 43% lower in patients with blood group O than those with other blood groups (OR = 0.574, P = 0.032). In patients with blood group A, the chance of hospitalization at the ICU was five times higher compared to patients with other blood groups (OR = 5.038, P = 0.002). The LOH was 5.437 and 2.6 days shorter in Rh-positive patients and those with blood group B, while patients with blood group A were hospitalized 3.7 days longer than individuals with other blood groups. Conclusions: The present study showed that COVID-19 mortality was lower in patients with blood group O compared to individuals with other blood groups. Also, blood group A was associated with more severe COVID-19 disease and longer LOH.","PeriodicalId":13989,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Infection","volume":"43 17","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139007177","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Pulmonary Hemorrhage in Neonates with COVID-19","authors":"Zahra Vahedi, Ashraf Mousavi, Reza Behmadi","doi":"10.5812/iji-139115","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5812/iji-139115","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction: The new coronavirus has been responsible for the recent pandemic. It mainly affects adults; however, children of all ages, including neonates, may also be affected. The disease has shown different manifestations and symptoms so far. Case Presentation: The present study reported four neonates with COVID-19 admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit. All neonates had positive PCR results and suffered from pulmonary hemorrhage during hospitalization. Conclusions: The clinical symptoms, laboratory findings, and imaging findings were severe in neonates with COVID-19 and pulmonary hemorrhage, possibly related to surfactant damage and degradation.","PeriodicalId":13989,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Infection","volume":"89 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134958621","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Computerized Tomography Scan Findings in Pediatric Patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019","authors":"Hamid Dahmardeh, Gholamreza Soleimani, Alireza Ahmadi, Alireza Teimouri","doi":"10.5812/iji-138197","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5812/iji-138197","url":null,"abstract":"Background: This study aimed to ascertain the computerized tomography findings of 56 children diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) at Ali Ibn Abitalib Hospital in Zahedan, Iran. Methods: This descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted on 56 pediatric patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 who were treated at Ali Ibn Abitalib Hospital in Zahedan from March to August 2020. The computerized tomography (CT) scans were performed for these children because they did not show signs of improvement, had decreased oxygen levels during the treatment, had severe respiratory symptoms, or had a breathing disorder. The CT findings were reviewed to determine the frequency of normal and abnormal scans. The distribution of lesions (unilateral, bilateral, peripheral, central), type of opacity (consolidation, ground glass, etc.), and presence or absence of bronchiectasis, effusion, cavity, and lymphadenopathy were recorded. The frequency of each type of lesion was then calculated. Results: Of the patients, 30.36% had a normal CT scan. The most common CT scan finding was ground-glass opacity (42.86%), followed by consolidation (35.71%). The distribution of lesions was mostly bilateral (64.10%) and mainly peripheral (66.67%). Conclusions: One-third of children with COVID-19 had normal CT features. Ground-glass opacity and consolidation were more common than cavity or pneumatocele, pleural effusion, bronchiectasis, and lymphadenopathy.","PeriodicalId":13989,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Infection","volume":"35 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135958421","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Antibiotic Resistance Pattern of Urinary Tract Infections Among Patients with Recent Antibiotic Use: A Cross-sectional Study","authors":"Behzad Yousefi Yeganeh, Golnaz Mahmoudvand, Reza Nejad Shahrokh Abadi, Majid Heidarian, A. Karimi Rouzbahani","doi":"10.5812/iji-136163","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5812/iji-136163","url":null,"abstract":"Background: With the increasing rate of bacterial resistance and the emergence of multidrug-resistant pathogens, urinary tract infections (UTIs) are now among the most important public health problems worldwide. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the antibiotic resistance patterns of UTIs in Shahid Rahimi and Shohada-ye Ashayer hospitals of Khorramabad, Iran, in 2021. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 250 patients with UTI were included. Demographic characteristics and data related to the pathogen types and antibiogram were collected from their medical files and recorded in a researcher-made checklist. The collected data were analyzed by Stata software version 14 at a 5% significance level. Results: The study population consisted of 163 women (65.2%) with a mean age of 54.52 ± 10.12 and 87 men (34.8%) with a mean age of 51.87 ± 12.01. The most common pathogens reported were Escherichia coli (41.20%), followed by Staphylococcus saprophyticus (20.80%), and Klebsiella pneumonia (18.40%). The most frequently reported resistances were against Amoxicillin (59.2%), followed by Ampicillin (53.6%), while the least reported were Imipenem (11.6%), followed by Amikacin (17.6%). Conclusions: A high rate of resistance was observed against the commonly used antibiotics. It is crucial to prescribe antibiotics, particularly those with relatively low resistance rates (such as imipenem and amikacin), cautiously to prevent bacterial resistance against antimicrobial agents.","PeriodicalId":13989,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Infection","volume":"37 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"91101253","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Laboratory Diagnostic Tests in Patients with Sepsis","authors":"Samira Rasuli, S. Mobarak, E. Radmanesh, F. Maghsoudi, Khadijeh Kanani, Alireza Hazbenejad, M. Mobarak","doi":"10.5812/iji-135791","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5812/iji-135791","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Sepsis is a syndrome involving physiological, pathological, and biochemical abnormalities caused by infection and leads to the dysfunction of various organs, including the liver and kidneys. It can lead to high mortality rates. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the hepatic, renal, and coagulation diagnostic markers in patients with sepsis. Methods: This cross-sectional analytical study was performed on patients with sepsis admitted to Abadan and Khorramshahr educational hospitals during March 21 2019-March 19, 2020. The hospital information system (HIS) collected the information of 305 patients with sepsis, including hepatic, coagulation, and renal diagnostic factors, as well as age and gender. Results: It was observed that the mean of blood sugar (BS) (145.82 ± 105.10 mg/dL), BUN (29.64 ± 27.41 mg/dL), and creatinine (1.69±1.9 mg/dL) in sepsis patients was higher than normal. In addition, the mean of diagnostic markers of the liver, including ALT (47.27 ± 76.63 U/L), AST (74.38 ± 163.96 U/L), LDH (684.69 ± 383.96 U/L), total bilirubin (1.39 ± 1.02 mg/dL), and direct bilirubin (0.60 ± 0.65 mg/dL), was higher than normal. The mean of PT (16.73±9.31 sec) and INR (1.72 ± 1.53) was also higher than the normal level. Conclusions: In hospitalized patients with sepsis, BS, renal diagnostic markers, hepatic diagnostic markers, and coagulation markers are higher than normal, indicating the destructive effect of sepsis on kidney and liver function.","PeriodicalId":13989,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Infection","volume":"55 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-06-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79676297","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Prevalence, Antimicrobial Resistance, and Molecular Characteristics of Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci Isolated from Children’s Blood Cultures in Northeastern Iran Within 2013 - 2019","authors":"Roya Sadidi, Amir Azimian","doi":"10.5812/iji-135630","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5812/iji-135630","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) are rolled in severe infections in animals and nosocomial infections in humans. Given that staphylococci other than Staphylococcus aureus are often reported only as CoNS in medical diagnosis laboratories, this study aimed to determine the exact species of this type of staphylococci in clinical samples. Objectives: This study also aimed to evaluate antibiotic resistance, the ability to carry cfr, qacA/B, mecA, and vanA genes, and the diversity of staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) elements in mecA-carrying isolates. Methods: Staphylococcus spp. strains were isolated from the blood samples of children admitted to Imam Reza Hospital in Bojnurd, Northeastern Iran, between 2013 - 2019. All CoNS isolates were evaluated for resistance to vancomycin and oxacillin using agar screening and other routine anti-CoNS antibiotics using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method, based on the latest Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines. The CoNS strains were isolated based on conventional methods and polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-restriction fragment length polymorphism. The PCR was applied to determine the diversity of SCCmec elements in the CoNS isolates. Results: In this study, 203 isolates were confirmed as CoNS belonging to nine staphylococci spp. S. capitis and S. epidermidis were the top two common CoNS. Type III was the dominant SCCmec type in mecA+ isolates. Conclusions: The findings of this study showed that CoNS isolated from blood cultures have a relatively high diversity and antibiotic resistance. Therefore, further attention should be paid to the isolation of these strains in laboratories, and they should not be easily considered as contamination.","PeriodicalId":13989,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Infection","volume":"84 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135692872","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evaluation of Thyroid Status in COVID-19 Patients: A Retrospective Study","authors":"M. Zangeneh, Salar Javanshir, Rojin Sarallah, Yasamin Khosravani-Nezhad, Mirsaber Sadatamini, M. Dezfulinejad, Y. Faghani","doi":"10.5812/iji-132072","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5812/iji-132072","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is a receptor for SARS-CoV-2, expressed in many organs’ cells, including the thyroid gland. Therefore, COVID-19 may influence thyroid gland function. Objectives: In this article, we aimed to investigate the thyroid gland function in COVID-19 patients and compare them to healthy society to indicate whether thyroid hormones level differ in the disease or not. Methods: This is a single-center retrospective case-control, cross-sectional study on 191 COVID-19 patients and 179 non-COVID-19 individuals as the control group. The status of the thyroid hormones was determined in COVID-19 patients and then compared with the control group. Patients in the case group were divided into 2 groups with and without normal thyroid function and were compared with each other in different aspects of COVID-19. Also, we compared thyroid hormone levels in the patient group with different underlying diseases to show the status of thyroid function in COVID-19 infection. Results: Of the 191 COVID-19 patients, 98 (51.3%) were male, and the mean age of patients was 64 ± 15 years. The thyrotropin level was lower in the patient group than in the control group (1.34 ± 1.29 vs. 2.21 ± 1.99; P < 0.001). The T3 status was meaningfully associated with the level of SpO2 (P < 0.05; r = -0.258). The results demonstrated that thyrotropin (P = 0.653), T3 (P = 0.404), and T4 (P = 0.147) levels were not different in expired and discharged patients. The 2 groups of patients with and without normal thyrotropin levels did not appear significantly different in any aspect of the disease. Conclusions: Thyrotropin level was lower in COVID-19 patients, and the T3 level can predict the SpO2 level. The thyroid gland may be theoretically affected by SARS-CoV-2 infection.","PeriodicalId":13989,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Infection","volume":"94 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75438652","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Epidemiological Study of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in the Population Covered by Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in Iran from 2011 to 2021","authors":"H. Hatami, A. Ramezankhani, Elham Hasannezhad, Alireza Souri","doi":"10.5812/iji-123990","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5812/iji-123990","url":null,"abstract":"Background: The World Health Organization has introduced leishmaniosis as one of the eight major tropical parasitic diseases in the world, which is reported in 98 countries, including Iran. According to available reports, 2 million people develop the disease on an annual basis. Objectives: The present descriptive-analytical study aimed to examine the patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis referring to health centers from 2011 to 2021 in order to improve prevention and treatment methods for high-risk individuals and provide appropriate health services for reducing the incidences of disease in high-risk areas. Methods: A total of 2119 patients afflicted with cutaneous leishmaniosis due to skin lesions were examined. The data were analyzed after entering the data into SPSS software, vol 26. Tables and graphs were used for displaying the qualitative variables; central indicators and dispersion were used for indicating quantitative variables, and chi-square test was used for analyzing the data. The level of P ≤ 0.05 was considered as the level of significance. Results: The mean age of 2119 patients was 28.32 ± 20.38 years. Furthermore, 65.2% of male patients and 34.8% of female ones were infected with the disease. As for the nationality of the patients, 81.8% of them were Iranians and 18.1% of them were Afghans, and 88.9% of them had a history of traveling to other areas. More than 51% of the cases occurred in the young age group, the age group of 21 to 30 years had the highest incidence (18.4%), and the incidence rate of the disease did not decrease. There was a statistically significant relationship between patients’ nationality and travel history, gender, and occupation (P = 0.0001). There was no statistically significant relationship between the incidence season and travel history (P = 0.221). Conclusions: Due to the patients’ travel to endemic areas, providing them with training on effective methods for preventing mosquito bites may have had a great impact on reducing the incidences of cutaneous leishmaniosis.","PeriodicalId":13989,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Infection","volume":"75 5 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-11-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"77258588","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Human Microsporidiosis: A Narrative Review of Serodiagnostic Tests","authors":"Samane Abdolahi","doi":"10.5812/iji-130471","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5812/iji-130471","url":null,"abstract":"Context: Microsporidiosis is an emerging disease in both immunocompetent and immunocompromised patients. Diagnosis of human microsporidiosis is challenging. Parasitological tests using staining methods have limitations for detecting spores in stool samples. The performance of molecular methods for diagnosing human microsporidiosis is satisfactory, but these methods are expensive and time-consuming. Serodiagnosis tests for the detection of antibodies have insufficient specificity. Detecting microsporidia antigens seems to be an appropriate method for diagnosing human microsporidiosis. Therefore, the present study reviewed serological approaches to assess the current status of these methods for diagnosing human microsporidiosis. Evidence Acquisition: All related published articles were searched. The search terms were “microsporidiosis”, “microsporidiasis”, “human microsporidiosis”, and “human microsporidiasis”, combined with the search terms “diagnosis”, “serodiagnosis”, “immunodiagnosis”, “antigen detection”, and “antibody detection”. Data were extracted from the articles that met our eligibility criteria. Immunodiagnosis studies in experimentally infected animals were excluded. Results: Few studies have evaluated the performance of serological tests for diagnosing human microsporidiosis. The IgG response against spore wall protein or polar tube antigens remains at least three years after infection and shows more cross-reactivity with other species. Therefore, the western blot should be conducted as a confirmatory method. Serodiagnosis tests using monoclonal antibodies against microsporidia showed less cross-reactivity and more efficacy compared to polyclonal antibodies. Conclusions: Indirect fluorescent antibody test based on the monoclonal antibody is highly effective in diagnosing microsporidia species in clinical samples.","PeriodicalId":13989,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Infection","volume":"23 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-10-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88411433","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}