Introduction: Introduction: Impact of gender on severe infections is in highly controversial discussion with natural survival advantage of females described in animal studies but contradictory to those described human data. This study aims to describe the impact of gender on outcome in mixed intensive care units (ICUs) with a special focus on sepsis. Methods: We performed a prospective, observational, clinical trial at Charité University Hospital in Berlin, Germany. Over a period of 180 days, patients were screened, undergoing care in three mainly surgical ICUs. In total, 709 adults were included in the analysis, comprising the main population ([female] n = 309, [male] n = 400) including 327 as the sepsis subgroup ([female] n = 130, [male] n = 197). Results: Basic characteristics differed between genders in terms of age, lifestyle factors, comorbidities, and SOFA-score (Sequential Organ Failure Assessment). Quality and quantity of antibiotic therapy in means of antibiotic-free days, daily antibiotic use, daily costs of antibiotics, time to antibiotics, and guideline adherence did not differ between genders. ICU mortality was comparable in the main population ([female] 10.7% versus [male] 9.0%; P = 0.523), but differed significantly in sepsis patients with [female] 23.1% versus [male] 13.7% (P = 0.037). This was confirmed in multivariate regression analysis with OR = 1.966 (95% CI, 1.045 to 3.701; P = 0.036) for females compared with males. Conclusions: No differences in patients' outcome were noted related to gender aspects in mainly surgical ICUs. However, for patients with sepsis, an increase of mortality is related to the female sex.

According to extrapolations, around 35,000 patients in Germany develop hospital acquired infections (HAI) with a multidrug-resistant organism (MDRO) every year, and about 1500 of them die. Previous estimations were based on laboratory data and prevalence studies. Aim of this study was to establish the incidences of hospital acquired MDRO infections and the resulting deaths by expert review. Data on patients suffering from a hospital acquired MDRO infection were collected from 32 hospitals from all care levels. Records of patients with MDRO infection who died in the year 2016 underwent an onsite review by two experts to determine the impact of the infection, if any, on the cause of death. A total of 714,108 in-patients were treated in 32 hospitals participating in the study. Of these patients, 1136 suffered a hospital acquired MDRO infection (1.59 per 1000 patients). 215 patients with an MDRO infection died [0.301 per 1000, (95% CI 0,261-0,341)], but only in 78 cases this was estimated as the cause of death [0.109 per 1000 patients (95% CI 0.085-0.133)]. By putting the above rates in relation to the total number of in-patients in Germany, it can be rated that around 31,052 patients per year suffer a hospital acquired MDRO infection, and 2132 patients die from it. These results from our reviewer investigation confirm earlier extrapolations.

Vaccination plays a key role in tackling the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic but data regarding the individual’s protective antibody level are still pending. Our aim is to identify factors that influence antibody response following vaccination in healthcare workers. This single-center study was conducted at Evangelische Kliniken Gelsenkirchen, Germany. Healthcare workers were invited to answer a questionnaire about their vaccinations and adverse reactions. Subsequently, the level of anti-receptor binding domain (RBD) IgG antibody against SARS-CoV-2′s spike protein through blood samples was measured. For statistics, we used a defined correlation of protection (CoP) and examined risk factors associated with being below the given CoP. A total of 645 employees were included and most were female (n = 481, 77.2%). A total of 94.2% participants had received two doses of vaccines (n = 587) and 12.4% (n = 720) had been infected at least once. Most common prime-boost regimen was BNT162b2 + BNT162b2 (57.9%, n = 361). Age (p < 0.001), days since vaccination (p = 0.007), and the homologous vaccination regimen with ChAdOx + ChAdOx (p = 0.004) were risk factors for the antibody level being below the CoP, whereas any previous COVID-19 infection (p < 0.001), the number of vaccines (p = 0.016), and physical complaints after vaccination (p = 0.01) were associated with an antibody level above the CoP. Thus, age, vaccination regimen, days since vaccination, and previous infection influence the antibody level. These risk factors should be considered for booster and vaccinations guidelines.