Due to limited therapeutic options, the spread of extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) have become a major public health concern. We conducted a prospective, randomized, open-label comparison of the therapeutic efficacy of piperacillin-tazobactam (PTZ), cefepime, and ertapenem in febrile nosocomial urinary tract infection with ESBL-producing Escherichia coli (ESBL-EC). This study was conducted at three university hospitals between January 2013 and August 2015. Hospitalized adult patients presenting with fever were screened for healthcare-associated urinary tract infection (HA-UTI). When ESBL-EC was solely detected and susceptible to a randomized antibiotic in vitro, the case was included in the final analysis. Participants were treated for 10–14 days with PTZ, cefepime, or ertapenem. A total of 66 participants were evenly assigned to the PTZ and ertapenem treatment groups. After the recruitment of six participants, assignment to the cefepime treatment group was stopped because of an unexpectedly high treatment failure rate. The baseline characteristics of these participants did not differ from participants in other treatment groups. The clinical and microbiological response to PTZ treatment was estimated to be 94% and was similar to the response to ertapenem treatment. The efficacy of cefepime was 33.3%. In the cefepime group, age, Charlson comorbidity index, genotype, and minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) did not significantly affect the success of treatment. Similarly, genotype seemed to be irrelevant with respect to clinical outcome in the PTZ group. Expired cases tended to involve septic shock with a high Charlson comorbidity index and high MIC. Results from this study suggest that PTZ is effective in the treatment of urinary tract infection caused by ESBL-EC when the in vitro test indicates susceptibility. In addition, cefepime should not be used as an alternative treatment for urinary tract infection caused by ESBL-EC. The trial was registered with the Clinical Research Information Service of Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (KCT0001895)

Jung IY, et al. Yonsei Med J. 2019 Jun;60(6):592-596. https://doi.org/10.3349/ymj.2019.60.6.592

Objective.: To evaluate the risk factors for surgical site infection (SSI) after gastric surgery in patients in Korea.Design.: A nationwide prospective multicenter study.Setting.: Twenty university-affiliated hospitals in Korea.Methods.: The Korean Nosocomial Infections Surveillance System (KONIS), a Web-based system, was developed. Patients in 20 Korean hospitals from 2007 to 2009 were prospectively monitored for SSI for up to 30 days after gastric surgery. Demographic data, hospital characteristics, and potential perioperative risk factors were collected and analyzed, using multivariate logistic regression models.Results.: Of the 4,238 case patients monitored, 64.9% (2,752) were male, and mean age (±SD) was 58.8 (±12.3) years. The SSI rates were 2.92, 6.45, and 10.87 per 100 operations for the National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance system risk index categories of 0, 1, and 2 or 3, respectively. The majority (69.4%) of the SSIs observed were organ or space SSIs. The most frequently isolated microorganisms were Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Male sex (odds ratio [OR], 1.67 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.09–2.58]), increased operation time (1.20 [1.07–1.34] per 1-hour increase), reoperation (7.27 [3.68–14.38]), combined multiple procedures (1.79 [1.13–2.83]), prophylactic administration of the first antibiotic dose after skin incision (3.00 [1.09–8.23]), and prolonged duration (≥7 days) of surgical antibiotic prophylaxis (SAP; 2.70 [1.26–5.64]) were independently associated with increased risk of SSI.Conclusions.: Male sex, inappropriate SAP, and operation-related variables are independent risk factors for SSI after gastric surgery.

Chemoprophylaxis with hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and primaquine has been used in the Republic of Korea (ROK) Army since 1997. It may facilitate the development of chloroquine (CQ)-resistant strains of Plasmodium vivax. We investigated the therapeutic efficacy of HCQ and the pvmdr1 gene polymorphisms in P. vivax. From June to September 2006, 102 soldiers with vivax malaria near the demilitarized zone in Gyeonggi-do, ROK, were enrolled in the study. We determined the status of compliance of chemoprophylaxis. In 85 patients, therapeutic efficacy was monitored 28 days after standard HCQ treatment; 66 (64.7%) of 102 malaria patients had taken all chemoprolaxis with HCQ. In all patients enrolled in the therapeutic efficacy monitoring, parasitemia had not been observed since 3 days after standard HCQ treatment. However, the ubiquitous presence of the F1076L mutation of the pvmdr1 was observed. There was no evidence that the F1076L mutation of pvmdr1 could contribute to failure of HCQ treatment.

Kim HI, et al. J Korean Med Sci. 2013 Sep;28(9):1276-1282. https://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2013.28.9.1276