This study aims to compare clinical course and outcomes between pregnant and reproductive-aged non-pregnant women with COVID-19 and assess the vertical transmission potential of COVID-19 in pregnancy. Medical records of pregnant and reproductive-aged non-pregnant women hospitalized with COVID-19 from January 15 to March 15, 2020, were retrospectively reviewed. The severity of disease, virus clearance time, and length of hospital stay were measured as the primary interest and the vertical transmission potential of COVID-19 was also assessed. Eighty-two patients (28 pregnant women, 54 reproductive-aged non-pregnant women) with laboratory confirmed COVID-19 were enrolled in this study. Univariate regression indicated no association between pregnancy and the severity of disease (OR 0.73, 95% CI 0.08-5.15; p=0.76), virus clearance time (HR 1.16, 95% CI 0.65-2.01; p=0.62), and length of hospital stay (HR 1.10, 95% CI 0.66-1.84; p=0.71). There were 22 pregnant women delivered 23 live births either by cesarean section (17, 60.7%) or vaginal delivery (5, 17.9%) and no neonate was infected with SARS-CoV-2. Pregnant women have comparable clinical course and outcomes compared with reproductive-aged non-pregnant women when infected with SARS-CoV-2. No evidence supported vertical transmission of COVID-19 in the late stage of pregnancy including vaginal delivery.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has posed significant threats to both the physical and psychological health of healthcare workers working in the front-line combating COVID-19. However, studies regarding the medium to long term impact of COVID-19 on mental health among healthcare workers are limited. Therefore, we conducted this cross-sectional survey to investigate the prevalence, factors and impact of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in healthcare workers exposed to COVID-19 8 months after the end of the outbreak in Wuhan, China. Methods: A web-based questionnaire was delivered as a link via the communication application WeChat to those healthcare workers who worked at several COVID-19 units during the outbreak (from December 2019 to April 2020) in Wuhan, China. The questionnaire included questions on social-demographic data, the post-traumatic stress disorder checklist-5 (PCL-5), the family care index questionnaire (Adaptation, Partnership, Growth, Affection and Resolve, APGAR), and the quality-of-life scale (QOL). The prevalence, risk and protective factors, and impact of PTSD on healthcare workers were subsequently analyzed. Results: Among the 659 participants, 90 healthcare workers were still suffering from PTSD 8 months after the end of the outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, in which avoidance and negative impact were the most affected dimensions. Suffering from chronic disease, experiencing social isolation, and job dissatisfaction came up as independent risk factors for PTSD, while obtaining COVID-19 related information at an appropriate frequency, good family function, and working in well-prepared mobile cabin hospitals served as protective factors. The impact of PTSD on COVID-19 exposed healthcare workers was apparent by shortened sleeping time, feeling of loneliness, poorer quality of life and intention to resign. Conclusions: Eight months after the end of the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan, the level of PTSD in healthcare workers exposed to COVID-19 was still high. Apart from the commonly recognized risk factors, comorbid chronic disease was identified as a new independent risk factor for developing PTSD. For countries where the pandemic is still ongoing or in case of future outbreaks of new communicable diseases, this study may contribute to preventing cases of PTSD in healthcare workers exposed to infectious diseases under such circumstances.

Although the combination of polymyxin and tigecycline is widely used in treating carbapenem-resistant bacterial infections, the benefit of this combination is still uncertain. To assess whether adding polymyxin B to the high-dose tigecycline regimen would result in better clinical outcomes than the high-dose tigecycline therapy in patients with pneumonia caused by carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae and Acinetobacter baumannii, we conducted a propensity score-matched cohort study in a single center between July 2019 and December 2021. Of the 162 eligible patients, 102 were included in the 1:1 matched cohort. The overall 14-day mortality in the matched cohort was 24.5%. Compared with high-dose tigecycline, the combination therapy was not associated with better clinical outcomes, and showed similar 14-day mortality (OR, 0.72, 95% CI 0.27–1.83, p = 0.486), clinical cure (OR, 1.09, 95% CI 0.48–2.54, p = 0.823), microbiological cure (OR, 0.96, 95% CI 0.39–2.53, p = 0.928) and rate of nephrotoxicity (OR 0.85, 95% CI 0.36–1.99, p = 0.712). Subgroup analyses also did not demonstrate any statistical differences. Based on these results, it is reasonable to recommend against adding polymyxin B to the high-dose tigecycline regimen in treating pneumonia caused by carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae and A. baumannii.

Introduction Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is an opportunistic pathogen associated with various nosocomial infections and is known for its intrinsic multidrug resistance. This study aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the epidemiology and resistance patterns of S. maltophilia in China from 2014 to 2021. Methods Data were extracted from the China Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System (CARSS) and the Blood Bacterial Resistance Investigation Collaborative System (BRICS), encompassing 1412 medical institutions across 31 provinces in China. We analyzed the prevalence of S. maltophilia in clinical isolates, focusing on specific patient populations and departments, as well as resistance profiles to recommended first-line antibiotics, including sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim, levofloxacin, and minocycline. Results A total of 514,768 S. maltophilia strains were analyzed. The overall prevalence of S. maltophilia among all clinical bacterial isolates remained stable at approximately 2.1%, with higher rates observed in intensive care units and elderly patients. Resistance rates to sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim decreased from 9.8% in 2014 to 7.5% in 2021. In contrast, resistance to levofloxacin showed a slight upward trend, increasing from 8.5% in 2014 to 9.5% in 2021. Meanwhile, minocycline resistance remained low, fluctuating marginally from 2.7% in 2014 to 1.7% in 2021. Conclusions This study highlights the stable prevalence of S. maltophilia in clinical settings in China and the overall low resistance rates to recommended first-line antibiotics. However, alarmingly high resistance rates were observed in specific specimen types, particularly in blood cultures, suggesting that minocycline may be the only reliable therapeutic option among the six tested antibiotics for treating such infections in China. Continuous surveillance and effective infection control measures are essential to manage S. maltophilia infections, particularly in vulnerable populations. Future research should focus on measuring the true burden of these infections and monitoring the susceptibility of the newly introduced antibiotics, such as cefiderocol.

Purpose: Low serum creatinine/cystatin C ratio (CCR) is associated with unfavorable characteristics in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); however, the relationship between CCR and in-hospital mortality of patients with acute exacerbation of COPD (AECOPD) is unexplored. Our objective was to assess the value of CCR for predicting in-hospital mortality of patients hospitalized with AECOPD. Methods: Patients with AECOPD (n = 597) were retrospectively enrolled. Patient’s clinical characteristics and laboratory tests, including serum cystatin C and creatinine, were reviewed. The prediction value of CCR was evaluated using area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) values. Factors potentially impacting in-hospital mortality were investigated using univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. Results: Mortality rate during hospitalization was 10.05%. CCR was lower in non-surviving vs. survived patients (41.67 vs. 61.52, P < 0.001). AUC value for CCR for in-hospital mortality prediction was 0.79 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.73–0.85]. On multivariate logistic regression analysis, in-hospital mortality was strongly associated with CCR < 52.27 [odds ratio (OR) 6.23, 95% CI (3.00–12.92), P < 0.001], age ≥ 81 years [OR 2.97, 95% CI (1.20–7.37), P = 0.019], oxygenation index < 300 [OR 3.28, 95% CI (1.27–8.44), P = 0.014], CRP > 8 mg/L [OR 1.84, 95% CI (1.15–2.95), P = 0.012], and D-dimer > 500 ng/L [OR 5.19, 95% CI (1.51–17.79), P = 0.009]. Conclusions: CCR was significantly lower, and is a potential prognostic indicator, in patients with AECOPD who died during hospitalization.