Epidemiology, Diagnosis and Antimicrobial Treatment of Hospital-Acquired Infections
A special issue of Antibiotics (ISSN 2079-6382). This special issue belongs to the section "Antibiotic Therapy in Infectious Diseases".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2024 | Viewed by 771
Special Issue Editors
Interests: antimicrobial stewardship; infection control; infectious diseases; medical mycology; infectious diseases in immunocompromised patients
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
2. Department of Internal Medicine & Infectious Diseases, University Hospital of Heraklion, 71110 Heraklion, Crete, Greece
Interests: clinical microbiology; infectious diseases; endocarditis; mycoses; fungal infections
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Hospital-acquired infections frequently complicate the course of hospitalized patients and may cause significant morbidity and mortality. The most frequent hospital-acquired infections are those of the bloodstream, the respiratory tract, and the urinary tract. Currently, the field of hospital-acquired infections is rapidly changing due to the growing problem of antimicrobial resistance, which leads to thousands of deaths worldwide, mainly due to infections by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus, carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales, extensively-drug resistant and pan-drug resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, and multi-drug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa. This often leaves clinicians with few therapeutic options, leading to the revival of older antibiotics and the use of antimicrobial combinations in problematic infectctions caused by these resistant pathogens.
This Special Issue aims to bring together original studies and literature reviews related to the epidemiology, microbiology, diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes of hospital-acquired infections. Studies providing evidence on this topic, as well as on the topic of infection control and antimicrobial stewardship in hospital-acquired infections, are very welcome.
Prof. Dr. Diamantis P. Kofteridis
Dr. Petros Ioannou
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- hospital-acquired infection
- bacteremia
- bloodstream infection
- pneumonia
- ventilator-associated pneumonia
- urinary tract infection
Planned Papers
The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.
Title: Antimicrobial resistance among Staphylococcus spp. Isolated from human specimens submitted to diagnostic laboratories in South Africa, 2012–2017
Authors: Themba T. Sigudu, Nenene D. Qekwana and James W. Oguttu
Affiliation: South Africa
Abstract: Background
Antimicrobial drug resistance is of public importance given that it limits treatment options and increases health care costs. However, there is a dearth of studies that have investigated the phenomenon of antimicrobial drug resistance in low to medium income countries.
Objective(s)
Records from diagnostic laboratories were used to characterise staphylococcal isolates from human to assess the temporal trends and predictors of AMR and multidrug resistance (MDR) among Staphylococcus isolates.
Method and materials
Retrospective data of 404 217 diagnostic laboratory records collected between 2012 and 2017 were included in this study. Isolates were assessed for antimicrobial drug resistance against 35 antimicrobials. Descriptive statistics, the Cochran-Armitage test and logistic regression models were used to analyse the data. Significance was assessed at < 0.05.
Results
Overall, 74.4% of Staphylococcus species isolated were S. aureus. Of these, 80.2% were AMR, while 40.2% were MDR. The highest resistance was observed against ampicillin (72.1%), while the lowest resistance was against linezolid (0.3%). A significant (p < 0.05) decreasing trend in AMR was observed over the study period. In contrast, an increasing temporal trend in MDR (p < 0.05) was observed over the same period. A Significant (p < 0.05) association was observed between age, species of organism and province of origin with AMR outcome. Significant (p < 0.05) associations were observed between specimen type and age, with MDR.
Discussion and recommendations
The observed high proportions of AMR and increasing temporal trend in MDR is of public health concern, and clinicians should consider these two findings when designing intervention strategies. Continued monitoring of AMR among Staphylococcus spp. and judicious use of antimicrobials in human medicine should be promoted.
