scholarly journals Blood Cultures for the Diagnosis of Infective Endocarditis: What Is the Benefit of Prolonged Incubation?

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (24) ◽  
pp. 5824
Author(s):  
Vincent Fihman ◽  
Hélène Faury ◽  
Amina Moussafeur ◽  
Raphaelle Huguet ◽  
Adrien Galy ◽  
...  

To assess the need for prolonged incubation of blood culture bottles beyond five days for the diagnosis of infectious endocarditis (IE), we conducted a retrospective cohort study of 6109 sets of two blood culture bottles involving 1211 patients admitted to the Henri Mondor University Hospital for suspicion of IE between 1 January 2016 and 31 December 2019. Among the 322 patients with IE, 194 had positive blood cultures in our centre. Only one patient with a time-to-positivity blood culture of more than 120 h (5 days) was found. The main cause for the 22 patients with positive blood cultures after five days was contamination with Cutibacterium acnes. Our results do not support extending the duration of incubation of blood culture bottles beyond five days for the diagnosis of infectious endocarditis, with the exception of patients with risk factors for C. acnes infection.

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hayato Mitaka ◽  
Tessa Gomez ◽  
Young Im Lee ◽  
David C Perlman

Abstract Background The value of follow-up blood cultures (FUBCs) to document clearance of bacteremia due to Gram-negative bacilli (GNB) has not been well established. Although previous studies suggested that the yield of FUBCs for GNB bacteremia is low, it remains to be elucidated for whom FUBC may be beneficial and for whom it is unnecessary. Methods A retrospective cohort study was performed at 4 acute care hospitals to identify risk factors for positive FUBCs with GNB bacteremia and to better guide clinicians’ decisions as to which patients may or may not benefit from FUBCs. Participants included adult patients with GNB bacteremia who had FUBCs and were admitted between January 2017 and December 2018. The primary outcomes were the factors associated with positive FUBCs and the yield of FUBCs with and without the factors. Results Of 306 patients with GNB bacteremia who had FUBCs, 9.2% (95% confidence interval, 6.2%–13.0%) had the same GNB in FUBCs. In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, end-stage renal disease on hemodialysis, intravascular device, and bacteremia due to extended-spectrum β-lactamase or carbapenemase-producing organism were identified as independent predictors of positive FUBCs with GNB bacteremia. Approximately 7 FUBCs and 30 FUBCs were needed for patients with ≥1 or no risk factors, respectively, to yield 1 positive result. SummaryThis multi-site retrospective cohort study found that among patients with gram-negative bacilli (GNB) bacteremia, having ESRD on hemodialysis, intravascular devices, or bacteremia due to multi-drug resistant GNB were each independently associated with having a positive follow-up blood culture. Conclusions Follow-up blood culture may not be necessary for all patients with GNB bacteremia and has the highest yield in patients with 1 or more risk factors.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Julinha M. Thelen ◽  
A. G. ( Noud) Buenen ◽  
Marjan van Apeldoorn ◽  
Heiman F. Wertheim ◽  
Mirjam H. A. Hermans ◽  
...  

Abstract Background During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in the Netherlands it was noticed that very few blood cultures from COVID-19 patients turned positive with clinically relevant bacteria. This was particularly evident in comparison to the number of positive blood cultures during previous seasonal epidemics of influenza. This observation raised questions about the occurrence and causative microorganisms of bacteraemia in COVID-19 patients, especially in the perspective of the widely reported overuse of antibiotics and the rising rate of antibiotic resistance. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study on blood culture results in influenza A, influenza B and COVID-19 patients presenting to two hospitals in the Netherlands. Our main outcome consisted of the percentage of positive blood cultures. The percentage of clinically relevant blood cultures, isolated bacteria and 30-day all-cause mortality served as our secondary outcomes. Results A total of 1331 viral episodes were analysed in 1324 patients. There was no statistically significant difference (p = 0.47) in overall occurrence of blood culture positivity in COVID-19 patients (9.0, 95% CI 6.8–11.1) in comparison to influenza A (11.4, 95% CI 7.9–14.8) and influenza B patients (10.4, 95% CI 7.1–13.7,). After correcting for the high rate of contamination, the occurrence of clinically relevant bacteraemia in COVID-19 patients amounted to 1.0% (95% CI 0.3–1.8), which was statistically significantly lower (p = 0.04) compared to influenza A patients (4.0, 95% CI 1.9–6.1) and influenza B patients (3.0, 95% CI 1.2–4.9). The most frequently identified bacterial isolates in COVID-19 patients were Escherichia coli (n = 2) and Streptococcus pneumoniae (n = 2). The overall 30-day all-cause mortality for COVID-19 patients was 28.3% (95% CI 24.9–31.7), which was statistically significantly higher (p = <.001) when compared to patients with influenza A (7.1, 95% CI 4.3–9.9) and patients with influenza B (6.4, 95% CI 3.8–9.1). Conclusions We report a very low occurrence of community-acquired bacteraemia amongst COVID-19 patients in comparison to influenza patients. These results reinforce current clinical guidelines on antibiotic management in COVID-19, which only advise utilization of antibiotics when a bacterial co-infection is suspected.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. e0248817
Author(s):  
Anthony D. Bai ◽  
Neal Irfan ◽  
Cheryl Main ◽  
Philippe El-Helou ◽  
Dominik Mertz

Background It is unclear if a local audit would be useful in providing guidance on how to improve local practice of empiric antibiotic therapy. We performed an audit of antibiotic therapy in bacteremia to evaluate the proportion and risk factors for inadequate empiric antibiotic coverage. Methods This retrospective cohort study included patients with positive blood cultures across 3 hospitals in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada during October of 2019. Antibiotic therapy was considered empiric if it was administered within 24 hours after blood culture collection. Adequate coverage was defined as when the isolate from blood culture was tested to be susceptible to the empiric antibiotic. A multivariable logistic regression model was used to predict inadequate empiric coverage. Diagnostic accuracy of a clinical pathway based on patient risk factors was compared to clinician’s decision in predicting which bacteria to empirically cover. Results Of 201 bacteremia cases, empiric coverage was inadequate in 56 (27.9%) cases. Risk factors for inadequate empiric coverage included unknown source at initiation of antibiotic therapy (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) of 2.76 95% CI 1.27–6.01, P = 0.010) and prior antibiotic therapy within 90 days (aOR of 2.46 95% CI 1.30–4.74, P = 0.006). A clinical pathway that considered community-associated infection as low risk for Pseudomonas was better at ruling out Pseudomonas bacteremia with a negative likelihood ratio of 0.17 (95% CI 0.03–1.10) compared to clinician’s decision with negative likelihood ratio of 0.34 (95% CI 0.10–1.22). Conclusions An audit of antibiotic therapy in bacteremia is feasible and may provide useful feedback on how to locally improve empiric antibiotic therapy.


Author(s):  
David Krus ◽  
Fredrik Kahn ◽  
Bo Nilson ◽  
Torgny Sunnerhagen ◽  
Magnus Rasmussen

AbstractNon-β-hemolytic streptococci (NBHS) cause infective endocarditis (IE) and a short blood culture time to positivity (TTP) is associated with risk of IE in bacteremia with other pathogens. In this retrospective population-based cohort study, we investigate if TTP is associated to IE or mortality. Of 263 episodes with NBHS bacteremia, 28 represented IE and the median TTP did not differ significantly between episodes with IE (15 h) and non-IE (15 h) (p=0.51). TTP was similar among those who survived and those who died within 30 days. However, TTP significantly differed when comparing the different streptococcal groups (p<0.001).


2020 ◽  
Vol 99 ◽  
pp. 421-427
Author(s):  
Florent Von Tokarski ◽  
Adrien Lemaignen ◽  
Antoine Portais ◽  
Laurent Fauchier ◽  
Fanny Hennekinne ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Damlin ◽  
Katarina Westling ◽  
Eva Maret ◽  
Cecilia Stålsby Lundborg ◽  
Kenneth Caidahl ◽  
...  

Abstract Abstract Background The diagnosis of infective endocarditis (IE) is based on microbiological analyses and diagnostic imaging of cardiac manifestations. Echocardiography (ECHO) is preferred for direct visualization of IE-induced cardiac manifestations. We investigated correlations between bacterial infections and IE manifestations diagnosed by ECHO. Methods In this cohort study, data from patients aged 18 years or above, with definite or possible IE admitted at the Karolinska University Hospital between 2008-2017 were obtained from Swedish National Registry of Endocarditis. Bacteria registered as pathogen were primarily selected from positive blood culture and for patients with negative blood culture, bacteria found in culture or PCR from postoperative material was registered as pathogen. Patients with negative results from culture or PCR were excluded. IE manifestations diagnosed by ECHO and risk factors were obtained from the registry. Chi-squared test and two-sided Fisher’s exact test was used for comparisons between categorical variables, and student’s ttest was used for continuous numerical variables; two-sided and skewed variables were log-transformed before these analyses. Multivariable analyses were performed using logistic regression. Associations and the strength between the variables were estimated using odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). P< 0.05 was considered significant. Results The most common bacteria were Staphylococcus aureus(n= 268, 47%) and viridans group streptococci (n= 127, 22%). The most common manifestations were vegetation in the mitral (n = 222, 36%), aortic (n = 214, 34%), and tricuspid valves (n = 117, 19%). Correlations were seen between aortic valve vegetation and coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) and Enterococcus faecalis, between mitral valve vegetation and group B streptococci, tricuspid valve vegetation, andS.aureus, and between perivalvular abscesses and CoNS (all P< 0.05). Conclusions Correlations were found between certain bacteria and specific ECHO manifestations. Our study contributes to a better understanding of IE manifestations and their underlying bacterial etiology, which pathogens can cause severe infections and might require close follow-up and surgical treatment.


2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Berge ◽  
Karin Kronberg ◽  
Torgny Sunnerhagen ◽  
Bo H K Nilson ◽  
Christian G Giske ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Many genera and species of Streptococcus-like bacteria (SLB) can cause infective endocarditis (IE), but little is known about the epidemiology of and the risk factors for IE in SLB-bacteremia. The aim of the study was to analyze this in a cohort of patients with SLB-bacteremia, focusing on Abiotrophia, Aerococcus, Gemella, and Granulicatella. We also evaluated whether published scoring systems generated for other Gram-positive bacteria known to cause IE (HANDOC for streptococci and NOVA and DENOVA for enterococci) could be used in SLB bacteremia to decide whether transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) could be omitted. Methods Positive blood cultures with SLB were retrieved from population-based registries in Sweden (3.2 million inhabitants), from January 2012 to December 2017. Clinical data were collected from medical records. Risk factors for IE were analyzed and the performances of the scoring systems were calculated. Results The incidence of bacteremia with the 4 SLB genera was 30 episodes/1 000 000 population per year, of which Aerococcus contributed with 18. Among 568 episodes of bacteremia, 32 cases of IE were identified (5.6%). Infective endocarditis was most common in bacteremia with Abiotrophia (4 of 19) followed by Granulicatella (9 of 124), Gemella (6 of 87), and Aerococcus (13 of 338). NOVA had 100% sensitivity to identify IE but a low specificity (15%). For HANDOC and DENOVA, the sensitivities were 97% and 91%, respectively, whereas specificities were 85% and 90%, respectively, and numbers needed to screen were 3.6 and 2.8, respectively. Conclusions Bacteremia with these SLB is relatively rare, and the decision whether TEE should be performed or not could be based on either HANDOC or DENOVA.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Damlin ◽  
Katarina Westling ◽  
Eva Maret ◽  
Cecilia Stålsby Lundborg ◽  
Kenneth Caidahl ◽  
...  

Abstract Abstract Background The diagnosis of infective endocarditis (IE) is based on microbiological analyses and diagnostic imaging of cardiac manifestations. Echocardiography (ECHO) is preferred for visualization of IE-induced cardiac manifestations. We investigated correlations between bacterial infections and IE manifestations diagnosed by ECHO. Methods In this cohort study, data from patients aged 18 years or above, with definite IE admitted at the Karolinska University Hospital between 2008 and 2017 were obtained from Swedish National Registry of Endocarditis. Bacteria registered as pathogen were primarily selected from positive blood culture and for patients with negative blood culture, bacteria found in culture or PCR from postoperative material was registered as pathogen. Patients with negative results from culture or PCR, and patients who did not undergo ECHO during hospital stay, were excluded. IE manifestations diagnosed by ECHO were obtained from the registry. Chi-squared test and two-sided Fisher’s exact test was used for comparisons between categorical variables, and student’s t test was used for continuous numerical variables. Multivariable analyses were performed using logistic regression. Secular trend analyses were performed using linear regression. Associations and the strength between the variables were estimated using odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). P < 0.05 was considered significant. Results The most common bacteria were Staphylococcus aureus (n = 239, 49%) and viridans group streptococci (n = 102, 21%). The most common manifestations were vegetation in the mitral (n = 195, 40%), aortic (n = 190, 39%), and tricuspid valves (n = 108, 22%). Correlations were seen between aortic valve vegetations and Enterococcus faecalis among patients with native aortic valves, between mitral valve vegetations and streptococci of group B or viridans group, between tricuspid valve vegetations and S. aureus among patients with intravenous drug abuse, and between perivalvular abscesses as well as cardiovascular implantable electronic device (CIED)-associated IE and coagulase negative staphylococci (all P < 0.05). Conclusions Correlations were found between certain bacterial species and specific ECHO manifestations. Our study contributes to a better understanding of IE manifestations and their underlying bacterial etiology, which pathogens can cause severe infections and might require close follow-up and surgical treatment.


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Damlin ◽  
K. Westling ◽  
E. Maret ◽  
C. Stålsby Lundborg ◽  
K. Caidahl ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The diagnosis of infective endocarditis (IE) is based on microbiological analyses and diagnostic imaging of cardiac manifestations. Echocardiography (ECHO) is preferred for visualization of IE-induced cardiac manifestations. We investigated associations between bacterial infections and IE manifestations diagnosed by ECHO. Methods In this cohort study, data from patients aged 18 years or above, with definite IE admitted at the Karolinska University Hospital between 2008 and 2017 were obtained from Swedish National Registry of Endocarditis. Bacteria registered as pathogen were primarily selected from positive blood culture and for patients with negative blood culture, bacteria found in culture or PCR from postoperative material was registered as pathogen. Patients with negative results from culture or PCR, and patients who did not undergo ECHO during hospital stay, were excluded. IE manifestations diagnosed by ECHO were obtained from the registry. Chi-squared test and two-sided Fisher’s exact test was used for comparisons between categorical variables, and student’s t test was used for continuous numerical variables. Multivariable analyses were performed using logistic regression. Secular trend analyses were performed using linear regression. Associations and the strength between the variables were estimated using odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). P < 0.05 was considered significant. Results The most common bacteria were Staphylococcus aureus (n = 239, 49%) and viridans group streptococci (n = 102, 21%). The most common manifestations were vegetation in the mitral (n = 195, 40%), aortic (n = 190, 39%), and tricuspid valves (n = 108, 22%). Associations were seen between aortic valve vegetations and Enterococcus faecalis among patients with native aortic valves, between mitral valve vegetations and streptococci of group B or viridans group, between tricuspid valve vegetations and S. aureus among patients with intravenous drug abuse, and between perivalvular abscesses as well as cardiovascular implantable electronic device (CIED)-associated IE and coagulase negative staphylococci (all P < 0.05). Conclusions Associations were found between certain bacterial species and specific ECHO manifestations. Our study contributes to a better understanding of IE manifestations and their underlying bacterial etiology, which pathogens can cause severe infections and might require close follow-up and surgical treatment.


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