Céline Pulcini

How to educate prescribers in antimicrobial stewardship practices

Widespread antimicrobial use has compromised its value, leading to a crisis of antimicrobial resistance. A major cause of misuse is insufficient knowledge of prescribing of antimicrobials in many categories of professionals. An important principle of antimicrobial stewardship is avoiding selection pressure in the patient, both on pathogen and commensal by avoiding unnecessary use, choosing the least broad-spectrum antibiotic, adequate doses, a good timing and the shortest possible duration. Up to now, most educational efforts have been targeted at professionals (mostly medical doctors) after their training and at the adult public. In the past few years, progress has been made in educating children. It is now crucial that academia and ministries of Health and Education jointly focus on an adapted undergraduate medical/professional curriculum that teaches all necessary principles of microbiology, infectious diseases and clinical pharmacology, with emphasis on the principles of prudent prescribing.

Junior doctors' knowledge and perceptions of antibiotic resistance and prescribing: a survey in France and Scotland

Our objective was to assess junior doctors perceptions of their antibiotic prescribing practice and of bacterial resistance. We surveyed 190 postgraduate doctors still in training at two university teaching hospitals, in Nice (France) and Dundee (Scotland, UK), and 139 of them (73%) responded to the survey. The main results presented in this abstract are combined for Nice and Dundee, because there was no statistical difference for these points between the two hospitals. Antibiotic resistance was perceived as a national problem by 95% of the junior doctors, but only 63% rated the problem as important in their own daily practice. Their perceptions of the causes of antibiotic resistance were sometimes at variance with available medical evidence, with excessive duration of antibiotic treatment and poor hand hygiene practices rarely being perceived as important drivers for resistance. Only 31% and 26% of the doctors knew the correct prevalences of antibiotic misuse and of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in hospitals, respectively. They preferred educational interventions, such as specific teaching sessions, availability of guidelines or readily accessible advice from an infectious diseases specialist, to improve antibiotic prescribing, rather than restricted prescription of antibiotics. These data provide helpful information for the design of strategies to optimize adherence to good antimicrobial stewardship.

Scalp Eschar and Neck Lymphadenopathy Caused by Bartonella henselae after Tick Bite

Rickettsia slovaca and Rickettsia raoultii have been associated with a syndrome characterized by scalp eschar and neck lymphadenopathy following tick bites. However, in many cases, the causative agent remains undetermined. We report 3 cases of this syndrome caused by Bartonella henselae, and we propose the term SENLAT to collectively describe this clinical entity.

Antibiotic misuse: a prospective clinical audit in a French university hospital

The aim of the study presented here was to prospectively audit antibiotic prescriptions given to patients attending L’Archet Hospital in Nice, France, with details of the initial medical examination included in the audit procedure. A total of 122 antibiotic treatments were evaluated, i.e. 31% of all antibiotic therapies initiated in the eight participating departments over the 9-week study period. Forty-two (34%) treatments were found to be unnecessary due to misdiagnosis, and 36 (30%) other treatments were inappropriate. Misdiagnosis, due to the misinterpretation or lack of clinical, microbiological and/or imaging data is thus a major cause of antibiotic misuse. Improvement in the diagnostic process should become part of antibiotic policy.

Forgotten Antibiotics: An Inventory in Europe, the United States, Canada, and Australia

In view of the alarming spread of antimicrobial resistance in the absence of new antibiotics, this study aimed at assessing the availability of potentially useful older antibiotics. A survey was performed in 38 countries among experts including hospital pharmacists, microbiologists, and infectious disease specialists in Europe, the United States, Canada, and Australia. An international expert panel selected systemic antibacterial drugs for their potential to treat infections caused by resistant bacteria or their unique value for specific criteria. Twenty-two of the 33 selected antibiotics were available in fewer than 20 of 38 countries. Economic motives were the major cause for discontinuation of marketing of these antibiotics. Fourteen of 33 antibiotics are potentially active against either resistant Gram-positive or Gram-negative bacteria. Urgent measures are then needed to ensure better availability of these antibiotics on a global scale.

European medical students: a first multicentre study of knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of antibiotic prescribing and antibiotic resistance

OBJECTIVESnTo learn about medical students knowledge of and perspectives on antibiotic prescribing and resistance, with the aim of helping to develop educational programmes.nnnMETHODSnFinal-year students at seven European medical schools were invited to participate in an online survey in 2012.nnnRESULTSnThe response rate was 35% (338/961). Most students (74%) wanted more education on choosing antibiotic treatments. Students at all schools felt most confident in diagnosing an infection and least confident in choosing combination therapies, choosing the correct dose and interval of administration and not prescribing in cases of diagnostic uncertainty. Students felt that too many prescriptions and too much broad-spectrum antibiotic use were the most important contributors to resistance; some (24%) believed poor hand hygiene was not at all important. Most students (92%) believed that resistance is a national problem. Most (66%) felt that the antibiotics they would prescribe would contribute to resistance, and almost all (98%) felt that resistance would be a greater problem in the future. Most students (83%) incorrectly thought that rates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteraemia had significantly increased over the past decade in their countries. There was little appreciation of the relative burden of resistance in Europe compared with road traffic accidents (around two to three times greater mortality) and lung cancer (around 10 times greater mortality).nnnCONCLUSIONSnStudents wanted further education on antibiotic prescribing, and areas of lack of confidence were found. Students overestimated the current burden of resistant bacteria and were unaware of successes in reducing MRSA infections. Educational and stewardship programmes may benefit from including more cases of diagnostic uncertainty, and highlighting successes such as MRSA prevention, as evidence for the importance of current interventions.

Adverse effects of parenteral antimicrobial therapy for chronic bone infections

Responsible pathogens of chronic bone infections (CBI) are frequently resistant, requiring parenteral antimicrobial therapy. Therefore, adverse effects may be observed. We have determined the rate of adverse effects of antimicrobial therapy for CBI in a retrospective study of all patients receiving parenteral drugs via an implantable port. Patients from one medical ward (nu2009=u200989) and from one surgical ward (nu2009=u200940) between January 1995 and December 2005 were included in this study. The CBI included were 85 osteomyelitis (66%) and 44 prosthetic joint infections (34%). The main group of pathogens was Gram positive cocci (nu2009=u2009144; 65%). The total duration of antibiotic treatment was 205u2009±u2009200xa0days, including 133u2009±u2009100xa0days for parenteral therapy. Thirty-three catheter-related complications were observed in 27 patients (21%). All complications led to hospitalization but none led to death. Twenty-one antibiotic-related complications occurred in 18 patients (16%), and one allergic reaction led to death. The mean duration of follow-up was 290xa0days. Remission was observed in 84 patients (65%). In multivariate analysis, adverse effects were mostly observed in the medical department. Adverse effects affect at least one third of the patients treated for CBI with parenteral antimicrobial therapy and are related to both the implantable port and the antibiotic compounds.

Selective reporting of antibiotic susceptibility data improves the appropriateness of intended antibiotic prescriptions in urinary tract infections: a case-vignette randomised study

The purpose of this investigation was to assess the impact of selective reporting of antibiotic susceptibility data on the appropriateness of intended documented antibiotic prescriptions in urinary tract infections (UTIs) among residents training in general practice. We conducted a randomised-controlled case-vignette study in three French universities using a questionnaire with four UTI vignettes. In each university, residents were randomly allocated to two groups: a control group with usual full-length reporting of antibiotic susceptibility data (25 antibiotics) and an intervention group with selective reporting of antibiotic susceptibility data (2 to 4 antibiotics only). 326/611 residents (53xa0%) participated in the survey, 157/305 (52xa0%) in the intervention group and 169/306 (55xa0%) in the control group. For all four UTI scenarios, selective reporting of antibiotic susceptibility data significantly improved the appropriateness of antibiotic prescriptions (absolute increase ranging from 7 to 41xa0%, depending on the vignette). The variety of antibiotic prescriptions was reduced in the intervention group, and cephalosporins and fluoroquinolones were less often prescribed. Among 325 respondents, 124 (38xa0%) declared being either not really or not at all at ease with antibiotic susceptibility data, whereas 112/157 (71xa0%) of the residents in the intervention group declared that selective reporting of antibiotic susceptibility data made their antibiotic choice easier. Selective reporting of antibiotic susceptibility data could be a promising strategy to improve antibiotic use in UTIs, as part of a multi-faceted antibiotic stewardship programme. Microbiology laboratories should be aware that they can have a significant influence on antibiotic use.

Hip Prosthesis Infection Due to Mycobacterium wolinskyi

ABSTRACT Mycobacterium wolinskyi, first described in 1999, is a rapidly growing mycobacterium related to the Mycobacterium smegmatis group. Only eight cases of infection due to this microorganism have been reported, including three cases of bone infection. Here, we present the first case of a joint prosthesis infection cured with the combination of surgery and prolonged antibiotic therapy. The microorganism was identified by biochemical tests and 16S rRNA and Hsp65 gene sequence analysis.

Concomitant Staphylococcus aureus bacteriuria is associated with complicated S. aureus bacteremia

OBJECTIVESnTo identify factors associated with complicated Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (SAB) in adults.nnnMETHODSnProspective observational multicenter study during 2 years in Nice University Hospital and during 6 months in the Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou, Paris, including all adult inpatients with SAB assessed by an Infectious Diseases (ID) specialist.nnnRESULTSnWe included 104 SAB (79 in Nice and 25 in Paris), of which 45 were complicated, including 18 endocarditis and 23 bone and joint infections. A concomitant urine sample was performed in 65% of the cases, showing S. aureus bacteriuria 23/68 (34%) times. Blood cultures were drawn 48-96h after an appropriate antibiotic therapy had been started in 70 of the 104 cases (67%) and were positive in 28 cases (40%).nnnCONCLUSIONSnThe 3 following factors were found to be associated with complicated SAB in univariate analysis: community acquisition (56% vs 26%, P=0.002), concomitant bacteriuria (47% vs 19%, P=0.016) and persistent bacteremia (55% vs 26%, P=0.016). This last factor was associated with endocarditis, but not with other complications such as bone and joint infections.