Association between vancomycin-resistant Enterococci bacteremia and ceftriaxone usage

Intestinal translocation of clinical isolates of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis and ESBL-producing Escherichia coli in a rat model of bacterial colonization and liver ischemia/reperfusion injury

The objectives of this study were to develop a rat model of gastrointestinal colonization with vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis (VRE) and extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing E. coli and to evaluate intestinal translocation to blood and tissues after total and partial hepatic ischemia. Methods - We developed a model of rat colonization with VRE and ESBL-E coli. Then we studied four groups of colonized rats: Group I (with hepatic pedicle occlusion causing complete liver ischemia and intestinal stasis); Group II (with partial liver ischemia without intestinal stasis); Group III (surgical manipulation without hepatic ischemia or intestinal stasis); Group IV (anesthetized without surgical manipulation). After sacrifice, portal and systemic blood, large intestine, small intestine, spleen, liver, lungs, and cervical and mesenteric lymph nodes were cultured. Endotoxin concentrations in portal and systemic blood were determined. Results - The best inocula were: VRE: 2.4×10(10) cfu and ESBL-E. coli: 1.12×10(10) cfu. The best results occurred 24 hours after inoculation and antibiotic doses of 750 µg/mL of water for vancomycin and 2.1 mg/mL for ceftriaxone. There was a significantly higher proportion of positive cultures for ESBL-E. coli in the lungs in Groups I, II and III when compared with Group IV (67%; 60%; 75% and 13%, respectively; p:0.04). VRE growth was more frequent in mesenteric lymph nodes for Groups I (67%) and III (38%) than for Groups II (13%) and IV (none) (p:0.002). LPS was significantly higher in systemic blood of Group I (9.761 ± 13.804 EU/mL-p:0.01). No differences for endotoxin occurred in portal blood. Conclusion -We developed a model of rats colonized with resistant bacteria useful to study intestinal translocation. Translocation occurred in surgical procedures with and without hepatic ischemia-reperfusion and probably occurred via the bloodstream. Translocation was probably lymphatic in the ischemia-reperfusion groups. Systemic blood endotoxin levels were higher in the group with complete hepatic ischemia.

Case-case-control study on factors associated with vanB vancomycin-resistant and vancomycin-susceptible enterococcal bacteraemia

Background

Enterococci are a major cause of healthcare-associated infection. In Australia, vanB vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) is the predominant genotype. There are limited data on the factors linked to vanB VRE bacteraemia. This study aimed to identify factors associated with vanB VRE bacteraemia, and compare them with those for vancomycin-susceptible enterococci (VSE) bacteraemia.

Methods

A case-case-control study was performed in two tertiary public hospitals in Victoria, Australia. VRE and VSE bacteraemia cases were compared with controls without evidence of enterococcal bacteraemia, but may have had infections due to other pathogens.

Results

All VRE isolates had vanB genotype. Factors associated with vanB VRE bacteraemia were urinary catheter use within the last 30 days (OR 2.86, 95% CI 1.09-7.53), an increase in duration of metronidazole therapy (OR 1.65, 95% CI 1.17-2.33), and a higher Chronic Disease Score specific for VRE (OR 1.70, 95% CI 1.05-2.77). Factors linked to VSE bacteraemia were a history of gastrointestinal disease (OR 2.29, 95% CI 1.05-4.99) and an increase in duration of metronidazole therapy (OR 1.23, 95% CI 1.02-1.48). Admission into the haematology/oncology unit was associated with lower odds of VSE bacteraemia (OR 0.08, 95% CI 0.01-0.74).

Conclusions

This is the largest case-case-control study involving vanB VRE bacteraemia. Factors associated with the development of vanB VRE bacteraemia were different to those of VSE bacteraemia.

Vancomycin-resistant enterococci infection: not just for the transplanted

Vancomycin-resistant enterococcal (VRE) blood stream infections (BSIs) pose significant hazards to patients with hematologic malignancy. We compared and examined VRE BSI rates, patient characteristics and clinical outcomes for two cohorts of patients: those who did and did not undergo hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT). In this single institution study, we retrospectively analyzed records of consecutive patients from 1998 through 2011. Over this 14-year period, VRE was identified in 14% of all BSIs in patients with HCT with a cumulative rate of 1.9% (48/2581 BSIs/patients). VRE was identified in 10% of all BSIs in non-HCT patients with a cumulative rate of 1.1% (35/3154 BSIs/patients). Transplant patients who developed VRE BSI tended to be younger, hospitalized more frequently, were exposed to vancomycin therapy frequently, and were more likely to have had a central venous catheter removed. VRE remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality, as 22 deaths were directly or indirectly attributed to this infection. Both HCT and non-HCT patients are susceptible to VRE infection and are equally at risk for adverse outcomes related to VRE BSI.

Emergence of epidemic multidrug-resistant Enterococcus faecium from animal and commensal strains

Enterococcus faecium, natively a gut commensal organism, emerged as a leading cause of multidrug-resistant hospital-acquired infection in the 1980s. As the living record of its adaptation to changes in habitat, we sequenced the genomes of 51 strains, isolated from various ecological environments, to understand how E. faecium emerged as a leading hospital pathogen. Because of the scale and diversity of the sampled strains, we were able to resolve the lineage responsible for epidemic, multidrug-resistant human infection from other strains and to measure the evolutionary distances between groups. We found that the epidemic hospital-adapted lineage is rapidly evolving and emerged approximately 75 years ago, concomitant with the introduction of antibiotics, from a population that included the majority of animal strains, and not from human commensal lines. We further found that the lineage that included most strains of animal origin diverged from the main human commensal line approximately 3,000 years ago, a time that corresponds to increasing urbanization of humans, development of hygienic practices, and domestication of animals, which we speculate contributed to their ecological separation. Each bifurcation was accompanied by the acquisition of new metabolic capabilities and colonization traits on mobile elements and the loss of function and genome remodeling associated with mobile element insertion and movement. As a result, diversity within the species, in terms of sequence divergence as well as gene content, spans a range usually associated with speciation.

IMPORTANCE

Enterococci, in particular vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium, recently emerged as a leading cause of hospital-acquired infection worldwide. In this study, we examined genome sequence data to understand the bacterial adaptations that accompanied this transformation from microbes that existed for eons as members of host microbiota. We observed changes in the genomes that paralleled changes in human behavior. An initial bifurcation within the species appears to have occurred at a time that corresponds to the urbanization of humans and domestication of animals, and a more recent bifurcation parallels the introduction of antibiotics in medicine and agriculture. In response to the opportunity to fill niches associated with changes in human activity, a rapidly evolving lineage emerged, a lineage responsible for the vast majority of multidrug-resistant E. faecium infections.