Management of Contacts of Patients With Severe Invasive Group A Streptococcal Infection

Modalities of group A streptococcal prevention and treatment and their economic justification

Infection by group A Streptococcus (Strep A) results in a diverse range of clinical conditions, including pharyngitis, impetigo, cellulitis, necrotising fasciitis, and rheumatic heart disease. In this article, we outline the recommended strategies for Strep A treatment and prevention and review the literature for economic evaluations of competing treatment and prevention strategies. We find that most economic evaluations focus on reducing the duration of illness or risk of rheumatic fever among people presenting with sore throat through diagnostic and/or treatment strategies. Few studies have evaluated strategies to reduce the burden of Strep A infection among the general population, nor have they considered the local capacity to finance and implement strategies. Evaluation of validated costs and consequences for a more diverse range of Strep A interventions are needed to ensure policies maximise patient outcomes under budget constraints. This should include attention to basic public health strategies and emerging strategies such as vaccination.

Necrotising soft-tissue infections

The incidence of necrotising soft-tissue infections has increased during recent decades such that most physicians might see at least one case of these potentially life-threatening infections in their career. Despite advances in care, necrotising soft-tissue infections are still associated with high morbidity and mortality, underlining a need for continued education of the medical community. In particular, failure to suspect necrotising soft-tissue infections, fuelled by poor awareness of the disease, promotes delays to first surgical debridement, amplifying disease severity and adverse outcomes. This Review will focus on practical approaches to management of necrotising soft-tissue infections including prompt recognition, initiation of specific management, exploratory surgery, and aftercare. Increased alertness and awareness for these infections should improve time to diagnosis and early referral to specialised centres, with improvement in the prognosis of necrotising soft-tissue infections.

Household Transmission of Group A Streptococcus Necrotizing Fasciitis

A healthy 40-year-old woman was diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis 2 days after her husband's death from the same infectious process. Prompt identification and immediate surgical intervention prevented a similar result in this patient. Additional investigation into both patients' medical records found the inciting organism to be group A streptococcus. Although the exact mechanism of inoculation is unknown, the spread of this infection within a household prompts the question of whether antibiotic prophylaxis should be given among close contacts in future cases of necrotizing fasciitis.

Use of whole-genome sequencing to detect transmission of group A Streptococcus in Houston, TX

We used a combination of local, comprehensive strain surveillance and bacterial whole-genome sequencing to identify potential transmission events of group A streptococcus (GAS) in Houston, TX, USA. We identified pharyngeal and skin and soft tissue sources of infection as having important roles in community GAS transmission, including invasive diseases.

Invasive Group A Streptococcal Infections: Benefit of Clindamycin, Intravenous Immunoglobulins and Secondary Prophylaxis

Introduction: Mortality associated with invasive group A streptococcal infections (iGAS) remains high among adults, with lower mortality in children. The added value of both clindamycin and immunoglobulins in such treatment is still controversial, as is the need for antibiotic secondary prophylaxis. It is unlikely that conclusive randomized clinical studies will ever definitively end these controversies. Materials and Methods: A clinical and experimental literature review was conducted in Pubmed, Cochrane, and lay literature to determine the benefit of adding clindamycin and immunoglobulins to β-lactams in the management of iGAS, as well as the need for secondary prophylaxis measures in close contacts. Results: This review includes two meta-analyses, two randomized controlled trials, four prospective studies, five retrospective studies, and microbiological studies. To reduce mortality and morbidity, it appears useful to add clindamycin to β-lactams in severe clinical presentations, including necrotizing fasciitis or streptococcal toxic shock syndrome, and immunoglobulins for the latter two presentations. The high risk of secondary infection in household contacts justifies the need of taking preventive measures. Conclusions: Both clinical studies and available experimental evidence suggest that adding clindamycin and immunoglobulins as adjunctive therapies in the management of invasive group A streptococcal infections may reduce mortality. Household contacts should be warned about the increased risk of secondary infection, and chemoprophylaxis may be considered in certain situations.

Genital Tract GAS Infection ISIDOG Guidelines

There has been an increasing worldwide incidence of invasive group A streptococcal (GAS) disease in pregnancy and in the puerperal period over the past 30 years. Postpartum Group A streptococci infection, and in particular streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (TSS) and necrotizing fasciitis, can be life threatening and difficult to treat. Despite antibiotics and supportive therapy, and in some cases advanced extensive surgery, mortality associated with invasive group A streptococcal postpartum endometritis, necrotizing fasciitis, and toxic shock syndrome remains high, up to 40% of postpartum septic deaths. It now accounts for more than 75,000 deaths worldwide every year. Postpartum women have a 20-fold increased incidence of GAS disease compared to non-pregnant women. Despite the high incidence, many invasive GAS infections are not diagnosed in a timely manner, resulting in potentially preventable maternal and neonatal deaths. In this paper the specific characteristics of GAS infection in the field of Ob/Gyn are brought to our attention, resulting in guidelines to improve our awareness, early recognition and timely treatment of the disease. New European prevalence data of vaginal GAS colonization are presented, alongside two original case histories. Additionally, aerobic vaginitis is proposed as a supplementary risk factor for invasive GAS diseases.

Diverse disease processes of group A Streptococcus infection including severe invasive infections among members of a family

We herein report three cases of group A Streptococcus (GAS) infection in a family. Patient 1, a 50-year-old woman, was transferred to our hospital in shock with acute respiratory distress syndrome, swelling in the right neck and erythemata on both lower extremities. She required intubation because of laryngeal oedema. At the same time, patient 2, a 48-year-old man, was admitted because of septic shock, pneumonia and a pulmonary abscess. Five days later, patient 3, a 91-year-old woman, visited our clinic with bloody stool. All three patients were cured by antibiotics, and GAS was detected by specimen cultures. During these patients' clinical course, an 84-year-old woman was found dead at home after having been diagnosed with type A influenza. All four patients lived in the same apartment. The GAS genotypes detected in the first three patients were identical. When treating patients with GAS, appropriate management of close contacts is mandatory.

Group A Streptococcus infections in children: from virulence to clinical management

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Recent findings have open new perspectives on group A Streptococcus (GAS) virulence understanding with special focus on the carrier stage and new hopes for an efficient vaccine against this important pathogen.

RECENT FINDINGS

Understanding of carriage state, transmission and role of virulence factors in invasive infections have been recently active research fields questioning the link between carriage and infections and highlighting the potential to prevent invasive diseases. New roles for already well known virulence factors, such as Streptolysin O, M protein or NAD(+)-glycohydrolase have been discovered. Immunological studies have also shown diversity in both clinical and immunological responses toward various GAS antigens raising questions, and hopes, for the development of an efficient global vaccine candidate.

SUMMARY

A greater understanding of GAS virulence strategies, and their associated clinical manifestations, may be obtained by shifting our research scope toward virulence determinant interactions and cooperation rather than focusing on individual virulence factor or specific strain characterization only.

Severe emm89 Group A Streptococcal Disease Characterized by Toxic Shock and Endocarditis

Invasive group A Streptococcus infections are associated with diverse presentations. We report a severe, rare case of GAS infection with dissemination including endocarditis and STSS. While whole genome sequencing of blood and pharyngeal isolates did not reveal any unique features attributable to the severe presentation, our approach serves as a template for investigation of severe manifestations of common infections.

Toxic shock syndrome - the seven Rs of management and treatment

Staphylococcal and streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (TSS) are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. There has been considerable progress in understanding the pathophysiology and delineating optimal management and treatment. This article reviews the management of TSS, outlining the 'Seven Rs of Managing and Treating TSS': Recognition, Resuscitation, Removal of source of infection, Rational choice of antibiotics, Role of adjunctive treatment (clindamycin and intravenous immunoglobulin), Review of progress and Reduce risk of secondary cases in close contacts.

Cluster of Fatal Group A Streptococcal emm87 Infections in a Single Family: Molecular Basis for Invasion and Transmission

Hypervirulent disease due to group A Streptococcus (GAS) can result from strains with mutations that enhance virulence gene expression but reduce subsequent transmission. We used whole-genome sequencing to investigate intrafamilial spread among 4 siblings of infection due to a hypervirulent GAS strain that resulted in a fatality. All invasive and pharyngeal GAS isolates had an identical mutation in a gene encoding a key regulatory protein that yielded a hyperinvasive phenotype. These data challenge the prevailing theory of reduced transmission induced by mutations that lead to hypervirulent GAS by showing that spread of hypervirulent GAS may lead to clusters of invasive disease.