Detection of an outbreak of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus with reduced susceptibility to glycopeptides in a French hospital

Staphylococcus aureus isolates were screened for reduced susceptibility to glycopeptides with an initial glycopeptide agar screening test, followed by confirmation of the strains thus identified by two Etest strip techniques and population analysis. This procedure detected 48 methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) isolates with reduced susceptibility to glycopeptides from 24 patients among 883 MRSA isolates tested. The dissemination of a single clone was confirmed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis.

Adverse cutaneous reactions to pyrimethamine/sulfadiazine and pyrimethamine/clindamycin in patients with AIDS and toxoplasmic encephalitis

We assessed the value of clinical and laboratory parameters for predicting the occurrence of skin reactions induced by pyrimethamine/sulfadiazine and pyrimethamine/clindamycin and the effects of continued therapy for patients with these reactions. We retrospectively studied all episodes of toxoplasmic encephalitis in patients with AIDS who were treated with pyrimethamine/sulfadiazine or pyrimethamine/clindamycin. Eighteen (75%) of 24 patients treated with pyrimethamine/sulfadiazine had cutaneous reactions after a mean of 11 days, whereas 15 (58%) of 26 patients treated with pyrimethamine/clindamycin had cutaneous reactions after a mean of 13 days (P = .56). Nine (50%) of the 18 patients continued to be treated with pyrimethamine/sulfadiazine throughout the duration of hypersensitivity, compared with all 15 patients who were treated with pyrimethamine/clindamycin (P = .002). Nine patients had to stop therapy with pyrimethamine/sulfadiazine (two had Stevens-Johnson syndrome and one had Lyell's syndrome). Thus, treatment throughout the duration of hypersensitivity is more likely to succeed for patients receiving pyrimethamine/clindamycin, whereas therapy with pyrimethamine/sulfadiazine is associated with a high risk of Lyell's syndrome and Stevens-Johnson syndrome.

Adverse cutaneous reactions to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole in patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia

BACKGROUND AND DESIGN

Patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome are predisposed to cutaneous drug reactions. The reasons are poorly understood and the circumstances in which such patients can be treated through hypersensitivity are a matter of discussion. We assessed the value of clinical and laboratory parameters for predicting trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole-induced skin reactions and the effects of continued trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole therapy in such patients. We retrospectively studied all episodes of nonhypoxemic Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia in patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome who were treated with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole.

RESULTS

No clinical or laboratory parameters were found to be predictive of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole-induced cutaneous reactions. Of 38 patients treated with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, 18 (47%) developed cutaneous reactions; these occurred within a median of 11 days (range, 7 to 20 days). Of these 18 patients, 12 (67%) continued to be treated with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole through hypersensitivity. Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole treatment was continued in 19 (95%) of the 20 patients who did not develop cutaneous reactions (P = .067). The mean duration of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole therapy was shorter (18 days) in patients who developed skin reactions than in those who did not (20 days) (P = .016). Noncutaneous side effects accounted for all but one interruption of therapy.

CONCLUSION

No clinical or laboratory parameters were found to be predictive of cutaneous reactions. By treating through hypersensitivity, 67% of our patients, who otherwise might have had to stop taking trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, were able to continue this essential drug therapy.

[Intracerebral tuberculoma in HIV infection. Epidemiology and contribution of magnetic resonance imaging]

Intracerebral tuberculomas, observed in two HIV-infected patients, illustrated the diagnostic and therapeutic problems involved when an intracranial formation is discovered in this clinical situation. Both patients had a history of pulmonary tuberculosis. No preventive treatment had been given and disseminated tuberculosis occurred within a short delay (less than 2 years). A neurological deficiency led to the discovery of intracranial formations. The lack of effect of anti-toxoplasmosis therapy and the simultaneous discovery of tuberculous lesions strongly suggested intracerebral tuberculoma. With antituberculosis treatment, the general signs disappeared rapidly. Magnetic resonance imaging was particularly useful for following the course of the intracerebral lesions with a stereotype structure (confluent polylobular abscesses), for eliminating rapid evolution which would suggest lymphoma, the main differential diagnosis and to indicate corticosteroid treatment due to persistent oedema. Outcome was favourable with anti-tuberculosis therapy and corticosteroids. Intracerebral tuberculomas are rare and should be entertained in patients with tuberculosis when intracerebral abscesses do not respond to antitoxoplasmosis therapy. Magnetic resonance imaging is the most adapted imaging technique for diagnosis and follow-up.

Effect of corticosteroids on the incidence of adverse cutaneous reactions to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole during treatment of AIDS-associated Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia

We retrospectively studied all courses of treatment with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMZ) alone and with adjuvant corticosteroids for AIDS-associated Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia. The corticosteroids were administered for 8-21 days (mean, 14 days) because of hypoxemia. We evaluated the influence of corticosteroids on the incidence of cutaneous adverse reactions to TMP-SMZ and on the course of AIDS during 3 months of follow-up. Of 38 patients treated with TMP-SMZ alone, 18 (47%) developed cutaneous side effects, whereas three (13%) of the 23 patients who received adjuvant corticosteroid therapy experienced such effects (P = .014). Of the 21 reactive patients, 14 were treated throughout the duration of hypersensitivity. Therapy was interrupted for seven patients (18%) treated with TMP-SMZ alone and for none of those who were given adjuvant corticosteroid therapy (P = .23). During follow-up, the incidence of mucocutaneous herpes simplex virus infection was higher among patients who received adjuvant corticosteroids than among those treated with TMP-SMZ alone (P = .005). Adjuvant corticosteroids thus reduce the incidence of adverse cutaneous reactions to TMP-SMZ in patients with AIDS who are treated for hypoxemic P. carinii pneumonia.

Disseminated Penicillium marneffei infection associated with human immunodeficiency virus: a report of two cases and a review of 35 published cases

Penicillium marneffei, a dimorphic fungus that is endemic in southeast Asia, causes deep-seated infection in humans and rodents. About 20 cases have been reported among the local populations of China, Thailand, and Hong Kong, and 35 cases have now been described in patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). We present a review of the literature and report two additional cases. Both immunocompromised and apparently immunocompetent hosts tend to develop disseminated, symptomatic infection. HIV-infected patients having travelled to southeast Asia and presenting with fever, skin lesions, hepatomegaly, adenopathies, or lung disease should be investigated for Penicillium marneffei infection. The diagnosis is based on the demonstration of the organism in clinical specimens. Treatment with amphotericin B or itraconazole is generally successful, but maintenance therapy is warranted for patients with an underlying immunodeficiency.

[Tuberculosis and HIV]

With the increased number of HIV infected patients, tuberculosis has become more frequent in Europe, USA and particularly in Africa. Impaired immunity, poor life conditions and high prevalence of tuberculosis in the general population facilitate the transmission of the disease. Tuberculosis is often seen early in the course of HIV infection and sometimes reveals the underlying immunodeficiency. Most of these cases are due to reactivation of earlier primo-infection when tuberculosis occurs later in the HIV disease, it may be secondary to a recent contagion. The infection may be localized in the lungs or in extrathoracic sites such as lymph nodes, liver, spleen, blood or meninges. The diagnosis is based on direct visualization of acid fast bacilli in gastric aspirate or BAL, on positive blood cultures or in histological findings which often show atypical granulomatous reaction without marked caseation. The role of the intracutaneous tuberculin test remain questionable as it often proves negative. A positive skin reaction can be useful for the diagnosis of tuberculosis, however, this is rarely observed. An early diagnosis is important in order to improve the prognosis and this justifies the frequent instauration of empiric treatment. The usual quadritherapy is efficacious and when started early permits in most cases a favorable outcome. The duration of treatment is poorly standardized but approaches 9-12 months in most instances. The drugs are not always well tolerated. A life-long maintenance therapy seems to have become necessary and primary prophylaxis might be of interest. The increased occurrence of drug resistant stains adds to the interest of preventing transmission, particularly in the hospital.