Bloodstream infections (BSI) are one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in children and young adults receiving chemotherapy for malignancy or undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Antibiotic prophylaxis is commonly used to decrease the risk of BSI; however, antibiotics carry an inherent risk of complications. The aim of this manuscript is to review levofloxacin prophylaxis in pediatric oncology patients and HSCT recipients. We reviewed published literature on levofloxacin prophylaxis to prevent BSI in pediatric oncology patients and HSCT recipients. Nine manuscripts were identified. The use of levofloxacin is indicated in neutropenic children and young adults receiving intensive chemotherapy for leukemia or undergoing HSCT. These results support the efficacy of levofloxacin in pediatric patients with leukemia receiving intensive chemotherapy and should be considered in pediatric patients undergoing HSCT prior to engraftment.

BACKGROUND: Current guidelines recommend at least 2 weeks duration of antibiotic therapy (DOT) for patients with uncomplicated Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia (SAB) but the evidence for this recommendation is unclear.
OBJECTIVE: To perform a systematic literature review assessing current evidence for recommended DOT for patients with SAB.
METHODS: The following are the methods used for this study.
METHODS: We searched MEDLINE, ISI Web of Science, the Cochrane Database and clinicaltrials.gov from inception to March 30, 2024. References of eligible studies were screened and experts in the field contacted for additional articles.
METHODS: All clinical studies, regardless of design, publication status and language.
METHODS: Adult patients with uncomplicated SAB.
METHODS: Long (>14 days; >18 days; 11-16 days) vs. short (≤14 days; 10-18 days; 6-10 days, respectively) DOT with the DOT being defined as the first until the last day of antibiotic therapy.
UNASSIGNED: Risk of bias was assessed using the ROBINS-I-tool.
UNASSIGNED: The primary outcome was 90-day all-cause mortality. Only studies presenting results of adjusted analyses for mortality were included. Data synthesis could not be performed.
RESULTS: Eleven nonrandomized studies were identified that fulfilled the pre-defined inclusion criteria, of which three studies reported adjusted effect ratios. Only these were included in the final analysis. We did not find any RCT. Two studies with 1230 patients reported the primary endpoint 90-day all-cause mortality. Neither found a statistically significant superiority for longer (>14 days; 11-16 days) or shorter DOT (≤14 days; 6-10 days, respectively) for patients with uncomplicated SAB. Two studies investigated the secondary endpoint 30-day all-cause mortality (>18 days; 11-16 days vs. 10-18 days; 6-10 days, respectively) and did not find a statistically significant difference. All included studies had a moderate risk of bias.
CONCLUSIONS: Sound evidence that supports any duration of antibiotic treatment for patients with uncomplicated SAB is lacking.

UNASSIGNED: We performed a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the clinical or microbiological outcomes and safety of a combination of daptomycin (DAP) and β-lactams compared to DAP monotherapy in patients with blood stream infection (BSI) due to gram-positive cocci (GPC).
UNASSIGNED: We searched Scopus, PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, and Ityuushi databases up to January 30, 2023. Outcomes included all-cause mortality, clinical failure, and creatine phosphokinase (CPK) elevation.
UNASSIGNED: Six cohorts or case-control studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were included in the final meta-analysis. Combination therapy of DAP and β-lactams significantly reduced the mortality and clinical failure rate for all BSI due to GPC compared with the DAP monotherapy (mortality, odds ratio [OR] = 0.63, 95 % confidence interval [CI] = 0.41-0.98; clinical failure, OR = 0.42, 95 % CI = 0.22-0.81). In contrast, no significant difference was noted in the incidence of CPK elevation between the two groups (OR = 0.85, 95 % CI = 0.39-1.84).
UNASSIGNED: Altogether, combination therapy of DAP and β-lactams can improve the prognosis for patients with BSI due to GPC compared with DAP alone. Therefore, it should be considered as an option for the empirical treatment of BSI caused by GPC.

BACKGROUND: Bloodstream infections (BSIs), or bacteremia, are responsible for considerable disease burden. Increasing rates of antibiotic resistance and delays in selection of appropriate treatment lead to increased morbidity, mortality, and costs. Due to limitations of current standard treatments, especially for bacteremia caused by resistant pathogens, a systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted to understand the utilization of ceftolozane/tazobactam (C/T) in bacteremia.
METHODS: Electronic database searches of EMBASE®, MEDLINE®, CCTR and Northern Lights, as well as hand searches of conference proceedings from the last two annual meetings (i.e., 2018, 2019) of the European Congress of Clinical Microbiological and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) and the Infectious Diseases Society of America\'s annual meeting (IDWeek) were conducted. A total of 23 studies reporting on patients with bacteremia receiving C/T were included in the review.
RESULTS: Most studies were observational (k = 20 studies), though few interventional studies were also identified (k = 3). Heterogeneity was ubiquitous with respect to source of bacteremia (i.e., primary or secondary), source of infection (for secondary bacteremia), pathogen type, antibiotic resistance, C/T dose, and outcome definitions. This heterogeneity, along with limited data, and small sample sizes (n = 1 to 31) made it difficult to draw any substantial conclusions, though overall results were favorable to C/T with respect to the outcomes of interest. Nineteen studies reported clinical cure or success (primary bacteremia: k = 6, reported range: 33.3% to 100%; secondary bacteremia: k = 8, 60% to 100%; mixed/unspecified bacteremia: k = 10, 50% to 91.7%). Eight studies reported microbiological cure or eradication rates (primary: k = 3, all reporting 100%; secondary: k = 4, 68% to 80%; mixed/unspecified: k = 5, 60% to 80%). Thirteen studies reported mortality (primary: k = 4, 0% to 14%; secondary: k = 7, 0% to 100%; or mixed/unspecified bacteremia: k = 7, 0% to 51.6%). One study each also reported composite clinical response, relapse, hospital re-admission, and hospital length of stay.
CONCLUSIONS: Although the available evidence and observed trends for C/T in bacteremia should be interpreted with caution, the direction of effect would support the utilization of C/T for these difficult to treat infections. Future research should supplement the existing evidence by considering the impact of key treatment effect modifiers without contributing to the observed heterogeneity.

Background: Flavonifractor plautii is a strictly anaerobic rod shaped bacterium belonging to the family of Clostridiales. It is a commensal of the human intestinal microbiota which was seldom isolated from clinical samples, therefore clinical data are scarce. To date, only four cases of F. plautii infections were described, all occurring in immunosuppressed patients. Case presentation: We report a case where F. plautii was isolated from the blood culture of a severe burn victim and identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Discussion: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of F. plautii blood stream infection described in a burn patient.

Staphylococcus aureus (SA) belonging to the clonal complex 398 (CC398) took a special place within the species due to its spread throughout the world. SA CC398 is broadly separated in two subpopulations: livestock-associated methicillin-resistant SA (MRSA) and human-associated methicillin-susceptible SA (MSSA). Here, we reviewed the global epidemiology of SA CC398 in human clinical infections and focused on MSSA CC398. The last common ancestor of SA CC398 was probably a human-adapted prophage φSa3-positive MSSA CC398 strain, but the multiple transmissions between human and animal made its evolution complex. MSSA and MRSA CC398 had different geographical evolutions. Although MSSA was present in several countries all over the world, it was mainly reported in China and in France with a prevalence about 20%. MSSA CC398 was frequently implicated in severe infections such as bloodstream infections, endocarditis, and bone joint infections whereas MRSA CC398 was mainly reported in skin and soft tissue. The spread of the MSSA CC398 clone is worldwide but with a heterogeneous prevalence. The prophage φSa3 played a crucial role in the adaptation to the human niche and in the virulence of MSSA CC398. However, the biological features that allowed the recent spread of this lineage are still far from being fully understood.

BACKGROUND: Solobacterium moorei, the only species in the genus Solobacterium, is a Gram-positive, non-spore-forming, strict anaerobic, short to long bacillus. It has rarely been documented to cause blood stream infections. Here we report the first case of bacteremia caused by S.moorei in China.
METHODS: A 61-year-old male presented to Peking Union Medical College Hospital (Beijing) with thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) and several other underlying diseases. He also had persistent coma accompanied by intermittent convulsions, halitosis, and intermittent fever. Blood cultures taken when the patient had a high fever were positive, with the anaerobic bottle yielding an organism identified as S.moorei by 16S rRNA gene sequencing, whilst the aerobic bottle grew Streptococcus mitis. After replacement of venous pipeline, and empirical use of vancomycin and meropenem, the patient\'s body temperature and white blood cell count returned to normal. Unfortunately, the patient died of severe TTP.
CONCLUSIONS: This is the first case report of S. moorei isolation from blood stream in China. 16S rRNA gene sequencing is the only method that can identify S. moorei. Blood cultures must be taken before administration of antibiotics, and anaerobic culture should be considered for such rare pathogens in patients with oral diseases and immune deficiency.

Cerebrovascular accident (CVA) is one of the major complications and a leading cause of death in patients with a left ventricular assist device (LVAD). Multiple studies of have shown that patients with blood stream infection (BSI) are more likely to develop CVA compared to patients without BSI. However, there is no meta-analysis to confirm this association. Studies were systematically acquired from MEDLINE and EMBASE electronic databases. Included studies assessed patients with heart failure requiring LVAD and reported the number of patients who had BSI post LVAD, incidence of ischemic CVA, hemorrhagic CVA, or any CVA. Pooled effect size was calculated with a random-effect model, weighted for the inverse of variance. Heterogeneity was assessed with I2. Six studies were analyzed. Participants with LVAD who developed BSI were more likely to have a CVA compared to participants without BSI (RR 3.43, 95% CI 2.49-4.72, I2 = 0). In four studies, there was an association between BSI and increased incidence of hemorrhagic CVA post LVAD (RR 5.28, 95% CI 2.65-10.53) with minimal heterogeneity (I2 = 30%). In three studies, participants with BSI were more likely to develop ischemic CVA (RR 2.18, 95% CI 1.23-3.84) compared to patients without BSI. This meta-analysis suggested that there maybe an association between blood stream infection and cerebrovascular accident in patients with LVAD.

Herein we report two cases of infections caused by Tissierella praeacuta and a review of the literature. The first case was a septic pseudarthrosis of the left femur after multiple fractures. Two per-operative samples were positive with T. praeacuta. The patient was successfully treated by piperacillin - tazobactam and metronidazole. The second case was a bacteremia in a patient suffering from pyonephrosis and a hepatic abscess. The treatment was meropenem. No relapses were observed in both cases. Identification of the strains using MALDI-TOF coupled to mass spectrometry (MS) (Beckman coulter, France) was inconclusive in the two cases. Identification by 16S rRNA sequencing was then performed. This bacterium was susceptible to beta-lactams, chloramphenicol, rifampicine and metronidazole.

Achromobacter xylosoxidansis a nonfermentative Gram-negative organism, known to cause opportunistic infection in humans. We report a case of septicemia in a 76-year-old male patient with underlying hepatocellular carcinoma due to A. xylosoxidans, which showed a different antimicrobial susceptibility pattern from what is usually reported. From aerobic blood culture of the patient, A. xylosoxidans was isolated which was found to be sensitive to amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, piperacillin-tazobactam, ceftazidime, cefoperazone-sulbactam, meropenem, minocycline, tigecycline, and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole. The patient recovered with amoxicillin-clavulanic acid treatment, which was given empirically to the patient. The present case highlights the possible role of amoxicillin-clavulanic acid for treatment of bloodstream infection with A. xylosoxidans.