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J Infect Chemother 2019 Apr 12. Epub 2019 Apr 12.

Department of Infectious Diseases, National Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.

Acute otitis media (AOM) occurs commonly in pediatric populations. We examined resistance genotype, antibiotic susceptibility, quinolone (QL) resistance, and multilocus sequence type (MLST) among Haemophilus influenzae isolates causing AOM following introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines in Japan. The AOM surveillance group included 69 participating otolaryngologists. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2019 Apr 12. Epub 2019 Apr 12.

Astellas Pharma Inc., 2-5-1 Nihonbashi-Honcho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, 103-8411, Japan.

Objective: Recurrent Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile infection (rCDI) is common and increases healthcare resource utilization. In this study, we assessed rCDI risk factors using an up-to-date, Japanese national hospital-based database.

Methods: C. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2019 Apr 12. Epub 2019 Apr 12.

Department of Laboratory Medicine, Dokkyo Medical University, Saitama Medical Center, 2-1-50 Minami-Koshigaya, Koshigaya City, Saitama 343-8555, Japan; Department of Infection Control & Infectious Diseases, Dokkyo Medical University, Saitama Medical Center, 2-1-50 Minami-Koshigaya, Koshigaya City, Saitama 343-8555, Japan.

Carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli, multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium were isolated from a single patient. The patient came to Japan for advanced medical treatment after having undergone laparoscopic cholecystectomy and hospitalization in Vietnam. Whole-genome sequence analysis revealed that K. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2019 Apr 11. Epub 2019 Apr 11.

Department of Respiratory Medicine, Nagasaki University Hospital, Nagasaki, Japan.

Oral antibiotic therapy for patients with acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) usually involves an aminopenicillin with clavulanic acid, a macrolide, or a quinolone. To date, however, the clinical efficacy and safety of the oral cephalosporin cefditoren pivoxil has not been evaluated in Japanese patients with acute exacerbations of COPD. We conducted a prospective, multicenter, single arm, interventional study from January 2013 to March 2017 to determine the efficacy and safety of oral administration of 200 mg cefditoren pivoxil three times daily for 7 days in a cohort of 29 eligible patients from 15 hospitals. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2019 Apr 11. Epub 2019 Apr 11.

Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Japanese Red Cross Narita Hospital, Narita, Chiba, Japan.

Microbacterium species are coryneform gram-positive rods that are widely distributed in the environment and have been recently recognized as rare pathogens in humans. However, information about the epidemiologic and clinical characteristics of Microbacterium species is scarce. We herein reported an 11-year-old girl with acute leukemia who was found to have catheter-related bloodstream infection in her neutropenic phase. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2019 Apr 11. Epub 2019 Apr 11.

Department of Bacteriology, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Japan.

Purpose: Controversy exists over whether bacterial flora within the appendix differs between patients with and without appendicitis. To examine these potential differences, we cultured the appendiceal luminal microbiota of patients with and without acute appendicitis, and identified the bacterial species therein.

Methods: Fifty-seven patients with acute appendicitis and 37 patients without acute appendicitis who underwent curative resection of colorectal cancer and prophylactic appendectomies (control group) were included. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2019 Apr 11. Epub 2019 Apr 11.

Respiratory Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Oita University Faculty of Medicine, 1-1 Idaigaoka, Hasama-machi, Yufu, Oita, 879-5593, Japan.

Whether or not additional antibiotics with anti-tuberculosis agents are required to treat bacterial co-infection with pulmonary tuberculosis is unclear. We aimed to assess the impact of additional antibiotics on mortality in pulmonary tuberculosis patients whose sputum cultures were positive for general bacteria as a surrogate definition of bacterial pneumonia. This study was a single-center retrospective cohort using a propensity score analysis. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2019 Apr 11. Epub 2019 Apr 11.

Department of Mycobacterium Reference and Research, The Research Institute of Tuberculosis, Japan; Department of Basic Mycobacteriology, Graduate School of Biomedical Science, Nagasaki University, Japan. Electronic address:

Setting: A laboratory cross-contamination event was suspected because Mycobacterium tuberculosis was unexpectedly detected at a high incidence in the cultures of several clinical specimens at the National Hospital Organization, Tokyo National Hospital, Japan.

Objective: To describe a case of Mycobacterium tuberculosis laboratory cross-contamination.

Design: We reviewed the medical records of 20 patients whose clinical specimens were suspected to have been contaminated by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2019 Apr 11. Epub 2019 Apr 11.

Department of Drug Delivery Research, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyoto University, 46-29 Yoshidashimoadachi-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8501, Japan; Department of Applied Pharmaceutics and Pharmacokinetics, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyoto University, 46-29 Yoshidashimoadachi-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8501, Japan. Electronic address:

Currently, combinations of typical types of antiretroviral agents have been adopted as chemotherapy for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, comprising two nucleoside analogue reverse transcriptase inhibitors plus one of a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor, an integrase strand-transfer inhibitor, and a protease inhibitor. Although several meta-analyses have been conducted to determine first-line combination antiretroviral therapy, this has yet to be confirmed due to the technical limitation associated. In the present study, we applied a model-based meta-analysis (MBMA) approach, because it allows integration of information from clinical trials with varying dosing, duration, and sampling time points, resulting in enlargement of available data sources. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2019 Apr 11. Epub 2019 Apr 11.

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan.

The aims of this study were to assess the effect of maternal screening for hepatitis B (HB) virus and a perinatal prevention program of mother-to-child transmission, and to identify clinical characteristics and findings associated with HB exacerbation during pregnancy. This prospective cohort study enrolled 3796 pregnant women and their neonates with informed consent. Pregnant women underwent maternal universal screening for HBs antigen (Ag) in the first trimester. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2019 Apr 6. Epub 2019 Apr 6.

National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan.

In nursery schools, influenza outbreaks have occurred every year. However, influenza characteristics of its diffusion among nursery schools, within each nursery school, and among classes of different ages in nursery schools remains unclear. This paper presents an examination of these matters using the Nursery School Absenteeism Surveillance System (NSASSy). Read More

J Infect Chemother 2019 Apr 3. Epub 2019 Apr 3.

Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Toho University School of Medicine, Japan.

The susceptibilities of clinical isolates to fluoroquinolones and other antimicrobial agents were surveyed to obtain an accurate understanding of trends in incidence and antimicrobial resistance. The samples were collected from across Japan, biennially or triennially, between 1994 and 2016 and a defined level of resistance to fluoroquinolone was determined. Streptococcus pneumoniae, Streptococcus pyogenes and Haemophilus influenzae exhibited stable and high rates of susceptibility to fluoroquinolones over the period examined. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2019 Mar 29. Epub 2019 Mar 29.

Vaccine Research Institute, Kitasato Daiichi Sankyo Vaccine Co. Ltd., 1-16-13, Kitakasai, Edogawa-ku, Tokyo, Japan. Electronic address:

Four neuraminidase (NA) inhibitors and an RNA synthesis inhibitor were recently approved and are currently in clinical use for influenza. Among NA inhibitors, oseltamivir phosphate (OSE, Tamiflu) and zanamivir are approved worldwide, whereas peramivir and laninamivir octanoate (LAN, Inavir) are regionally approved for human use. Therefore, OSE has been used to treat infections of highly pathogenic influenza viruses, such as H5N1 and H7N9, which caused epidemic in southeast Asia and Egypt, and China, respectively. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2019 Mar 29. Epub 2019 Mar 29.

Development of Anti-Infective Agents, Faculty of Medical Science and Welfare, Tohoku Bunka Gakuen University, Japan.

Background: Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) due to Legionella has a high mortality rate in patients who do not receive adequate antibiotic therapy. In a previous study, we developed a simple Legionella Score to distinguish patients with Legionella and non-Legionella pneumonia based on clinical information at diagnosis. In the present study, we validated this Legionella Score for the presumptive diagnosis of Legionella CAP. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2019 Mar 28. Epub 2019 Mar 28.

Department of Pharmacy, Ogaki Municipal Hospital, 4-86 Minaminokawa, Ogaki, Gifu 503-8502, Japan; Laboratory of Pharmacy Practice and Social Science, Gifu Pharmaceutical University, 1-25-4 Daigaku-Nishi, Gifu, 501-1196, Japan.

Teicoplanin formulations are marketed as antibiotic mixtures with several compounds that share the same core structure. Recent studies conducted in vitro have reported differences in the composition ratio of different teicoplanin products. In this retrospective study, we examined the trough blood concentration of the originator brand and a generic teicoplanin product. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2019 Mar 22. Epub 2019 Mar 22.

Division of Neonatology, Maternal and Perinatal Center, Toyama University Hospital, 2630 Sugitani, Toyama, 930-0194, Japan.

Congenital tuberculosis is a rare disease, especially in non-endemic countries. We present a preterm infant who developed congenital tuberculosis in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The male patient, weighing 1140 g was born by cesarean section at 26 weeks gestation. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2019 Mar 23. Epub 2019 Mar 23.

Department of Hematology/Oncology, The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.

The introduction of the prophylactic use of antifungal drugs caused the increased occurrence of invasive fungal infections due to previously rare molds, such as fusariosis, after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. We herein report the case of a patient with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma who developed fungemia due to Fusarium solani during liposormal amphotericin B on day 25 after cord blood transplantation (CBT). Because Fusarium species might differ in virulence and drug susceptibility, the sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer region of the ribosomal RNA gene accurately identified Fusarium solani to be the cause of fungemia at the species level. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2019 Mar 21. Epub 2019 Mar 21.

Department of Surgery, National Hospital Organization Chiba-East Hospital, 673 Nitona-cho Chuo-ku, Chiba, 260-8712, Japan. Electronic address:

Renal transplant recipients are at increased risk of reactivating latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) and developing active tuberculosis. QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus (QFT-Plus) has two TB-specific antigens tubes (TB1 and TB2). TB1 elicits CD4 T-cell response, and TB2 elicits both CD4 and CD8 T-cells responses, with expected increased sensitivity. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2019 Mar 21. Epub 2019 Mar 21.

Department of Respiratory Medicine, Tsukuba Medical Center Hospital, Ibaraki, 305-8558, Japan. Electronic address:

Recently, rapid molecular detection systems have been used for point-of-care testing for the diagnosis of influenza worldwide. Here, we evaluated the performance of the cobas Liat system and the cobas Influenza A/B assay (Liat) using fresh nasopharyngeal samples collected from a Japanese population between December 2017 and February 2018. The performance of the examination was compared with that of antigen testing and a conventional polymerase chain reaction (nested-PCR) method. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2019 Mar 21. Epub 2019 Mar 21.

Department of Clinical Laboratory Science, Faculty of Health Care, Tenri Health Care University, Tenri, Japan.

Recently, basidiomycete Schizophyllum commune has been reported as a cause of allergic bronchopulmonary mycosis. However, it is rare as a cause of otitis externa. We experienced a very rare case of otitis externa caused by S. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2019 Mar 21. Epub 2019 Mar 21.

Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, Kitasato Institute for Life Sciences, Kitasato University, 5-9-1 Shirokane, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 108-8641, Japan.

The 2016 National Action Plan aims for reduction in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) to tetracyclines, third-generation cephalosporins, and fluoroquinolones in Escherichia coli isolates from livestock: to lower the tetracycline resistance of E. coli to 33% or less; to maintain the third-generation cephalosporin resistance of E. coli at the same level as in the other G7 countries as of 2020; and to maintain the fluoroquinolone resistance of E. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2019 Mar 21. Epub 2019 Mar 21.

Department of Urology, Fuji City Genaral Hospital, Shizuoka, Japan.

The Japanese Surveillance Committee conducted a second nationwide surveillance of antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of uropathogens responsible for acute uncomplicated cystitis (AUC) in premenopausal patients aged 16-40 years old at 31 hospitals throughout Japan from March 2015 to February 2016. In this study, the susceptibility of causative bacteria (Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus saprophyticus) for various antimicrobial agents was investigated by isolation and culturing of organisms obtained from urine samples. In total, 324 strains were isolated from 361 patients, including E. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2019 Mar 20. Epub 2019 Mar 20.

Medical School, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Hwy, Crawley, Western Australia, 6009, Australia; Department of Infectious Diseases, Fiona Stanley Hospital, 11 Robin Warren Drive, Murdoch, Western Australia, 6150, Australia; Department of Microbiology, PathWest Laboratory Medicine, Fiona Stanley Hospital, 11 Robin Warren Drive, Murdoch, Western Australia, 6150, Australia. Electronic address:

Amongst 325 patients receiving restricted antimicrobials whose management was subject to antimicrobial stewardship prospective audit and feedback, adherence to advice was 78%. Non-adherence was associated with diabetic patients, giving more than 1 piece of advice and receipt of piperacillin/tazobactam therapy, and was inversely associated with liver disease. Adherence to advice was associated with a one third reduction in duration of antimicrobial use without adversely impacting other infection-related patient outcomes. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2019 Mar 20. Epub 2019 Mar 20.

Division of Infection Control and Prevention, Osaka University Hospital, Osaka, Japan.

Blood culture is the most critical examination for diagnosing bacterial infections. The longer the blood culture incubation period, the higher the chances of identifying bacterial strains. However, unnecessary extension of the incubation period can burden the capacity of the instrument and merely result in the detection of contaminant bacteria having no clinical significance. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2019 Mar 20. Epub 2019 Mar 20.

Department of Pediatrics, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Japan.

Panton Valentine Leukocidin (PVL) is one of the many toxins produced by Staphylococcus aureus. In Japan, PVL-positive S. aureus strains are mainly methicillin-resistant S. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2019 Mar 15. Epub 2019 Mar 15.

Department of Pediatrics, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Electronic address:

Introduction: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most common cause of lower respiratory tract infections among infants and young children. The fusion (F) protein of RSV is a major target for monoclonal antibodies and vaccine candidates. We analyzed sequence polymorphisms of the RSV F protein and investigated palivizumab-resistance mutation in clinical isolates from Korean children in post-palivizumab era. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2019 Mar 14. Epub 2019 Mar 14.

UQ Centre for Clinical Research, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Herston, Australia; Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Herston, Australia; Centre for Translational Anti-infective Pharmacodynamics, School of Pharmacy, The University of Queensland, Herston, Australia; Pharmacy Department, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Herston, Australia.

Background: Piperacillin-tazobactam is commonly used in neutropenic sepsis at standard doses that do not account for inter-individual differences in age, bodyweight and renal function. This study was designed to assess the rate of attainment of pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) targets in patients receiving piperacillin/tazobactam therapy and to evaluate the effect on clinical outcomes.

Methods: Patients undergoing intensive chemotherapy for aggressive hematological malignancies were enrolled and treated with piperacillin/tazobactam 4 g/0. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2019 Mar 14. Epub 2019 Mar 14.

Department of Hematology and Oncology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Fukui, 23-3 Matsuokashimoaizuki, Eiheiji-cho, Yoshida-gun, Fukui 910-1193, Japan.

Varicella zoster virus (VZV) infection sometimes result in visceral disseminated VZV infection (VD-VZV), which is a fulminant disease featured by abdominal pain and the absence of skin lesions, particularly occurs in the immunosuppressive patients. Brachial plexus neuritis (BPN) is another rare type of VZV infection usually appears without blisters. Few diagnostic images of both VD-VZV and BPN-VZV have been reported. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2019 Mar 14. Epub 2019 Mar 14.

MSD KK, 1-13-12 Kudan-kita, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 102-8667, Japan.

This study for the first time assessed quadrivalent human papillomavirus (qHPV) vaccine effectiveness against HPV6/11/16/18-related high-grade cervical disease in Japanese women (16-26 years old), as previously demonstrated in overseas trials, and vaccine safety in a longer term (48-month) open-label study (NCT01544478). Participants received three doses of qHPV vaccine (Day 1, Month 2, Month 6). Effectiveness endpoints, assessed in the per-protocol population, included incidence of HPV6/11/16/18-related cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) Grade 2 or worse (CIN Grade 2 and 3, adenocarcinoma in situ, and/or cervical cancer) as primary endpoint and incidence of external genital lesions (EGLs). Read More

J Infect Chemother 2019 Mar 14. Epub 2019 Mar 14.

Department of Infectious Diseases, University of Tsukuba Hospital, Japan. Electronic address:

Cefotaxime-non-susceptible Haemophilus influenzae has rarely been isolated from clinical specimens. Although several reports have shown that amino acid (AA) alteration in penicillin-binding protein 3 (PBP3), encoded by the ftsI gene, reduces activity of cefotaxime, precise mechanisms conferring the non-susceptibility have been unclear. We analyzed the ftsI gene of two clinically isolated cefotaxime-non-susceptible H. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2019 Mar 7. Epub 2019 Mar 7.

Department of Rheumatology, Iizuka, Japan.

Here, we present a case of disseminated nocardiosis, involving pneumonia, percutaneous abscess, and bacteremia, in a 67-year-old Japanese woman. She had also been treated for rheumatoid arthritis with prednisolone, methotrexate, and tocilizumab (interleukin-6 receptor inhibitor). Based on the 16S rRNA sequence analysis and a blast search, we identified the isolate as Nocardia brasiliensis. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2019 Mar 7. Epub 2019 Mar 7.

Department of Urology, Korea University Guro Hospital, #148 Gurodong-ro, Guro-gu, Seoul, 152-703, South Korea. Electronic address:

This study was performed to evaluate what percentage of urinary tract infections (UTIs) caused by extended spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing strains recurs with ESBL-producing strains during follow up and to assess the risk factors for recurrence with ESBL-producing Escherichia coli strains on subsequent first recurrence episode. We enrolled female patients with UTIs caused by ESBL-producing E. coli between May 2012 and December 2015, who were longitudinally followed up for at least 24 months. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2019 Feb 28. Epub 2019 Feb 28.

Department of Transfusion Medicine, Tokyo Metropolitan Bokutoh General Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.

Background: Ebola virus disease (EVD) was endemic to Africa in 2014-2016. Supportive therapies have been shown to improve the outcome of EVD, and additional supportive therapy including blood transfusion therapy and external circulation could be needed in the event of a future global outbreak. However, pre-transfusion testing policies and guidelines have not yet been established in Japan. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2019 Feb 26. Epub 2019 Feb 26.

Department of Microbiology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, 1000, Bangladesh. Electronic address:

Global emergence and dissemination of carbapenemases are clinically threatening, notably in countries with endemic bla. To analyze the extent of carbapenemases in Bangladesh, 71 isolates were collected from 7 different clinical sources: wound swab (n = 38), pus (n = 13), urine (n = 9), blood (n = 4), tracheal aspirate (n = 3), pleural fluid (n = 1) and vaginal swab (n = 3) from Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Bangladesh. Among the isolates, 25 were resistant to at least one of the three carbapenems (imipenem, meropenem and doripenem), including 15 being resistant to all. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2019 Feb 26. Epub 2019 Feb 26.

FES Iztacala, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Estado de Mexico, Mexico. Electronic address:

Multi-drug resistant cervicovaginal Escherichia coli (CVEC) infections are a serious health problem. The aim of this study is to determine the patterns of virulence genes, antibiotic resistance and O-serogroups of CVEC isolated in Mexico. Two hundred strains of CVEC were isolated from women attending two Clinics at the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2019 Feb 26. Epub 2019 Feb 26.

NTT East Sapporo Medical Center, Japan; Nishikawa Women's Health Clinic, Sapporo, Japan.

Primary infection with Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) during pregnancy may cause congenital infection of the infant. This study evaluated whether screening using IgG avidity and multiplex-nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods was effective for detecting a high-risk pregnancy for congenital T. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2019 Feb 26. Epub 2019 Feb 26.

Department of Respiratory Diseases National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan.

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is an emerging tick-borne disease caused by a novel bunyavirus. The mechanism underlying disease progression remains unknown, and effective treatment strategy for SFTS is yet to be completely established, making its increasing incidence and subsequent mortality a great concern. Here, we present the autopsy case of a patient with rapidly progressed, fatal SFTS infection. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2019 Feb 26. Epub 2019 Feb 26.

Department of Connective Tissue Diseases, National Hospital Organization Tokyo Medical Center, Tokyo, Japan.

Aspergillus fumigatus is the commonest cause of pulmonary aspergillosis; however, a recently developed molecular genetic technique identified A. lentulus as a sibling species. Most of the isolates were found in solid organ recipients, often associated with a fatal outcome. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2019 Feb 23. Epub 2019 Feb 23.

Department of Infection Control Science, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka City University, 1-4-3, Asahi-machi, Abeno-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka, 545-8585 Japan; Research Center for Infectious Diseases, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka City University, 1-4-3, Asahi-machi, Abeno-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka, 545-8585 Japan; Department of Infection Control and Prevention, Osaka City University Hospital, 1-5-7, Asahi-machi, Abeno-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka, 545-8586 Japan. Electronic address:

Patients with invasive fungal diseases (IFDs) generally have a high mortality rate, and resistance to antifungal drugs and the high costs associated with it have led to recent problems, necessitating the appropriate use of antifungals. To this end, we launched Antifungal Stewardship Programs (AFSPs) in our hospital. Patients who were systemically administered antifungals from January 2011 to December 2016 were enrolled this study and divided into pre-intervention and intervention groups. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2019 May 21;25(5):330-336. Epub 2019 Feb 21.

Department of Infection Control and Prevention, Aichi Medical University Hospital, Aichi, Japan; Department of Clinical Infectious Diseases, Aichi Medical University Hospital, Japan. Electronic address:

Objective: Current phenotypic methods for extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL), AmpC β-lactamase (AmpC), and carbapenemases fail to detect isolates that co-produce other classes of β-lactamases. In this study, we have developed a novel assay (Applied Multiplex Disk Method: AMU-DM) for the phenotypic detection and identification of β-lactamases produced by Enterobacteriaceae.

Methods: We evaluated the performance of the method by comparison with PCR results for 78 Enterobacteriaceae clinical isolates that were positive by the ESBL screening test and negative by the ESBL confirmation test. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2019 May 21;25(5):379-384. Epub 2019 Feb 21.

Department of Clinical Infectious Diseases, Aichi Medical University Hospital, Nagakute, Aichi, Japan; Department of Infection Control and Prevention, Aichi Medical University Hospital, Nagakute, Aichi, Japan. Electronic address:

A 76-year-old Japanese woman was admitted due to uncontrolled cellulitis of the right lower leg. She had deep vein thrombosis on the right limb. Moreover, she had a long history of rheumatoid arthritis treated with corticosteroids. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2019 Feb 21. Epub 2019 Feb 21.

Department of Pediatrics, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-8-1 Inohana Chuo ku, Chiba City, Chiba, 260-8677, Japan.

Detecting Pneumocystis jirovecii by bronchoalveolar lavage or lung biopsy is the gold standard for diagnosis of P. jirovecii pneumonia (PJP); however, these techniques are not always applicable in children because of their high invasiveness. We report two pediatric cases of PJP diagnosed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of gastric lavage that were successfully treated. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2019 Feb 16. Epub 2019 Feb 16.

Department of Microbiology, Tokyo Medical University, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Infectious Diseases, International University of Health and Welfare, Chiba, Japan. Electronic address:

Introduction: Biofilm formation is an important issue in the healthcare industry, but conventional disinfectants are not effective for biofilms formed in the hospital environment and on medical instruments. In this study, aim at determine the effectiveness of slightly acidic electrolyzed water (SAEW) on biofilm removal and the disinfection of biofilm-forming Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Methods: Mucoid and non-mucoid strains were used for biofilm formation. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2019 Feb 16. Epub 2019 Feb 16.

Division of Infectious Disease and Hospital Epidemiology, Saga University Medical Center, Saga, Japan; Department of International Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Saga University, Saga, Japan.

The objective of this study was to explore the optimal dosage regimen of daptomycin and to determine the necessity and validity of a high-dose regimen from the perspectives of PK/PD parameters using Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS) and therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) in a Japanese clinical setting. The volume of distribution (0.13 ± 0. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2019 Feb 14. Epub 2019 Feb 14.

Disease Control and Prevention Center, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, 1-21-1 Toyama, Shinjuku, Tokyo, 162-8655, Japan.

We herein report a case of Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) spondylitis and bacteremia in a 90-year-old man with diabetes mellitus who had undergone sigmoidectomy and had a fecalith. Two months prior to admission, he had received antimicrobial treatment for 2 weeks for K. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2019 Feb 15. Epub 2019 Feb 15.

Department of General Medicine and Emergency Care, Toho University School of Medicine, Japan.

Introduction: Infectious mononucleosis (IM) is a common viral infection that typically causes fever, pharyngitis, and lymphadenopathy in young patients. The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is the most common cause of IM, followed by cytomegalovirus (CMV). Given that serological testing is associated with limitations regarding its accuracy, availability, and time to receive results, clinical differentiation based on symptoms, signs, and basic tests would be useful. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2019 May 13;25(5):325-329. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Molecular Biology Department, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences (ICMR), Patna, India. Electronic address:

Influenza virus is a common human pathogenic agent that has caused serious respiratory illness and death over the past century and in recent year. Treatment options against pandemic influenza strain A/H1N1 are very limited and unsatisfactory. Therefore we have developed iron oxide nanoparticles (IO-NPs) with particle size in the range of 10-15 nm against pandemic influenza strain A/H1N1/Eastern India/66/PR8-H1N1. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2019 Feb 7. Epub 2019 Feb 7.

Kawasaki City Institute for Public Health, Japan.

Background: Even though abnormal behavior related with influenza and neuraminidase inhibitors (NI) has been discussed, the risks of acetaminophen and co-administration of NI and acetaminophen have not been examined. This study assesses those risks.

Materials And Methods: All cases of patients with influenza who present with severe abnormal behavior are reported by physicians of all clinics and hospitals throughout Japan. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2019 May 7;25(5):355-361. Epub 2019 Feb 7.

Department of Immunology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, 1-23-1 Toyama, Shinjuku-ku, 162-8640, Tokyo, Japan. Electronic address:

Objectives: β-Hemolytic streptococci occasionally cause severe infections such as necrotizing fasciitis and streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS). Here, we conducted a prospective study to investigate the production of cytokines and chemokines in patients with STSS to explore its pathogenesis in survivors and fatal cases.

Methods: From January 2013 through August 2015, all culture results from normally sterile sites were prospectively followed and screened for STSS. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2019 Feb 6. Epub 2019 Feb 6.

Department of Infectious Diseases, The University of Tokyo Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.

Bacterial peritonitis, an infection of the ascitic fluid, can be classified etiologically as spontaneous or secondary bacterial peritonitis. The former is mainly caused by portal hypertension and its subsequent effects, whereas the latter is caused by the direct dissemination of bacteria into the peritoneal cavity. Previous reports have described some distinguishing features of these two entities. Read More