IntroductionDespite improvements in surgical management, sternal wound infection (SWI) following cardiac surgery remains a significant complication.AimTo evaluate pathogens involved in SWI following median sternotomy.Material and methodsWe enrolled 164 patients who experienced prolonged sternal wound healing following open-heart surgery. The inclusion criteria were as follows: prolonged sternal wound healing following cardiac surgery via median sternotomy and complete results of microbiological culture obtained from the sternal swab. The exclusion criteria were as follows: partial sternotomy, patients with mechanical sternum dehiscence and incomplete clinical data. Swabs provided information on the type of microorganism present in the wound and the susceptibility of the microorganism to specific antibiotics.ResultsOne hundred and fourteen (69.5%) patients aged 68 (interquartile range: 60–76) years developed SWI with positive culture. The in-hospital mortality rate was 21.0% in this group. The most common pathogens included Staphylococcus epidermidis (26.6%), Enterococcus faecium (12.2%), Staphylococcus aureus (11.4%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (8.4%), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (6.8%). In most of the cases the isolated Staphylococcus epidermidis was methicillin-resistant (n = 57, 43.5%). Enterococcus faecium was vancomycin-resistant in 11 (8.3%) cases and high-level aminoglycoside resistant (HLAR) in 13 (9.9%) cases. Klebsiella pneumoniae had the extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) mechanism in 14 (10.6%) cases. Among 114 culture-positive patients, 48 (42.1%) had polymicrobial infection of the sternal wound.ConclusionsMicroorganisms associated with SWI in our study were mainly commensals, with the most common pathogen being Staphylococcus epidermidis.

Until now only non-treponemal tests (e.g. rapid plasma reagin [RPR]) have been used to monitor syphilis activity (e.g. distinguishing between treated, untreated and repeat disease) and efficacy of treatment. However, they usually require manual operation and are less specific than treponemal tests. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the use of the antitreponemal IgM testing in the diagnosis of early and repeat syphilis in HIV-infected and non-infected patients. One hundred and seventeen patients with early syphilis were included in this prospective study. RPR and anti- Treponema pallidum-IgM (TP-IgM) tests were conducted at onset and at three-month intervals during 24-month follow-up after initial treatment. In 31 of 117 syphilitic patients the co-occurrence of HIV infection was diagnosed. A positive TP-IgM test was present in 78.6% of patients with newly-diagnosed primary syphilis, 95.8% with secondary and 57.9% with early latent syphilis, but only in 38.5% patients with syphilis reinfection. There was a significant correlation between primary and secondary syphilis, higher baseline RPR titre and the pre-treatment IgM test reactivity. Regardless of the syphilis stage, HIV-seropositive individuals were more frequently positive for TP-IgM, both during the first onset of the disease (90.3%), and reinfection (71.4%), as compared to the HIV-seronegative group (71.4% and 0%, respectively, P < 0.03). TP-IgM seroreversion was observed in 115 out of 117 patients studied (98.3%) during follow-up (mean time to seroreversion 6.9 months). The time to TP-IgM seroreversion after treatment was significantly shorter in patients with early symptomatic syphilis (mean 4.9 months) when compared to early latent syphilis (7.7 months, P < 0.05). A negative TP-IgM test was found in approximately 20% and 40% of individuals with primary and early latent syphilis, respectively. The value of IgM testing in the diagnosis of syphilis reinfection is doubtful.

IntroductionApproximately 15% of appropriately treated patients with early syphilis remain serofast. The pathogenesis and clinical significance of this phenomenon are unclear.AimTo determine the significance of Treponema pallidum-specific immune responses and autoimmunity in the treatment outcome of syphilis (serofast or proper serological response).Material and methodsForty-eight patients with secondary and early latent syphilis (ELS) were enrolled in this study. Reactivity of IgM/IgG antibodies to the treponemal antigens TpN47, TpN17, TpN15 and TmpA was evaluated before and 12 months after intramuscular penicillin therapy for syphilis. Additionally, the presence of antinuclear antibodies (ANA) was determined 12 months after treatment.ResultsAfter 1 year, patients were stratified into two groups based on their serological response: (1) serofast (n = 10) and (2) serologically-cured (n = 38) patients. The serological cure rate was 79.2% at 12 months after treatment. Weak pre- and post-treatment antibody reactivity to TpN47 antigen was found to be significantly associated with a higher risk of the serofast state (OR = 64; 95% CI: 5.01–817; p < 0.005). Patients who remained serofast had a significantly higher ANA prevalence and mean titer when compared to those with proper serological responses (100% vs. 5.3%, respectively, p < 0.005; 1 : 640 vs. 1 : 160, respectively, p < 0.005).ConclusionsWe demonstrate that baseline antigen-specific immune response to Treponema pallidum may be an important predictor of the treatment outcome. Further studies are warranted to identify the role of autoimmunity in the pathomechanism of the serofast state.