It is unclear whether the effectiveness of polymyxins depends on the site of infection, the responsible pathogen, dosage, and monotherapy versus combination therapy. We investigated colistin therapy in a large, retrospective, single-centre, cohort study. Primary analysis outcomes were infection outcome, survival and nephrotoxicity. Over

Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) as a result of multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria has contributed to the revival of the use of intravenous (i.v.) colistin. However, the additional administration of inhaled colistin for VAP is controversial. We performed a retrospective cohort study of patients with microbiologically documented VAP who received i.v. colistin with or without inhaled colistin. Seventy-eight patients with VAP received i.v. plus inhaled colistin, whereas 43 patients received i.v. colistin alone. The mean +/- SD daily dosage of i.v. colistin was 7.0 +/- 2.4 and 6.4 +/- 2.3 million international units (IU), respectively (p 0.13); the average daily dosage of inhaled colistin was 2.1 +/- 0.9 million IU. The outcome of infection was cure for 62/78 (79.5%) patients who received i.v. plus inhaled colistin vs. 26/43 (60.5%) patients who received i.v. colistin alone (p 0.025); all-cause in-hospital mortality was 31/78 (39.7%) vs. 19/43 (44.2%), respectively (p 0.63); all-cause intensive care unit (ICU) mortality was 28/78 (35.9%) vs. 17/43 (39.5%), respectively (p 0.92). The use of inhaled colistin was independently associated with the cure of VAP in a multivariable analysis (OR 2.53, 95% CI 1.11-5.76). Independent predictors of mortality were a higher APACHE II score (OR 1.12, 95% CI 1.04-1.20), presence of malignancy (OR 4.11, 95% CI 1.18-14.23) and lower daily dosage of i.v. colistin (OR 0.81, 95% CI 0.68-0.96). The outcome of VAP was better in patients who received inhaled colistin with i.v. colistin than those who received i.v. colistin alone. There was no difference in all-cause in-hospital and ICU mortality between the two groups. Randomized controlled trials are needed to evaluate further the role of inhaled colistin in VAP.

No abstract

Obesity is the major confounding factor in the relationship between obstructive sleep apnea and increased risk for cardiovascular disease. The aim of the study was to investigate the association of sleep apnea severity with insulin resistance, leptin, and CRP levels in a cohort of male patients. Sixty-seven men referred to our sleep laboratory for evaluation of suspected obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) were divided into three groups according to apnea severity: non-OSAS group (n=15), mild to moderate OSAS group (n=26), and severe OSAS (n=26). Insulin resistance was estimated by the homeostasis model assessment method. HOMA values were similar in the three groups: (3.2+/-2.2 vs. 3.3+/-1.8 vs. 3.6+/-1.5, respectively, p=0.71). Leptin levels were higher in the mild to moderate OSAS group (23.1+/-21.8 ng/ml, p<0.05) and in the severe OSAS group (20.2+/-17.5 ng/ml, p<0.05) than in the non-OSAS group (9.4+/-6.4 ng/ml). CRP levels were significantly higher in severe sleep apnea (0.35+/-0.3 vs. 0.19+/-0.1 mg/dl, p<0.05). In multiple regression analyses, waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) was the most significant determinant of HOMA estimation for insulin resistance. WHR and the percentage of total sleep time spent with hypoxemia (%TST with SaO2 <90%) were significant predictors for leptin levels, while body mass index (BMI) and the %TST with SaO2 <90% were the best predicting parameters for CRP levels. Insulin resistance estimated by the HOMA method in male patients with OSAS was not associated with sleep apnea severity independent of obesity. The severity of nocturnal hypoxemia was associated with leptin and CRP levels independent of obesity.

BackgroundAntimicrobial resistance is one of the most challenging issues in modern medicine.MethodsWe evaluated the secular trends of the relative frequency of blood isolates and of the pattern of their in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility in our hospital during the last four and a half years.ResultsOverall, the data regarding the relative frequency of blood isolates in our newly founded hospital do not differ significantly from those of hospitals that are functioning for a much longer period of time. A noteworthy emerging problem is the increasing antimicrobial resistance of Gram-negative bacteria, mainly Acinetobacter baumannii and Klebsiella pneumoniae to various classes of antibiotics. Acinetobacter baumannii isolates showed an increase of resistance to amikacin (p = 0.019), ciprofloxacin (p = 0.001), imipenem (p < 0.001), and piperacillin/tazobactam (p = 0.01) between the first and second period of the study.ConclusionAn alarming increase of the antimicrobial resistance of Acinetobacter baumannii isolates has been noted during our study.