NCT00890708.

Limited data on the clinical outcome of vancomycin treatment compared with that of beta-lactam treatment in patients with methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (MSSA-B) are available. We used different and complementary approaches: (i) a retrospective cohort study using a propensity score to adjust for confounding by treatment assignment and (ii) a matched case-control study. Of all patients with S. aureus bacteremia (SAB) in two university-affiliated hospitals over a 7-year period, 294 patients with MSSA-B were enrolled in the cohort study. The cases for the case-control study were defined as patients who received vancomycin treatment for MSSA-B; the controls, who were patients that received beta-lactam treatment for MSSA-B, were selected at a 1:2 (case:control) ratio according to the objective matching scoring system and the propensity score system. In the cohort study, SAB-related mortality in patients with vancomycin treatment (37%, 10/27) was significantly higher than that in those with beta-lactam treatment (18%, 47/267) (P ‫؍‬ 0.02). In addition, multivariate analysis revealed that vancomycin treatment was associated with SAB-related mortality when independent predictors for SAB-related mortality and propensity score were considered (adjusted odds ratio of 3.3, 95% confidence interval of 1.2 to 9.5). In the case-control study using the objective matching scoring system and the propensity score system, SAB-related mortality in case patients was 37% (10/27) and in control patients 11% (6/54) (P < 0.01). Our data suggest that vancomycin is inferior to beta-lactam in the treatment of MSSA-B.

BackgroundSevere fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is an emerging infectious disease that was recently identified in China, South Korea and Japan. The objective of the study was to evaluate the epidemiologic and clinical characteristics of SFTS in South Korea.Methods/Principal FindingsSFTS is a reportable disease in South Korea. We included all SFTS cases reported to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) from January 2013 to December 2015. Clinical information was gathered by reviewing medical records, and epidemiologic characteristics were analyzed using both KCDC surveillance data and patient medical records. Risk factors for mortality in patients with SFTS were assessed. A total of 172 SFTS cases were reported during the study period. SFTS occurred throughout the country, except in urban areas. Hilly areas in the eastern and southeastern regions and Jeju island (incidence, 1.26 cases /105 person-years) were the main endemic areas. The yearly incidence increased from 36 cases in 2013 to 81 cases in 2015. Most cases occurred from May to October. The overall case fatality ratio was 32.6%. The clinical progression was similar to the 3 phases reported in China: fever, multi-organ dysfunction, and convalescence. Confusion, elevated C-reactive protein, and prolonged activated partial thromboplastin times were associated with mortality in patients with SFTS. Two outbreaks of nosocomial SFTS transmission were observed.ConclusionsSFTS is an endemic disease in South Korea, with a nationwide distribution and a high case-fatality ratio. Confusion, elevated levels of C-reactive protein, and prolonged activated partial thromboplastin times were associated with mortality in patients with SFTS.

Waning humoral immunity in coronavirus disease patients has raised concern over usefulness of serologic testing. We investigated antibody responses of 58 persons 8 months after asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. For 3 of 4 immunoassays used, seropositivity rates were high (69.0%–91.4%).

We report a patient with human granulocytic anaplasmosis in South Korea. The patient had fever and thrombocytopenia. Human granulocytic anaplasmosis was confirmed by seroconversion, PCR, and sequence analysis for Anaplasma phagocytophilum. Morulae were observed in the cultured HL-60 cells inoculated with blood from the patient.