No abstract

Osteoarticular infections (OAI) remain challenging to diagnose and to treat. One of the issues concerns postoperative empirical antimicrobial therapy (EAT), which is usually a combination of broad-spectrum antibiotics.

The battle against microscopic pathogens has always baffled the scientific community. Nowadays, multidrug-resistant microorganisms lead to high in-hospital mortality, increased hospital stays, and high health-related costs. Treating infections due to these high-resistance pathogens with a low number of antibiotic molecules creates the need for new strategies. Although some already think of a "postantibiotic era" with bacteriophages as the main futuristic weapon in antibacterial armament, others rethink the usage of the already existent drugs. Dual beta-lactam therapy has been used for quite some time as an empirical therapy for some severe infections such as endocarditis or meningitis. However, studies regarding the use of a beta-lactam combination stopped being made a long time ago, and it seems the scientific community has no interest in evaluating this as a treatment option. Could this strategy be applied to treat infections due to multidrug-resistant bacteria? Could this be the answer while waiting for the "postantibiotic era"? What kind of pathogens could we fight using dual beta-lactams? What are the downsides of this strategy? These are some of the questions the authors try to answer in this review. In addition, we try to convince our peers to turn once more into researching beta-lactam combinations and exploring its potential benefits.

Background. Data on incidence, clinical presentation and outcomes of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia requiring mechanical ventilation (MV) are limited.Methods. Case series of patients with COVID-19 pneumonia admitted to a single ICU in France. All consecutive patients requiring MV with RT-PCR–confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection between March 12th and April 24th, 2020 were included. Frequency, clinical characteristics, responsible pathogens and outcomes of VAP were assessed, and compared to an historical cohort of patients with severe influenza-associated pneumonia requiring MV admitted to the same ICU during the preceding three winter seasons.Results: Among 54 consecutive patients with Covid-19–associated acute respiratory failure requiring MV included (median (IQR) age 48 (42-58) years; 74% male; 93% requiring venovenous-extracorporeal membrane oxygenation), 46 (85%) developed VAP (median (IQR) MV duration before the first episode, 11 (8-16) days). VAP-causative pathogens were predominantly Enterobacteriaceae (72%), particularly inducible AmpC-cephalosporinase producers (41%), followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (35%). VAP recurred in 46 (85%) patients and 17 (31%) died. Most recurrences were relapses (ie, infection with the same pathogen), with a high percentage occurring on adequate antimicrobial treatment. Despite a high P. aeruginosa-VAP rate in patients with influenza-associated ARDS, the pulmonary infection recurrence rate was significantly lower than in Covid-19 patients. Overall mortality was similar for the two groups.Conclusions: Patients with severe Covid-19–associated acute respiratory failure requiring MV had a very high late-onset VAP rate. Inducible AmpC-cephalosporinase–producing Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa frequently caused VAP, with multiple recurrences and difficulties eradicating the pathogen from the lung.