BackgroundNext-generation sequencing (NGS) can detect many more microorganisms of a microbiome than traditional methods. This study aimed to analyze the vaginal microbiomes of Korean women by using NGS that included bacteria and other microorganisms. The NGS results were compared with the results of other assays, and NGS was evaluated for its feasibility for predicting vaginitis.MethodsIn total, 89 vaginal swab specimens were collected. Microscopic examinations of Gram staining and microbiological cultures were conducted on 67 specimens. NGS was performed with GS junior system on all of the vaginal specimens for the 16S rRNA, internal transcribed spacer (ITS), and Tvk genes to detect bacteria, fungi, and Trichomonas vaginalis. In addition, DNA probe assays of the Candida spp., Gardnerella vaginalis, and Trichomonas vaginalis were performed. Various predictors of diversity that were obtained from the NGS data were analyzed to predict vaginitis.ResultsITS sequences were obtained in most of the specimens (56.2%). The compositions of the intermediate and vaginitis Nugent score groups were similar to each other but differed from the composition of the normal score group. The fraction of the Lactobacillus spp. showed the highest area under the curve value (0.8559) in ROC curve analysis. The NGS and DNA probe assay results showed good agreement (range, 86.2-89.7%).ConclusionsFungi as well as bacteria should be considered for the investigation of vaginal microbiome. The intermediate and vaginitis Nugent score groups were indistinguishable in NGS. NGS is a promising diagnostic tool of the vaginal microbiome and vaginitis, although some problems need to be resolved.

We compared the activities of tedizolid to those of linezolid and other commonly used antimicrobial agents against gram-positive cocci recovered from patients with skin and skin structure infections (SSSIs) and hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) in Korean hospitals. Gram-positive isolates were collected from 356 patients with SSSIs and 144 patients with HAP at eight hospitals in Korea from 2011 to 2014. SSSIs included impetigo, cellulitis, erysipelas, furuncles, abscesses, and infected burns. Antimicrobial susceptibility was tested by using the CLSI agar dilution method. All of the gram-positive isolates were inhibited by ≤1 µg/mL tedizolid. The minimum inhibitory concentration [MIC]90 of tedizolid was 0.5 µg/mL for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, which was 4-fold lower than that of linezolid. Tedizolid may become a useful option for the treatment of SSSIs and HAP caused by gram-positive bacteria.

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While pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) is recognized as the gold standard method for clonality analysis, MALDI-TOF MS has recently been spotlighted as an alternative tool for species identification. Herein, we compared the dendrograms of multi-drug-resistant (MDR) Acinetobacter baumannii isolates by using MALDI-TOF MS with those by using PFGE. We used direct colony and protein extraction methods for MALDI-TOF MS dendrograms. The isolates with identical PFGE patterns were grouped into different branches in MALDI-TOF MS dendrograms. Among the isolates that were classified as very close isolates in MALDI-TOF MS dendrogram, PFGE band patterns visually showed complete differences. We numeralized similarity among isolates by measuring distance levels. The Spearman rank correlation coefficient values were 0.449 and 0.297 between MALDI-TOF MS dendrogram using direct colony and protein extraction method versus PFGE, respectively. This study is the first paper focusing solely on the dendrogram function of MALDI-TOF MS compared with PFGE. Although MALDI-TOF MS is a promising tool to identify species in a rapid manner, our results showed that MALDI-TOF MS dendrograms could not substitute PFGE for MDR Acinetobacter baumannii clonality analysis.