Garrigos, Zerelda Esquer

AbstractSpinal cord stimulation (SCS) is the most utilized invasive electrical neuromodulation treatment for the management of refractory chronic pain syndromes. Infection is one of the most dreaded complications related to SCS implantation and may prevent patients from receiving adequate pain treatment, adding to the initial cost and disability. Most SCS infections present as generator pocket infection. However, delay in diagnosis may lead to complications such as meningitis, epidural abscess, and/or vertebral osteomyelitis. Early recognition of SCS-related infections and associated complications is based on clinical suspicion, laboratory testing, and appropriate diagnostic imaging. While superficial surgical site infection following SCS implant may be treated with antibiotic therapy alone, deep infection involving implant warrants device removal to achieve cure. Duration of antimicrobial therapy depends on severity of clinical presentation and presence or absence of associated complications. Several preventive strategies can be incorporated in surgical practice to reduce the risk of SCS infection.

A 62-year-old man with essential hypertension and right L4-L5 hemilaminectomy was referred to rheumatology for evaluation of severe arthralgia and myalgia for 12 months. Review of symptoms was significant for night sweats and 20 pounds unintentional weight loss. Physical examination was significant for holosystolic murmur best heard at the cardiac apex of unclear chronicity. Laboratory investigations revealed elevated inflammatory markers, white blood cell count and B-type natriuretic peptide. Transoesophageal echocardiogram showed flail posterior mitral leaflet with severe mitral regurgitation and two vegetations (2.5×1 cm and 1.6×0.3 cm). Abdominal CT showed new focal splenic infarcts, and a brain MRI revealed subacute infarcts, consistent with the embolic phenomenon. Blood cultures grew Granulicatella elegans. The patient underwent mitral valve replacement surgery followed by 6 weeks of parenteral therapy with vancomycin and gentamicin, with full recovery at a 3-month follow-up.

Abstract

Abstract Background Sonicate fluid (SF), a solution derived from vortexing and sonication of explanted cardiovascular implantable electronic devices (CIEDs), is a higher-yield specimen compared with swabs or tissues for culture-based detection of microorganisms associated with CIED infection. Despite this, SF culture fails to identify a causative organism in ~50% of cases. We aimed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of 16S ribosomal RNA gene (rRNA) polymerase chain reaction (PCR)/sequencing of SF and compare it with that of SF culture. Methods We identified 322 SF specimens from extracted CIEDs and reviewed clinical data for each patient. Subjects were classified as having or not having CIED infection. Cases were subcategorized as culture negative if no significant growth was reported from SF cultures and as culture positive if an organism was detected above predefined thresholds. 16S rRNA PCR/sequencing was performed, with the organisms identified reported according to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines for sequence data interpretation. Results A total of 278 SF samples corresponded to infected cases, of which 160 were culture positive and 118 culture negative. The remaining 44 were from noninfected cases, of which 2 were culture positive. Compared with SF culture, the sensitivity of 16S rRNA PCR/sequencing was higher (64% vs 57.5%, P = .003). 16S rRNA PCR/sequencing detected a potential pathogen in 28 of 118 culture-negative cases, identifying staphylococci in the majority (18/28). Conclusions 16S rRNA PCR/sequencing has higher sensitivity to detect bacteria in SF from extracted CIEDs than does SF culture.

Abstract Background Patients dismissed from the hospital on oral or intravenous antibiotics frequently need follow-up appointments with the Division of Infectious Diseases (ID). Follow-up appointments may be inappropriately scheduled with respect to timing and indication. Suboptimal transitions of care may lead to increased no-shows and ultimately poor patient outcomes. Methods The baseline sample included 102 patients seen by the inpatient ID services at Mayo Clinic’s Rochester Methodist and Saint Mary’s Hospitals between January 1, 2017 and June 30, 2017. Defects in transitions of care were categorized as those pertaining to sign-off templates, sign-off labels, follow-up priority, and timing. The current transfer of care system from our institution is outlined in Figure 1. Results Out of 102 patients, 75 (74%) had at least one defect identified. Root cause analysis revealed multiple factors contributing to this performance gap (Figure 2). Patients often have variable health literacy and social or financial difficulties. There are often multiple ID providers with inadequate time to properly orchestrate follow-up. There are undefined checkpoints and triaging in the department’s scheduling policies. Interventions involved reformatting the ID sign-off template and clarifying the roles of providers in the transitions-of-care process. Analysis after 6 months of implementation revealed improvement of communication among teams, decline in improper sign off by 13% and decrease in antibiotic prescription errors by 2%. Conclusion This study demonstrates that well-designed sign-off templates can help with effective communication of the final treatment plan among providers and possibly improve patient outcomes. The target goal is to reduce the number of improper sign-offs by 50% within 1 year. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.