Population-based surveillance for childhood invasive pneumococcal disease in the era of conjugate vaccine

BACKGROUND: Heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine was licensed in the United States in February 2000 and, following national guidelines, universally distributed in Massachusetts starting in July 2000 to children younger than 2 years of age and selected children 2-5 years of age. We performed statewide surveillance for all cases of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in children younger than 18 years of age to determine risk features and contribution of vaccine failure to ongoing pneumococcal invasive disease. METHODS: Massachusetts pediatric IPD cases were identified via enhanced passive surveillance of microbiology laboratory reports of pneumococcal isolates from sterile body sites of children younger than 18 years for 2 years starting in October 2001. Serotyping was performed on isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae from normally sterile body fluid. Case demographic and clinical data (including dates of prior doses of PCV7) were collected via follow-up telephone interviews with case primary care providers and/or parents. RESULTS: Between October 1, 2001 and September 30, 2003, 191 cases of IPD were identified statewide (138 in children younger than 5 years). Annual incidence rate for IPD was 17.4 per 100,000 children younger than 5 years, representing a decline of 69% when compared with annual incidence rate of 56.9 per 100,000 from Massachusetts statewide active surveillance performed 1990-1991. In 2001-2003, 30% of cases occurred in the first year of life (36.5 per 100,000), representing a 7.8-fold increased risk compared with children older than 1 year of age. Race-specific annual incidence rates in blacks and Hispanics were 2.3-fold (95% confidence interval, 1.21-4.42) and 1.9-fold (95% confidence interval, 1.06-3.37), greater than in whites. Fifty-nine cases were reported to have underlying comorbid conditions. Serotyping was available for 136 of 191 (71%) cases younger than 18 years; of isolates available for serotyping, 40 (29%) were vaccine serotype (ST), 31 (23%) vaccine-related ST and 65 (48%) nonvaccine ST. Seven of 40 cases with IPD caused by vaccine ST received at least 3 doses of PCV7 vaccine before IPD. CONCLUSIONS: Universal administration of PCV7 to children younger than 2 years of age and selective administration to children 2-5 years of age has resulted in a significant decline in IPD in Massachusetts. Children younger than 1 year of age, African American and Hispanic children and those with recognized comorbid illnesses (malignancy, human immunodeficiency virus, immune deficiency, nephrotic syndrome, etc.) continue to remain at risk for IPD. These risk features should be considered when evaluating febrile infants and children.     

Strategies to control massive abdominal bleeding

Abdominal trauma is divided into blunt and penetrating causes. Massive intraabdominal hemorrhage after injury represents the most dangerous precipitating factor that can affect survival if not promptly managed. The first target to achieve management of bleeding patients is control of the source, and then adequate resuscitation and optimization of hemostasis. New procoagulant drugs as recombinant activated factor VII (rFVIIa) seem to play an interesting role in bleeding control after trauma. Our experience with rFVIIa in six patients who were refractory to standard treatments demonstrated a good survival rate after massive abdominal bleeding. Regardless of new drugs and new technologies, a multidisciplinary approach is the cornerstone of the primary care of the these patients.     

Posttraumatic massive bleeding: a challenging multidisciplinary task

Massive bleeding is a key issue in the treatment of trauma and surgery. It does in fact account for more than 50% of all trauma-related deaths within the first 48 h following hospital admission, and it can significantly raise the mortality rate of any kind of surgery. Despite this great clinical relevance, evidence on the management of massive bleeding is surprisingly scarce, and its treatment is often based on empirical grounds. Successful treatment of massive haemorrhage depends on better understanding of the associated physiological changes as well as on good team work between the different specialists involved in the management of such a complex condition. The aim of this article is to provide an overview of the pathophysiology as well as of current treatment options of such a condition, including the new concept of “damage control resuscitation”, which integrates permissive hypotension, haemostatic resuscitation and damage control surgery.     

Alternative medicine in atrial fibrillation treatment—Yoga,acupuncture, biofeedback and more

The last decade has seen a significant improvement in the management of atrial fibrillation (AF) with the development of newer medications and improvement in catheter ablation techniques. Recurrence of AF remains a significant problem in these patients and medications offer limited supportive role. Complementary and alternative treatment strategies therefore remain a viable option for these AF patients. Several studies have shown improvement in AF symptoms with yoga therapy, acupuncture and biofeedback. There are also several herbal medicine and supplements such as omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidant vitamins, barberry, motherwort, cinchona, Shensongyangxin, hawthorn, Kella and Wenxin Keli that have been evaluated as potential therapeutic options in AF. These studies are however limited by small sample sizes with mixed results. Besides the pharmacological action, metabolism, interactions with other medications and the adverse effects of the herbal medications and supplements remain poorly understood. In spite of the above limitations, complementary therapies remain a promising option in the management of AF and further studies are necessary to validate their safety and efficacy.     

Postprocedural neuropathy after atrial fibrillation ablation

Purpose

Access-related neuropathy after atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation is underappreciated. We intend to describe the incidence, management, and prognosis of postprocedural neuropathy after AF ablation.

Methods

We performed a retrospective analysis of all consecutive patients with postprocedural neuropathy who underwent AF ablation in three high-volume tertiary care hospitals between January 2007 and April 2011.

Results

Of the 3,128 patients who underwent AF ablation during the study period, 25 (0.8 %) patients had postprocedural neuropathy and were included in the current study. Mean age was 58.5?±?11.5 years with 18 (72 %) being males and 14 (56 %) having paroxysmal AF. Ulnar nerve, lateral femoral cutaneous nerve manifesting as meralgia paresthetica, and femoral nerve were involved in 5 (20 %), 13 (54 %), and 7 (26 %) of the patients, respectively. Majority of neuropathies were associated with periprocedural hematomas (19, 76 %), and a quarter (19/72, 26 %) of all hematomas were associated with neuropathy. Initial treatment included warm and cold compresses followed by nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory and narcotic pain medications. In addition to the above regimen, in some patients (11, 44 %), oral gabapentin was used and it was associated with a shorter time to symptom resolution (9.4 vs. 14.1 days, p?=?0.007). All patients were symptom free within 90 days of the procedure.

Conclusion

Postprocedural neuropathy after AF ablation is rare and is frequently associated with a periprocedural hematoma. Patients typically become symptom free within 90 days of the procedure, and gabapentin may have a role in earlier symptom resolution.     

Laboratory surveillance for prevention and control of foodborne zoonoses

Foodborne infections are an important Public Health concern worldwide. Most of the pathogens that play a role in foodborne diseases have a zoonotic origin. The epidemiology of foodborne infections as well as the food production and distribution chains, have remarkably changed during the past ten years. Understanding of how pathogens arrive, persist in animal reservoir or enter the food chain is a crucial step in prevention strategies. These need to be aimed to measure the overall impact of the infections,to identify trends in incidence and to recognise rapidly outbreaks also at transnational level. Enter-Net is an example of an international laboratory based surveillance network which contribute largely to European foodborne zoonosis surveillance.