Search Results
Background:
On a national level, heroin-related hospital admissions have reached an all-time high. With the foot being the fourth most common injection site, heroin-related lower-extremity infections have become more prevalent owing to many factors, including drug preparation, injection practices, and unknown additives.
Methods:
We present a 16-month case series in which eight patients with lower-extremity infections secondary to heroin abuse presented to The Jewish Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Results:
Three cases of osteomyelitis were seen. All of the infections were cultured and yielded a wide array of microbes, including Staphyloccoccus, Streptococcus, Bacillus, Serratia, Prevotella, and Eikenella. All of the patients were treated with intravenous antibiotic agents, with nearly all receiving combination therapy. Seven of the eight patients underwent surgery during their hospital stay, with two undergoing amputation. Only half of the patients followed up after discharge.
Conclusions:
This case series brings to light many considerations in the diagnosis and management of the heroin user, including multivariable attenuation of immunity, existing predisposition to infection backed by unsterile drug preparation and injection practices, innocuous presentation of deep infections, microbial spectrum, and recommendations on antimicrobial intervention, noncompliance, and poor follow-up. By having greater knowledge in unique considerations of diagnosis and treatment, more efficient care can be provided to this unique patient population.
Staphylococcus pseudintermedius is an emerging zoonotic pathogen that is very similar to human Staphylococcus pathogens, particularly multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Recent reports have indicated that S pseudintermedius is easily transmitted between pets (mainly dogs) and owners because of these similarities. Although this pathogen has been associated with diabetic foot infections, it has not yet been described in the podiatric medical literature. In this case report, we present a diabetic foot infection in a 61-year-old man that was refractory to multiple rounds of antibiotic drug therapy. Deep wound cultures eventually grew S pseudintermedius, which was the first known case of this pathogen reported in our hospital system.
Foot infection is the single most common reason for hospitalization of the diabetic patient. A combination of host factors, including neuropathy, angiopathy, and immunopathy, combine to make the diabetic foot infection the most severe infection commonly seen by podiatrists. If inadequately treated, the likelihood of morbidity or mortality is high. The presence of anaerobic bacteria as a predominant type of organism makes diagnosis and antibiotic selection complicated.
Infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) leads to a chronic disarmament of the immune system. The process is progressive, having different manifestations as the status of the immune system slowly deteriorates. Some of the most common manifestations of HIV infection are cutaneous in origin, and they can have infectious, neoplastic, or noninfectious or non-neoplastic etiologies. A brief history of HIV is given, and the most common cutaneous presentations of the virus infection of interest to podiatrists are outlined.
Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence and recovery of acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients admitted to the hospital with and without diabetes mellitus (DM) with foot infections.
Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 294 patients with DM and 88 without DM admitted to the hospital with foot infections. The Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes guidelines were used to define AKI. Recovery was divided into three categories: full, partial, and no recovery within 90 days of the index AKI.
Results: The AKI incidence was 3.0 times higher in patients with DM (DM 48.5% versus no DM 23.9%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.74–5.19; P < .01). Acute kidney injury incidence was similar at each stage in people with and without DM (stage 1, DM 58.1% versus no DM 47.6%; stage 2, DM 23.3% versus no DM 33.3%, and stage 3, DM 18.6% versus no DM 19.1%). Twenty-nine patients with diabetes had a second AKI event and four had a third event. In patients without DM, one patient had a second AKI. Cumulative AKI incidence was 4.7 times higher in people with DM (DM 60.9% versus no DM 25.0%; 95% CI, 2.72–8.03; P < .01). Patients with diabetes progressed to chronic kidney disease or in chronic kidney disease stage 39.4% of the time. Patients without diabetes progressed 16.7% of the time, but this trend was not significant (P = .07). Complete recovery was 3.8 times more likely in patients without diabetes (95% CI, 1.26–11.16; P = .02).
Conclusions: Acute kidney injury incidence is higher in patients with diabetes, and complete recovery after an AKI is less likely compared to patients without diabetes.
Background: To compare pathogens involved in skin and soft-tissue infections (SSTIs) and pedal osteomyelitis (OM) in patients with and without diabetes with puncture wounds to the foot.
Methods: We evaluated 113 consecutive patients between June 1, 2011, and March 31, 2019, with foot infection (SSTIs and OM) from a puncture injury sustained to the foot. Eighty-three patients had diabetes and 30 did not. We evaluated the bacterial pathogens in patients with SSTIs and pedal OM.
Results: Polymicrobial infections were more common in patients with diabetes mellitus (83.1% versus 53.3%; P = .001). The most common pathogen for SSTIs and OM in patients with diabetes was Staphylococcus aureus (SSTIs, 50.7%; OM, 32.3%), whereas in patients without diabetes it was Pseudomonas (25%) for SSTIs. Anaerobes (9.4%) and fungal infection (3.1%) were uncommon. Pseudomonas aeruginosa was identified in only 5.8% of people with diabetes.
Conclusions: The most common bacterial pathogen in both SSTIs and pedal OM was S aureus in patients with diabetes. Pseudomonas species was the most common pathogen in people without diabetes with SSTIs.
Although significant advances have been made in the treatment of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), neither a curative therapy nor a vaccine is available. Protecting practitioners, medical staff members, and patients from infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) remains a particularly important issue. Fortunately, this virus is not readily transmitted in the health care setting. Adequate protection can be accomplished through the strict implementation of universal infection control policies in the treatment of all patients. Understanding these procedures, providing access to necessary equipment and supplies, and monitoring adherence to universal infection control measures will minimize the risk of exposure.
Background
The Tacoma–Pierce County Department of Health, the Pierce County Antibiotic Resistance Task Force, and the Washington State Department of Licensing (DOL) designed an intervention to determine whether nail salon infection control practices could be improved by educating salon employees and their customers about good infection control practices.
Methods
Twenty intervention salons and 26 control salons completed the 3-month study. The intervention group received a letter asking them to “join our campaign to promote healthy people in healthy communities … .” Two DOL pamphlets on cleaning and disinfecting and a tent card with important infection control reminders—targeted to clients on one side and to salon workers on the other side—were also included. Outreach workers from the health department visited 25 (of the original 27) intervention salons once and talked about the materials included in the mailing. Inspection infractions were used to measure compliance with infection control practices. Each salon was inspected by the DOL at baseline, within 1 month after the educational mailing, and within 1 month after an outreach visit from the local health department.
Results
Both groups exhibited statistically significant decreases in infractions; however, the intervention group exhibited a higher and more significant decrease in infractions than the control group.
Conclusions
The intervention and control groups underwent three DOL inspections, which may have resulted in a Hawthorne Effect, with both groups seeing a statistically significant decline in infractions after inspection visits. The more significant decrease in the number of infractions cited in the intervention salons may be due to the educational materials and the health education site visit they received.
Background
Diabetic foot infections (DFIs) are the most common cause of hospitalization for patients with diabetes. Studies have shown diabetic patients have high readmission rates. It is important to identify variables that contribute to readmission. This study aimed to investigate clinical variables associated with 30-day hospital readmission in patients with DFI.
Methods
We conducted a retrospective study of adults admitted to the hospital for DFI between July 1, 2012, and July 1, 2015. We identified patients by International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision codes and randomly selected 35% of medical records for review. Patients were excluded if they did not have a DFI by review, were pregnant, or were incarcerated. The primary outcome was 30-day readmission. Data collected included baseline demographics, medical comorbidities, substance abuse, homelessness, tobacco use, and laboratory and surgical pathology data. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to identify independent predictors.
Results
Of 140 included patients, 106 (76%) were male. Median age was 55 years and length of stay (LOS) was 7 days. In univariate analysis, 31 patients (22%) were readmitted in the 30 days after the index hospitalization. Factors associated with readmission included treatment failure, elevated C-reactive protein level, and hospital LOS (P < .05). In multivariate analyses, LOS and treatment failure were independent predictors of readmission.
Conclusions
The 30-day readmission rate for patients with DFI is high. Treatment failure, C-reactive protein, and LOS are independently associated with readmission. More work is needed to determine reasons for readmission so that appropriate measures can be taken before discharge.
Background:
Gout is a purine metabolism disease. Tophaceous gout may cause joint destruction and other systemic problems and sometimes may be complicated by infection. Infection and sinus with discharge associated with tophaceous gout are serious complications, and treatment is difficult. We present a patient with tophaceous gout complicated by infection and discharging sinus treated by bilateral amputation at the level of the first metatarsus.
Methods:
A 43-year-old man previously diagnosed as having gout, and noncompliant with treatment, presented with tophaceous gout associated with discharging sinus and infection on his left first metatarsophalangeal joint. Because of the discharging sinus associated with the tophaceous deposits, the soft-tissue and bony defects, and the noncompliance of the patient, amputation of the first ray was undertaken, and a local plantar fasciocutaneous flap was used to close the defect. After 8 months, the patient was admitted to the emergency department with similar symptoms in his right foot, and the same surgical procedure was performed.
Results:
One year after the second surgery, the patient had no symptoms, there was no local inflammatory reaction over the surgical areas, and laboratory test results were normal.
Conclusions:
Gout disease with small tophi often can be managed conservatively. However, in patients with extensive lesions, risk of superinfection justifies surgical treatment. Results of complicated cases are not without morbidity; therefore, early surgical treatment may prevent extremity loss and further complications. In severe cases, especially with compliance issues, amputation provides acceptable results.
