Purpose: Real-world experience with tocilizumab in combination with dexamethasone in patients with severe coronavirus disease (COVID-19) needs to be investigated. Materials and Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted to evaluate the effect of severity-adjusted dosing of dexamethasone in combination with tocilizumab for severe COVID-19 from August 2020 to August 2021. The primary endpoint was 30-day clinical recovery, which was defined as no oxygen requirement or referral after recovery. Results: A total of 66 patients were evaluated, including 33 patients in the dexamethasone (Dexa) group and 33 patients in the dexamethasone plus tocilizumab (DexaToci) group. The DexaToci group showed a statistically significant benefit in 30-day clinical recovery, compared to the Dexa group (p=0.024). In multivariable analyses, peak FiO2 within 3 days and tocilizumab combination were consistently significant for 30-day recovery (all p<0.05). The DexaToci group showed a significantly steeper decrease in FiO2 (-4.2±2.6) than the Dexa group (−2.7±2.6; p=0.021) by hospital day 15. The duration of oxygen requirement was significantly shorter in the DexaToci group than the Dexa group (median, 10.0 days vs. 17.0 days; p=0.006). Infectious complications and cellular and humoral immune responses against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the convalescence stage were not different between the two groups. Conclusion A combination of severity-adjusted dexamethasone and tocilizumab for the treatment of severe COVID-19 improved clinical recovery without increasing infectious complications or hindering the immune response against SARS-CoV-2.

BACKGROUND: From May to July 2015, the Republic of Korea experienced the largest outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) outside the Arabian Peninsula. A total of 186 patients, including 36 deaths, had been diagnosed with MERS-coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection as of September 30th, 2015. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We obtained information of patients who were confirmed to have MERS-CoV infection. MERS-CoV infection was diagnosed using real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction assay. RESULTS: The median age of the patients was 55 years (range, 16 to 86). A total of 55.4% of the patients had one or more coexisting medical conditions. The most common symptom was fever (95.2%). At admission, leukopenia (42.6%), thrombocytopenia (46.6%), and elevation of aspartate aminotransferase (42.7%) were observed. Pneumonia was detected in 68.3% of patients at admission and developed in 80.8% during the disease course. Antiviral agents were used for 74.7% of patients. Mechanical ventilation, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, and convalescent serum were employed for 24.5%, 7.1%, and 3.8% of patients, respectively. Older age, presence of coexisting medical conditions including diabetes or chronic lung disease, presence of dyspnea, hypotension, and leukocytosis at admission, and the use of mechanical ventilation were revealed to be independent predictors of death. CONCLUSION: The clinical features of MERS-CoV infection in the Republic of Korea were similar to those of previous outbreaks in the Middle East. However, the overall mortality rate (20.4%) was lower than that in previous reports. Enhanced surveillance and active management of patients during the outbreak may have resulted in improved outcomes.
Antiviral Agents ; Aspartate Aminotransferases ; Coronavirus Infections* ; Disease Outbreaks ; Dyspnea ; Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation ; Fever ; Humans ; Hypotension ; Leukocytosis ; Leukopenia ; Lung Diseases ; Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus ; Middle East* ; Mortality ; Pneumonia ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Republic of Korea* ; Respiration, Artificial ; Thrombocytopenia

No abstract available.
Aged ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use ; Aortic Valve/*microbiology/surgery/ultrasonography ; Cross Infection/diagnosis/*microbiology/therapy ; Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Endocarditis, Bacterial/diagnosis/*microbiology/therapy ; Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation ; Humans ; Klebsiella Infections/diagnosis/*microbiology/therapy ; Klebsiella pneumoniae/drug effects/*enzymology/pathogenicity ; Male ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Predictive Value of Tests ; Sepsis/diagnosis/*microbiology/therapy ; Treatment Outcome ; beta-Lactamases/*metabolism

Methcillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has emerged as an important cause of community-acquired infections, which has been recently designated as community-associated (CA) MRSA. Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL)-negative multilocus sequence type 72 (ST72)-staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) type IV has been reported as the predominat CA-MRSA strain in Korea and is commonly associated with skin and soft tissue infections in addition to healthcare-associated pneumonia. However, community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) for this strain has not yet been reported. We hereby report two cases of CAP caused by PVL-negative ST72-SCCmec type IV strain in patients who had no risk factors for MRSA acquisition. While CA-MRSA infections are not yet prevalent in Korea, our cases suggest that CA-MRSA should be considered in cases of severe CAP, especially for cases associated with necrotizing pneumonia.
Bacterial Toxins ; Community-Acquired Infections ; Exotoxins ; Humans ; Korea ; Leukocidins ; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus ; Pneumonia ; Risk Factors ; Skin ; Soft Tissue Infections ; Sprains and Strains ; Staphylococcus ; Staphylococcus aureus

The pneumonia severity index (PSI) and CURB-65 are widely used tools for the prediction of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). This study was conducted to evaluate validation of severity scoring system including the PSI and CURB-65 scores of Korean CAP patients. In the prospective CAP cohort (participated in by 14 hospitals in Korea from January 2009 to September 2011), 883 patients aged over 18 yr were studied. The 30-day mortalities of all patients were calculated with their PSI index classes and CURB scores. The overall mortality rate was 4.5% (40/883). The mortality rates per CURB-65 score were as follows: score 0, 2.3% (6/260); score 1, 4.0% (12/300); score 2, 6.0% (13/216); score 3, 5.7% (5/88); score 4, 23.5% (4/17); and score 5, 0% (0/2). Mortality rate with PSI risk class were as follows: I, 2.3% (4/174); II, 2.7% (5/182); III, 2.3% (5/213); IV, 4.5% (11/245); and V, 21.7% (15/69). The subgroup mortality rate of Korean CAP patients varies based on the severity scores and CURB-65 is more valid for the lower scores, and PSI, for the higher scores. Thus, these variations must be considered when using PSI and CURB-65 for CAP in Korean patients.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Cohort Studies ; Community-Acquired Infections/*mortality ; Female ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pneumonia/*mortality ; Prospective Studies ; Republic of Korea ; *Severity of Illness Index ; Young Adult

Recent changes in healthcare systems have changed the epidemiologic paradigms in many infectious fields including bloodstream infection (BSI). We compared clinical characteristics of community-acquired (CA), hospital-acquired (HA), and healthcare-associated (HCA) BSI. We performed a prospective nationwide multicenter surveillance study from 9 university hospitals in Korea. Total 1,605 blood isolates were collected from 2006 to 2007, and 1,144 isolates were considered true pathogens. HA-BSI accounted for 48.8%, CA-BSI for 33.2%, and HCA-BSI for 18.0%. HA-BSI and HCA-BSI were more likely to have severe comorbidities. Escherichia coli was the most common isolate in CA-BSI (47.1%) and HCA-BSI (27.2%). In contrast, Staphylococcus aureus (15.2%), coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (15.1%) were the common isolates in HA-BSI. The rate of appropriate empiric antimicrobial therapy was the highest in CA-BSI (89.0%) followed by HCA-BSI (76.4%), and HA-BSI (75.0%). The 30-day mortality rate was the highest in HA-BSI (23.0%) followed by HCA-BSI (18.4%), and CA-BSI (10.2%). High Pitt score and inappropriate empirical antibiotic therapy were the independent risk factors for mortality by multivariate analysis. In conclusion, the present data suggest that clinical features, outcome, and microbiologic features of causative pathogens vary by origin of BSI. Especially, HCA-BSI shows unique clinical characteristics, which should be considered a distinct category for more appropriate antibiotic treatment.
Adult ; Aged ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use ; Bacteremia/drug therapy/*epidemiology/microbiology/mortality ; Community-Acquired Infections/drug therapy/*epidemiology/microbiology/mortality ; Cross Infection/drug therapy/*epidemiology/microbiology/mortality ; Humans ; Korea/epidemiology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

BACKGROUND/AIMS: As bacterial resistance to antimicrobial agents has grown due to the increasing use of antimicrobial agents, we sought to evaluate the suitability of ceftriaxone usage (representative of third generation cephalosporins) at 10 university hospitals in Korea. METHODS: We prospectively evaluated the appropriateness of antibiotic usage in 400 adult patients who received ceftriaxone between February 1, 2006 and June 30, 2006. Drug utilization evaluation (DUE) methods were based on standards set forth by the American Society of Hospital Pharmacists. The DUE criteria used in this study were modified to be more suitable in our hospital setting: justification of drug use, critical and process indications, complications, and outcome measures. RESULTS: The average patient age was 64.4 years. The utilization of ceftriaxone was appropriate in 262 cases (65.5%) for the justification of use, while inappropriate use was observed in 138 cases (34.5%). Common reasons for inappropriate use of ceftriaxone included continued empiric use for presumed infections, prophylactic perioperative injection, and empiric therapy for fever. Most of the critical indications showed a high rate of suitability (66.5-98.5%). Complications occurred in 37 cases (9.3%). With respect to outcome measures, clinical responses were observed in 60.7% of cases, while only 15.7% of cases showed evidence of infection eradication via negative cultures. CONCLUSIONS: Appropriate use (65.5%) of ceftriaxone was higher than inappropriate use (34.5%) at university hospitals in Korea. Inappropriate utilization, however, including continued empiric use for presumed infections and prophylactic perioperative injection remained high. Intensification of educational programs and antibiotic control systems for ceftriaxone is needed to improve the suitability of antimicrobial use.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/*therapeutic use ; Ceftriaxone/adverse effects/*therapeutic use ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; *Drug Utilization Review ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome

Rhizobium species, aerobic Gram-negative rods found in soils worldwide, are well-known tumor-inducing pathogens in plants. Since 1980, when the first case of prosthetic valve endocarditis caused by Rhizobium radiobacter was reported, R. radiobacter has been recognized as an opportunistic human pathogen. In Korea, three cases of infection by this organism have been reported. Recently, we experienced a case of R. radiobacter bacteremia in a patient who underwent chemotherapy for lymphoma. Here, we report the case with a review of the literature.
Agrobacterium tumefaciens ; Bacteremia ; Endocarditis ; Humans ; Korea ; Lymphoma ; Rhizobium ; Soil

The successful treatment of community-acquired pneumonia requires appropriate, empirical antimicrobial therapy. The etiology and antimicrobial susceptibility of major pneumonia pathogens can differ by country. Therefore, the ideal treatment guidelines for community-acquired pneumonia should be based on the studies performed in each country. We developed a treatment guideline for community-acquired pneumonia for immunocompetent adults in Korea. This guideline was developed by the joint committee of the Korean Society for Chemotherapy, the Korean Society of Infectious Diseases, and the Korean Academy of Tuberculosis and Respiratory diseases.
Adult ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Communicable Diseases ; Humans ; Joints ; Korea ; Pneumonia ; Tuberculosis

A successful therapy of community-acquired pneumonia requires appropriate empirical antimicrobial therapy. Etiology and antimicrobial susceptibility of major pathogens of pneumonia can differ by country. Therefore, an ideal treatment guideline of community-acquired pneumonia should be based on the studies performed in each country. We developed a treatment guideline for community-acquired pneumonia in immunocompetent adults in Korea. This guideline was developed by the joint committee of the Korean Society for Chemotherapy, the Korean Society of Infectious Diseases, and the Korean Academy of Tuberculosis and Respiratory diseases.
Adult ; Communicable Diseases ; Community-Acquired Infections ; Humans ; Joints ; Korea ; Pneumonia ; Tuberculosis