Croup is a common upper airway infection characterized by a barking cough, stridor, and hoarseness. It is usually caused by viral infection. A small number of croup caused by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been reported in children before the omicron variant surge. Previously reported cases indicated that croup caused by COVID-19 can be treated in the same manner as those with other viral causes. We describe two cases (9-monthold girl and 11-month-old boy) of previously healthy infants who presented with a barking cough and chest retraction and required endotracheal intubation and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Despite receiving dexamethasone and nebulized racemic epinephrine (NRE) treatment for croup in the emergency department, these patients still developed acute respiratory failure. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) of nasopharyngeal samples revealed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV-2) omicron BA.2 variant (Stealth omicron) and no other common respiratory viral pathogens. Both patients were treated with mechanical ventilation, dexamethasone, and NRE in the pediatric intensive care unit. The duration of intubation was 112 hours and 80 hours, respectively. Both patients were discharged without complications. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of life-threatening croup produced by the omicron BA.2 variant and confirmed by RT-PCR. We suggest that this SARS-CoV-2 variant may cause severe croup that may not improve with conventional treatment, even in children without underlying diseases.

Lactococcus lactis is a gram-positive cocci used extensively in the dairy industry, but considered an unusual pathogen in humans. Among its five subspecies, L. lactis subsp. lactis in particular has rarely been reported as a pathogen. We report a case of septic shock caused by L. lactis subsp. lactis in an adult patient. A 64-yr-old male patient was admitted to outpatient clinics, with chief complaints of fever and chills for one week after convalescent hospital admission. He had severe ileus requiring surgery. He had a peripherally inserted central catheter from convalescent hospital, which was immediately removed. From two sets of blood and catheter tip cultures, we identified L. lactis subsp. lactis using the Vitek 2 system (bioMerieux Inc., USA), and confirmed this result by 16S rRNA sequencing. The patient was empirically treated with ciprofloxacin, and he recovered and was discharged.
Adult* ; Ambulatory Care Facilities ; Catheter-Related Infections* ; Catheters ; Chills ; Ciprofloxacin ; Fever ; Gram-Positive Cocci ; Hospitals, Convalescent ; Humans ; Ileus ; Lactococcus lactis* ; Lactococcus* ; Male ; Shock, Septic*

Eggerthella lenta is rarely isolated from blood but may occur as an opportunistic pathogen with high morbidity and mortality. We report a case of E. lenta bacteremia after an endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography in an end-stage renal disease patient.
Bacteremia* ; Cholangiopancreatography, Endoscopic Retrograde* ; Humans ; Kidney Failure, Chronic* ; Mortality

No abstract available.
Aged, 80 and over ; Base Sequence ; Bone Marrow/pathology ; DNA/chemistry/metabolism ; Female ; Fusion Proteins, bcr-abl/*genetics ; Humans ; Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive/diagnosis/*genetics ; Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Protein Isoforms/genetics ; Sequence Analysis, DNA

An ABO-incompatible transfusion is a very rare event but it can cause severe adverse effects, including death. The prognosis is affected by various factors, such as the volume of infusion, underlying diseases, and immunologic state. Until now, however, there has been no consensus regarding the treatment of an ABO-incompatible transfusion except for conservative treatment. A 57 year-old male patient visited the authors' emergency unit with multiple trauma due to a car accident. He had a deep laceration on his left neck accompanied by severe bleeding. Because of his low blood pressure and low hemoglobin level due to bleeding, an emergency transfusion was attempted. Unfortunately, one unit of RBC was transfused incorrectly into the patient due to a clerical error during the identification of the patient. The patient was typed as O, RhD positive; the RBC administered was A, RhD positive. After the transfusion, the patient showed an acute hemolytic transfusion reaction due to gross hematuria. Plasma exchange was attempted and medical treatment with high dose steroid with diuretics was done simultaneously. Two cycles of plasma exchange were done and the patient appeared to recover from the acute adverse effects of the transfusion. The plasma exchange was stopped and medical treatments for the transfusion reactions were maintained for ten days. The patient recovered fully and was discharged after one month. Based on this case, although more studies are necessary for approval as a standard therapy, this case suggests that immediate plasma exchange with medical treatment can be very helpful for eliminating the isoagglutinins in ABO-incompatible transfusions.
Clergy ; Consensus ; Diuretics ; Emergencies ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Hematuria ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Hypotension ; Lacerations ; Male ; Multiple Trauma ; Neck ; Plasma Exchange* ; Plasma* ; Prognosis ; Transfusion Reaction*

BACKGROUND: Clinical microbiological tests are conducted at night, on weekends, and during public holidays in various manners due to the fact that both manual processes and the form of working type, are not well known. Therefore, we surveyed the current running condition of these laboratories and made some suggestions for better-quality clinical microbiology tests. METHODS: We conducted a survey, both online and offline, focusing on the operating styles of clinical microbiological tests within laboratories that had participated in an external quality assessment program, conducted by the Korean Association of External Quality Assessment Service (KEQAS). RESULTS: Out of 341 laboratories that participated in the microbiology program of KEQAS, 128 replied to our questionnaires. In Korea, various types of operations occur within clinical microbiology laboratories. Those in night duty operate in either shifts or dedicated duties. In the case of weekend shifts, they either operated on single-day schedules (either on a Saturday or a Sunday), or over the entire weekend. For public holidays, the laboratories operated in various manners, depending on the number of days off. Among the clinical microbiological tests conducted at night, on weekends, and during public holidays, Gram staining and inoculations are the most common tasks carried out, with some laboratories conducting antibiotic susceptibility tests as well. CONCLUSIONS: Rapid reporting of clinical microbiological test results is currently inadequate due to both cost and labor constraints, despite its many advantages. It would be ultimately beneficial for both the patient and the hospital to switch to a 24/7 operating schedule through the utilization of a variety of methods, including cost control, coordination of a fine workforce, and prioritization of tests needing to be reported.
Appointments and Schedules ; Consensus ; Cost Control ; Holidays ; Humans ; Korea ; Running

No abstract available.
Adult* ; Fungemia* ; Humans ; Malassezia*

Background: Reports on metastatic or invasive infections by hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae (hvKP) have increased recently. However, the effects of its virulence on clinical course and outcomes in pneumonia patients have rarely been addressed. We assessed and compared the clinical features of hvKp and classic K. pneumoniae (cKP) strains isolated from patients with pneumonia caused by K. pneumoniae. We also investigated the effects of virulence factors and the K. pneumoniae capsular serotypes K1 and K2 on mortality. Methods: In this retrospective study, we enrolled 91 patients diagnosed as having pneumonia caused by K. pneumoniae and obtained their demographic and clinical data from medical records. We evaluated genes for K1 and K2, antimicrobial susceptibility, and the virulence genes rmpA, iutA, entB, ybtS, kfu, mrkD, and allS. Strains that possessed rmpA and iutA were defined as hvKP (N=39), while the remaining were classified as cKP (N=52).Odds ratio (OR) for the risk factors associated with 30-day mortality was calculated using the binary logistic regression model. Results: The 30-day mortality in all patients was 23.1%; it was 17.9% (7/39) in the hvKP group and 26.9% (14/52) in the cKP group (P = 0.315). Bacteremia (OR = 38.1; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.5–570.2), altered mental status (OR = 8.8; 95% CI, 1.7–45.0), and respiratory rate > 30 breaths/min (OR = 4.8; 95% CI, 1.2–20.0) were independent risk factors for 30-day mortality in all patients. Conclusions Our results suggest that hypervirulence determinants do not have a significant effect on 30-day mortality in patients with pneumonia caused by K. pneumoniae.