Browsing by Author "Rios, Rafael"
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Item A prospective cohort multicenter study of molecular epidemiology and phylogenomics of Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia in nine Latin American countries(2017) Arias, Cesar A; Reyes, Jinnethe; Carvajal, Lina; Rincon, Sandra; Diaz, Lorena; Panesso, Diana; Ibarra, Gabriel; Rios, Rafael; Munita, José; Salles, Mauro J; Alvarez-Moreno, Carlos; Labarca, Jaime; Garcia, Coralith; Luna, Carlos M; Mejia-Villatoro, Carlos; Zurita, Jeanette; Guzman-Blanco, Manuel; Rodriguez-Noriega, Eduardo; Narechania, Apurva; Rojas, Laura J; Planet, Paul J; Weinstock, George M; Gotuzzo, Eduardo; Seasg, CarlosStaphylococcus aureus is an important pathogen causing a spectrum of diseases ranging from mild skin and soft tissue infections to life-threatening conditions. Bloodstream infections are particularly important, and the treatment approach is complicated by the presence of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) isolates. The emergence of new genetic lineages of MRSA has occurred in Latin America (LA) with the rise and dissemination of the community-associated USA300 Latin American variant (USA300-LV). Here, we prospectively characterized bloodstream MRSA recovered from selected hospitals in 9 Latin American countries. All isolates were typed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and subjected to antibiotic susceptibility testing. Whole-genome sequencing was performed on 96 MRSA representatives. MRSA represented 45% of all (1,185 S. aureus) isolates. The majority of MRSA isolates belonged to clonal cluster (CC) 5. In Colombia and Ecuador, most isolates (72%) belonged to the USA300-LV lineage (CC8). Phylogenetic reconstructions indicated that MRSA isolates from participating hospitals belonged to three major clades. Clade A grouped isolates with sequence type 5 (ST5), ST105, and ST1011 (mostly staphylococcal chromosomal cassette mec [SCCmec] I and II). Clade B included ST8, ST88, ST97, and ST72 strains (SCCmec IV, subtypes a, b, and c/E), and clade C grouped mostly Argentinian MRSA belonging to ST30. In summary, CC5 MRSA was prevalent in bloodstream infections in LA with the exception of Colombia and Ecuador, where USA300-LV is now the dominant lineage. Clonal replacement appears to be a common phenomenon, and continuous surveillance is crucial to identify changes in the molecular epidemiology of MRSA.Item Ceftaroline-resistant, daptomycin-tolerant, and heterogeneous vancomycin-intermediate methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus causing infective endocarditis(American Society for Microbiology, 2017) Nigo, Masayuki; Diaz, Lorena; Carvajal, Lina P.; Tran, Truc T.; Rios, Rafael; Panesso, Diana; Garavito, Juan D; Miller, William; Wagner, AudreyWe report a case of infective endocarditis (IE) caused by ceftaroline-resistant, daptomycin-tolerant, and heterogeneous vancomycin-intermediate methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). Resistance to ceftaroline emerged in the absence of drug exposure, and the E447K substitution in the active site of PBP2a previously associated with ceftaroline resistance was identified. Additionally, we present evidence of patient-to-patient transmission of the strain within the same unit. This case illustrates the difficulties in treating MRSA IE in the setting of a multidrug-resistant phenotype.Publication Clinical characteristics, microbiology and outcomes of a cohort of patients treated with ceftolozane/tazobactam in acute care inpatient facilities, Houston, Texas, USA(2023) Tran, Truc; Cabrera, Nicolo; Gonzales, Anne; Carlson, Travis; Alnezary, Faris; Miller, William; Sakurai, Aki; Dinh, An; Rydell, Kirsten; Rios, Rafael; Diaz, Lorena; Hanson, Blake; Munita, Jose M.; Pedroza, Claudia; Shelburne, Samuel; Aitken, Samuel; Garey, Kevin; Dillon, Ryan; Puzniak, Laura; Arias, CesarBackground: Ceftolozane/tazobactam is a β-lactam/β-lactamase inhibitor combination with activity against a variety of Gram-negative bacteria, including MDR Pseudomonas aeruginosa. This agent is approved for hospital-acquired and ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia. However, most real-world outcome data come from small observational cohorts. Thus, we sought to evaluate the utilization of ceftolozane/tazobactam at multiple tertiary hospitals in Houston, TX, USA. Methods: We conducted a multicentre retrospective study of patients receiving at least 48 h of ceftolozane/tazobactam therapy from January 2016 through to September 2019 at two hospital systems in Houston. Demographic, clinical and microbiological data were collected, including the infecting bacterial isolate, when available. The primary outcome was composite clinical success at hospital discharge. Secondary outcomes included in-hospital mortality and clinical disposition at 14 and 30 days post ceftolozane/tazobactam initiation. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify predictors of the primary outcome and mortality. Recovered isolates were tested for susceptibility to ceftolozane/tazobactam and underwent WGS. Results: A total of 263 patients were enrolled, and composite clinical success was achieved in 185 patients (70.3%). Severity of illness was the most consistent predictor of clinical success. Combination therapy with ceftolozane/tazobactam and another Gram-negative-active agent was associated with reduced odds of clinical success (OR 0.32, 95% CI 0.16-0.63). Resistance to ceftolozane/tazobactam was noted in 15.4% of isolates available for WGS; mutations in ampC and ftsI were common but did not cluster with a particular ST. Conclusions: Clinical success rate among this patient cohort treated with ceftolozane/tazobactam was similar compared with previous experiences. Ceftolozane/tazobactam remains an alternative agent for treatment of susceptible isolates of P. aeruginosa.Item Contemporary Clinical and Molecular Epidemiology of Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcal Bacteremia: A Prospective Multicenter Cohort Study (VENOUS I)(2021) Contreras, Germán; Munita, José; Simar, Shelby; Luterbach, Courtney; Dinh, An Q.; Rydell, Kirsten; Sahasrabhojane, Pranoti; Rios, Rafael; Díaz, Lorena; Reyes, Katherine; Zervos, Marcus; Misikir, Helina; Sánchez, Gabriela; Liu, Catherine; Doi, Yohei; Abbo, Lilian; Shimose, Luis; Seifert, Harald; Gudiol, Carlota; Barberis, Fernanda; Pedroza, Claudia; Aitken, Samuel; Shelburne, Samuel; Duin, David; Tran, Truc; Hanson, Blake; Arias, CesarBackground: Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) are major therapeutic challenges. Prospective contemporary data characterizing the clinical and molecular epidemiology of VRE bloodstream infections (BSIs) are lacking. Methods: The Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcal BSI Outcomes Study (VENOUS I) is a prospective observational cohort of adult patients with enterococcal BSI in 11 US hospitals. We included patients with Enterococcus faecalis or Enterococcus faecium BSI with ≥1 follow-up blood culture(s) within 7 days and availability of isolate(s) for further characterization. The primary study outcome was in-hospital mortality. Secondary outcomes were mortality at days 4, 7, 10, 12, and 15 after index blood culture. A desirability of outcome ranking was constructed to assess the association of vancomycin resistance with outcomes. All index isolates were subjected to whole genome sequencing. Results: Forty-two of 232 (18%) patients died in hospital and 39 (17%) exhibited microbiological failure (lack of clearance in the first 4 days). Neutropenia (hazard ratio [HR], 3.13), microbiological failure (HR, 2.4), VRE BSI (HR, 2.13), use of urinary catheter (HR, 1.85), and Pitt BSI score ≥2 (HR, 1.83) were significant predictors of in-hospital mortality. Microbiological failure was the strongest predictor of in-hospital mortality in patients with E faecium bacteremia (HR, 5.03). The impact of vancomycin resistance on mortality in our cohort changed throughout the course of hospitalization. Enterococcus faecalis sequence type 6 was a predominant multidrug-resistant lineage, whereas a heterogeneous genomic population of E faecium was identified. Conclusions: Failure of early eradication of VRE from the bloodstream is a major factor associated with poor outcomes.Item Detection of heterogeneous vancomycin intermediate resistance in MRSA isolates from Latin America(2020-06) Castro, Betsy E.; Berrio, Maritza; Vargas, Mónica L.; Carvajal, Lina P.; Millan, Lina V.; Rios, Rafael; Hernández, Angie K.; Rincon, Sandra; Cubides, Paola; Forero, Erika; Dinh, An; Seas, Carlos; Munita, José; Arias, Cesar A.; Reyes, Jinnethe; Díaz, LorenaBackground: Vancomycin is a common first-line option for MRSA infections. The heterogeneous vancomycin-intermediate Staphylococcus aureus (hVISA) phenotype is associated with therapeutic failure. However, hVISAisolates are usually reported as vancomycin susceptible by routine susceptibility testing procedures. Objectives: To detect and characterize the hVISA phenotype in MRSA isolates causing infections in nine LatinAmerican countries. Methods: We evaluated a total of 1189 vancomycin-susceptible MRSA isolates recovered during 2006–08 and2011–14. After an initial screening of hVISA using glycopeptide-supplemented agar strategies, the detection ofhVISA was performed by Etest (GRD) and Macro-method (MET). Isolates deemed to be hVISA were subjectedto population analysis profile/AUC (PAP/AUC) and WGS for further characterization. Finally, we interrogatedalterations in predicted proteins associated with the development of the VISA phenotype in both hVISA andvancomycin-susceptible S. aureus (VSSA) genomes. Results: A total of 39 MRSA isolates (3.3%) were classified as hVISA (1.4% and 5.6% in MRSA recovered from2006–08 and 2011–14, respectively). Most of the hVISA strains (95%) belonged to clonal complex (CC) 5. Only6/39 hVISA isolates were categorized as hVISA by PAP/AUC, with 6 other isolates close (0.87–0.89) to the cut-off(0.9). The majority of the 39 hVISA isolates exhibited the Leu-14!Ile (90%) and VraT Glu-156!Gly (90%) aminoacid substitutions in WalK. Additionally, we identified 10 substitutions present only in hVISA isolates, involvingWalK, VraS, RpoB and RpoC proteins. Conclusions: The hVISA phenotype exhibits low frequency in Latin America. Aminoacid substitutions in proteinsinvolved in cell envelope homeostasis and RNA synthesis were commonly identified. Our results suggest thatEtest-based methods are an important alternative for the detection of hVISA clinical isolatesItem Genomic Epidemiology of Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREfm) in Latin America: Revisiting The Global VRE Population Structure(2020) Rios, Rafael; Reyes, Jinnethe; Carvajal, Lina P.; Rincon, Sandra; Panesso, Diana; Echeverri, Aura M.; Dinh, An; Kolokotronis, Sergios-Orestis; Narechania, Apurva; Tran, Truc T.; Munita, José; Murray, Bárbara E.; Planet, Paul J.; Arias, Cesar A.; Díaz, LorenaLittle is known about the population structure of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREfm) in Latin America (LATAM). Here, we provide a complete genomic characterization of 55 representative Latin American VREfm recovered from 1998–2015 in 5 countries. The LATAM VREfm population is structured into two main clinical clades without geographical clustering. Using the LATAM genomes, we reconstructed the global population of VREfm by including 285 genomes from 36 countries spanning from 1946 to 2017. In contrast to previous studies, our results show an early branching of animal related isolates and a further split of clinical isolates into two sub-clades within clade A. The overall phylogenomic structure of clade A was highly dependent on recombination (54% of the genome) and the split between clades A and B was estimated to have occurred more than 2,765 years ago. Furthermore, our molecular clock calculations suggest the branching of animal isolates and clinical clades occurred ~502 years ago whereas the split within the clinical clade occurred ~302 years ago (previous studies showed a more recent split between clinical an animal branches around ~74 years ago). By including isolates from Latin America, we present novel insights into the population structure of VREfm and revisit the evolution of these pathogens.Item Influence of Inoculum Effect on the Efficacy of Daptomycin Monotherapy and in Combination with -Lactams against Daptomycin-Susceptible Enterococcus faecium Harboring LiaSR Substitutions(2018) Kebriaei, Razieh; Rice, Seth A.; Singh, Kavindra V.; Stamper, Kyle C.; Dinh, An Q.; Rios, Rafael; Díaz, Lorena; Murray, Bárbara E.; Munita, José; Tran, Truc T.; Arias, Cesar A.; Rybak, Michael J.Enterococcus faecium isolates that harbor LiaFSR substitutions but are phenotypically susceptible to daptomycin (DAP) by current breakpoints are problem- atic, since predisposition to resistance may lead to therapeutic failure. Using a simu- lated endocardial vegetation (SEV) pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) model, we investigated DAP regimens (6, 8, and 10 mg/kg of body weight/day) as mono- therapy and in combination with ampicillin (AMP), ceftaroline (CPT), or ertapenem (ERT) against E. faecium HOU503, a DAP-susceptible strain that harbors common LiaS and LiaR substitutions found in clinical isolates (T120S and W73C, respectively). Of interest, the efficacy of DAP monotherapy, at any dose regimen, was dependent on the size of the inoculum. At an inoculum of 109 CFU/g, DAP doses of 6 to 8 mg/ kg/day were not effective and led to significant regrowth with emergence of resis- tant derivatives. In contrast, at an inoculum of 107 CFU/g, marked reductions in bacterial counts were observed with DAP at 6 mg/kg/day, with no resistance. The in- oculum effect was confirmed in a rat model using humanized DAP exposures. Com- binations of DAP with AMP, CPT, or ERT demonstrated enhanced eradication and re- duced potential for resistance, allowing de-escalation of the DAP dose. Persistence of the LiaRS substitutions was identified in DAP-resistant isolates recovered from the SEV model and in DAP-resistant derivatives of an initially DAP-susceptible clinical isolate of E. faecium (HOU668) harboring LiaSR substitutions that was recovered from a patient with a recurrent bloodstream infection. Our results provide novel data for the use of DAP monotherapy and combinations for recalcitrant E. faecium infections and pave the way for testing these approaches in humans.Item The Cefazolin Inoculum Effect Is Associated With Increased Mortality in Methicillin-Susceptible Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia(2018) Miller, William; Seas, Carlos; Carvajal, Lina; Diaz, Lorena; Echeverri, Aura; Ferro, Carolina; Rios, Rafael; Porras, Paola; Luna, Carlos; Gotuzzo, Eduardo; Munita, José; Nannini, Esteban; Carcamo, Cesar; Reyes, Jinnethe; Arias, CesarBackground: Recent studies have favored the use of cefazolin over nafcillin for the treatment of methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) bacteremia. The clinical influence of the cefazolin inoculum effect (CzIE) in the effectiveness of cephalosporins for severe MSSA infections has not been evaluated. Methods: We prospectively included patients from 3 Argentinian hospitals with S. aureus bacteremia. Cefazolin minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were determined at standard (105 colony-forming units [CFU]/mL) and high (107 CFU/mL) inoculum. The CzIE was defined as an increase of MIC to ≥16 µg/mL when tested at high inoculum. Whole-genome sequencing was performed in all isolates. Results: A total of 77 patients, contributing 89 MSSA isolates, were included in the study; 42 patients (54.5%) had isolates with the CzIE. In univariate analysis, patients with MSSA exhibiting the CzIE had increased 30-day mortality (P = .034) and were more likely to have catheter-associated or unknown source of bacteremia (P = .033) compared with patients infected with MSSA isolates without the CzIE. No statistically significant difference between the groups was observed in age, clinical illness severity, place of acquisition (community vs hospital), or presence of endocarditis. The CzIE remained associated with increased 30-day mortality in multivariate analysis (risk ratio, 2.65; 95% confidence interval, 1.10-6.42; P = .03). MSSA genomes displayed a high degree of heterogeneity, and the CzIE was not associated with a specific lineage. Conclusions: In patients with MSSA bacteremia where cephalosporins are used as firstline therapy, the CzIE was associated with increased 30-day mortality. Clinicians should be cautious when using cefazolin as firstline therapy for these infections.