Condition Lookup
Sub-Category:
Nosocomial Infections
Number of Conditions: 4
Elizabethkingia Infections
Specialty: Infectious Diseases
Category: Bacterial Infections
Sub-category: Nosocomial Infections
Symptoms:
fever; chills; shortness of breath; sepsis; localized infections such as cellulitis or endocarditis
Root Cause:
Caused by Elizabethkingia anophelis or Elizabethkingia meningoseptica, opportunistic pathogens that thrive in immunocompromised hosts, often transmitted in healthcare settings.
How it's Diagnosed: videos
Blood or tissue cultures, molecular identification techniques like MALDI-TOF MS, and PCR-based testing.
Treatment:
Targeted antibiotic therapy based on susceptibility testing, as the bacteria are often multidrug-resistant.
Medications:
Combination therapy may include vancomycin (glycopeptide), ciprofloxacin (fluoroquinolone), or trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (sulfonamide-antibiotic).
Prevalence:
How common the health condition is within a specific population.
Rare but increasingly reported in hospitalized and immunocompromised patients.
Risk Factors:
Factors or behaviors that increase the likelihood of developing the condition.
Hospitalization, invasive procedures, immunosuppression, and use of medical devices like ventilators or catheters.
Prognosis:
The expected outcome or course of the condition over time.
Variable; better outcomes with early diagnosis and appropriate therapy, though mortality is high in severe cases.
Complications:
Additional problems or conditions that may arise as a result of the original condition.
Sepsis, meningitis, endocarditis, and multi-organ failure.
Enterobacter Infections
Specialty: Infectious Diseases
Category: Bacterial Infections
Sub-category: Nosocomial Infections
Symptoms:
fever; chills; cough (if respiratory involvement); urinary symptoms (if uti); sepsis
Root Cause:
Infection caused by Enterobacter species, opportunistic bacteria often resistant to multiple antibiotics, frequently acquired in hospital settings.
How it's Diagnosed: videos
Blood cultures, urine cultures (for UTI), sputum cultures (for pneumonia), and susceptibility testing.
Treatment:
Removal of infected devices and initiation of tailored antibiotic therapy.
Medications:
Carbapenems like meropenem (beta-lactam), or ceftazidime-avibactam (beta-lactamase inhibitor combination) for resistant strains.
Prevalence:
How common the health condition is within a specific population.
Common in healthcare-associated infections, particularly in intensive care units.
Risk Factors:
Factors or behaviors that increase the likelihood of developing the condition.
Prolonged hospitalization, mechanical ventilation, immunosuppression, and prior antibiotic use.
Prognosis:
The expected outcome or course of the condition over time.
Good with timely and appropriate treatment, though resistant infections pose challenges.
Complications:
Additional problems or conditions that may arise as a result of the original condition.
Septic shock, abscess formation, and organ failure.
Enterococcal Infections
Specialty: Infectious Diseases
Category: Bacterial Infections
Sub-category: Nosocomial Infections
Symptoms:
fever; chills; urinary symptoms (if uti); abdominal pain (if intra-abdominal infection); sepsis
Root Cause:
Caused by Enterococcus faecalis or Enterococcus faecium, commensal bacteria that can become pathogenic in compromised hosts, often associated with antibiotic resistance.
How it's Diagnosed: videos
Blood cultures, urine cultures, or cultures from other infected sites, along with susceptibility testing.
Treatment:
Targeted antibiotic therapy often combined for synergy in severe infections.
Medications:
Ampicillin (beta-lactam) or vancomycin (glycopeptide) for susceptible strains; linezolid (oxazolidinone) or daptomycin (lipopeptide) for vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE).
Prevalence:
How common the health condition is within a specific population.
Common in hospitalized patients, particularly those with invasive devices or recent antibiotic use.
Risk Factors:
Factors or behaviors that increase the likelihood of developing the condition.
Prolonged hospitalization, use of indwelling catheters, immunosuppression, and prior antibiotic therapy.
Prognosis:
The expected outcome or course of the condition over time.
Good with effective treatment, but resistant infections require more complex management.
Complications:
Additional problems or conditions that may arise as a result of the original condition.
Bacteremia, endocarditis, intra-abdominal abscesses, and persistent infections.
Stenotrophomonas Maltophilia
Specialty: Infectious Diseases
Category: Bacterial Infections
Sub-category: Nosocomial Infections
Symptoms:
fever; cough; shortness of breath; wound infections; urinary tract infections; sepsis in immunocompromised individuals
Root Cause:
Opportunistic infection caused by Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, often associated with hospital environments.
How it's Diagnosed: videos
Blood, sputum, or wound culture and susceptibility testing.
Treatment:
Targeted antibiotic therapy; supportive care.
Medications:
Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (first-line), with alternatives including levofloxacin or minocycline based on resistance patterns.
Prevalence:
How common the health condition is within a specific population.
A rare cause of infection, primarily in hospitalized or immunocompromised patients.
Risk Factors:
Factors or behaviors that increase the likelihood of developing the condition.
Prolonged hospital stays, mechanical ventilation, central venous catheters, immunosuppressive therapy.
Prognosis:
The expected outcome or course of the condition over time.
Poor in critically ill or immunosuppressed patients; high mortality in systemic infections.
Complications:
Additional problems or conditions that may arise as a result of the original condition.
Sepsis, multi-organ failure, prolonged hospitalization.