Annals of Clinical Microbiology, The official Journal of the Korean Society of Clinical Microbiology

6

Weeks in Review

4

Weeks to Publication
Indexed in KCI, KoreaMed, Synapse, DOAJ
Open Access, Peer Reviewed
pISSN 2288-0585 eISSN 2288-6850
Volume 24 │ Issue 2 │ June 2021
Original article

Safety and Effectiveness of Cytomegalovirus Specific Antigen Induced Interferon-Gamma ELISPOT/ELISA: A Systematic Review

Wonjung Choi, Joohee Hahn, Worlsook Lee, Chaemin Shin

Ann Clin Microbiol 2021 June, 24(2): 31-43. Published on 20 June 2021.

Background: This study evaluated the safety and effectiveness of the cytomegalovirus (CMV) Specific Antigen Induced Interferon-Gamma ELISPOT (enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot)/ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) procedure in predicting the risk of CMV infection/disease in immunocompromised patients through a systematic literature review.

Methods: The searched electronic databases included MEDLINE, EMBASE and the Cochrane Library. A total of 884 non-duplicate citations were retrieved and a total of 25 studies (15 cohort studies, 10 cross-sectional studies) were included in this review. Study subjects were selected among patients with solid organ, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, or those who were on hemodialysis. Data extraction and literature quality assessment were carried out independently by two researchers.

Results: Most of the studies were conducted on patients with solid organ transplants. As it is conducted outside the body, CMV Specific Antigen Induced Interferon-Gamma ELISPOT/ELISA assay was safe. Regarding its effectiveness, most studies on risk analysis based on prognosisrelated outcomes reported that the inactive group showed a significantly higher hazard ratio or odds ratio than the active group. Results of Kaplan-Meier survival analysis also showed that the inactive group had a significantly higher incidence of CMV event (CMV infection, CMV disease, other events) than the active group. However, various thresholds for CMV cell immune response were reported, as was a broad range of predictive diagnostic accuracies.

Conclusion: CMV Specific Antigen Induced Interferon-Gamma ELISPOT/ELISA assay has potential to stratify the risk of CMV infection/disease among solid organ transplant patients and to determine a policy for a prophylaxis/preemptive. However, additional literature evidence is needed to establish thresholds for CMV cell immune response and standardized tests.

[in Korean]

Original article

Evaluation of Two Commercial Kits for Rapid Detection and Typing of Carbapenemase in Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacterales

Seunghoo Lee, Kyu-Hwa Hur, Yunsil Chung, Heungsup Sung, Mi-Na Kim

Ann Clin Microbiol 2021 June, 24(2): 45-53. Published on 20 June 2021.

Background: Rapid detection of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE) is desirable to guide antimicrobial therapy and infection control. The NG-Test Carba5 (Carba5; NG Biotech, France) rapid multiplex lateral flow immunoassay and BD MAX Check-Points CPO Assay (CPO; BD Diagnostic Systems, USA) fully automated real-time PCR assay were evaluated for the detection of KPC, NDM, VIM, IMP, and OXA-48-like group in a culture colony compared to genotyping using conventional PCR.

Methods: Among the clinical isolates of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) collected from 2013 to 2019, up to 20 isolates for each carbapenemase type, and approximately 60 carbapenemase-negative CRE were enrolled. Genotyping of carbapenemases were performed using single-target PCR for KPC, NDM, and OXA-48-like group and the multiplex PCR for VIM, IMP, GIM, SIM, and SPM. All isolates were tested with Carba5 and CPO. The discrepant results were resolved by single-target specific conventional PCR or GeneXpert Carba-R Assay (Carba-R; Cepheid, USA).

Results: Of 147 CREs, 82 were CPE (55.8%) including 20 KPC, 22 NDM, 17 VIM, three IMP, and 13 OXA-48-like group, and seven double carbapenemase-positive (three KPC/VIM, two NDM/ VIM, one KPC/NDM, and one NDM/OXA-48-like group) isolates. Carba5 and CPO detected all CPE correctly along with two more IMP-producing CPE. The sensitivity and specificity of both kits were equally 100% and 97%. Two false IMP-positives were confirmed IMP-positive with Carba-R and IMP-specific single-target PCR.

Conclusion: Carba5 and CPO reliably detect and differentiate five common carbapenemases in cultured colonies. Carba5, faster and simpler, is preferred as a spot test.

[in Korean]

Note

Evaluation of Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 IgG in Healthcare Workers in a Tertiary Hospital in Seoul

Minjeong Nam, Hee-Won Moon, Hanah Kim, Mina Hur, Yeo-Min Yun

Ann Clin Microbiol 2021 June, 24(2): 55-60. Published on 20 June 2021.

Healthcare workers (HCWs) may be at high risk for exposure to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) because of their frequent contact with patients or the direct handling of respiratory samples. We investigated the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 IgG in HCWs in Seoul compared to those in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients and community-based individuals to evaluate the antibody response. A total of 358 samples from 348 individuals (155 HCWs, 7 COVID-19 patients, and 186 community-based individuals) were collected from April to November 2020. SARS-CoV-2 IgG was detected in 1 of 155 HCWs (1 of 46 HCWs with direct contact), 7 of 7 COVID-19 patients, and none of the 186 communitybased individuals (95% CI: 0.6%, 0.1 – 3.6%; 100%, 64.5 – 100%; 0.0%, 0.0 – 2.0%, respectively). The single HCW with a positive result showed 2.32 signal-to-cutoff (S/C) and 2.31 S/C at a 3-week interval. Therefore, it was assumed to be a false positive due to autoantibody or medication. The positive samples from 7 patients had a median of 3.79 S/C (range 1.72 – 6.54). The seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 IgG in HCWs was very low. The current infection control standard seems to be effective in protecting HCWs from COVID-19.

Case report

First Report of Roseomonas aerofrigidensis Isolated from the Peritoneal Fluid of a Gastric Cancer Patient

Eris Jang, So Min Kim, Junhyup Song, Le Phuong Nguyen, Hyukmin Lee

Ann Clin Microbiol 2021 June, 24(2): 61-65. Published on 20 June 2021.

Roseomonas aerofrigidensis is a gram-negative, strictly aerobic, non-motile bacterium, which was first isolated in 2017 in South Korea. We present the first report of the isolation of R. aerofrigidensis from the peritoneal fluid of a 38-year-old woman with a history of metastatic gastric cancer with peritoneal carcinomatosis. The isolate was resistant to cotrimoxazole. Further research on clinical and microbiological responses to several antibiotics are warranted.

[in Korean]