Presentations & Publications


2020

2019

2018

Should standardized susceptibility testing for microbial biofilms be introduced in clinical practice ? Coneye et al, CMI, 2018, 24, 570-572

In this commentary, the authors discuss the opportunity to introduce antibiotic susceptibility testing of microbial biofilms in clinical practice and their value for the approval of products that prevent biofilm formation or allow eradication of established biofilms. They questioned the usefulness of in vitro tests in predicting the in vivo infection output, but called for the use of standardized methods in research and in the process of regulatory approval. ESGB and the ESCMID PK/PD of Anti-Infectives Study Group (EPASG) contributed to this paper.

Methodologies for in vitro and in vivo evaluation of efficacy of antifungal and antibiofilm agents and surface coatings against fungal biofilms. Van Dijck et al., Microbial Cell, 2018, 300-326

This review gives an update on methods available for determining (i) the susceptibility or resistance of fungal isolates or biofilms to antifungal or antibiofilm compounds and compound combinations; (ii) the in vivo efficacy of antifungal and antibiofilm compounds and compound combinations; and (iii) the in vitro and in vivo performance of anti-infective coatings and materials to prevent fungal biofilm-based infections. Methods for testing antifungal susceptibility and monitoring in vivo performance of antifungal and antimicrobial drugs are extensively described.

2017

Phenotypic detection of the cfiA metallo-β-lactamase in Bacteroides fragilis with the meropenem–EDTA double-ended Etest and the ROSCO KPC/MBL Confirm Kit. Schwensen et al., J Antimicrob Chemother. 2017 Feb; 72(2): 437-440.

cfiA gene-induced Metallo-b-Lactamase (MBL) production is the main cause of the emerging multi drug resistance (MDR) in the treatment of Bacteroides fragilis infections in Europe. To detect or confirm MBL production, a meropenem or imipenem double-ended Etest ± EDTA (bioMérieux, La Balme-les-Grottes, France) is often used. However, recent studies have already revealed  that this methodology could display discordant results in the detection of  MBL in B. fragilis. In this interesting work, the authors validated previous published data, thus confirming that the meropenem double-ended Etest and not imipenem should be preferred for the phenotypic detection of MBLs in B. fragilis. Furthermore, they analyzed and proved  the efficiency of the ROSCO KPC/MBL Confirm Kit (Taastrup, Denmark), mainly used for the investigation of Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC) or MBL production in Enterobacteriaceae, for the detection of MBL producing B. fragilis.

2016

The optimization and validation of the Biotyper MALDI-TOF MS database for the identification of Gram-positive anaerobic cocci. Veloo et al., CMI, 2016 Sep;22(9):793-798.

This study results from the effort of the European Network for the Rapid Identification of Anaerobes (ENRIA), an ESGAI project in collaboration with the Bruker company. Matrix-assisted laser desorption–ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) for the detection and characterization of bacteria isolated from human samples is a recent revolutionary approach in the field of medical microbiology. For instance, identification of anaerobic bacteria, such as B. fragilis, by MALDI-TOF MS showed fast and very reliable results. However, the performance of MALDI-TOF MS for the identification of Gram-positive anaerobic cocci (GPAC) has been not fully tested and proved. In the presented study, the authors optimized and enriched the Biotyper MALDI-TOF MS database for the identification of GPAC by including main spectral profiles (MSP) of 16S rRNA sequenced clinical isolates. The addition of species that were not present in the database enhances the ability of MALDI-TOF MS to recognize a wider range of clinical isolates, which may help clinical microbiologist to better clarify their relevance.

ESCMID 2014 Guideline for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Biofilm Infections

Clin Microbiol Infect 2015; 21 (Suppl. 1)

Coordinated by ESGB

2012

ESCMID PGTW Medical Biofilm Techniques

Copenhagen, Denmark, August 2012

Course material in the ESCMID OLL