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Microorganisms
Special Issues
Healthcare-Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Therapy—2nd Edition
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Healthcare-Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Therapy—2nd Edition

A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Medical Microbiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2025 | Viewed by 1448

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Diamantis P. Kofteridis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital of Heraklion, Crete, Greece
Interests: antimicrobial stewardship; infection control; infectious diseases
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Petros Ioannou

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Medicine, University of Crete, Heraklion, Greece
Interests: infectious diseases; internal medicine; HIV/AIDS; infective endocarditis; blood-stream infections
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue is the continuation of our previous Special Issue, entitled "Healthcare-Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Therapy".

Hospital-acquired infections occur frequently among hospitalized patients and are associated with a significant increase in morbidity and mortality, with the most common hospital-acquired infections including bloodstream infections and respiratory tract and urinary tract infections. Currently, several changes regarding the epidemiology and microbiology of hospital-acquired infections are being noted, and these mostly have to do with the increasing problem of antimicrobial resistance either in Gram-positives, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus, or in Gram-negatives, such as carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales, extensively-drug resistant and pan-drug resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, and multi-drug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The problem of increasing antimicrobial resistance leaves few therapeutic options, leading to the revival of old antibiotics or the use of antimicrobial combinations in difficult-to-treat pathogens.

To arrive at a better understanding of the problem of hospital-acquired infections and the changes in the antimicrobial treatment thereof, this Special Issue aims to bring together original studies and literature reviews related to the epidemiology, microbiology, clinical characteristics, treatment, and outcomes of these infections. Furthermore, studies focusing on antimicrobial stewardship and infection control regarding hospital-acquired infections are also welcome.

Dr. Diamantis P. Kofteridis
Dr. Petros Ioannou
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microorganisms is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • clinical microbiology
  • healthcare-associated infections
  • antimicrobial therapy

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 235 KiB  
Article
Effectiveness of Vascular Catheter Removal Versus Retention in Non-ICU Patients with CRBSI or CABSI in Retrospective, Single-Center Study
by Giovanni De Capitani, Marta Colaneri, Claudia Conflitti, Fabio Borgonovo, Lucia Galli, Giovanni Scaglione, Camilla Genovese, Rebecca Fattore, Monica Schiavini, Beatrice Caloni, Daniele Zizzo, Nicola Busatto, Antonio Gidaro, Alba Taino, Maria Calloni, Francesco Casella, Arianna Bartoli, Chiara Cogliati, Emanuele Palomba, Spinello Antinori, Andrea Gori and Antonella Foschiadd Show full author list remove Hide full author list
Microorganisms 2025, 13(5), 1085; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms13051085 - 7 May 2025
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Abstract
Catheter-associated bloodstream infections (CABSIs) and catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSIs) are significant causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The current practice favors the removal of vascular access devices (VADs); however, the evidence on this topic remains inconclusive. This study evaluates the clinical outcomes in [...] Read more.
Catheter-associated bloodstream infections (CABSIs) and catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSIs) are significant causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The current practice favors the removal of vascular access devices (VADs); however, the evidence on this topic remains inconclusive. This study evaluates the clinical outcomes in terms of in-hospital mortality and catheter retention vs. removal in CABSI and CRBSI cases. A retrospective, observational, single-center study was conducted at Luigi Sacco Hospital, Milan, Italy (May 2021–December 2023), and it analyzed non-ICU adult patients with VADs diagnosed with CRBSIs or CABSIs. Clinical and microbiological data were collected to assess the outcomes based on catheter management. Among 1874 patients with VADs, 147 were included, with 164 VAD infection events (92 CABSIs and 72 CRBSIs). Overall, 35 (23.8%) patients with CABSIs and CRBSIs died. Out of those who retained the catheter 19 (35.8%) patients died, while among removal patients 16 (17%) died (p = 0.018). A Candida spp. isolation was found to be significantly associated with a higher likelihood of catheter removal (p = 0.04). Our findings suggest that, in non-ICU CRBSI and CABSI cases, VAD removal may be associated with improved outcomes when feasible. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Healthcare-Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Therapy—2nd Edition)
16 pages, 788 KiB  
Article
Comparative Analysis of Bacterial Conjunctivitis in the Adult and Pediatric Inpatient vs. Outpatient Population
by Adela Voinescu, Corina Musuroi, Monica Licker, Delia Muntean, Silvia-Ioana Musuroi, Luminita Mirela Baditoiu, Dorina Dugaesescu, Romanita Jumanca, Mihnea Munteanu and Andrei Cosnita
Microorganisms 2025, 13(3), 473; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms13030473 - 20 Feb 2025
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Abstract
The etiology and resistance pattern of bacterial conjunctivitis varies depending on the patient’s care setting and age. A retrospective, observational study was conducted in a tertiary care teaching hospital. A total of 126 patients—76 adults and 50 children—diagnosed with conjunctival infection during inpatient [...] Read more.
The etiology and resistance pattern of bacterial conjunctivitis varies depending on the patient’s care setting and age. A retrospective, observational study was conducted in a tertiary care teaching hospital. A total of 126 patients—76 adults and 50 children—diagnosed with conjunctival infection during inpatient or ambulatory care were analyzed. In the samples of adult patients, isolates were represented by Gram-positive cocci (57.7%; Staphylococcus spp., S. pneumoniae) followed by Enterobacterales (17.97%; P. mirabilis, E. coli, Klebsiella spp.), and non-fermenters (7.69%; Pseudomonas spp., A. baumannii). Multidrug-resistant (52.17%) and extensively drug-resistant (21.73%) pathogens (predominantly Gram-negative bacilli) were identified in conjunctival swabs of hospitalized adult patients. The main isolates (55.77%) identified in children’s conjunctival swabs belonged to S. aureus, H. influenzae, and S. pneumoniae, followed by Enterobacterales (19.22%; E. coli, P. mirabilis, M. morganii) and fungi (3.48%). Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (35.71%) and extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing K. pneumoniae (8.7%) were identified in the pediatric subgroup of patients. In critically ill adult patients assisted in the intensive care or burn functional units, bacterial conjunctivitis followed the pattern of infections and antimicrobial resistance specific to these categories of patients. In the case of hospitalized children, conjunctivitis was an integral part of the age-related pathology. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Healthcare-Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Therapy—2nd Edition)
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Review

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16 pages, 624 KiB  
Review
Kytococcus Species Infections in Humans—A Narrative Review
by Petros Ioannou, Eleni Kampanieri, Stergos Koukias, Stella Baliou, Andreas G. Tsantes and Diamantis Kofteridis
Microorganisms 2025, 13(5), 1072; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms13051072 - 4 May 2025
Viewed by 247
Abstract
Kytococcus belongs to the family Kytococcaceae, in the order Micrococcales, in the class Actinomycetes, and the phylum Actinomycetota. Kytococcus are aerobic, Gram-positive, non-spore forming bacteria that form coccoid, non-motile, non-encapsulated cells, and their colonies on agar have a yellow color. Infections by these [...] Read more.
Kytococcus belongs to the family Kytococcaceae, in the order Micrococcales, in the class Actinomycetes, and the phylum Actinomycetota. Kytococcus are aerobic, Gram-positive, non-spore forming bacteria that form coccoid, non-motile, non-encapsulated cells, and their colonies on agar have a yellow color. Infections by these species are increasingly identified nowadays. This narrative review aimed to present all available cases of Kytococcus spp. infections in humans, emphasizing data on the epidemiology, antimicrobial resistance, antimicrobial treatment, and mortality. A narrative review based on a literature search of the PubMed/MedLine and Scopus databases was performed. Results: In total, 26 articles providing data on 30 patients with Kytococcus spp. infections were included in this analysis. The median age was 59.5 years, while 56.7% were male. The presence of a prosthetic cardiac valve was the main predisposing factor in 36.7% of patients (100% among those with infective endocarditis), while immunosuppression due to underlying hematological malignancy under chemotherapy was the second most common. Bacteremia was the most common type of infection, with infective endocarditis being the most common subtype in this infection type, while respiratory tract infections and osteoarticular infections were also relatively common. K. schroeteri was the most commonly identified species. Microbial identification required the use of advanced molecular techniques such as 16s rRNA sequencing in most cases. Kytotoccus spp. was resistant to all beta-lactams with the exception of carbapenems and macrolides. The most commonly used antimicrobials were vancomycin and rifampicin. Mortality was significant (30%). Due to the potential of Kytotoccus spp. to cause infective endocarditis in patients with prosthetic cardiac valves and respiratory tract infections with concomitant bacteremia in patients with hematological malignancy under chemotherapy along with the difficulties in pathogen identification, clinicians and laboratory personnel should consider this pathogen in the differential diagnosis in patients with typical predisposing factors and clinical presentation, especially when traditional microbiological techniques are used for pathogen identification. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Healthcare-Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Therapy—2nd Edition)
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