Faculty Bibliography

Background. Penicillin allergies are reported in approximately 10% of patients in the US but ~90% of these allergies can be de-labeled. Consequences of inappropriate allergy labeling leads to use of alternative agents associated with increased adverse events and resistance rates, leading to worse outcomes. Though all betalactam agents share the core beta-lactam ring, the R1 side chain has been identified as the focus of cross-reactivity. Agents that do not share the same or similar R1 side chain are likely to have negligible risk of hypersensitivity reactions. The purpose of this study was to assess the incidence of hypersensitivity reactions in patients with a documented beta-lactam allergy that received a beta-lactam agent with a different side chain based on recommendation by an antimicrobial stewardship clinical pharmacist. Methods. This was a retrospective, single-center, observational study of patients admitted to NYU Langone Hospital - Long Island from October 2019 to February 2022. Data was collected by review of the electronic medical record and descriptive statistics were generated as appropriate. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients that experienced a hypersensitivity reaction to a beta-lactam agent with a different side chain. Secondary outcomes included impact of antimicrobial stewardship intervention by clinical pharmacists, avoidance of alternative antibiotics, and cost comparison between agents requested and recommended. Results. A total of 181 patients were included in the final analysis, including 37 patients with a history of anaphylaxis. No patients with a documented beta-lactam allergy experienced a hypersensitivity reaction upon receiving a beta-lactam agent with a different side chain. Within the cost comparison, meropenem accounted for 45.6% and 75.9% of the total minimum and maximum wholesale costs of requested agents, respectively. Conclusion. The results of this study suggest that receipt of a beta-lactam agent with a different side chain is safe in patients with a history of beta-lactam allergy, including anaphylaxis history, and supports 'in the moment' antimicrobial stewardship intervention to ensure patients receive optimal therapy when access to in-depth allergy history or detailed patient interview is not feasible

Legionnaire's disease (LD) manifests most commonly as an atypical community acquired pneumonia (CAP) with systemic extrapulmonary manifestations. Disorders associated with impaired cell mediated immunity (CMI) are particularly predisposed to LD. Hairy cell leukemia (HCL) is a rare B-cell lymphoproliferative leukemia associated with decreased CMI. LD has only rarely been reported in HCL. We present a most interesting case of persistent LD in a elderly male with HCL who required prolonged antibiotic therapy.

Because external ventricular drains (EVDs) provide access to cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), there is potential for EVD associated acute bacterial meningitis (EVD-AM). Post-craniotomy, in patients with EVDs, one or more CSF abnormalities are commonly present making the diagnosis of EVD-AM problematic. EVD-AM was defined as elevated CSF lactic acid (>6 nmol/L), plus CSF marked pleocytosis (>50 WBCs/mm(3)), plus a positive Gram stain (same morphology as CSF isolate), plus a positive CSF culture of neuropathogen (same morphology as Gram stained organism). We reviewed 22 adults with EVDs to determine if our four CSF parameters combined accurately identified EVD-AM. No single or combination of <4 CSF parameters correctly diagnosed or ruled out EVD-AM. Combined our four CSF parameters clearly differentiated EVD-AM from one case of pseudomeningitis due to E. cloacae. We conclude that our four CSF criteria combined are useful in diagnosing EVD-AM in adults.

Fevers of unknown origin (FUOs) may be due to any of over 200 different disorders. We present a most unusual case of an FUO in a returning traveler from the Dominican Republic. Work-up for Q fever, Brucellosis, Bartonella, malaria and HIV were negative, but very highly elevated ESRs and ferritin levels suggested possible Legionnaire's disease. This is the third reported case of Legionnaire's disease presenting as an FUO.

FAPA syndrome (periodic fever, aphthous stomatititis, pharyngitis and adenitis) is a relatively new entity described in pediatric patients. In adults, reports of FAPA are limited to rare case reports. The differential diagnosis of FAPA in adults includes Behcet's syndrome, familial Mediterranean fever (FMF), Hyper IgD syndrome and juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA), i.e., adult Still's disease. With FAPA syndrome, between episodes patients are completely asymptomatic and serologic inflammatory markers such as erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP) and white blood cell (WBC) count are normal. The etiology of FAFA is unknown, but lack of secondary cases or clustering in close contacts, lack of seasonality, and the lack of progression for years argue against an infectious etiology. We describe an extremely rare case of an adult with a recurrent FUO with profuse night sweats and prominent chills due to FAPA syndrome.

Diagnostic efforts are usually centered on malaria in febrile travelers returning from the tropics. However, by focusing on malaria other important diagnostic considerations are easily overlooked. Patients returning from malarial areas are also exposed to other tropical diseases which have features in common with malaria, e.g., typhoid fever, dengue fever, chikungunya fever. However, there are a few key findings that clinically differentiate these infections from malaria. We present a case of a traveler with fever returning from India without localizing signs with persistent monocytosis initially thought to have malaria.