Melissa Gitman
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View article: Plasma cell-free DNA testing in diagnosing Listeria rhombencephalitis in a CSF PCR-negative patient: a case report
Plasma cell-free DNA testing in diagnosing Listeria rhombencephalitis in a CSF PCR-negative patient: a case report Open
Background The aetiologic identification of central nervous infections, including Listeria, remains challenging as most pathogens are not identified in meningoencephalitis cases despite advances in molecular diagnostics. Plasma next-genera…
View article: Importance of Verifying the Cycle Threshold for Positive Results From Xpert MTB/RIF Assay, Performed on the GeneXpert Instrument Systems
Importance of Verifying the Cycle Threshold for Positive Results From Xpert MTB/RIF Assay, Performed on the GeneXpert Instrument Systems Open
Providers need to be aware of the potential causes of false positive Xpert TB test results, this letter provides a practical approach to confirm and differentiate between a true positive by reviewing that all probes are positive and the Ct…
View article: P-2105. Concordance of Multiplexed Molecular Lower Respiratory Panel with Standard Culture Method and Potential Clinical Impact on Antimicrobial Therapy
P-2105. Concordance of Multiplexed Molecular Lower Respiratory Panel with Standard Culture Method and Potential Clinical Impact on Antimicrobial Therapy Open
Background Pneumonia is the most common cause of health-care associated infections. The mainstay of diagnosis is respiratory culture, which is limited by up to 72-hour turnaround time and variable sensitivity. An added challenge is the eme…
View article: Defining the value of medical microbiology consultation
Defining the value of medical microbiology consultation Open
Medical microbiologists, defined as doctoral-level laboratory directors with subspecialty training in medical microbiology, lead the clinical laboratory operations through activities such as clinical consultations, oversight of diagnostic …
View article: mEnrich-seq: methylation-guided enrichment sequencing of bacterial taxa of interest from microbiome
mEnrich-seq: methylation-guided enrichment sequencing of bacterial taxa of interest from microbiome Open
View article: Clinical, microbiological and genomic characterization of Gram-negative bacteria with dual carbapenemases as identified by rapid molecular testing
Clinical, microbiological and genomic characterization of Gram-negative bacteria with dual carbapenemases as identified by rapid molecular testing Open
Objective Dual carbapenemase-producing organisms (DCPOs) are an emerging threat that expands the spectrum of antimicrobial resistance. There is limited literature on the clinical and genetic epidemiology of DCPOs. Methods DCPO isolates wer…
View article: 143. Correlation Between Identification of Gram-positive Resistance Genes and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Profiles in Gram Positive Bacteria
143. Correlation Between Identification of Gram-positive Resistance Genes and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Profiles in Gram Positive Bacteria Open
Background GenMark ePlex BCID panels detect common gram-positive resistance genes, allowing for earlier optimization of empiric therapy. Data regarding genotypic and phenotypic concordance of isolates remains limited. Our primary objective…
View article: 878. Clinical impact of plasma cell-free metagenomic next-generation sequencing: A retrospective cohort study
878. Clinical impact of plasma cell-free metagenomic next-generation sequencing: A retrospective cohort study Open
Background Plasma cell-free metagenomic next-generation sequencing (cf-mNGS) offers potential for rapid, noninvasive diagnosis of complex infections, though clinical impact remains incompletely characterized. Here, we describe impacts on d…
View article: 184. Implications of <i>Enterococcus faecalis</i> penicillin susceptibility in patients with bacteremia
184. Implications of <i>Enterococcus faecalis</i> penicillin susceptibility in patients with bacteremia Open
Background Enterococcus faecalis isolates with an elevated penicillin minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) ≥ 4 mg/L have decreased in vitro ampicillin plus ceftriaxone bactericidal and synergistic activity, despite ampicillin susceptibil…
View article: mEnrich-seq: Methylation-guided enrichment sequencing of bacterial taxa of interest from microbiome
mEnrich-seq: Methylation-guided enrichment sequencing of bacterial taxa of interest from microbiome Open
Metagenomics has enabled the comprehensive study of microbiomes. However, many applications would benefit from a method that sequences specific bacterial taxa of interest, but not most background taxa. We developed mEnrich-seq for enrichin…
View article: Screening for Latent Tuberculosis Infection in Solid Organ Transplant Recipients to Predict Active Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Diagnostic Studies
Screening for Latent Tuberculosis Infection in Solid Organ Transplant Recipients to Predict Active Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Diagnostic Studies Open
Background This is a systematic review and meta-analysis of diagnostic test accuracy studies to assess the predictive value of both tuberculin skin test (TST) and interferon-gamma release assays (IGRA) for active tuberculosis (TB) among so…
View article: Going local: Evaluating guideline adherence and appropriateness of antibiotic prescribing in patients with febrile neutropenia at an academic teaching hospital
Going local: Evaluating guideline adherence and appropriateness of antibiotic prescribing in patients with febrile neutropenia at an academic teaching hospital Open
Background: Febrile neutropenia (FN) is a medical emergency with significant morbidity and mortality for oncology patients, requiring comprehensive workup and timely antibiotic administration. We evaluated concordance with locally develope…
View article: Methicillin-resistant <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> bacteremia with elevated vancomycin minimum inhibitory concentrations
Methicillin-resistant <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> bacteremia with elevated vancomycin minimum inhibitory concentrations Open
This case–control study of 25 cases with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteremia with vancomycin minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) ≥ 2 µg/mL and 391 controls (MIC < 2 µg/mL) characterized the clinical characteris…
View article: Implementation of a Routine Screening Program for Latent Tuberculosis Infection among Patients with Acute Leukemia at a Canadian Cancer Center
Implementation of a Routine Screening Program for Latent Tuberculosis Infection among Patients with Acute Leukemia at a Canadian Cancer Center Open
Background: Screening for latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) in patients with hematological malignancy is recommended because of their increased risk of tuberculosis (TB). We assessed the utility of tuberculin skin test (TST) screening i…
View article: mEnrich-seq: Methylation-guided enrichment sequencing of bacterial taxa of interest from microbiome
mEnrich-seq: Methylation-guided enrichment sequencing of bacterial taxa of interest from microbiome Open
Metagenomics has enabled the comprehensive study of microbiomes. However, many applications would benefit from a method that can sequence specific bacterial taxa of interest (pathogens, beneficial microbes, or low-abundance taxa), but not …
View article: A Robust, Highly Multiplexed Mass Spectrometry Assay to Identify SARS-CoV-2 Variants
A Robust, Highly Multiplexed Mass Spectrometry Assay to Identify SARS-CoV-2 Variants Open
The continued circulation of SARS-CoV-2 amid limited surveillance efforts and inconsistent vaccination of populations has resulted in the emergence of variants that uniquely impact public health systems. Thus, in conjunction with functiona…
View article: Candida auris Pan-Drug-Resistant to Four Classes of Antifungal Agents
Candida auris Pan-Drug-Resistant to Four Classes of Antifungal Agents Open
Candida auris is an urgent antimicrobial resistance threat due to its global emergence, high mortality, and persistent transmissions. Nearly half of C. auris clinical and surveillance cases in the United States are from the New York and Ne…
View article: A robust, highly multiplexed mass spectrometry assay to identify SARS-CoV-2 variants
A robust, highly multiplexed mass spectrometry assay to identify SARS-CoV-2 variants Open
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants are characterized by differences in transmissibility and response to therapeutics. Therefore, discriminating among them is vital for surveillance, infection prevention, …
View article: RT-PCR/MALDI-TOF Diagnostic Target Performance Reflects Circulating SARS-CoV-2 Variant Diversity in New York City
RT-PCR/MALDI-TOF Diagnostic Target Performance Reflects Circulating SARS-CoV-2 Variant Diversity in New York City Open
View article: Everybody nose: molecular and clinical characteristics of nasal colonization during active methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infection
Everybody nose: molecular and clinical characteristics of nasal colonization during active methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infection Open
Background Healthcare-associated infections pose a potentially fatal threat to patients worldwide and Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most common causes of healthcare-associated infections. S. aureus is a common commensal pathogen and …
View article: Correlation between Identification of β-Lactamase Resistance Genes and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Profiles in Gram-Negative Bacteria: a Laboratory Data Analysis
Correlation between Identification of β-Lactamase Resistance Genes and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Profiles in Gram-Negative Bacteria: a Laboratory Data Analysis Open
There is limited literature on corresponding results obtained from rapid molecular diagnostics with the antibiotic susceptibility profile. We reported a correlation between the results obtained from ePlex and the antibiograms against a lar…
View article: Utility of liquid biopsy in diagnosing isolated cerebral phaeohyphomycosis: illustrative case
Utility of liquid biopsy in diagnosing isolated cerebral phaeohyphomycosis: illustrative case Open
BACKGROUND Cladophialophora bantiana is a dematiaceous, saprophytic fungus and a rare but reported cause of intracranial abscesses due to its strong neurotropism. Although it predominantly affects immunocompetent individuals with environme…
View article: Additional file 1 of Everybody nose: molecular and clinical characteristics of nasal colonization during active methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infection
Additional file 1 of Everybody nose: molecular and clinical characteristics of nasal colonization during active methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infection Open
Additional file 1: Table S1. MRSA isolate typing.
View article: Creating surveillance data infrastructure using laboratory analytics: Leveraging visiun and epic systems to support COVID-19 pandemic response
Creating surveillance data infrastructure using laboratory analytics: Leveraging visiun and epic systems to support COVID-19 pandemic response Open
We reviewed here the key components of a conceptual surveillance framework required for a robust response to COVID-19 pandemics. We demonstrated leveraging a lab analytics dashboard, Visiun, combined with Epic reporting tools to function a…
View article: Robust clinical detection of SARS‐CoV‐2 variants by RT‐PCR/MALDI‐TOF multitarget approach
Robust clinical detection of SARS‐CoV‐2 variants by RT‐PCR/MALDI‐TOF multitarget approach Open
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic has sparked the rapid development of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) diagnostics. However, emerging variants pose the risk for target dropout and false‐negative …
View article: RT-PCR/MALDI-TOF diagnostic target performance reflects circulating SARS-CoV-2 variant diversity in New York City
RT-PCR/MALDI-TOF diagnostic target performance reflects circulating SARS-CoV-2 variant diversity in New York City Open
As severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) continues to circulate, multiple variants of concern (VOC) have emerged. New variants pose challenges for diagnostic platforms since sequence diversity can alter primer/probe …
View article: Everybody Nose: Molecular and Clinical Characteristics of Nasal Colonization During Active Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Bloodstream Infection
Everybody Nose: Molecular and Clinical Characteristics of Nasal Colonization During Active Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Bloodstream Infection Open
View article: Robust clinical detection of SARS-CoV-2 variants by RT-PCR/MALDI-TOF multi-target approach
Robust clinical detection of SARS-CoV-2 variants by RT-PCR/MALDI-TOF multi-target approach Open
The COVID-19 pandemic sparked rapid development of SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics. However, emerging variants pose the risk for target dropout and false-negative results secondary to primer/probe binding site (PBS) mismatches. The Agena MassARRAY …
View article: Modified methicillin-resistant <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> detected in neonatal intensive care patients
Modified methicillin-resistant <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> detected in neonatal intensive care patients Open
Objectives As part of an active MRSA surveillance programme in our neonatal ICU, we identified nares surveillance cultures from two infants that displayed heterogeneity in methicillin resistance between isolated subclones that lacked mecA …
View article: Laboratory Diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 Pneumonia
Laboratory Diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 Pneumonia Open
The emergence and rapid proliferation of Coronavirus Disease-2019, throughout the past year, has put an unprecedented strain on the global schema of health infrastructure and health economy. The time-sensitive agenda of identifying the vir…