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Clinical Infectious Diseases 1 December 2012 Volume 55 Number 11 i News iii In the Literature v Crossing Borders vii Emanuel Wolinsky Award On the cover: Where Tears Can’t Stop, 1986, by Carlos Alfonzo (American 1950–1991), acrylic on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC. Reproduced with permission. Before dying of AIDS at age 40, the Cuban-born artist, Carlos Alfonzo, depicted his personal suffering in paintings containing symbols and icons taken from Afro-Cuban folklore, medieval Catholic mysticism, Tarot cards, and the occult practice of Rosicrucianism, a secret society founded in Germany in the 1600s. Where Tears Can’t Stop, painted six years following his arrival in the United States, symbolizes the violence that Alfonzo experienced before he left Cuba in the Mariel boat lift in 1980. In this painting, which reflects the anger, isolation, and fear generated by an epidemic with only a proposed name, no proven treatment, and believed to affect only members of the gay community, the image of a dagger-pierced tongue came from a Cuban Santería charm against gossip and the “evil eye,” two common responses directed toward HIV-positive men in some ethnic communities in the mid-1980s. To Alfonzo, the mysterious symbols came to stand for themes of cultural isolation, suffering and defiance. Alfonzo died five years after the completion of this painting. (Mary & Michael Grizzard, Cover Art Editors) ARTICLES AND COMMENTARIES 1441 Invasive Mold Infections Following Combat-related Injuries Tyler Warkentien, Carlos Rodriguez, Bradley Lloyd, Justin Wells, Amy Weintrob, James R. Dunne, Anuradha Ganesan, Ping Li, William Bradley, Lakisha J. Gaskins, Françoise Seillier-Moiseiwitsch, Clinton K. Murray, Eugene V. Millar, Bryan Keenan, Kristopher Paolino, Mark Fleming, Duane R. Hospenthal, Glenn W. Wortmann, Michael L. Landrum, Mark G. Kortepeter, and David R. Tribble; for the Infectious Disease Clinical Research Program Trauma Infectious Disease Outcomes Study Group Trauma-related invasive mold infections are an emerging threat among US military personnel. Early identification of suspicious wounds, based on injury profile and tissue-based diagnosis, require aggressive surgical and empiric antifungal therapy (liposomal amphotericin B and voriconazole pending histopathology and cultures). 1450 Pertussis in Older Adults: Prospective Study of Risk Factors and Morbidity Bette C. Liu, Peter McIntyre, John M. Kaldor, Helen E. Quinn, Iman Ridda, and Emily Banks Among older adults, the risk of hospitalization for pertussis increases with increasing age. Obesity and preexisting asthma also increase the likelihood of disease presentation. Prioritizing adults in these categories for pertussis vaccination may provide greater public health benefit. 1457 Fluoroquinolones and the Risk of Serious Arrhythmia: A Population-Based Study Francesco Lapi, Machelle Wilchesky, Abbas Kezouh, Jacques I. Benisty, Pierre Ernst, and Samy Suissa Few observational studies have been conducted on fluoroquinolone-related cardiac rhythm disorders. Our results demonstrate that patients newly exposed to fluoroquinolones had a greater risk of developing serious arrhythmias. This effect was due predominantly to gatifloxacin, moxifloxacin, and ciprofloxacin. 1466 Population-Based Study of Statins, Angiotensin II Receptor Blockers, and Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors on Pneumonia-Related Outcomes Eric M. Mortensen, Brandy Nakashima, John Cornell, Laurel A. Copeland, Mary Jo Pugh, Antonio Anzueto, Chester Good, Marcos I. Restrepo, John R. Downs, Christopher R. Frei, and Michael J. Fine This study suggests that for older patients hospitalized with pneumonia, use prior to hospitalization of statins, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, and angiotensin receptor blockers may be potentially The section listed above, written by members of the CDC’s Division of Global Migration and Quarantine and focusing on globally mobile populations and infectious disease outbreaks, is freely available in this issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases online (http://cid.oxfordjournals.org). beneficial. In addition, continuing these medications during hospitalization may also be potentially beneficial for patients with pneumonia. 1474 Choice and Doses of Antibacterial Agents for Cement Spacers in Treatment of Prosthetic Joint Infections: Review of Published Studies D. Iarikov, H. Demian, D. Rubin, J. Alexander, and S. Nambiar Sarah Tschudin-Sutter, Reno Frei, Marc Dangel, Anne Stranden, and Andreas F. Widmer The estimated rate of spread of extended-spectrum beta-lactamaseproducing Enterobacteriaceae was low in a tertiary care university-affiliated hospital with high levels of standard hygiene precautions, challenging the routine use of contact isolation in a non-epidemic setting. 1512 Editorial Commentary: Control of MultidrugResistant Microorganisms: Beyond the Hospital Marjolein F. Q. Kluytmans-van den Bergh and Jan A. J. W. Kluytmans 1481 Three-Month Antibiotic Therapy for Early-Onset Postoperative Spinal Implant Infections Vincent Dubée, Thibaut Lenoir, Véronique Leflon-Guibout, Claire Briere-Bellier, Pierre Guigui, and Bruno Fantin In this prospective study, 50 patients with early-onset spinal implant infections received treatment consisting of debridement surgery with implant retention followed by combination antibiotic therapy for 3 months. Results were not inferior to those previously reported with longer treatments. 1488 Addition of Vitamin D Status to Prognostic Scores Improves the Prediction of Outcome in Community-Acquired Pneumonia Hilde H. F. Remmelts, Ewoudt M. W. van de Garde, Sabine C. A. Meijvis, Evelyn L. G. C. A. Peelen, Jan G. M. C. Damoiseaux, Jan C. Grutters, Douwe H. Biesma, Willem Jan W. Bos, and Ger T. Rijkers Vitamin D deficiency is associated with adverse clinical outcome in community-acquired pneumonia. Vitamin D status determined on hospital admission is a predictor of 30-day mortality and adds prognostic value to other biomarkers and prognostic scores, in particular the Pneumonia Severity Index score. 1495 Safety and Effectiveness of Meropenem in Infants With Suspected or Complicated Intra-abdominal Infections Michael Cohen-Wolkowiez, Brenda Poindexter, Margarita Bidegain, Joern-Hendrik Weitkamp, Robert L. Schelonka, David A. Randolph, Robert M. Ward, Kelly Wade, Gloria Valencia, David Burchfield, Antonio Arrieta, Varsha Mehta, Michele Walsh, Anand Kantak, Maynard Rasmussen, Janice E. Sullivan, Neil Finer, Wade Rich, Beverly S. Brozanski, John van den Anker, Jeffrey Blumer, Matthew Laughon, Kevin M. Watt, Gregory L. Kearns, Edmund V. Capparelli, Karen Martz, Katherine Berezny, Daniel K. Benjamin Jr, and P. Brian Smith; for the Meropenem Study Team The safety and effectiveness of meropenem in young infants with suspected or confirmed intra-abdominal infections were evaluated. Meropenem was well tolerated in this cohort of critically-ill infants, and the majority of infants treated with mero (...truncated)