0000000000369242
AUTHOR
Carlo Magni
Clinical use of polymerase chain reaction performed on peripheral blood and bone marrow samples for the diagnosis and monitoring of visceral leishmaniasis in HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected patients: a single-center, 8-year experience in Italy and review of the literature
Background To overcome some of the limitations of conventional microbiologic techniques, polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based assays are proposed as useful tools for the diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis. Patients and methods A comparative study using conventional microbiologic techniques (i.e., serologic testing, microscopic examination, and culture) and a Leishmania species-specific PCR assay, using peripheral blood and bone marrow aspirate samples as templates, was conducted during an 8-year period. The study cohort consisted of 594 Italian immunocompetent (adult and pediatric) and immunocompromised (adult) patients experiencing febrile syndromes associated with hematologic alteration…
Efficacy and safety of Boceprevir-based therapy in HCVG1 treatment-experienced patients with advanced fibrosis/cirrhosis: Italian NPP survey
S. Bruno1, S. Bollani1, A.L. Zignego2, V. Calvaruso3, C. Magni4, S. Landonio4, M. Rizzetto5, A. Ciancio5, A. Mangia6, V. Piazzolla6, M. Caremani7, S. Piovesan8, L. Cavalletto9, S. Babudieri9, A. Moretti 10, C. Colletta11, M. Massari12, S. Fangazio13, F. Mazzotta14, L. Muratori15, A.E. Colombo16, M. Zuin17, A. Traverso18, T. Santantonio19, F. Farina20, E. Marchionne21, G. Serviddio22, M. Russello23, A. Licata24, A. Craxi3, V. Di Marco3 1 Internal Medicine, AO Fatebenefratelli e Oftalmico, Milano, Italy 2 Internal Medicine, Universita di Firenze, Italy 3 Gastroenterology, Universita di Palermo, Italy 4 Infectiuos Diseases, Ospedale Sacco, Milano, Italy 5 Gastroenterology, Universita di Torino…
Improvement of ALT decay kinetics by all-oral HCV treatment: Role of NS5A inhibitors and differences with IFN-based regimens
Background Intracellular HCV-RNA reduction is a proposed mechanism of action of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs), alternative to hepatocytes elimination by pegylated-interferon plus ribavirin (PR). We modeled ALT and HCV-RNA kinetics in cirrhotic patients treated with currently-used all-DAA combinations to evaluate their mode of action and cytotoxicity compared with telaprevir (TVR)+PR. Study design Mathematical modeling of ALT and HCV-RNA kinetics was performed in 111 HCV-1 cirrhotic patients, 81 treated with all-DAA regimens and 30 with TVR+PR. Kinetic-models and Cox-analysis were used to assess determinants of ALT-decay and normalization. Results HCV-RNA kinetics was biphasic, reflecting …
Role of PCR in Diagnosis and Prognosis of Visceral Leishmaniasis in Patients Coinfected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1
ABSTRACT A group of 76 consecutive human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients with fever of unknown origin ( n = 52) or fever associated with pulmonary diseases was evaluated in order to assess the usefulness of PCR with peripheral blood in the diagnosis and follow-up of visceral leishmaniasis. We identified 10 cases of visceral leishmaniasis among the 52 patients with fever of unknown origin. At the time of diagnosis, all were parasitemic by PCR with peripheral blood. During follow-up, a progressive decline in parasitemia was observed under therapy, and all patients became PCR negative after a median of 5 weeks (range, 6 to 21 weeks). However, in eight of nine patients monitored …