Search results for " Infectious Diseases"
showing 10 items of 138 documents
Fermented Milk Consumption and Common Infections in Children Attending Day-Care Centers: A Randomized Trial
2016
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Assessment of humoral and cell-mediated immunity against Bordetella pertussis in adolescent, adult, and senior subjects in Italy
2008
SUMMARYHumoral and cell-mediated immunity (CMI) againstB. pertussiswas assessed in a sample of adolescent, adult and senior subjects distributed in five different geographical areas in Italy. Most (99·1%) subjects had IgG anti-pertussis toxin (PT) antibodies exceeding the minimum detection level [⩾2 ELISA units (EU)/ml]. There were no significant differences between the genders; 6·2% samples recorded titres ⩾100 EU/ml. CMI was positive [stimulation index (SI) ⩾5] against PT in 39·0% of all samples. This study suggests thatB. pertussiscontinues to circulate in age groups that have been previously considered to be uninvolved in the circulation of this pathogen and that adolescent and adult pe…
Undetectable HCV-RNA at treatment-week 8 results in high-sustained virological response in HCV G1 treatment-experienced patients with advanced liver …
2015
In many countries, first-generation protease inhibitors (PIs)/peginterferon/ribavirin (P/R) still represent the only treatment option for HCV-infected patients. Subjects with advanced disease and previous failure to P/R urgently need therapy, but they are under-represented in clinical trials. All treatment-experienced F3/4 Metavir patients who received boceprevir (BOC)+P/R in the Italian-Spanish Name Patient Program have been included in this study. Multivariate logistic regression analysis (MLR) was used to identify baseline and on-treatment predictors of SVR and adverse events (AEs). Four hundred and sixteen patients, mean age 57.7 (range 25-78 years), 70% males, 69.5% (289/416) F4, 14% (…
Influence of universal HBV vaccination on chronic HBV infection in Italy: Results of a cross-sectional multicenter study
2017
Background and Aim The universal hepatitis B vaccination for infants and 12-year-old adolescents (the latter limited to the first 12 years of application) was launched in Italy in 1991. Twenty-three years later we evaluated the impact of the vaccination campaign on the burden of HBsAg-positive chronic liver diseases (CLD). Material and Methods 513 HBsAg-positive chronic carriers referring to 16 Italian liver units were investigated and compared with HBsAg carriers enrolled in previous surveys. Results The proportion of inactive carriers decreased from 20.0% in 2001 to 3.3% in 2014, while that of cirrhotic patients increased from 22.6 to 33.2%. Regarding the age class 0–33 (fully covered by …
Genotypic resistance profiles associated with virological failure to darunavir-containing regimens: a cross-sectional analysis.
2012
Introduction: This study aimed at defining protease (PR) resistance mutations associated with darunavir (DRV) failure and PR resistance evolution at DRV failure in a large database of treatment-experienced human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients. Results: Overall, 1,104 patients were included: 118 (10.7%) failed at a median observation time of 16 months. The mean number of PR mutations at baseline was 2.7, but it was higher in patients who subsequently failed DRV. In addition, the number of PR mutations increased at failure. The increase in the mean number of mutations was completely related to mutations considered to be associated with DRV resistance following the indications of the ma…
Timing of surgery following SARS-CoV-2 infection: an international prospective cohort study
2021
Peri-operative SARS-CoV-2 infection increases postoperative mortality. The aim of this study was to determine the optimal duration of planned delay before surgery in patients who have had SARS-CoV-2 infection. This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study included patients undergoing elective or emergency surgery during October 2020. Surgical patients with pre-operative SARS-CoV-2 infection were compared with those without previous SARS-CoV-2 infection. The primary outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality. Logistic regression models were used to calculate adjusted 30-day mortality rates stratified by time from diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection to surgery. Among 140,231…
Ticks infesting humans in Italy and associated pathogens
2014
Background: Ticks may transmit a large variety of pathogens, which cause illnesses in animals and humans, commonly referred to as to tick-borne diseases (TBDs). The incidence of human TBDs in Italy is underestimated because of poor surveillance and the scant amount of studies available. Methods. Samples (n = 561) were collected from humans in four main geographical areas of Italy (i.e., northwestern, northeastern, southern Italy, and Sicily), which represent a variety of environments. After being morphologically identified, ticks were molecularly tested with selected protocols for the presence of pathogens of the genera Rickettsia, Babesia, Theileria, Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis, Bor…
Effectiveness of dolutegravir-based regimens as either first-line or switch antiretroviral therapy: data from the Icona cohort
2019
Introduction: Concerns about dolutegravir (DTG) tolerability in the real-life setting have recently arisen. We aimed to estimate the risk of treatment discontinuation and virological failure of DTG-based regimens from a large cohort of HIV-infected individuals. Methods: We performed a multicentre, observational study including all antiretroviral therapy (ART)-naïve and virologically suppressed treatment-experienced (TE) patients from the Icona (Italian Cohort Naïve Antiretrovirals) cohort who started, for the first time, a DTG-based regimen from January 2015 to December 2017. We estimated the cumulative risk of DTG discontinuation regardless of the reason and for toxicity, and of virologica…
Abdominal infections in the intensive care unit: characteristics, treatment and determinants of outcome
2014
Background: Abdominal infections are frequent causes of sepsis and septic shock in the intensive care unit (ICU) and are associated with adverse outcomes. We analyzed the characteristics, treatments and outcome of ICU patients with abdominal infections using data extracted from a one-day point prevalence study, the Extended Prevalence of Infection in the ICU (EPIC) II.Methods: EPIC II included 13,796 adult patients from 1,265 ICUs in 75 countries. Infection was defined using the International Sepsis Forum criteria. Microbiological analyses were performed locally. Participating ICUs provided patient follow-up until hospital discharge or for 60 days.Results: Of the 7,087 infected patients, 1,…
Variability in protein binding of teicoplanin and achievement of therapeutic drug monitoring targets in critically ill patients: Lessons from the DAL…
2014
The aims of this study were to describe the variability in protein binding of teicoplanin in critically ill patients as well as the number of patients achieving therapeutic target concentrations. This report is part of the multinational pharmacokinetic DALI Study. Patients were sampled on a single day, with blood samples taken both at the midpoint and the end of the dosing interval. Total and unbound teicoplanin concentrations were assayed using validated chromatographic methods. The lower therapeutic range of teicoplanin was defined as total trough concentrations from 10 to 20 mg/L and the higher range as 10-30 mg/L. Thirteen critically ill patients were available for analysis. The followi…