Search results for "AGENTS"

Identification of Candida dubliniensis among oral yeast isolates from an italian population of human immunodeficiency virus-infected (HIV +) subjects

2002

Candida dubliniensis, an emerging oral pathogen, phenotypically resembles Candida albicans so closely that it is easily misidentified as such. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the usefulness of two phenotypic methods, growth at 45 degrees C and 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) reduction, for confirming presumptive identification of C. dubliniensis and C. albicans by colony color on CHROMagar Candida (CAC) medium. A combination of these methods was used to establish the prevalence of oral C. dubliniensis in an Italian population of 45 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected subjects. Twenty-two samples (48.9%) were positive for yeasts on CAC medium producing a total …

Prurigo nodularis due to Mycobacterium tuberculosis

2009

Prurigo nodularis (PN) is a rare chronic skin disorder of unknown origin. Here we describe what is believed to be the first case of PN associated with tuberculosis. For the first time, culture and PCR analysis of skin biopsy confirmed the presence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex in PN skin lesions. The pruritus and skin lesions resolved following antitubercular therapy. Our case provides further evidence in favour of a link between PN and mycobacterial infection.

Randomized Study of Early versus Late Immunization with Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine after Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation

2009

BACKGROUND: Invasive pneumococcal disease is a life-threatening complication after allogeneic stem cell transplantation, and at least 20% of cases occur within 1 year after transplantation. The 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV23) has limited efficacy, especially during the first year after transplantation. The immune response to the conjugated vaccines is expected to be better than that to the polysaccharide vaccine, but the optimal timing of vaccination is not defined. Our objective was to show that a 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7; Prevnar) was not inferior when first given 3 months after transplantation, compared with when first given 9 months after trans…

Safety of Long-Term Oral Posaconazole Use in the Treatment of Refractory Invasive Fungal Infections

2005

Background Invasive fungal infections are found most frequently in immunosuppressed and critically ill hospitalized patients. Antifungal therapy is often required for long periods. Safety data from the clinical development program of the triazole antifungal agent, posaconazole, were analyzed. Methods A total of 428 patients with refractory invasive fungal infections (n = 362) or febrile neutropenia (n = 66) received posaconazole in 2 phase II/III open-label clinical trials. Also, 109 of these patients received posaconazole therapy for > or = 6 months. Incidences of treatment-emergent, treatment-related, and serious adverse events and abnormal laboratory parameters were recorded during these…

Selective decontamination of the digestive tract in adult-to-adult living related liver transplant patients: a single centre experience

2008

Changes over time in risk factors for cardiovascular disease and use of lipid-lowering drugs in HIV-infected individuals and impact on myocardial inf…

2008

Background. Because of the known relationship between exposure to combination antiretroviral therapy and cardiovascular disease (CVD), it has become increasingly important to intervene against risk of CVD in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients. We evaluated changes in risk factors for CVD and the use of lipid-lowering therapy in HIV-infected individuals and assessed the impact of any changes on the incidence of myocardial infarction. Methods. The Data Collection on Adverse Events of Anti-HIV Drugs Study is a collaboration of 11 cohorts of HIV-infected patients that included follow-up for 33,389 HIV-infected patients from December 1999 through February 2006. Results. The pro…

Efficacy of caspofungin and itraconazole as secondary antifungal prophylaxis: analysis of data from a multinational case registry

2009

Patients surviving invasive fungal disease (IFD) and needing further antineoplastic chemotherapy are at high risk of recurrent fungal infection. In the absence of randomised controlled trials in this area, secondary prophylactic regimens are diverse. From 448 patients registered with the Multinational Case Registry of Secondary Antifungal Prophylaxis, we performed an analysis of patients receiving caspofungin (CAS) or itraconazole (ITC). All patients had an underlying haematological malignancy and had been diagnosed with an episode of IFD earlier in their course of treatment. Data collected comprised demographics, underlying disease, first episode of IFD, antifungal prophylaxis, incidence a…

Caspofungin for the treatment of candidaemia in patients with haematological malignancies

2010

AbstractThis study was prospectively conducted in 11 haematology divisions over a 2-year period to evaluate the efficacy of caspofungin in 24 neutropenic patients with haematological malignancies (HM) and candidaemia. These patients had received chemotherapy for HM and were neutropenic (PNN < 0.5 × 109/L) for a median of 12 days (2–41) before candidaemia. The patients received caspofungin for a median duration of 12 days (range 6–26), obtaining a favourable overall response of 58%. At 30 days, 11 patients had died (46%); candidaemia was responsible for mortality in six patients (25%). These results suggest that treatment of candidaemia with caspofungin in neutropenic HM was efficacious, as …

Prospective study of amphotericin B formulations in immunocompromised patients in 4 European countries

2005

Background. Amphotericin B is a widely used broad-spectrum antifungal agent, despite being associated with significant adverse events, including nephrotoxicity. Methods. The present prospective study collected data on outcomes for 418 adult patients treated consecutively with polyenes in hematology and oncology wards in 20 hospitals in Europe. Results. Patients initially received amphotericin B deoxycholate (62% of patients), liposomal amphotericin B (27%), or other lipid formulations of amphotericin B (11%). Of the patients initially treated with amphotericin B deoxycholate, 36% had therapy switched to lipid formulations of amphotericin B, primarily because of increased serum creatinine le…

Response-adjusted α-interferon therapy for chronic hepatitis C in HIV-infected patients

2000

Abstract In patients with chronic hepatitis C and HIV infection, responsiveness to the standard schedule of α-interferon (IFN) is unsatisfactory. To quantify the effectiveness of tailoring IFN dosage according to HCV viral load under treatment, we enrolled 41 patients (M/F 32/9) chronically coinfected by HCV and HIV with chronic liver disease. All were former i.v. drug addicts, with a mean age of 32±4 years, and had clinical and histological evidence of chronic hepatitis (10% with cirrhosis). The CDC stage was A1 in five, A2 in 14, A3 in eight, B2 in eight, B3 in three and C3 in three. Twenty four patients were on triple therapy with protease inhibitors, 11 were on two-drug anti-HIV regimen…