Search results for "letters"
showing 10 items of 129 documents
Progression of aortic pulse wave velocity in patients with chronic kidney disease.
2013
Aortic pulse wave velocity (aPWV) is elevated in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and predicts cardiovascular risk. However, the natural progression of arterial stiffness in these patients remains uncertain. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to investigate the development of aPWV and to identify potential factors associated with its progression. aPWV measurement was carried out in 70 CKD patients at baseline and after 12 months. Correlations to several variables, in particular annual glomerular filtration rate reduction and diabetes mellitus, were studied. In the cohort, aPWV significantly increased in 1 year by 1.1 m/s (P<.01). Dividing the group into patients with stable…
Maggot therapy following orbital exenteration
2007
Orbital exenteration is a radical surgery reserved for the treatment of locally invasive or potentially life-threatening orbital tumours.1 Complications occur after 20–25% of exenterations and include tissue necrosis (6%) and infection (3–4%).2–4 In the present report, we describe the management of a post-exenteration orbital infection by the use of maggots. An 82-year-old multimorbid man presented with a fist-sized painless tumour of the left orbit (fig 1A). Computed tomography demonstrated an orbital mass clearly demarcated from the surrounding tissue (fig 1B). After biopsy, the neoplasm was classified as a borderline-malignant extrapleural solitary fibrous tumour. Therefore, a total orbi…
The Dual/Global Value of SARS-CoV-2 Genome Surveillance on Migrants Arriving to Europe via the Mediterranean Routes.
2021
Despite the pandemic, 34,154 migrants, refugees or asylum-seekers landed in Sicily (Italy) in 2020, representing the main point of entry by sea into Europe. The SARS-CoV-2 surveillance program among migrants arriving to Sicily via the Mediterranean Sea, made by the combination of clinical examination and molecular testing, has been integrated by full-genome sequencing strains using the NGS technology from the last week of February. To date, more than one hundred full-genome strains have been sequenced and 8 different lineages have been identified mostly belonging to the lineages B.1.1.7 and B.1.525. As global access to COVID-19 vaccines should be ensured, the need to provide more detailed i…
Outbreak of infection with Klebsiella pneumoniae sequence type 258 producing Klebsiella pneumoniae Carbapenemase 3 in an intensive care unit in Italy
2010
Gram-negative pathogens producing carbapenemases represent an alarming clinical threat with serious effects on patient outcomes ([3][1], [7][2]). In 2001, Yigit et al. ([11][3]) reported a novel β-lactamase termed “ K lebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase” (KPC-1) in North Carolina. KPC-producing
Novel Recombinant Norovirus in China
2006
To the Editor: Norovirus (NoV), the distinct genus within the family Caliciviridae, is a major cause of sporadic cases and outbreaks of acute gastroenteritis in humans (1). NoV possesses a positive-sense, single-stranded RNA genome surrounded by an icosahedral capsid. The NoV genome contains 3 open reading frames (ORFs). ORF1 encodes nonstructural proteins, ORF 2 encodes capsid protein (VP1), and ORF3 encodes a small capsid protein (VP2). NoV is still uncultivable by standard culture with different cell lines. However, expression of either VP1 or both VP1 and VP2 with recombinant baculoviruses formed viruslike particles that are morphologically and antigenically similar to the native virion…
VanB-VanC1 Enterococcus gallinarum, Italy
2005
To the Editor: We report detecting a vanB determinant in Enterococcus gallinarum in poultry in Italy. High-level vanA-mediated glycopeptide resistance has been described for E. gallinarum and E. casseliflavus (1–4), and vanB-mediated vancomycin resistance has been frequently described for E. faecalis and E. faecium. However, vanB-mediated resistance in isolates of E. gallinarum has been described only in sporadic nosocomial cases of infection or colonization (5,6). In January 2005, a study of contamination by foodborne organisms in slaughtered broiler carcasses was conducted in Sicily. To detect glycopeptide-resistant enterococci (GRE), each carcass was placed in a bag with 100 mL sterile b…
Israeli Spotted FeverRickettsiain SicilianRhipicephalus sanguineusTicks
2003
To the Editor: Mediterranean spotted fever (MSF) is endemic in Italy, where it is a reportable disease. From 1992 to 1998, the Italian Ministry of Health was notified of approximately 8,500 cases of human rickettsioses presumed to be MSF. MSF occurs more commonly in some central (Lazio) and southern (Sardinia, Sicily, and Calabria) regions (1,2); in 1998, an average of 8.8 cases occurred for every 100,000 persons in Sicily, compared with the national average of 1.6 cases per 100,000 persons. Rickettsia conorii has been thought to be the only pathogenic Rickettsia of the spotted fever group in Sicily (3,4) or the western Mediterranean area. Recently, three different spotted fever group ricke…
Misidentification ofDiphyllobothriumSpecies Related to Global Fish Trade, Europe
2014
To the Editor: Diphyllobothriosis, infection by tapeworms of the genus Diphyllobothrium (Cestoda: Diphyllobothriidea) (1), is a well-known disease of humans. In Europe, infections caused by 3 species of Diphyllobothrium have recently been reported in humans: D. latum is considered to be the principal species infecting persons in Europe (1); 4 cases of D. dendriticum infection and 6 cases of D. nihonkaiense infection have also been reported (2,3). Except for those caused by D. latum, which is autochthonous in northeastern Europe and subalpine lakes, most of the cases in Europe have been imported or caused by consumption of fish imported from areas to which the parasites are endemic (1,3,4). …
Rickettsia conorii Indian Tick Typhus Strain and R. slovaca in Humans, Sicily
2012
Letter to the Editor.-- et al.
Drug Resistance in Salmonella enterica ser. Typhimurium Bloodstream Infection, Malawi
2014
To the Editor: Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium is one of the most common causes of bloodstream infection in sub-Saharan Africa (1). Among adults, the principal risk factor for invasive nontyphoidal Salmonella (iNTS) disease is advanced HIV infection; up to 44% of HIV-infected patients experience bacteremic recurrence through recrudescence of the original infection (2,3). Epidemics of iNTS disease in sub-Saharan Africa have been associated with a novel genotype of S. enterica ser. Typhimurium of multilocus sequence type (ST) 313 that is rarely seen outside the region and is associated with multidrug resistance (MDR) to chloramphenicol, cotrimoxazole, and ampicillin (4,5). As a conse…