Publications by authors named "A Cialfi"
Article Synopsis
- Intravenous drug users (PWIDs) accounted for 9% of the 677 patients with infective endocarditis (IE) studied in an Italian registry, with most being middle-aged males and having significant comorbidities like HIV and chronic liver disease.* -
- The majority of IE cases in PWIDs affected native heart valves, with echocardiographic diagnoses supported by the presence of vegetation in almost 92% of cases, while Staphylococcus aureus was the predominant microorganism isolated.* -
- Surgery was performed on about half of the PWID patients, primarily involving aortic and mitral valves, and those with right-sided IE generally showed a better prognosis and lower need for surgical interventions.*
The goal of our work was to titer the IgG, IgM and IgA in Pentaglobin® (a preparation enriched in IgM), targeting specific surface antigens of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria as well as a C. albicans strain. Lipopolysaccharides from Gram-negative bacteria, peptidoglycan and lipoteichoic acid from the other microorganisms were extracted and used in several ELISA assays in order to determine the titration of immunoglobulins in Pentaglobin® directed towards the aforementioned surface antigens.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Changes in the incidence, clinical features and microbiology of infective endocarditis (IE) observed in a single center in Italy were compared between the period 2003-2010 and 2011-2015.
Methods: All cases of IE, defined as definite or possible according to the modified Duke criteria, observed at the 'L. Sacco' Hospital in Milan, Italy between 2003 and 2015 were retrospectively reviewed.
Article Synopsis
- This study compares early surgery (within 2 weeks of diagnosis) to late surgery/medical therapy for patients with left-sided infective endocarditis, aiming to assess survival outcomes.
- An analysis of 502 patients revealed that early surgery did not significantly reduce mortality risk compared to late surgery, despite some differences in patient characteristics and conditions.
- The study concludes that while early surgery may not show a clear survival benefit, further randomized trials are necessary before making changes to current treatment practices.