Publications by authors named "Ana Fernandez Cruz"
How can we optimize the diagnostic and therapeutic approach to pneumonia? Expert opinion-based recommendations.
Enferm Infecc Microbiol Clin (Engl Ed)
October 2024
Article Synopsis
- - Pneumonia is a common and serious infectious disease, significantly impacting mortality rates and healthcare resources.
- - The OPENIN Group, comprised of specialists in Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, focuses on improving clinical processes related to pneumonia diagnosis and treatment through a review of existing scientific research.
- - The group's initial meeting in October 2023 addressed optimizing pneumonia diagnosis, possibly reducing antibiotic treatment duration, and exploring the use of immunomodulatory strategies like steroids, leading to expert recommendations based on their findings.
Article Synopsis
- A study analyzed the management and mortality outcomes of nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) infections in solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients, focusing on data from 2008 to 2018.
- Out of 85 patients with NTM infections and 169 matched controls, one-year mortality was significantly higher in the infected group (20%) compared to controls (3%), particularly among those who had lung transplants.
- Factors like time to treatment and changes in immunosuppression levels did not show a direct correlation with mortality rates among the patients.
Trends in epidemiology, surgical management, and prognosis of infective endocarditis during the XXI century in Spain: A population-based nationwide study.
J Infect Public Health
May 2024
Background: Few population-based studies have evaluated the epidemiology of infective endocarditis (IE). Changes in population demographics and guidelines on IE may have affected both the incidence and outcomes of IE. Therefore, the aim of our study is to provide contemporary population-based epidemiological data of IE in Spain.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUsefulness of F-FDG PET-CT in the Management of Febrile Neutropenia: A Retrospective Cohort from a Tertiary University Hospital and a Systematic Review.
Microorganisms
January 2024
Febrile neutropenia (FN) is a complication of hematologic malignancy therapy. An early diagnosis would allow optimization of antimicrobials. The F-FDG-PET-CT may be useful; however, its role is not well established.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEfficacy and safety of antiviral plus anti-spike monoclonal antibody combination therapy vs. monotherapy for high-risk immunocompromised patients with mild-to-moderate SARS-CoV2 infection during the Omicron era: A prospective cohort study.
Int J Antimicrob Agents
March 2024
Introduction: Antivirals and monoclonal antibodies lower the risk of progression in immunocompromised patients. However, combination therapy with both types of agents has not been studied.
Patients And Methods: This was a single-centre, prospective, cohort study.
Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) are currently considered typical microorganisms causing infective endocarditis (IE) in patients with prosthetic valves. The objective was to determine variables associated with IE in patients with CoNS bacteremia. We performed an analysis of the clinical characteristics of patients with CoNS bacteremia admitted to a university hospital in Madrid (Spain) from 2021 to December 2022 according to the occurrence of IE.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe (1→3)-β-D-glucan (BDG) is a component of the fungal cell wall that can be detected in serum and used as an adjunctive tool for the diagnosis of invasive mold infections (IMI) in patients with hematologic cancer or other immunosuppressive conditions. However, its use is limited by modest sensitivity/specificity, inability to differentiate between fungal pathogens, and lack of detection of mucormycosis. Data about BDG performance for other relevant IMI, such as invasive fusariosis (IF) and invasive scedosporiosis/lomentosporiosis (IS) are scarce.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: The evaluation of staging and activity of invasive fungal infection (IFI) is used to adjust the type and duration of antifungal therapy (AT). Typically anatomy-based imaging is used. Positron emission tomography/CT with F-fluorodeoxyglucose (F-FDG PET/CT) not only evaluates more than one body area in one session, but adds functional information to the anatomic data provided by usual imaging techniques and can potentially improve staging of IFI and monitoring of the response to therapy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Underlying immunodeficiency has been associated with worse clinical presentation and increased mortality in patients with COVID-19. We evaluated the mortality of solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients (SOTR) hospitalized in Spain due to COVID-19.
Methods: Nationwide, retrospective, observational analysis of all adults hospitalized because of COVID-19 in Spain during 2020.
Objectives: We describe the current epidemiology, causes, and outcomes of breakthrough invasive fungal infections (BtIFI) in patients with haematologic malignancies.
Methods: BtIFI in patients with ≥ 7 days of prior antifungals were prospectively diagnosed (36 months across 13 Spanish hospitals) according to revised EORTC/MSG definitions.
Results: 121 episodes of BtIFI were documented, of which 41 (33.
Objectives: We aimed to analyse the efficacy and safety of oral sequential therapy (OST) in uncomplicated Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia (SAB).
Methods: Single-centre observational cohort at a tertiary hospital in Spain, including all patients with the first SAB episode from January 2015 to December 2020. We excluded patients with complicated SAB and those who died during the first week.
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates the safety and effectiveness of sotrovimab for treating severe COVID-19 in immunocompromised patients, specifically looking at data from October to December 2021.
- Out of 32 patients studied, most were either organ transplant recipients or had blood cancers, with some experiencing respiratory issues and a small percentage dying or needing ventilation.
- Results suggest that early treatment within the first two weeks may lead to better outcomes, and no adverse effects were reported from sotrovimab, indicating it could be a safe option that requires further research.
Background: In this international multicenter study, we aimed to determine the independent risk factors associated with increased 30 day mortality and the impact of cancer and novel treatment modalities in a large group of patients with and without cancer with COVID-19 from multiple countries.
Methods: We retrospectively collected de-identified data on a cohort of patients with and without cancer diagnosed with COVID-19 between January and November 2020 from 16 international centers.
Results: We analyzed 3966 COVID-19 confirmed patients, 1115 with cancer and 2851 without cancer patients.
Faecal Microbiota Transplantation is a simple, effective and safe treatment in the management of C. difficile infection in daily clinical practice.
Enferm Infecc Microbiol Clin (Engl Ed)
April 2023
Introduction: Faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is a treatment supported by wide scientific evidence and proved to be very effective in the management of Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI). The objective of this study is to analyze its effectiveness and safety in a real clinical practice setting.
Methods: Retrospective, single-center and descriptive observational study in which all FMT performed between May 2016 and December 2020 were included.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought up a new host for fungal invasive infections [...
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- * The study noted that only 16.2% of the patients were vaccinated with two or more doses prior to COVID-19 diagnosis, and vaccination status was linked to lower mortality rates.
- * Key risk factors for increased mortality included older age, active malignancy, severe COVID-19 symptoms, and ICU admission, with additional findings showing no significant difference in survival rates between NHL and CLL patients.
Background: In this international multicenter study we aimed to determine the independent risk factors associated with increased 30-day mortality and the impact of novel treatment modalities in a large group of cancer and non-cancer patients with COVID-19 from multiple countries.
Methods: We retrospectively collected de-identified data on a cohort of cancer and non-cancer patients diagnosed with COVID-19 between January and November 2020, from 16 international centers.
Results: We analyzed 3966 COVID-19 confirmed patients, 1115 cancer and 2851 non-cancer patients.
We aimed to evaluate the clinical outcome of Systemic Autoimmune Diseases (SADs) patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Spain, before the introduction of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. A nationwide, retrospective and observational analysis of the patients admitted during 2020, based on the ICD10 codes in the National Registry of Hospital Discharges, was performed. Among 117,694 patients, only 892 (0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Risk factors for nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) infections after solid organ transplant (SOT) are not well characterized. Here we aimed to describe these factors.
Methods: Retrospective, multinational, 1:2 matched case-control study that included SOT recipients ≥12 years old diagnosed with NTM infection from 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2018.
Purpose: To evaluate Red blood cell distribution width (RDW) as a sepsis prognostic biomarker.
Methods: 203 septic patients admitted to the ICU. Analysis of RDW dynamics, hospital mortality discrimination ability and the added value when incorporated to the SOFA, LODS, SAPS-II and APACHE-II scores using the AUC-ROC.
Severely ill COVID-19 patients are at high risk of nosocomial infections. The aim of the study was to describe the characteristics of candidemia during the pre-pandemic period (January 2019−February 2020) compared to the pandemic period (March 2020−September 2021). Antifungal susceptibilities were assessed using the EUCAST E.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Red blood cell distribution width (RDW) could reflect interleukin-6 (IL-6) systemic activity since anisocytosis represents the inhibition of erythropoiesis, leaded by the hyperinflammatory background. Our objective was to analyze RDW performance to predict outcome in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).
Methods: Retrospective observational study including 173 patients with COVID-19-associated ARDS.
Article Synopsis
- The study assessed the impact of ceftolozane-tazobactam (C/T) treatment on mortality and mechanical ventilation needs in neutropenic hematologic patients with Pseudomonas aeruginosa bloodstream infections (PA BSI), comparing it to other antibiotic treatments.
- Out of 132 patients analyzed, a significant majority (91%) had multidrug-resistant PA strains, with pneumonia and endogenous sources being the most common origins for BSI.
- Results showed that C/T treatment significantly reduced the need for mechanical ventilation and lowered both 7-day and 30-day mortality rates compared to alternative antibiotics in this vulnerable patient population.
Article Synopsis
- Lower motivation in older individuals with HIV is not well-understood, and effort-cost decision-making (ECDM) tasks may help measure motivation by evaluating willingness to exert effort for rewards.
- A study involving 80 older adults with well-controlled HIV looked for links between ECDM task performance and self-reported motivation but found no direct relationship.
- Despite no correlation with motivation, participants who were willing to exert more effort in ECDM tasks reported spending more time on real-world activities, indicating some potential clinical relevance for assessing motivation.