Influence of the timing of cardiac surgery on the outcome of patients with infective endocarditis and stroke.

Background: The timing of cardiac surgery after stroke in infective endocarditis (IE) remains controversial. We examined the relationship between the timing of surgery after stroke and the incidence of in-hospital and 1-year mortalities.

Methods: Data were obtained from the International Collaboration on Endocarditis-Prospective Cohort Study of 4794 patients with definite IE who were admitted to 64 centers from June 2000 through December 2006.

Safety and effectiveness of azithromycin in the treatment of respiratory infections in children.

Objectives: To describe clinical effectiveness of azithromycin in the management of respiratory tract infections in children up to 12 years of age; to examine duration of symptoms after commencement of therapy and to mark adverse events possibly caused by treatment with azithromycin.

Methods: The overall ITT population included 156 children (65 with acute pharyngitis/tonsillitis (AP), 32 with acute otitis media (AOM), and 59 with lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI)). Clinical effectiveness was based on results of improvement and cure after 3 day's treatment with azithromycin, calculating the clinical score for each diagnosis before treatment, at the 4th day (end of the therapy) and at the 12th or 28th day (end of the study).

Liver involvement during influenza infection: perspective on the 2009 influenza pandemic.

Elevation of liver transaminase levels is a frequent observation during systemic infections. The aim of our study was to investigate liver damage during pandemic 2009 influenza A/H1N1 infection in comparison with seasonal influenza. Serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) were significantly higher in patients with pandemic influenza compared to seasonal influenza, which was strongly correlated with hypoxia.

[Lipopeptides and oxazolidinones--novel antibiotics in MRSA infection treatment].

Last few years vancomycin-intermediate S. aureus and vancomycin-resistent S. aureus have emerged, giving us a task to reevaluate susceptiblity to vancomycin in treatment of methicillin-resistent S.

Climate for career choices: survey of medical students' motivation for studying, career preferences and perception of their teachers as role models.

Background: To assess the educational climate at a medical school, we explored students' perception of their motives for study, the importance of students' personal characteristics for success in the study and profession of medicine, students' perceptions of professional and personal characteristics of their teachers, and students' preferences for their future careers in medicine.

Methods: We surveyed all students coming to the administration office to enroll for the following academic year (2nd to 6th year of study, n = 738) at Zagreb University Medical School, Croatia. Responses with answers to all questions (n = 482, 65% response rate) were analyzed.

The importance of pathogens in sepsis: Staphylococcus aureus story.

Different pathogens cause different outcomes for patients with sepsis. They influence intensive care unit (ICU) mortality, ICU length of stay (ICU LOS) and the need for mechanical ventilation (MV). We undertook a retrospective data-based analysis over a 6-y period.