Background: The Combination Antibiotic Therapy for Methicillin-Resistant (CAMERA2) trial ceased recruitment in July 2018, noting that a higher proportion of patients in the intervention arm (combination therapy) developed acute kidney injury (AKI) compared to the standard therapy (monotherapy) arm. We analyzed the long-term outcomes of participants in CAMERA2 to understand the impact of combination antibiotic therapy and AKI.
Methods: Trial sites obtained additional follow-up data.
Background: Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) is a devastating condition and there is a lack of evidence to guide its management. We hypothesized that treatment success is independently associated with modifiable variables in surgical and antibiotic management.
Methods: The is a prospective, observational study at 27 hospitals across Australia and New Zealand.
During the recent coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, telehealth has received greater attention due to its role in reducing hospital visits from patients with COVID-19 or other conditions, while supporting home isolation in patients with mild symptoms. The needs of patients with chronic diseases tend to be overlooked during the pandemic. With reduced opportunities for routine clinic visits, these patients are adopting various telehealth services such as video consultation and remote monitoring.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) is a devastating complication of joint replacement surgery. Most observational studies of PJI are retrospective or single-center, and reported management approaches and outcomes vary widely. We hypothesized that there would be substantial heterogeneity in PJI management and that most PJIs would present as late acute infections occurring as a consequence of bloodstream infections.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImportance: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteremia is associated with mortality of more than 20%. Combining standard therapy with a β-lactam antibiotic has been associated with reduced mortality, although adequately powered randomized clinical trials of this intervention have not been conducted.
Objective: To determine whether combining an antistaphylococcal β-lactam with standard therapy is more effective than standard therapy alone in patients with MRSA bacteremia.
Purpose: Outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy (OPAT) is a widely accepted and safe therapeutic option for carefully selected patients. This study reviewed the practice of an OPAT service in a large Australian tertiary teaching hospital in Western Sydney over a 10-year period.
Method: Data were retrieved from a prospectively maintained electronic database which included information on patient demographics, clinical diagnosis, microbiological identity, antimicrobial therapy, complications and readmissions.
Background: Benefits associated with telemedicine are contingent upon positive user perceptions. Despite this, research on user perceptions of telemedicine remains limited.
Introduction: Usability approaches offer a robust way to assess user perceptions, but have rarely been applied in telemedicine.
Background: In vitro laboratory and animal studies demonstrate a synergistic role for the combination of vancomycin and antistaphylococcal β-lactams for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteremia. Prospective clinical data are lacking.
Methods: In this open-label, multicenter, clinical trial, adults with MRSA bacteremia received vancomycin 1.
The study was conducted with an aim to assess the efficacy of recombinant HBV vaccination in untreated HBV seronegative HIV/AIDS subjects as compared to normal controls. The second objective was to identify differences in CD4 and CD8 T cell numbers/kinetics/functions and levels of TH2 cytokines (IL4 and IL10) in different groups during the three-dose vaccination regimen. 40 HIV/AIDS patients were subdivided into groups 1A where patients had a high CD4 (> 200/mm3) count and IB where patients had a low CD4 (< 200/mm3) count.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Patients with HIV infection are at risk of co-infection with HBV, as the routes of transmission are shared and thus immunization with HBV vaccine could be protective in them. The aim of the present study was to assess the efficacy of recombinant vaccine in treatment-naive HIV positive patients and healthy controls, and to dissect out differences if any, in different limbs of immune response.
Methods: Forty HIV positive patients and 20 HIV negative controls, negative for HBsAg, HBsAbs and HBcAbs were vaccinated with three doses of 40 microg and 20 microg of vaccine respectively.
We sought to develop a clinically useful index comprising standard and physiologically relevant variables to predict the probability of significant hepatic fibrosis in subjects with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Fibrosis was graded as mild (stages F0 or F1) or significant (stages F2-F4). Thirty-five clinical and laboratory parameters were analyzed initially in 176 patients with detectable HCV RNA to derive a fibrosis probability index (FPI) to predict significant fibrosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground & Aims: Chronic hepatitis C virus infection is associated with an increased prevalence of type 2 diabetes. We hypothesized that virus-induced insulin resistance may be a mechanism for fibrogenesis in chronic hepatitis C virus infection.
Methods: In 260 hepatitis C virus-infected subjects, we examined the relationship between histological findings and anthropometric and biochemical data, including insulin resistance determined by the homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR).
Data on the long-term outcome of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)-associated cirrhosis are few, and most reports describe cases of cryptogenic cirrhosis associated with risk factors for NASH but without histologic definition. In this prospective cohort study, we describe the long-term morbidity and mortality of 23 patients with NASH-associated cirrhosis defined by strict clinicopathologic criteria. Outcomes were compared with 46 age- and gender-matched patients with cirrhosis from chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection: 23 untreated and 23 nonresponders to antiviral therapy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFElevation of serum amylase and blood glucose is not uncommon following anticholinesterase poisoning. We report a young male who developed acute cholinergic crisis and acute pancreatitis following propoxyfur (Baygon) ingestion and recovered completely with conservative management.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeurological complications following viper bite are uncommon and are generally as a result of intracerebral or subarachnoid bleed and rarely due to cerebral infarction. We report a young male who following viperine bite developed local tissue swelling, haemorrhagic manifestations due to disseminated intravascular coagulation and later developed acute flaccid paraplegia as a result of dorsal spinal cord involvement.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo assess the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-seropositive subjects, fecal samples were collected from 120 HIV-seropositive patients and were analyzed for various intestinal parasites. Thirty-six patients (30%) were found to harbor an intestinal parasite. Cryptosporidium parvum was the most common (10.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Nitric oxide (NO) production is increased among patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and also those with tuberculosis (TB). In this study we sought to determine if there was increased NO production among patients with HIV/TB coinfection and the effect of four weeks chemotherapy on this level.
Patients And Methods: 19 patients with HIV/TB coinfection were studied.