Publications by authors named "C Azzara"
Background: Whether solid organ transplant (SOT) can be safely performed in recipients with ongoing SARS-CoV-2 infection is still a debated question.
Methods: A systematic review of the literature on recipients with ongoing SARS-CoV-2 infection at the time of surgery and the associated outcomes.
Results: From 29 studies, we identified 54 recipients; their median age was 47.
Article Synopsis
- * A significant number of cases (around 63.7%) occurred within 100 days of transplantation, but some cases emerged at least a year later, with high mortality rates: 36.3% at 90 days and 63.4% at one year, particularly in patients with disseminated disease.
- * Key factors influencing mortality included the use of multiple immunosuppressive drugs, the presence of diabetes, and the type of disease manifestation, suggesting a need for further research
Article Synopsis
- The study focused on comparing hospitalized vaccinated and non-vaccinated patients diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 in three major hospitals in Northern Italy, investigating their clinical characteristics and outcomes.
- Data analysis highlighted that vaccinated patients, despite having more serious underlying health issues, generally had milder COVID-19 symptoms and required less intensive care compared to non-vaccinated patients.
- No significant difference in intra-hospital mortality rates was found between the two groups, indicating vaccination effectively reduces the likelihood of ICU admission but does not significantly impact overall survival rates in the hospital.
Passive immunization with mAbs has been employed in COVID-19. We performed a systematic review of the literature assessing the endogenous humoral immune response against SARS-CoV-2 in patients treated with mAbs. Administration of mAbs in seronegative patients led to a reduction in both antibody titres and neutralizing activity against the virus.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImmune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are drugs growingly employed in cancer immunotherapy which have significantly improved the prognosis of several tumours. ICIs act by restoring the "exhausted" immune system and increasing the number of T cells active against pathogens losing tolerogenic signalling, which has been linked to an increased risk of infectious events. We present the case of a 67-year-old man with locally advanced lung adenocarcinoma treated with the anti-PD-L1 durvalumab.
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