Quantification of 1,3-β-d-glucan by Wako β-glucan assay for rapid exclusion of invasive fungal infections in critical patients: A diagnostic test accuracy study.

Objectives: Rapid and reliable exclusion of invasive fungal infections (IFI) by markers able to avoid unnecessary empirical antifungal treatment is still a critical unmet clinical need. We investigated the diagnostic performance of a newly available β-d-Glucan (BDG) quantification assay, focusing on the optimisation of the BDG cut-off values for IFI exclusion.

Methods: BDG results by Wako β-glucan assay (lower limit of detection [LLOD] = 2.

Single-center outbreak of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia in heart transplant recipients.

Background: Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP) outbreaks are described in solid organ transplant recipients. Few reports suggest interhuman transmission with important infection control implications. We described a large PJP outbreak in heart transplant (HTx) recipients.

Mitral valve endocarditis due to Abiotrophia defectiva in a 14th week pregnant woman.

Infective endocarditis during pregnancy carries a high mortality risk, both for the mother and for the foetus and requires a multidisciplinary team in the management of complicated cases. We report our experience with a 39-year old patient, affected by an acute active mitral endocarditis due to Abiotrophia defectiva at the 14th gestational week, strongly motivated to continue the pregnancy. Our patient successfully underwent mitral valve replacement with a normothermic high-flow cardiopulmonary bypass under continuous intraoperative foetal monitoring.