Candidemia is the predominant form of invasive candidiasis and the most frequently occurring serious fungal infection in critically ill patients in Intensive Care Units (ICU). Studies carried out in Latin America reveal a higher incidence of candidemia and higher mortality rates when compared to North America or Europe. This highlights the need to develop guidelines for correctly diagnosing and treating candidemia in critically ill patients in the ICU.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The diagnosis and treatment of lung, colon, and gastric cancer through the histologic characteristics and genomic biomarkers have not had a strong impact on the mortality rates of the top three global causes of death by cancer.
Methods: Twenty-five transcriptomic analyses (10 lung cancer, 10 gastric cancer, and 5 colon cancer datasets) followed our own bioinformatic pipeline based on the utilization of specialized libraries from the R language and DAVID´s gene enrichment analyses to identify a regulatory metafirm network of transcription factors and target genes common in every type of cancer, with experimental evidence that supports its relationship with the unlocking of cell phenotypic plasticity for the acquisition of the hallmarks of cancer during the tumoral process. The network's regulatory functional and signaling pathways might depend on the constant crosstalk with the microbiome network established in the oral-gut-lung axis.
Antibiotics (Basel)
February 2024
Introduction: The objective of this study was to compare the continuous infusion of cefepime with the intermittent infusion in patients with sepsis caused by Gram-negative bacilli (GNB).
Methods: Randomized 1:1 multicenter double-blinded placebo-controlled study with allocation concealment; multicenter study in the intensive care units of Colombia. Patients with sepsis, severe sepsis or septic shock, and GNB-suspected bacteremia.
Int J Mol Sci
November 2023
The microbiome has shown a correlation with the diet and lifestyle of each population in health and disease, the ability to communicate at the cellular level with the host through innate and adaptative immune receptors, and therefore an important role in modulating inflammatory process related to the establishment and progression of cancer. The oral cavity is one of the most important interaction windows between the human body and the environment, allowing the entry of an important number of microorganisms and their passage across the gastrointestinal tract and lungs. In this review, the contribution of the microbiome network to the establishment of systemic diseases like cancer is analyzed through their synergistic interactions and bidirectional crosstalk in the oral-gut-lung axis as well as its communication with the host cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Fungi (Basel)
June 2023
is an emerging pathogen considered to be critical in the World Health Organization fungal organisms list. The study aims to determine the mortality and hospital stays attributed to () compared to other species in adult patients with candidemia. A retrospective cohort of adults with candidemia was examined from seven centres in Colombia between 2016 and 2021.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Long-term use of antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV infection might lead to the necessity of switching regimens. We aimed to analyze the reasons for the ART switch, the time-to-switch of ART, and its associated factors in a Colombian cohort.
Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort in 20 HIV clinics, including participants ≥18 years old with confirmed HIV infection who underwent an ART switch from January 2017 to December 2019 with at least 6 months of follow-up.
Background: In the collaborative efforts to control bacterial antimicrobial resistance (AMR), the challenge for many low- and middle-income countries currently lies in the adequate design and successful implementation and operation of different strategies aimed at improving antibiotic use during hospital care. This study aims to provide data on these different strategies in three hospitals with different levels of complexity and geographic locations in Colombia.
Methods: This before-and-after study describes and analyzes the development and implementation of clinical practice guidelines (CPGs), continuing education courses, quick consultation tools, and antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) with the use of telemedicine.
JAC Antimicrob Resist
April 2023
Background: Viral reactivations and co-infections have been reported among COVID-19 patients. However, studies on the clinical outcomes of different viral reactivations and co-infections are currently in limit. Thus, the primary purpose of this review is to perform an overarching investigation on the cases of latent virus reactivation and co-infection in COVID-19 patients to build collective evidence contributing to improving patient health.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAm J Infect Control
October 2023
Microorganisms
January 2023
Patients with cancer have a higher risk of severe bacterial infections. This study aims to determine the frequency, susceptibility profiles, and resistance genes of bacterial species involved in bacteremia, as well as risk factors associated with mortality in cancer patients in Colombia. In this prospective multicenter cohort study of adult patients with cancer and bacteremia, susceptibility testing was performed and selected resistance genes were identified.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Crit Care
April 2023
J Epidemiol Glob Health
December 2022
Background: The International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC) has found a high ICU mortality rate in Latin America.
Methods: A prospective cohort study in 198 ICUs of 96 hospitals in 46 cities in 12 Latin American countries to identify mortality risk factors (RF), and data were analyzed using multiple logistic regression.
Results: Between 07/01/1998 and 02/12/2022, 71,685 patients, followed during 652,167 patient-days, acquired 4700 HAIs, and 10,890 died.
Background: Studies of the respiratory tract microbiome primarily focus on airway and lung microbial diversity, but it is still unclear how these microbial communities may be affected by intubation and long periods in intensive care units (ICU), an aspect that today could aid in the understanding of COVID19 progression and disease severity. This study aimed to explore and characterize the endotracheal tube (ETT) microbiome by analyzing ETT-associated microbial communities.
Methods: This descriptive study was carried out on adult patients subjected to invasive mechanical ventilation from 2 to 21 days.
Int J Infect Dis
April 2022
Introduction: Latin America accounts for one-quarter of global COVID-19 cases and one-third of deaths. Inequalities in the region lead to barriers to the best use of diagnostic tests during the pandemic. There is a need for simplified guidelines that consider the region's limited health resources, international guidelines, medical literature, and local expertise.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: After 8 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, Latin American countries have some of the highest rates in COVID-19 mortality. Despite being one of the most unequal regions of the world, there is a scarce report of the effect of socioeconomic conditions on COVID-19 mortality in their countries. We aimed to identify the effect of some socioeconomic inequality-related factors on COVID-19 mortality in Colombia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: To determine the therapeutic effect and tolerability of meropenem in routine clinical practice, in terms of clinical and microbiological response.
Methods: A real-world, observational, descriptive, longitudinal study with daily monitoring of clinical history records was conducted on all patients who were medically prescribed meropenem during a period between October 2015 and March 2016 at a university hospital in Bucaramanga (Colombia).
Results: The study evaluated 84 patients with an average age of 63.
Purpose Of Review: Fungal outbreaks have been reported in healthcare settings, showing that construction activities are a serious threat to immunocompromised hosts. Preventive measures to control fungal outbreaks (especially Aspergillus spp.) are considered essential during hospital construction.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFData with respect to the epidemiological situation of fungal diseases in Colombia is scarce. Thus, the aim of this study is to estimate the burden of fungal infections. A population projection for 2017 from the Colombian Department for National Statistics was used, as well as official information from the Ministry of Health and National Institute of Health.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDiagn Microbiol Infect Dis
December 2016
Data about the performance of MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry against cryptic Candida species are limited. According to our findings within the C. parapsilosis species complex, microbiologists should be aware that the choice of the instrument is critical for accurate species identification due to the risk of misidentification in the clinical setting.
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