Infective endocarditis (IE) is a severe infection of the inner heart. Even with current standard treatment, the mean in-hospital mortality is as high as 15-20%, and 1-year mortality is up to 40% for left-sided IE. Importantly, IE mortality rates have not changed substantially over the past 30 years, and the incidence of IE is rising.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: In the POET (Partial Oral Endocarditis Treatment) trial, oral step-down therapy was noninferior to full-length intravenous antibiotic administration. The aim of the present study was to perform pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic analyses for oral treatments of infective endocarditis to assess the probabilities of target attainment (PTAs).
Methods: Plasma concentrations of oral antibiotics were measured at day 1 and 5.
In March 2022, we observed samples with a negative fluorescent signal (60.5%, n = 43) for the influenza A matrix gene and a stronger positive signal for subtype A(H3N2). Forty-three samples were positive in InfA (H3N2) (mean Cq 30.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInfective endocarditis (IE) is a serious infection of the inner surface of heart, resulting from minor lesions in the endocardium. The damage induces a healing reaction, which leads to recruitment of fibrin and immune cells. This sterile healing vegetation can be colonized during temporary bacteremia, inducing IE.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInfective endocarditis (IE) is a life-threatening infective disease with increasing incidence worldwide. From early on, in the antibiotic era, it was recognized that high-dose and long-term antibiotic therapy was correlated to improved outcome. In addition, for several of the common microbial IE etiologies, the use of combination antibiotic therapy further improves outcome.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCystic fibrosis (CF) patients are at risk of acquiring chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa lung infections. The biofilm mode of growth of P. aeruginosa induces tolerance to antibiotics and the host response; accordingly, treatment failure occurs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is difficult to eradicate from the lungs of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients due to biofilm formation. Organs and blood are independent pharmacokinetic (PK) compartments. Previously, we showed in vitro biofilms behave as independent compartments impacting the pharmacodynamics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnlabelled: The majority of chronic wounds are associated with bacterial biofilms recalcitrant to antibiotics and host responses. Immunomodulatory S100A8/A9 is suppressed in Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm infected wounds. We aimed at investigating a possible additive effect between S100A8/A9 and ciprofloxacin against biofilms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe discovery of antibiotic drugs is considered one of the previous century's most important medical discoveries (Medicine's 10 greatest discoveries. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1998: 263). Appropriate use of antibiotics saves millions of lives each year and prevents infectious complications for numerous people.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLipocalin-2 is a constituent of the neutrophil secondary granules and is expressed by macrophages and epithelium in response to inflammation. Lipocalin-2 acts in a bacteriostatic fashion by binding iron-loaded siderophores required for bacterial growth. (M.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFbiofilm maintains and perturbs local host defense, hindering timely wound healing. Previously, we showed that suppressed S100A8/A9 of the murine innate host defense. We assessed the potential antimicrobial effect of S100A8/A9 on biofilm-infected wounds in a murine model and growth in vitro.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe impact of Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm infections in chronic wounds and clinical implication for healing is receiving increased attention. However, the pathophysiology of host/pathogen interplay is not fully understood. By further revealing the mechanisms, necessary new treatment strategies may be identified.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiofilm infections are one of the modern medical world's greatest challenges. Probably, all non-obligate intracellular bacteria and fungi can establish biofilms. In addition, there are numerous biofilm-related infections, both foreign body-related and non-foreign body-related.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA 17-year-old male with a history of newly implanted mechanical valve at the aortic position, presented with fever, rigors, and painful cutaneous abscesses on his lower extremities and was suspected for infective endocarditis. Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) showed a vegetation-like structure following the movement of the mechanical heart valve (MHV), which eventually proved to be a product of degassing microbubbles (MB).
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