Plasma citrulline concentration and plasma LPS detection among critically ill patients a prospective observational study.

Purpose: Gut can be a source of sepsis but sepsis itself can induce gut dysfunction. We aimed to study whether plasma citrulline, a marker of enterocyte mass, was correlated with plasma lipopolysaccharide, a potential marker of bacterial translocation among critically ill patients.

Materials And Methods: Critically ill patients admitted to the ICU.

β-lactam dosing at the early phase of sepsis: Performance of a pragmatic protocol for target concentration achievement in a prospective cohort study.

Purpose: We hypothesized that a protocol of standardized fixed dose using prolonged infusion during the early phase of sepsis may avoid insufficient β-lactam concentrations.

Methods: In this single center prospective study, patients with sepsis and vasopressors were enrolled if they were treated by either piperacillin-tazobactam, meropenem or cefepime. Βeta-lactams were administered at fixed dose by prolonged infusion.

Daily use of extracorporeal CO removal in a critical care unit: indications and results.

Background: While outcome improvement with extracorporeal CO removal (ECCOR) is not demonstrated, a strong pathophysiological rational supports its use in the setting of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and COPD exacerbation. We aimed to describe our single-center experience of ECCOR indications and outcome.

Methods: Patients treated with ECCOR in our medial ICU, from March 2014 to November 2017, were retrospectively enrolled.

Prognosis of cirrhotic patients admitted to the general ICU.

Background: The prognosis of cirrhotic patients admitted to the ICU is considered to be poor but has been mainly reported in liver ICU. We aimed to describe the prognosis of cirrhotic patients admitted to a general ICU, to assess the predictors of mortality in this population, and, finally, to identify a subgroup of patients in whom intensive care escalation might be discussed.

Results: We performed a retrospective monocentric study of all cirrhotic patients consecutively admitted between 2002 and 2014 in a general ICU in a regional university hospital.

Sensitivity and specificity of typhoid fever rapid antibody tests for laboratory diagnosis at two sub-Saharan African sites.

Objective: To evaluate three commercial typhoid rapid antibody tests for Salmonella Typhi antibodies in patients suspected of having typhoid fever in Mpumalanga, South Africa, and Moshi, United Republic of Tanzania.

Methods: The diagnostic accuracy of Cromotest(®) (semiquantitative slide agglutination and single tube Widal test), TUBEX(®) and Typhidot(®) was assessed against that of blood culture. Performance was modelled for scenarios with pretest probabilities of 5% and 50%.

Zoonoses and marginalised infectious diseases of poverty: where do we stand?

Despite growing awareness of the importance of controlling neglected tropical diseases as a contribution to poverty alleviation and achieving the Millennium Development Goals, there is a need to up-scale programmes to achieve wider public health benefits. This implementation deficit is attributable to several factors but one often overlooked is the specific difficulty in tackling diseases that involve both people and animals - the zoonoses. A Disease Reference Group on Zoonoses and Marginalised Infectious Diseases (DRG6) was convened by the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), a programme executed by the World Health Organization and co-sponsored by UNICEF, UNDP, the World Bank and WHO.