Posaconazole for Prevention of COVID-19-Associated Pulmonary Aspergillosis in Mechanically Ventilated Patients: A European Multicentre Case-Control Study (POSACOVID).

Background: This study investigated the impact of posaconazole (POSA) prophylaxis in COVID-19 patients with acute respiratory failure receiving systemic corticosteroids on the risk for the development of COVID-19-associated pulmonary aspergillosis (CAPA).

Methods: The primary aim of this prospective, multicentre, case-control study was to assess whether application of POSA prophylaxis in mechanically ventilated COVID-19 patients reduces the risk for CAPA development. All consecutive patients from centre 1 (cases) who received POSA prophylaxis as standard-of-care were matched to one subject from centre 2 and centre 3 who did not receive any antifungal prophylaxis, using propensity score matching for the following variables: (i) age, (ii) sex, (iii) treatment with tocilizumab and (iv) time at risk.

Looking for Typical Traits in Monovarietal VOOs According to Their Phenolic Composition.

Due to its high sensitivity to numerous variability sources, it is hard to define the typicity of a monovarietal virgin olive oil (VOO) according to its phenolic profile. In this study, we aimed to identify the features of phenolic composition that are persistent and minimally affected by variability sources, making them potential varietal markers. We separately analyzed three databases of monovarietal VOO phenolic compositions, determined by liquid chromatography, from three different cultivars.

Efficacy of favipiravir in COVID-19: A retrospective two center comparative study.

Introduction: Favipiravir (FVP) is an antiviral, targeting RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of FVP as a treatment for COVID-19.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective study in two centers (San Martino University Hospital in Genova, Italy, and Marmara University Pendik Training and Research Hospital, Turkey).

COVID-19 throughout pandemic waves and virus variants: a real-life experience in an Italian hospital.

New therapies and vaccines changed the management of COVID-19. The aim of this retrospective study was to describe characteristics, in-hospital mortality and its predictors in patients with moderate/severe COVID-19, considering the 4 different pandemic waves and viral variants' prevalence from February 2020 to January 2022. Among 1135 patients included, 873 (77%) had at least one comorbidity, 177 (16%) were immunocompromised.

Weight Gain in Overweight and Obese People with HIV-The OBHIV Cohort.

Background: HIV and non-HIV-related factors have been related to weight gain (WG); however, their specific impact on people with HIV (PWH) who are overweight or obese remains unclear.

Methods: This is a single-center observational study enrolling PWH with a BMI > 25 kg/m. A generalized linear model was used to assess variables related to greater WG during 12 years of observation.

Hybrid Clampless Anastomosis in Antegrade Aorto-Superior Mesenteric Artery Bypass.

Background: Bypass surgery in severe aorto-iliac calcifications is a complex procedure. Aortic clamping can be highly risky and endovascular approach can be unsuccessful. We report our experience describing three cases of chronic mesenteric ischemia.

Severe infections caused by difficult-to-treat Gram-negative bacteria.

Purpose Of Review: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Gram-negative bacteria (GNB) poses a significant global health concern, contributing to increased infections, mortality rates, and healthcare costs. This review discusses the main clinical manifestations, therapeutic options, and recent findings in managing antibiotic-resistant GNB, with a focus on difficult-to-treat infections.

Recent Findings: Difficult-to-treat resistance (DTR) is a novel classification that identifies GNB exhibiting intermediate or resistant phenotypes to first-line agents in the carbapenem, beta-lactam, and fluoroquinolone categories.

Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia in intensive care units: a multicenter study by ESGCIP and EFISG.

Background: Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP) is an opportunistic, life-threatening disease commonly affecting immunocompromised patients. The distribution of predisposing diseases or conditions in critically ill patients admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) and subjected to diagnostic work-up for PJP has seldom been explored.

Materials And Methods: The primary objective of the study was to describe the characteristics of ICU patients subjected to diagnostic workup for PJP.

Protocol of Validation Mechanisms Within the Design of an Electronic Case Report Form for the MULTI-SITA Project.

With the wide diffusion of web technology, dedicated electronic Case Report Forms (eCRFs) became the main tool for collecting patient data. The focus of this work is to thoroughly consider the data quality in every aspect of the design of the eCRF, with the result of having multiple steps of validation that should produce a diligent and multidisciplinary approach towards every step of data acquisition. This goal affects every aspect of the system design.

Short Course of Antifungal Therapy in Patients With Uncomplicated Bloodstream Infection: Another Case of Less Is More in the Clinical Setting?

Background: The objective of this study was to compare the clinical outcomes of patients receiving a short course (SC) vs a prolonged course (PC) of antifungal therapy for uncomplicated bloodstream infections (BSIs).

Methods: All episodes of uncomplicated BSI from September 1, 2018, to August 31, 2020, were reviewed. We compared the primary (all-cause 90-day mortality) and secondary study end points (1-year recurrent BSI and all-cause 1-year mortality) among patients who underwent SC (5-11 days) or PC (12-24 days) therapy using propensity score analysis with the inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) method.

T2Bacteria and T2Resistance Assays in Critically Ill Patients with Sepsis or Septic Shock: A Descriptive Experience.

The use of rapid molecular tests may anticipate the identification of causative agents and resistance determinants in the blood of critically ill patients with sepsis. From April to December 2021, all intensive care unit patients with sepsis or septic shock who were tested with the T2Bacteria and T2Resistance assays were included in a retrospective, single center study. The primary descriptive endpoints were results of rapid molecular tests and concomitant blood cultures.

Sensitivity of Serum Beta-D-Glucan in Candidemia According to Species Epidemiology in Critically Ill Patients Admitted to the Intensive Care Unit.

Serum beta-D-glucan (BDG) determination plays an important role in the diagnosis of candidemia among critically ill patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). However, BDG levels measured may be lower in the case of infections caused by some non- species, such as and . The aim of this single-center study was to investigate the sensitivity of serum BDG for the diagnosis of candidemia stratified according to causative species in ICU patients.

Prevalence of Viral Hepatitis in Unselected, Consecutively Enrolled Patients Hospitalised for SARS-CoV-2.

Diagnosing people living with chronic viral hepatitis is challenging due to the absence of symptoms as long as liver decompensated cirrhosis come out. The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the prevalence of HBV and/or HCV infections in a non-selected population, hospitalised for SARS-CoV-2 infection in a tertiary care hospital in Northern Italy. During the study period 1,429 patients were admitted to hospital for SARS-CoV-2 infection, serologic tests for HBV and/or HCV were available for 382 (27%) patients and 3 were excluded due to their previous known serologic status.

A Wide Database for a Multicenter Study on Pneumocystis jirovecii Pneumonia in Intensive Care Units.

Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP) is an opportunistic fungal infection that may affect patients with immunosuppression. In order to improve the diagnosis accuracy for PJP, facilitating the collection of data across Europe to reliably assess the performance of diagnostic tests for PJP is essential to improve the care of critically ill patients developing this severe condition. Such large data can be collected thanks to the contribution of several European hospitals in the compilation of a dedicated electronic Case Report Form (eCRF).

Emerging Treatment Options for Acute Bacterial Skin and Skin Structure Infections and Bloodstream Infections Caused by : A Comprehensive Review of the Evidence.

remains an important human pathogen of concern, with mortality rates surpassing 30% in the case of severe systemic infections. Distinguishing methicillin-susceptible from methicillin-resistant (MRSA) is fundamental for therapeutic choices. A crucial emerging concept in the treatment of acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections is the availability of various approved agents with anti-MRSA activity, which allow a personalized approach based on the characteristics of any given patient while at the same time remaining in line with high certainty efficacy evidence from large randomized controlled trials.

Candida auris Candidemia in Critically Ill, Colonized Patients: Cumulative Incidence and Risk Factors.

Introduction: Candida auris (C. auris) is an emerging nosocomial pathogen, and a sharp rise in cases of colonization and infection has been registered in intensive care units (ICUs) during the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The unfavorable resistance profile of C.

Prognostic Impact of Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid Galactomannan and Aspergillus Culture Results on Survival in COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit Patients: a Analysis from the European Confederation of Medical Mycology (ECMM) COVID-19-Associated Pulmonary Aspergillosis Study.

Critically ill patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may develop COVID-19-associated pulmonary aspergillosis (CAPA), which impacts their chances of survival. Whether positive bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) mycological tests can be used as a survival proxy remains unknown. We conducted a analysis of a previous multicenter, multinational observational study with the aim of assessing the differential prognostic impact of BALF mycological tests, namely, positive (optical density index of ≥1.

Clinical consequences of very major errors with semi-automated testing systems for antimicrobial susceptibility of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales.

Objectives: In this study we investigated the rate of susceptibility testing discrepancies between semi-automated and reference systems with carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) and the impact of alleged errors by semi-automated systems on guiding targeted therapy for CRE bloodstream infection (BSI).

Methods: This was a multicentre, retrospective study enrolling patients with monomicrobial BSI caused by CRE from January 2013 to December 2016. Nonduplicate isolates from index blood cultures tested locally with semi-automated systems were centralized at a referral laboratory and retested with a reference broth microdilution or agar dilution method.

Reactivation of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 (HSV-1) Detected on Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid (BALF) Samples in Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients Undergoing Invasive Mechanical Ventilation: Preliminary Results from Two Italian Centers.

Reactivation of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) has been described in critically ill patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia. In the present two-center retrospective experience, we primarily aimed to assess the cumulative risk of HSV-1 reactivation detected on bronchoalveolar fluid (BALF) samples in invasively ventilated COVID-19 patients with worsening respiratory function. The secondary objectives were the identification of predictors for HSV-1 reactivation and the assessment of its possible prognostic impact.

Evolution of monovarietal virgin olive oils as a function of chemical composition and oxidation status.

Virgin Olive Oil (VOO) shelf life is determined by the varietal-specific chemical composition and principally by the of phenolic composition. The aim of this study was to investigate the changes in fatty acid profile, phenolic composition, and quality parameters of nine Italian monovarietal VOOs obtained under the same pedoclimatic, agronomic and technological conditions and stored for 12 months at 15 °C in the dark. The varieties with medium-high concentrations of secoiridoids and balanced values between the individual molecules were those with the highest stability.

Aspergillus-PCR in bronchoalveolar lavage - diagnostic accuracy for invasive pulmonary aspergillosis in critically ill patients.

Background: The diagnosis of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) in intensive care unit (ICU) patients is challenging, and the role of Aspergillus-PCR in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) is unknown.

Objectives: This study evaluated diagnostic accuracy of Aspergillus-PCR in BAL in IPA in three different cohorts: ICU-admitted patients with COVID-19, ICU-admitted patients without COVID-19 and immunocompromised patients.

Methods: All stored available BAL samples collected from three patient groups were tested with Aspergillus-PCR (AsperGenius ).

Skin manifestations in patients with coronavirus disease 2019.

Purpose Of Review: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a well established respiratory tract illness. Recent studies in adults and children have shown an increasing number of patients reporting polymorphic cutaneous manifestations during COVID-19, including different types of rashes, from maculopapular, vascular, vesicular to atypical forms.

Recent Findings: Although pathogenesis of skin manifestations is still not fully understood, it has been proposed that cutaneous involvement during COVID-19 may be the results of the activation of the immune response against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2, the reactivation or co-infection of herpesviruses or drug hypersensitivity.

A comparative analysis of the first and second COVID-19 wave in Italy: evaluation of mortality in the Infectious Disease Unit of Genoa University Hospital.

This retrospective study describes demographics and outcomes of adult patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection admitted to our ward during the first wave (from February 25 to May 30, 2020) and during the second wave (from August 5 to November 30, 2020). The primary study objective was to evaluate overall in-hospital mortality, which was 21.1% (60/285) vs 10.

Impact of rotavirus vaccine in reducing hospitalization rates in pediatric patients: a single center experience in Italy.

Rotavirus is a major cause of acute gastroenteritis in children under 5 years of age, with severe illness occurring in 30-40% of cases. In Italian region of Liguria, vaccination with a two-dose human attenuated vaccine was introduced in 2013. We conducted a retrospective study to assess the impact of rotavirus vaccine on hospitalizations for rotavirus-related gastroenteritis (RVGE) at the IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini.

Enterococcal bloodstream infections in critically ill patients with COVID-19: a case series.

Background: An unexpected high prevalence of enterococcal bloodstream infection (BSI) has been observed in critically ill patients with COVID-19 in the intensive care unit (ICU).

Materials And Methods: The primary objective was to describe the characteristics of ICU-acquired enterococcal BSI in critically ill patients with COVID-19. A secondary objective was to exploratorily assess the predictors of 30-day mortality in critically ill COVID-19 patients with ICU-acquired enterococcal BSI.