Publications by authors named "Falasca K"

Hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) and ventilation-associated pneumonia (VAP) are challenging clinical conditions due to the challenging tissue penetrability of the lung. This study aims to evaluate the potential role of fosfomycin (FOS) associated with ceftazidime/avibactam (CZA) in improving the outcome in this setting. We performed a retrospective study including people with HAP or VAP treated with CZA or CZA+FOS for at least 72 h.

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To minimize the toxicity and impact of combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) on the lifestyle of people living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (PLWH), scientific community evaluated the efficacy, safety and sustained virologic response of two drugs antiretroviral regimens, in particular dolutegravir (DTG). The effects of deintensification therapy on inflammatory settings are currently unknown in PLWH. Thus, our study explored the inflammatory state in virologically suppressed HIV individuals between patients in treatment with a DTG-containing dual therapy (2DR) versus triple regimen therapies (3DR).

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Article Synopsis
  • COVID-19, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has led to millions of deaths and significant lifestyle changes, particularly impacting patients with sepsis in ICUs, where septic complications have a high mortality rate.
  • A clinical study was conducted at SS Annunziata Hospital in Italy, analyzing ICU patients diagnosed with sepsis from 2018 to 2021, dividing them into groups based on the pandemic and COVID-19 status.
  • Out of 1,559 ICU admissions, 211 patients met the sepsis criteria, revealing high mortality rates, especially amongst COVID-19 patients, with a notable relationship between mortality and scores on APACHE III and SOFA assessments.
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Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is common in people with HIV (PWH), and has great impact in terms of morbidity and mortality. Several intertwined mechanisms are believed to play a role in determining the increased risk of CVD, including the effect of certain antiretrovirals; among these, the role of integrase strand-transfer inhibitors (INSTIs) is yet to be fully elucidated. We conducted a multicenter, observational study comprising 4984 PWH evaluating the antiretroviral therapy (ART)-related nature of CVD in real life settings, both in naïve vs.

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COVID-19 continues to present challenges in the care of older adults with frailty and/or comorbidities and very old patients, who can be hospitalized with severe COVID-19 despite full vaccination. Frailty is a heterogeneous syndrome characterized by an increased aging-related vulnerability due to a reduced physiological reserve and function of systemic organs, and is associated with an impairment of activities of daily living. Frail older adults remain at elevated risk of mortality from COVID-19 compared to older adults without frailty, and some pre-existing risk factors such as malnutrition, prolonged bed rest, and the association with comorbidities can aggravate the SARS-CoV-2 infection.

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Introduction: Integrase strand transfer inhibitors (INSTI) are one of the most prescribed drug classes for the treatment of HIV infection worldwide. Emtricitabine/Tenofovir Alafenamide/ Bictegravir (FTC/TAF/BIC) has been evaluated in randomized clinical trials; few studies have verified tolerability and safety in clinical practice. Our aim was to investigate the metabolic and hepatic safety in a real-life setting of FTC/TAF/BIC.

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Doravirine (DOR) is a newly approved non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI). We aimed to investigate, in a real-life setting, how switching to a DOR-based regimen rather than a rilpivirine (RPV)-based regimen impacted metabolic and hepatic safety. The analysis included 551 antiretroviral treatment (ART)-experienced people living with HIV (PLWH), starting RPV-based or DOR-based regimens with viral load < 200 copies/mL, baseline (T0), and at least one control visit (6-month visit, T1).

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Background: Doravirine (DOR) is a newly approved antiretroviral belonging to the class of non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTI), well tolerated and leading to an improved lipid profile in antiretroviral experienced people living with HIV (PLWH). We aimed at evaluating if the lipid-lowering effect is linked to the drug class, using real-life data from the SCOLTA cohort.

Methods: We compared the lipid profile modifications in experienced PLWH switching to a DOR-based regimen from rilpivirine or another NNRTI-based regimen or from an integrase strand transferase (INSTI)-based regimen.

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In the last years, many antiretroviral drugs (ART) have been developed with increased efficacy. Nowadays, the main reasons for treatment switches are adverse events, proactive strategy or simplification. We conducted a retrospective cohort study to investigate the reason for treatment interruption in the last 20 years.

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Objective: Recent reports of excessive weight gain in people with HIV (PWH) have raised increasing concerns on the possible increase of diabetes mellitus (DM) risk in course of integrase inhibitors (INSTIs) treatment. In this study, we aimed at describing DM incidence in course of antiretroviral therapy (ART) and identifying the factors associated with new DM onset.

Design: Observational prospective SCOLTA (Surveillance Cohort Long-Term Toxicity Antiretrovirals) cohort.

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It is important to block SARS-CoV-2 infection immediately with early therapies, such as monoclonal antibodies (MonoAbs). Also, several studies show that obesity is associated with a high risk of severe COVID-19 disease. We enrolled 32 SARS-CoV-2 infected patients who received MonoAbs, all patients were not vaccinated for SARS-CoV-2, and they received therapy after 7 ± 2 days from the onset of COVID-19 symptoms.

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Article Synopsis
  • Echocardiographic Pulmonary to Left Atrial Ratio (ePLAR) is a non-invasive method to evaluate pulmonary function and assess the risk of mortality in COVID-19 patients.
  • A study of 100 COVID-19 patients in Italy found that those with ePLAR values over 0.28 m/s had a higher, though not statistically significant, rate of in-hospital death compared to those with lower values (27% vs. 10.8%).
  • The research indicates that elevated ePLAR, particularly when combined with high pulmonary arterial pressure, can help identify patients at greater risk of death, suggesting the importance of early ePLAR assessment in hospital settings.
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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is characterized by a broad spectrum of clinical symptoms. After acute infection, some subjects develop a post-COVID-19 syndrome known as long-COVID. This study aims to recognize the molecular and functional mechanisms that occur in COVID-19 and long-COVID patients and identify useful biomarkers for the management of patients with COVID-19 and long-COVID.

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Background: In recent years, the therapeutic options for COVID have significantly improved; however, the therapies are expensive with restricted access to drugs, and expeditious and difficult to manage at home. We investigated the effect of pidotimod in preventing hospitalization in patients with mild-moderate COVID-19. Methods: A total of 1231 patients between January and June 2021 were screened.

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Objectives: Below we report our experience in the use of molnupiravir, the first antiviral drug against SARS-CoV-2 available to us, in the treatment of patients with COVID-19.

Materials And Methods: We enrolled patients diagnosed with COVID-19 and comorbidities who were candidates for antiviral drug therapy. All patients received molnupiravir (800 mg twice daily).

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Article Synopsis
  • In people living with HIV, aging and long-term antiretroviral therapy (ART) have led to a rise in non-communicable chronic diseases due to chronic inflammation and immune activation.
  • A study analyzed data from 1,394 participants, focusing on the relationship between their age, age at starting ART, and duration of treatment with various health issues.
  • Results indicated that prolonged ART exposure increases risks of conditions like dyslipidemia, hypertension, and osteoporosis, highlighting the impact of these factors on overall health in older patients.
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Background: Nowadays, infective endocarditis (IE) is still burdened by a high mortality. In the absence of an adequate prognostic stratification system, it is important to assess new predictors of poor outcomes. The aim of our study is to evaluate which factors were associated with higher mortality in IE patients.

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Wound healing (WH) proceeds through four distinct phases: hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling. Impaired WH may be the consequence of the alteration of one of these phases and represents a significant health and economic burden to millions of individuals. Thus, new therapeutic strategies are the topics of intense research worldwide.

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Several authors have reported cervical and axillary lymphadenopathies as known side effects following anti-COVID-19 vaccine administration. Few data are available about atypical locations of post-anti-COVID-19 vaccine lymphadenopathy. In this investigation, we evaluated the incidence and prevalence of postvaccine lymphadenopathy ultrasound (US) features in atypical sites.

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Background: To date, much evidence has shown the increased interest in natural molecules and traditional herbal medicine as alternative bioactive compounds to fight many inflammatory conditions, both in relation to immunomodulation and in terms of their wound healing potential. Bacopa monnieri is a herb that is used in the Ayurvedic medicine tradition for its anti-inflammatory activity.

Objective: In this study, we evaluate the anti-inflammatory and regenerative properties of the Bacopa monnieri extract (BME) in vitro model of neuroinflammation.

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Background: In people living with HIV, combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) reduces the risk of death, but the persistent immune-deficient state predisposes them to pneumococcal infections. Current guidelines encourage administering pneumococcal vaccine Prevenar 13 to patients living with HIV. Since probiotic supplementation could act as adjuvants and improve vaccine immunogenicity by modulating gut microbiota, the present study aimed to assess whether the effect of a formulation containing a combination of specific probiotics (Vivomixx) could improve the immune response to 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) in adult people living with HIV.

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The efficacy of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA-based vaccines in preventing COVID-19 disease has been extensively demonstrated; however, it is of uttermost importance to acquire knowledge on the persistence of immune-protection both in terms of levels of neutralizing antibodies and specialized memory cells. This can provide important scientific basis for decisions on the need of additional vaccine doses and on when these should be administered thus resulting in an improvement in vaccination schedules. Here, we briefly report the changes in antibody levels and cellular immunity following BNT162b2 administration.

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This study evaluates the frequency and causes of dolutegravir (DTG) discontinuation along 5 years of follow-up, in both antiretroviral treatment (ART)-naive and experienced people living with HIV (PLWH). This is a prospective multi-center cohort study enrolling PLWH on DTG from July 2014 until November 2020. DTG-durability was investigated using the Kaplan-Meier survival curve.

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