Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the incidence and mortality of hospital-onset bloodstream infection: a cohort study.

The COVID-19 pandemic burdens hospitals, but consequences for quality of care outcomes such as healthcare-associated infections are largely unknown. This cohort included all adult hospital episodes (n=186 945) at an academic centre between January 2018 and January 2021. Data were collected from the hospitals' electronic health record data repository.

Intestinal barrier integrity and inflammatory bowel disease: Stem cell-based approaches to regenerate the barrier.

Disruption of normal barrier function is a fundamental factor in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease, which includes increased epithelial cell death, modified mucus configuration, altered expression and distribution of tight junction proteins, along with a decreased expression of antimicrobial peptides. Inflammatory bowel disease is associated with life-long morbidity for affected patients, and both the incidence and prevalence is increasing globally, resulting in substantial economic strain for society. Mucosal healing and re-establishment of barrier integrity are associated with clinical remission, as well as with an improved patient outcome.

Culturing human intestinal stem cells for regenerative applications in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease.

Both the incidence and prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is increasing globally; in the industrialized world up to 0.5% of the population are affected and around 4.2 million individuals suffer from IBD in Europe and North America combined.

Heart Team therapeutic decision-making and treatment in severe aortic valve stenosis.

Objectives After transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has been available for high-risk patients with severe aortic valve stenosis (AVS), the decision-making of the Heart Team (HT) has not been examined. Design All adult patients with severe AVS referred to a large tertiary medical centre in 2011 were prospectively included. Multivariate regression analysis identified independent factors associated with treatment decisions.

Oseltamivir-resistant influenza A (H1N1) virus strain with an H274Y mutation in neuraminidase persists without drug pressure in infected mallards.

Influenza A virus (IAV) has its natural reservoir in wild waterfowl, and emerging human IAVs often contain gene segments from avian viruses. The active drug metabolite of oseltamivir (oseltamivir carboxylate [OC]), stockpiled as Tamiflu for influenza pandemic preparedness, is not removed by conventional sewage treatment and has been detected in river water. There, it may exert evolutionary pressure on avian IAV in waterfowl, resulting in the development of resistant viral variants.

Conditioning techniques and ischemic reperfusion injury in relation to on-pump cardiac surgery.

Objectives: The objective was to investigate the potential protective effects of two conditioning methods, on myocardial ischemic and reperfusion injury in relation to cardiac surgery.

Design: Totally 68 patients were randomly assigned to either a control group (n = 23), a remote ischemic preconditioning (RIPC) group (n = 23) or a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analogue group (n = 22). The RIPC protocol consisted of three cycles of upper limb ischemia.