A randomized trial of pegylated-interferon-alpha2a plus ribavirin with or without amantadine in the re-treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis C not responding to standard interferon and ribavirin.

Background: There is yet no established treatment for chronic hepatitis C patients non-responder to standard interferon and ribavirin.

Aim: To evaluate efficacy and safety of pegylated-interferon-alpha2a plus ribavirin with or without amantadine in such patients.

Methods: 161 non-responders to standard interferon and ribavirin were randomized into two groups: 81 patients (Group 1) were given weekly Peg-IFN-alpha2a 180 microg plus ribavirin 1,000-1,200 mg/daily for 12 months, 80 patients (Group 2) received weekly Peg-IFN-alpha2a 180 microg plus ribavirin 1,000-1,200 mg/daily and amantadine 200 mg/daily for 12 months.

Assisted evaluation of antibiotic resistance development in Pseudomonas aeruginosa from intensive care units.

421 strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa were isolated from patients admitted to intensive care units and tested with automated systems for sensitivity to 21 antimicrobial agents. Data were collected in a database for evaluation and monitoring of resistance development. Results showed that assisted monitoring of antimicrobial resistance gives continuously updated information, with particular attention to the different local therapeutical schedules.

Antibiotic susceptibility patterns surveillance and clinical distribution of Enterobacteriaceae.

3700 strains of Enterobacteriaceae clinical isolates were tested by automated devices for susceptibility to several antimicrobial agents widely used in clinical practice. Amikacin demonstrated the greatest in vitro activity whereas ampicillin and mezlocillin were the least active. Finally gentamicin and nalidixic acid had a similar activity to recently introduced cephalosporins.

Immunoblot typing of oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus clinical isolates.

Recently an immunoblotting system was developed for typing oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Oxacillin-resistant S. aureus (ORSA) isolates recovered during a 4-month period from premature new-borns division of University Hospital of Pavia, with several antimicrobial susceptibility patterns, were evaluated with this typing scheme.

[Pulmonary aspergillosis in acute leukemia. Description of a case and review of the literature].

A case of pulmonary multiple mycosis, recognized by cultural and radiological investigation, during chemotherapy for poorly outcoming acute leukemia is reported. The factors enhancing disseminated aspergillosis in haematologic malignancies as well as the need of early diagnosis and effective therapy in fungal infections complicating leukemias are also discussed in the light of the last 25 years literature.

Efficiency of composite laboratory tests in the diagnosis of liver malignancies.

The utility of the markers CEA, beta-HCG, CA-50, alpha-fetoprotein (APF), ferritin, alkaline phosphatase (AP), its isoenzyme liver-1 (APL1), gamma-glutamyltransferase (gGT), its fast migrating isoenzyme (gGT1) and 5'nucleotidase (5'N) in differentiating liver malignancies and benign involvement was evaluated in the sera of 85 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), 157 with chronic liver disease (CLD) and 91 with liver metastases (LM) derived from different tumors. The mean concentrations of all the parameters except CEA and GGT1 were significantly different in HCC and CLD, but a broad overlap existed in the two groups, so different cut-offs were considered to assess the positive and negative predictive values and test efficiency (Eff). The best results were observed considering AFP greater than 100 IU/m (Eff0.