COVID-19 Outcomes and Diabetes Mellitus: A Comprehensive Multicenter Prospective Cohort Study.

The link between type 2 diabetes (T2D) and the severe outcomes of COVID-19 has raised concerns about the optimal management of patients with T2D. This study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics and outcomes of T2D patients hospitalized with COVID-19 and explore the potential associations between chronic T2D treatments and adverse outcomes. This was a multicenter prospective cohort study of T2D patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Greece during the third wave of the pandemic (February-June 2021).

COVID-19 Infection and Haematological Involvement: a Review of Epidemiology, Pathophysiology and Prognosis of Full Blood Count Findings.

The unfolding COVID-19 pandemic began in December 2019 in Wuhan, Hubei Province. COVID-19 is a systemic infection affecting several systems including the haematopoietic system. Surveys illustrating the laboratory findings of these patients conclude that lymphocytopenia, neutrophilia and thrombocytopenia are prominent amongst them.

Initial Real-Life Experience from a Designated COVID-19 Centre in Athens, Greece: a Proposed Therapeutic Algorithm.

We report our initial experience with the management of a mixed group of patients with COVID-19 infection, admitted and treated in a designated COVID-19 centre in the Athens Metropolitan area over a 4-week period. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic presented a huge challenge to the Greek National Healthcare System and healthcare workers. Their response so far has been miraculously effective.

Late Onset Combined Immunodeficiency Presenting with Recurrent Pneumocystis jiroveci Pneumonia.

Late onset combined immunodeficiency (LOCID) is a recently described variant of common variable immunodeficiency (CVID), involving adult patients presenting with opportunistic infections and/or low CD4+ lymphocyte counts. A 36-year-old male with unremarkable past medical history presented with fever, respiratory failure, and lymphocytopenia. He was found to have Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia (PJP), subsequently complicated by recurrent hospital-acquired Pseudomonas aeruginosa pneumonia and immune reconstitution phenomena, attributed to restoration of immunoglobulin levels.

Length of exposure to the hospital environment is more important than antibiotic exposure in healthcare associated infections by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: a comparative study.

Objectives: Both total antimicrobial use and specific antimicrobials have been implicated as risk factors for healthcare-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (HCA-MRSA) infection. The aims of this study were: (I) to explore predictors of a new HCA-MRSA infection in comparison with a new healthcare-associated methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (HCA-MSSA); (II) to thoroughly assess the role of recent antibiotic use qualitatively and quantitatively.

Methods: The time-period for our study was from October 1997 through September 2001.

Reliability and validity of the Greek translation of the MOS-HIV health survey in HIV-infected individuals.

Objectives: This study was intended to present evidence for the reliability and validity of a Greek translation of the Medical Outcomes Study-HIV Health Survey (MOS-HIV).

Design: Sample consisted of 154 HIV-positive men and women, regardless of disease stage, who are being followed at the department of Infectious Diseases of a tertiary hospital of Athens, Greece.

Methods: The translated Greek version of the MOS-HIV instrument, a brief, comprehensive 35-item health-related quality of life questionnaire, was used to assess ten dimensions of health including overall quality of life, pain, physical functioning, role functioning, social functioning, mental health, energy/fatigue, cognitive function, health distress, and health transition.

Gastric syphilis: a systematic review of published cases of the last 50 years.

The authors conducted a systematic review of the English literature for cases of Gastric Syphilis (GS) in the last 50 years. The 34 studies which met selection criteria included 52 patients with GS. Of the reviewed patients, only 13% had a history of syphilis diagnosis and 46% had prior or concurrent clinical manifestations of the disease.

Long-term complete regression of nodal marginal zone lymphoma transformed into diffuse large B-cell lymphoma with highly active antiretroviral therapy alone in human immunodeficiency virus infection.

Since the introduction of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART), there has been a decrease in the incidence of non-Hodgkin lymphoma among the HIV-infected population and also significantly improved survival rates. We describe a remarkable case of a HIV-infected patient whose large B-cell lymphoma, most likely arising by transformation of a nodal marginal zone lymphoma, completely regressed with the use of cART alone. He remained disease-free for almost 3 years and he finally died from presumed flare up of his lymphoma.

An outbreak of hemodialysis catheter-related bacteremia with sepsis caused by Streptococcus agalactiae in a hemodialysis unit.

Background: Rates of invasive group B Streptococcus (GBS; Streptococcus agalactiae) disease in adults are on the rise. Invasive GBS disease can be community- or healthcare-associated. We report an outbreak of GBS catheter-related bacteremia in a hemodialysis (HD) unit.

Course of inflammatory bowel disease in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus.

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection depletes CD4+ lymphocytes, which may benefit patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The aim was to compare the course of IBD in HIV patients with a matched group of IBD seronegative patients.

Methods: A total of 20 IBD (14 Crohn's disease, 6 ulcerative colitis) HIV infected patients and 40 matched control seronegative IBD patients (2 controls per case) were compared regarding relapse of their disease.

Community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus as a cause of rapidly progressing pyelonephritis with pyonephrosis, necessitating emergent nephrectomy.

In this article, we describe the first, to our knowledge, reported case of severe bacteremic upper urinary tract infection with pyonephrosis-in the context of prior chronic urinary tract disease-caused by community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The patient presented with fever and constitutional symptoms, and computed tomography revealed extensive renal parenchymal infection along with a staghorn calculus and dilatation of the pyelocalyceal system. His clinical condition rapidly deteriorated, and he developed uncontrollable sepsis, necessitating an emergent nephrectomy.

Fatal rhizopus pneumonia in allogeneic stem cell transplant patients despite posaconazole prophylaxis: two cases and review of the literature.

Posaconazole is a triazole with broad spectrum of activity against multiple fungi including members of the fungal order Mucorales. This activity has been shown both in clinical and in vitro studies, which are critically reviewed here. It has become very popular in prophylaxis in acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) induction and in the graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) settings after 2 recent prospective trials that showed advantage of posaconazole prophylaxis compared to fluconazole or itraconazole.

Evolving perspectives on HIV-associated lipodystrophy syndrome: moving from lipodystrophy to non-infectious HIV co-morbidities.

This article will provide insight into the evolving perspectives on HIV-related lipodystrophy syndrome: recent changes in epidemiology, a shifting focus from individual component assessment towards a more comprehensive risk evaluation for organ dysfunction and disease, the impact of patient-related outcomes in heath-related quality of life and the integration of this syndrome into a wider scenario of a premature ageing process in HIV-infected people will be discussed. The time has come to proceed beyond lipodystrophy studies based on blood concentrations of lipids and glucose and body fat evaluation. Surrogate markers of organ disease associated with lipodystrophy better identify patients vulnerable to non-infectious co-morbidities (NICMs) rather than statistical risk algorithms.

Morbidity associated with Pseudomonas aeruginosa bloodstream infections.

We sought to quantify patient morbidity throughout Pseudomonas aeruginosa bloodstream infection (PABSI) as a function of patient covariates. Individuals with PABSI were included in a retrospective, observational, cohort study. Morbidity was quantified by serial Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) scores.

BK virus nephropathy after allogeneic stem cell transplantation: a case report and literature review.

Polyomaviruses are increasingly recognized as important human pathogens. Among those, BK virus has been identified as the main cause of polyomavirus-associated nephropathy (PVAN), a major cause of renal allograft failure. PVAN has also been well described in the setting of non-renal solid organ transplantation.

Primary sternal osteomyelitis caused by Nocardia nova: case report and literature review.

A 51 year old woman without significant past medical history or risk factors for Nocardia infection developed primary Nocardia nova sternal osteomyelitis with mediastinal abscess, diagnosed with open biopsy. She required prolonged antibiotic therapy and had a favorable outcome. Primary sternal osteomyelitis develops in the absence of a contiguous focus of infection, as opposed to secondary sternal osteomyelitis, which is usually a complication of sternotomy.

First-time use of bevacizumab for aggressive, metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma in an HIV/hepatitis B virus coinfected patient: a case report.

We present a case of an HIV-1 infected patient with history of chronic hepatitis B and chronic alcohol use without cirrhosis, who presented with aggressive hepatocellular carcinoma with multiple metastases. Systemic chemotherapy combined with use of bevacizumab (anti-vascular endothelium growth factor monoclonal antibody) was without effect and the patient succumbed to his disease within few weeks. To our knowledge, this is the first report in the English literature of bevacizumab use for metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma in HIV-infected patients.

Multicentric Castleman's disease in HIV infection: a systematic review of the literature.

The objective of this study is to systematically review the epidemiology and the clinical and virologic aspects of multicentric Castleman's disease in HIV-positive patients and to evaluate treatment strategies and outcome, especially in relation to HAART administration. The authors have conducted a systematic review of the English literature for all cases of newly diagnosed multicentric Castleman's disease in HIV-positive patients. The 25 studies which met the selection criteria included 84 HIV-positive patients with multicentric Castleman's disease (20 pre-HAART and 64 post-HAART era).

Revertant multiresistant HIV in chronically infected drug naïve patients: when baseline resistance testing is not enough.

We present a patient with chronic HIV-1 infection and primary multi-drug resistance, the magnitude of which was underestimated by the baseline genotypic resistance testing (GRT) due to reversion of some of the mutations of the transmitted strain. This resulted in complete failure of his first antiretroviral regimen with rapid appearance of presumably archived mutations to more than one antiretroviral classes. Interestingly, his viral load remained high even in the presence of the M184V mutation.

Streptococcus pneumoniae septic arthritis complicating hip osteonecrosis in adults: case report and review of the literature.

A 42-year-old patient presented acutely with bacteremic pneumococcal pneumonia along with metastatic pneumococcal infection of the hip joint. Diagnostic evaluation revealed evidence of a pre-existing bilateral hip osteonecrosis. The osteonecrotic changes were attributed to chronic alcohol abuse and/or an old motor vehicle accident.