Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis
July 2023
Resistance of Acinetobacter baumannii to multiple clinically important antimicrobials has increased to very high rates in Greece, rendering most of them obsolete. The aim of this study was to determine the molecular epidemiology and susceptibilities of A. baumannii isolates collected from different hospitals across Greece.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOver the course of the pandemic, proteomics, being in the frontline of anti-COVID-19 research, has massively contributed to the investigation of molecular pathogenic properties of the virus. However, data on the proteome on anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccinated individuals remain scarce. This study aimed to identify the serum proteome characteristics of anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccinated individuals who had previously contracted the virus and comparatively assess them against those of virus-naïve vaccine recipients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) causes severe community and hospital acquired infections. Identification of staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec), multilocus-sequence typing, and sequencing of S. aureus protein A (spa) gene are used for MRSA typing.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFScientific Background: The aim of this prospective study was to assess whether the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score could be indicative of outcome (survival to discharge) in dogs with parvoviral enteritis.
Methods: In 35 naturally infected dogs, the SOFA score and clinical score were calculated and the presence of systemic inflammatory response syndrome was verified on admission and during the first four days of hospitalization.
Results: 26 dogs survived, and out of the 9 non-survivors, 6 dogs had positive blood cultures.
The aim of our study was to assess the immunogenicity of the third dose of the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine (Comirnaty) in a cohort of 129 health-care workers in Greece whose anti-S1 RBD IgG titers were monitored over the course of nine months. Titers were measured for each participant just before the third dose (nine months after the second dose) and also one month after the third dose. Of the 129 participants, 19 had been previously infected before starting the vaccination scheme.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFReal-world data suggest that protection against COVID-19 declines a few months after vaccination, particularly in the elderly and immunocompromised individuals. Our study aimed to analyze the humoral response induced by a third supplemental dose of BNT162b2 vaccine in a mixed group of immunocompromised individuals by determining anti-spike (anti-S) IgG antibody titers at baseline (pre-third vaccine dose) and 4 weeks after the dose. Serum samples were obtained from a total group of 85 immunocompromised individuals (history of cancer: n = 20, lymphoma: n = 4, leukemia: n = 3, transplant recipients: n = 4, autoimmune disease: n = 42, inflammatory disease: n = 6, autoimmune diabetes type 1: n = 6) all of whom had previously received a two-dose schedule of the vaccine.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Elderly people aged over 85 years were among the first groups to receive the BNT162b2 mRNA Covid-19 vaccine in Greece according to the national priority assignment policy.
Aim: The aim of this study was to provide useful insight into the antibody generation taking place post-immunization in elderly individuals aged over 85.
Methods: In the first phase of our study, antibody levels were monitored in a total of 400 participants, while our final sample consisted of 297 subjects.
Real-world data regarding the effectiveness, safety and immunogenicity of the Pfizer-BioNTech BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine are accumulating in the literature, suggesting that this vaccine generates high titres of S1-binding IgG antibodies that exhibit potent virus neutralization capacity. This is the first phase IV immunogenicity study to recruit a large number of Greek healthcare workers (=425) including 63 previously-infected subjects. We measured titres of neutralizing IgGs against the receptor-binding domain of the S1 subunit of the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 14 days post-immunization with the first dose, employing the SARS-CoV-2 IgG II Quant assay.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study monitored titers of neutralizing IgG against the receptor-binding domain of the SARS-CoV-2 S1 subunit 14 days post-injection of each dose of the BNT162b2 mRNA Covid-19 vaccine in 401 Greek healthcare workers aged 20-67. After the first dose, titers varied upon age and history of infection, being lower in the 50+ age group and significantly higher among the seropositive. After the second dose, immunogenicity was significantly boosted in the age 50+ and SARS-CoV-2-naïve individuals, indicating the effectuality of its timely administration, yet questioning its value among the seropositive.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Hirschsprung's disease-associated enterocolitis (HE) is a life-threatening septic complication of Hirschsprung's disease (HD), leading to bacterial translocation (BT) and sepsis. Many factors, such as intestinal stasis, HD-related inherited immune disorders and abnormal mucosal secretion have been implicated in its pathogenesis.
Objectives: To investigate the effect of intestinal stasis as an independent factor in the pathogenesis of HE intestinal lesions and its systematic effects.
Purpose: To highlight the clinical significance of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) rectal colonization by examining the risk factors for CRKP rectal colonization and subsequent bloodstream infection (BSI) in critically ill patients.
Methodology: Prospective study of CRKP rectal colonization in an intensive care unit (ICU) during a 39-month period. CRKP strains isolated from both the blood cultures and corresponding rectal specimens (n=96) of patients were screened by PCR for the presence of antibiotic resistance-associated genes.
Although is a pathogen commonly found in soil and plants, human disease caused by the genus is rare and cited in immunocompromised patients and in those who carry foreign plastic bodies such as catheters. We present a case of a 24-year-old woman with an adequate immune system who underwent surgery for an open fracture of the right tibia and humerus due to a car accident. One year later, she was readmitted to the hospital, due to a nonunion of the humeral fracture for surgical debridement and revision of the internal fixation with iliac crest autograft.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Controversial clinical findings of low-dose hydrocortisone supplementation in septic shock led us to investigate the impact of administration in lethal septic shock in adrenalectomized rats.
Materials And Methods: After preliminary experiments, to define the intravenous dose of hydrocortisone delivered in bilaterally adrenalectomized rats with serum cortisol level similar to sham rats, survival experiments were run in 75 rats after intraperitoneal challenge with Escherichia coli. Rats were treated with placebo, ertapenem, hydrocortisone, and a combination.
We present a case of previously healthy, immunocompetent, 41-year-old woman who developed systemic inflammatory response syndrome secondary to bacteremia. Clinical course was complicated by the simultaneous formation of multiple muscular abscesses, epidural abscess, and septic spondylodiscitis. The patient responded well to prolonged ceftriaxone treatment and was released 10 weeks after initial admission.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose To evaluate the in vitro efficacy of several anti-staphylococcal agents against a nationwide collection of contemporary Staphylococcus aureus clinical isolates from several healthcare centres in Greece. Methods Thirty hospitals throughout Greece (18 in Attica) provided all clinical isolates of S.aureus from April 2012 to May 2013 to a central lab to be re-submitted to susceptibility testing.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The advantages of laparoscopic surgery have been well documented. However, the impact of pneumoperitoneum on sepsis sequelae is still equivocal. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of CO(2) pneumoperitoneum, applied under different pressures and exposure times, on sepsis cascade and mortality.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Anterior temporal lobe resection (ATR) is a treatment option in drug-resistant epilepsy. An important risk of ATR is loss of memory because mesiotemporal structures contribute substantially to memory function. We investigated whether memory-activated functional MRI (fMRI) can predict postoperative memory loss after anterior temporal lobectomy in right-sided medial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE).
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