Publications by authors named "Kostoula M"

Article Synopsis
  • - After COVID-19 began, there was a significant increase in invasive fungal infections globally, but the specific situation in Greece regarding fungaemias remains unclear.
  • - An ongoing outbreak in a Greek hospital has led to 89 episodes of bloodstream infections over nearly three years, with these episodes occurring in waves linked to previous colonization peaks.
  • - Most fungal isolates were found to be resistant to fluconazole but sensitive to other antifungals, highlighting the importance of infection control and careful use of antifungal treatments to prevent resistance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In a multicenter, prospective study of filamentous fungal keratitis in Greece, predisposing factors, etiology, treatment practices, and outcome, were determined. Corneal scrapings were collected from patients with clinical suspicion of fungal keratitis, and demographic and clinical data were recorded. Fungal identification was based on morphology, molecular methods, and matrix assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass-spectrometry.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In a recent study of our group with the acronym ACTIVATE, Bacillus Calmete-Guérin (BCG) vaccination reduced the occurrence of new infections compared to placebo vaccination in the elderly. Most benefit was found for respiratory infections. The ACTIVATE-2 study was launched to assess the efficacy of BCG vaccination against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Gas fermentation for the production of building block molecules and biofuels is lately gaining attention as a means to eliminate the greenhouse gases emissions. Especially CO capture and recycling are in focus. Thus, the biological coupling of CO and H is of high interest.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Gastrointestinal carriage of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) and carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (CRGN) constitutes a major public health concern as it may be followed by clinical infection development or lead to intra-hospital dissemination. Detection of carriers and implementation of infection control measures are essential in every hospital. In this study we determined the point prevalence of VRE and CRGN in the fecal flora of the inpatients of a tertiary university hospital in Greece.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Gestational diabetes mellitus is defined as "diabetes recognized in the second or third trimester that is not clearly overt diabetes". Evidence relating to women with hyperglycemia early in pregnancy is limited. We aimed to evaluate women diagnosed with hyperglycemia early in pregnancy (eGDM) and compared them to those with pregestational established type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and gestational diabetes diagnosed routinely at 24-28-week gestation (rtGDM) to determine if the length of exposure to hyperglycemia adversely affected outcomes.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF