Management of two rare cases of dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans arising in the parotid region.

Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP) is a rare cutaneous tumour, accounting for less than 1% of malignant tumours of the head and neck region. This tumour rarely presents metastatic disease, but has a high recurrence rate. Therefore, wide surgical excision with microscopically free margins is the therapeutic gold standard.

Solitary Extramedullary Plasmacytoma Presenting as Asymptomatic Palatal Erythroplakia: Report of a Case.

Solitary plasmacytoma (SP) is a rare malignant tumor of plasma cells with no systemic spread; however, when it disseminates and affects multiple skeletal sites, it is called multiple myeloma (MM). The etiology of solitary plasmacytoma is unknown, with two possible subtypes: solitary extramedullary plasmacytoma (EMP) and solitary bone plasmacytoma (SBP). We present a case of EMP arising as asymptomatic erythroplakia of the palate, which is rarely described in the literature.

Granulocyte-colony stimulating factors as adjunctive therapy for diabetic foot infections.

Background: Granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) increases the release of neutrophil endothelial progenitor cells from the bone marrow and improves neutrophil functions, which are often impaired in people with diabetes.

Objectives: To examine the effects of adjunctive G-CSF compared with placebo or no growth factor added to usual care on rates of infection, cure and wound healing in people with diabetes who have a foot infection.

Search Methods: In March 2013, for this second update, we searched the Cochrane Wounds Group Specialised Register (searched 14 March 2013); the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library 2013, Issue 2); Ovid MEDLINE (1948 to March Week 1 2013); Ovid EMBASE (1974 to 2013 March 13); Ovid MEDLINE (In-Process march 13,2013); and EBSCO CINAHL (1982 to 28 February 2013).

A mental health initiative to enhance schizophrenia treatment efficacy.

Improving patient outcomes while containing costs can be a challenging goal to achieve. This article describes the initiatives undertaken by one mental health department to improve medication adherence among patients with schizophrenia by increasing psychoeducation, psychosocial services, and use of long-acting injectable antipsychotic agents. Achievement of this objective depended on a sustained departmental education program.

Antimicrobial prophylaxis in colorectal surgery: focus on ertapenem.

Despite improvement in infection control measures and surgical practice, surgical site infections (SSIs) remain a major cause of morbidity and mortality. In colorectal surgery, perioperative administration of a suitable antimicrobial regimen that covers both anaerobic and aerobic bacteria is universally accepted. In a prospective, double-blind, randomized study ertapenem was recently found to be more effective than cefotetan, a parenteral cephalosporin so broadly used as to be considered as gold standard in the prevention of SSIs following colorectal surgery.

Granulocyte-colony stimulating factors as adjunctive therapy for diabetic foot infections.

Background: G-CSF increases the release of neutrophil endothelial progenitor cells from the bone marrow, and improves neutrophil functions, which are often impaired in people with diabetes.

Objectives: To examine the effects of adjunctive G-CSF compared with placebo or no growth factor added to usual care on rates of infection, cure and wound healing in people with diabetes who have a foot infection.

Search Strategy: We searched the Cochrane Wounds Group Specialised Register (Searched 16/3/09); the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (The Cochrane Library, issue 1 2009); Ovid MEDLINE (1950 to March Week 1 2009); Ovid EMBASE (1980 to 2009 Week 11); EBSCO CINAHL (1982 to March Week 2 2009); LookSmart's Find Articles (January 1990 to January 2008); conference proceedings and references lists in the included studies.

Outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy in the elderly: an Italian observational multicenter study.

Bacterial infections are the most frequent cause of hospitalization in elderly patients. In the early eighties, the advantages of Outpatient parenteral Antibiotic therapy (OPAT) were identified in the United States, and suitable therapeutic programs were established. In order to understand the different ways of managing OPAT, a National OPAT Registry was set up in 2003 in Italy.

Clinical features of bacterial meningitis in Italy: a multicenter prospective observational study.

We carried out a prospective observational study on clinical features of bacterial meningitis. Between October 2002 and June 2005, 322 adult bacterial meningitis cases in 49 infectious disease wards in Italy (MENTORE study group) were enrolled in the study. 133 cases were due to Streptococcus pneumoniae, 44 to Neisseria meningitidis and 145 to other microorganisms.

Outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy for bone and joint infections: an italian multicenter study.

In the early eighties, the advantages of outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy (OPAT) (reduced costs, no hospitalization trauma in children, no immobilization syndrome in elderly, reduction in nosocomial infections by multiresistant organisms) were identified in the United States, and suitable therapeutic programs were established. Currently, more than 250,000 patients per year are treated according to an OPAT program. In order to understand the different ways of managing OPAT and its results, a National OPAT Registry was set up in 2003 in Italy.

Perioperative antibiotic prophylaxis: a critical review.

Background: The value of perioperative prophylaxis is established for clean-contaminated procedures. For clean surgery, prophylaxis traditionally has been reserved for prosthetic device implantation procedures.

Methods: Review of pertinent English-language literature.

The antibacterial action of cloths and sanitizers and the use of environmental alternatives in food industries.

The use of cleaning cloths in food industries has been implicated in the spread and growth of infective bacteria. Generic cloths sanitized with hot water at 75 degrees C and chemical sanitizers such as quaternary ammonium compounds (QAC) and hypochlorites currently used in food industries were compared with environmentally conscious alternatives such as fiber cloths sanitized with hot water at 75 degrees C. The results indicated that concentrations of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli on the fiber cloths were significantly lower than concentrations of bacteria on most of the generic cloths sanitized with hot water at 75 degrees C or a chemical sanitizer.

Association between Enterococcus bacteraemia and death in neutropenic patients with haematological malignancies.

Fatality rates and prognostic factors for mortality due to Enterococcus spp. bacteraemia have not yet been fully defined in the setting of neutropenic patients affected with haematological malignancies. We have performed a retrospective, multi-centre cohort study on 98 episodes of Enterococcus bacteraemia occurring in patients hospitalised from January 1984 to December 2001 at the oncohaematology units in two tertiary-care hospitals (Verona Hospital and Vicenza Hospital, in north-east Italy).

Human leptospirosis in the Vicenza area (Italy) from 1990 to 2003: an epidemiological and clinical study.

All cases of human leptospirosis observed at the S. Bortolo Hospital, Vicenza, Italy, in the period from September 1990 to December 2003 were retrospectively reviewed. The aim of the study was to define the epidemiological, clinical, diagnostic, and therapeutic aspects of this infection and to compare these with an earlier local study (1979-1990) in order to assess if any changes have occurred over time.

Erysipelas and cellulitis: clinical and microbiological spectrum in an Italian tertiary care hospital.

Patients hospitalized in the authors' institution for erysipelas or cellulitis between January 1995 and December 2002 were included in this retrospective review. Two hundred cases of soft tissue infections were hospitalized during the study period. The mean age of the patients was 58 years.

Prophylaxis of Candida infections in adult trauma and surgical intensive care patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: To determine whether systemic antifungal prophylaxis decreases infectious morbidity and mortality in nonneutropenic, critically ill, trauma and surgical intensive care unit (ICU) adult patients.

Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials. We used a fixed effect model, with risk ratio (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI).

Impact of liver steatosis on virological response in [corrected] Italian patients with chronic hepatitis C treated with peg-interferon alpha-2b plus ribavarin.

Background: Whether liver steatosis affects sustained virological response in patients with chronic hepatitis C is still under discussion.

Aim: To evaluate the impact of liver steatosis in patients treated (for chronic hepatitis C) with combination therapy.

Methods: We evaluated 97 (male/female 82/15, mean age 41.

Are granulocyte colony-stimulating factors beneficial in treating diabetic foot infections?: A meta-analysis.

Objective: To assess the value of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) as adjunctive therapy for diabetic foot infections.

Research Design And Methods: We systematically searched the medical literature (including Medline, Embase, LookSmart, and the Cochrane Library) for prospective randomized studies that used G-CSF as an adjunct to standard treatment for diabetic foot infections. Using a conventional meta-analysis, we pooled the relative risks (RRs) for outcomes of interest, including resolution of infection, wound healing, duration of antibiotic therapy, and need for various surgical interventions, using a fixed-effects model.

Chlamydia pneumoniae infection in HIV-positive patients: prevalence and relationship with lipid profile.

Objectives: The aims of this study were to evaluate the prevalence and impact of Chlamydia pneumoniae infection in HIV-positive patients and to establish the relationship between C. pneumoniae infection and lipid profile.

Methods: Detection of C.

The efficacy of cleaning products on food industry surfaces.

The increased incidence of foodborne illness and the growing use of chemical sanitizers in the food industry led the authors to an investigation of alternative, chemical-free methods of sanitizing surfaces using fiber cloths with hot water. The sanitizing performance of kitchen fiber cloths and all-purpose fiber cloths sanitized with hot water at 167 degrees F (75 degrees C) was compared with that of generic cloths such as antibacterial cloths and cleaning cloths sanitized with hot water at 167 degrees F (75 degrees C) or chemical sanitizers--quaternary ammonium compound (QAC) and hypochlorite. The QAC sanitizer resulted in the lowest overall concentrations of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli.

Alcohol is an important co-factor for both steatosis and fibrosis in Northern Italian patients with chronic hepatitis C.

Background/aims: Steatosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) may be the result of both viral and host factors. To evaluate: (1) the relationship between steatosis and either host or viral factors; (2) the correlation between steatosis and fibrosis in patients with CHC.

Methods: A consecutive series of 349 patients were evaluated for steatosis.

Therapy of chronic hepatitis C virus infection in HIV co-infected people.

The introduction of highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection has significantly improved the life expectancy of HIV positive patients. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) co-infection is common in HIV infected patients and is now a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. Optimal management and treatment of HCV in HIV infected patients is therefore essential.

Diagnosing and treating diabetic foot infections.

Foot infections are a common, complex and costly complication of diabetes. We have made considerable progress in establishing consensus definitions for defining infection. Similarly, we have learned much about the appropriate ways to diagnose both soft tissue and bone infections.

Prophylaxis with cefazolin plus clindamycin in clean-contaminated maxillofacial surgery.

Purpose: Infections after maxillofacial surgery are usually due to aerobic and anaerobic gram-positive cocci and gram-negative bacilli. Various antimicrobials, including cephalosporins, beta-lactams/beta-lactamase inhibitors, aminoglycosides, lincosamides, and fluoroquinolones, have been tested for use for perioperative prophylaxis in maxillofacial surgery. However, the best regimen has not been determined.

Clostridial orthopedic infections: case reports and review of the literature.

Clostridia are anaerobic Gram-positive bacilli that can be isolated from the soil and the intestinal tract of humans. These microorganisms are recognized as the cause of devastating soft tissue infections, such as cellulitis, myositis, and gas gangrene. However, such bacteria may also be involved in various postoperative orthopedic infections, including prosthetic joint infection.

Candidal prosthetic hip infection in a patient with previous candidal septic arthritis.

We describe the case of a patient with chronic monocytic leukemia who underwent total hip arthroplasty (THA) for hip arthrosis. The patient has a history of Candida albicans arthritis of the same joint 5 months before THA surgery. Seven months after the prosthetic joint surgery, the patient developed a C albicans prosthetic infection that was successfully treated with amphotericin B and prosthesis removal.