Phage-Antibiotic Combination Therapy against Recurrent Septicaemia in a Patient with an Arterial Stent.

Intravascular stent infections are often associated with high risks of morbidity and mortality. We report here a case of a patient with an arterial stent and recurrent septicaemias successfully treated with phage-meropenem combination therapy. A 75-year-old female with arteriosclerosis and comorbidities went through a femoropopliteal bypass with prosthesis in the right inguinal area.

Alcohol Consumption and Its Influence on the Clinical Picture of Puumala Hantavirus Infection.

Puumala hantavirus (PUUV) causes hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome. Characteristic clinical findings include acute kidney injury (AKI), thrombocytopenia, and capillary leakage. Smoking increases the risk of severe AKI, but it is not known whether alcohol consumption predisposes patients to a more severe infection.

Smoking is associated with aggravated kidney injury in Puumala hantavirus-induced haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome.

Background: Previous studies indicate that smoking affects the outcome of some infections and is a risk factor for Puumala virus (PUUV) infection. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of smoking on the clinical severity of PUUV infection and the prevalence of smoking in patients with PUUV infection.

Methods: A questionnaire on smoking habits was sent to 494 patients in 2012, who had been treated in Tampere University Hospital, Finland, for serologically confirmed PUUV infection during years 1982-2012.

Plasma levels of soluble urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor associate with the clinical severity of acute Puumala hantavirus infection.

Objectives: Urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor is a multifunctional glycoprotein, the expression of which is increased during inflammation. It is known to bind to β3-integrins, which are elementary for the cellular entry of hantaviruses. Plasma soluble form of the receptor (suPAR) levels were evaluated as a predictor of severe Puumala hantavirus (PUUV) infection and as a possible factor involved in the pathogenesis of the disease.

Elevated serum anti-I2 and anti-OmpW antibody levels in children with IBD.

Background: Bacteria are implicated as important factors in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The aim of this study was to seek evidence of possible bacterial targets of the immune response related to IBD in children.

Methods: Seventy-eight children referred to the Department of Paediatrics at Tampere University Hospital on suspicion of IBD were included in the study.