Incidence, Risk Factors and Impact on Clinical Outcomes of Bloodstream Infections in Patients Hospitalised with COVID-19: A Prospective Cohort Study.

With the aim of describing the burden and epidemiology of community-acquired/healthcare-associated and hospital-acquired bloodstream infections (CA/HCA-BSIs and HA-BSIs) in patients hospitalised with COVID-19, and evaluating the risk factors for BSIs and their relative impact on mortality, an observational cohort study was performed on patients hospitalised with COVID-19 at San Paolo Hospital in Milan, Italy from 24 February to 30 November 2020. Among 1351 consecutive patients hospitalised with COVID-19, 18 (1.3%) had CA/HCA-BSI and 51 (3.

Polymorphism of the fractalkine receptor CX3CR1 and systemic sclerosis-associated pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Fractalkine (FKN) and its receptor CX3CR1 are critical mediators in the vascular and tissue damage of several chronic diseases, including systemic sclerosis (SSc) and pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Interestingly, the V249I and T280M genetic polymorphisms influence CX3CR1 expression and function. We investigated whether these polymorphisms are associated with PAH secondary to SSc.

Genetic risk factor characterizes abdominal aortic aneurysm from arterial occlusive disease in human beings: CCR5 Delta 32 deletion.

Objective: Inflammation is involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), and chemokines are mediators of the inflammatory process. The homozygous Delta 32 deletion mutation of the gene of the chemokine receptor CCR5 is a cause of its lack in inflammatory cells. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between CCR5 Delta 32 deletion mutation and AAA, peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD), and carotid stenosis.