Early, very high-titre convalescent plasma therapy in clinically vulnerable individuals with mild COVID-19: an international, randomised, open-label trial.

Background: COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) is a treatment option for COVID-19. This study investigated the safety and efficacy of early, very high-titre CCP in immunocompromised individuals with mild COVID-19.

Methods: This randomised, controlled, open-label trial assessed CCP in immunocompromised patients (n = 120) with mild COVID-19 in 10 clinical trial centres across Germany, France, and the Netherlands.

Quantitative Evaluation of COVID-19 Pneumonia CT Using AI Analysis-Feasibility and Differentiation from Other Common Pneumonia Forms.

To implement the technical feasibility of an AI-based software prototype optimized for the detection of COVID-19 pneumonia in CT datasets of the lung and the differentiation between other etiologies of pneumonia. This single-center retrospective case-control-study consecutively yielded 144 patients (58 female, mean age 57.72 ± 18.

An unusual presentation of invasive Fusarium aortitis in a patient who is immunocompromised: A case report.

Fusarium (F.) species are ubiquitous filamentous fungi that may cause various opportunistic infections, especially in patients who are immunocompromised. A rare manifestation of disseminated fusariosis affects the aortic valve and results in invasive aortitis, which poses a significant challenge for clinicians in diagnosis and treatment.

Experienced stigma and applied coping strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany: a mixed-methods study.

Objective: Health-related stigma is considered a social determinant of health equity and a hidden burden of disease. This study aimed to assess the level and dimensions of stigma and respective coping mechanisms in COVID-19 survivors.

Methods: A mixed-methods study with sequential explanatory design was conducted at the University Hospital of Ulm, Germany.

Initial Risk Assessment in Patients with Alveolar Echinococcosis-Results from a Retrospective Cohort Study.

: Alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is a potentially lethal parasitosis with a broad spectrum of disease dynamics in affected patients. To guide clinical management, we assessed initial prognostic factors for both progressive and controlled AE based on initial staging. : A retrospective cohort study was conducted, examining 279 patients assigned to different clinical groups: cured, stable with and without the need for benzimidazole treatment, and progressive disease.

18F-FDG-PET/MR in Alveolar Echinococcosis: Multiparametric Imaging in a Real-World Setting.

Recent improvements in alveolar echinococcosis (AE) therapy can provide long-term disease control, and even allow structured treatment interruption in selected cases. Imaging has a pivotal role in monitoring disease activity, with 18-fluoro-deoxyglucose positron emission and computed tomography (18F-FDG-PET/CT) in particular having proven beneficial for assessing disease activity. Repetitive regular examinations to monitor therapy response, however, can lead to substantial radiation burden.

Salvage Therapy for Alveolar Echinococcosis-A Case Series.

Benzimidazoles are the only approved drugs for the treatment of inoperable human alveolar echinococcosis but may be limited due to intolerance or, rarely, ineffectiveness. A medical second-line or salvage therapy is not available, though it is urgently needed. We report long-term follow-up data from 14 patients who underwent salvage therapy with repurposed drugs with cumulatively 53.

Evaluation of Serological Markers in Alveolar Echinococcosis Emphasizing the Correlation of PET-CTI Tracer Uptake with RecEm18 and -Specific IgG.

Human alveolar echinococcosis (AE), which is caused by the cestode () , is an epidemiologically relevant issue in modern medicine and still poses a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. Since diagnosis mainly relies on imaging procedures and serological testing, we retrospectively and comparatively analyzed the performance of an IgG screening ELISA, whole serum IgE, and two specific confirmatory ELISA platforms using the defined antigens Em2-Em18 (Em2+) and recombinant Em18 (recEm18). With special emphasis on the clinical usefulness of recEm18, we correlated the laboratory results with clinical characteristics and imaging findings in a large and well-characterized cohort of N = 124 AE patients, who were followed over several years after either surgical plus subsequent pharmacological treatment or pharmacotherapy alone.

Echinococcus multilocularis specific antibody, systemic cytokine, and chemokine levels, as well as antigen-specific cellular responses in patients with progressive, stable, and cured alveolar echinococcosis: A 10-year follow-up.

Background: The infestation with Echinococcus multilocularis larvae may persist in humans for up to decades without evident clinical symptoms. Longitudinal investigations are needed to understand the dynamic immunological processes in alveolar echinococcosis (AE) patients associated with an active and progressive, a stable or a regressive course of disease.

Methodology/principal Findings: This study evaluated the E.

Parasites of the liver - epidemiology, diagnosis and clinical management in the European context.

Parasites in the liver cause significant global morbidity and mortality, as they can lead to recurrent cholangitis, cirrhosis, liver failure and cancer. Due to climate change and globalisation, their incidence is increasing, especially in Europe. The correct diagnosis of a hepatic parasite is often delayed because clinicians are unfamiliar with respective entities.

SARS-CoV-2 infects and replicates in cells of the human endocrine and exocrine pancreas.

Infection-related diabetes can arise as a result of virus-associated β-cell destruction. Clinical data suggest that the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), causing the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), impairs glucose homoeostasis, but experimental evidence that SARS-CoV-2 can infect pancreatic tissue has been lacking. In the present study, we show that SARS-CoV-2 infects cells of the human exocrine and endocrine pancreas ex vivo and in vivo.

[An Update on the Epidemiological Situation of Alveolar Echinococcosis: Recording and Reporting Structures in Austria, Switzerland and Germany].

Objective:  Alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is a rare disease in Austria, Switzerland and Germany (DACh) caused by an infection with the parasite Echinococcus multilocularis. The aim of the study was to describe differences in the detection and reporting systems of alveolar echinococcosis in Austria, Switzerland and Germany and to describe epidemiological trends.

Methodology:  As part of an epidemiological update on 6 September 2019 in Ulm, Germany, experts and representatives discussed differences in the reporting and recording systems as well as the current epidemiological situation.

Multiple antibiotic resistance as a risk factor for mortality and prolonged hospital stay: A cohort study among neonatal intensive care patients with hospital-acquired infections caused by gram-negative bacteria in Vietnam.

Background: Antibiotic resistance (ABR) is an increasing burden for global health. The prevalence of ABR in Southeast Asia is among the highest worldwide, especially in relation to hospital-acquired infections (HAI) in intensive care units (ICU). However, little is known about morbidity and mortality attributable to ABR in neonates.

Interrelationship of Opioid Dependence, Impaired Impulse Control, and Depressive Symptoms: An Open-Label Cross-Sectional Study of Patients in Maintenance Therapy.

Objective: A growing number of studies indicate increased impulsivity in patients with opioid dependence (OD). However, few studies exclude concomitant drug use and consider depression as a comorbidity, both of which can bias results.

Aim: We aimed to compare impulsivity in patients with OD enrolled in maintenance therapy (ICD code F11.