Cefiderocol-Based versus Colistin-Based Regimens for Severe Carbapenem-Resistant Infections: A Propensity Score-Weighted, Retrospective Cohort Study during the First Two Years of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: A large increase in multi-drug-resistant , especially carbapenem-resistant strains, occurred during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, posing important challenges in its treatment. Cefiderocol appeared to be a good option for the treatment of Carbapenem-resistant (CR-Ab), but to date, the guidelines and evidence available are conflicting.

Methods: We retrospectively included a group of patients with CR-Ab infections (treated with colistin- or cefiderocol-based regimens) at Padua University Hospital (August 2020-July 2022) and assessed predictors of 30-day mortality, and differences in microbiological and clinical treatment.

Changing patterns and clinical outcomes of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 severe pneumonia treated with remdesivir according to vaccination status: results from a real-world retrospective study.

Since the beginning of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, many drugs have been purposed for the treatment of severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Remdesivir emerged as an encouraging antiviral drug for patients with documented severe COVID-19-related pneumonia. Although several studies about remdesivir effectiveness exist, no study investigated the effect of the combination of remdesivir with the vaccination status.

COVID-19 and myotonic dystrophy: Case reports and systematic review.

Introduction: Steinert's disease is a rare genetic disorder characterized by progressive myotonia and multi-organ damage. It is associated with respiratory and cardiological complications often leading patients to exitus. These conditions are also traditional risk factors for severe COVID-19.

Off-Label Use of Dalbavancin for Sequential Treatment of Spondylodiscitis by Methicillin-Resistant : A Retrospective Single-Centre Experience.

Background: Our aim was to describe the clinical outcome and safety of the sequential treatment with off-label dalbavancin in patients with spondylodiscitis that is caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Methods: We retrospectively included all patients >18 years of age with spondylodiscitis that is caused by MRSA that was treated with dalbavancin from January 2018−January 2021, recording the instances of clinical cure/failure, adverse events, and the need to be re-hospitalized after the initiation of dalbavancin. In 2/15 patients, we performed therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) for dalbavancin.

Time-series analysis of multidimensional clinical-laboratory data by dynamic Bayesian networks reveals trajectories of COVID-19 outcomes.

Background And Objective: COVID-19 severity spans an entire clinical spectrum from asymptomatic to fatal. Most patients who require in-hospital care are admitted to non-intensive wards, but their clinical conditions can deteriorate suddenly and some eventually die. Clinical data from patients' case series have identified pre-hospital and in-hospital risk factors for adverse COVID-19 outcomes.

Disease Severity and Prognosis of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Hospitalized Patients Is Not Associated With Viral Load in Nasopharyngeal Swab.

The impact of viral burden on severity and prognosis of patients hospitalized for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is still a matter of debate due to controversial results. Herein, we sought to assess viral load in the nasopharyngeal swab and its association with severity score indexes and prognostic parameters. We included 127 symptomatic patients and 21 asymptomatic subjects with a diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection obtained by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and presence of cycle threshold.

Liver histopathology in COVID-19 patients: A mono-Institutional series of liver biopsies and autopsy specimens.

Few studies have focused on COVID-19 patients' hepatic histopathological features. Many of the described morphological landscapes are non-specific and possibly due to other comorbidities or to Sars-CoV-2-related therapies. We describe the hepatic histopathological findings of 3 liver biopsies obtained from living COVID-19 patients in which active SARS-CoV-2 infection was molecularly confirmed and biopsied because of significant alterations of liver function tests and 25 livers analyzed during COVID-19-related autopsies.

Prolonged SARS-CoV-2-RNA Detection from Nasopharyngeal Swabs in an Oncologic Patient: What Impact on Cancer Treatment?

The pandemic of SARS-CoV-2 is a serious global challenge affecting millions of people worldwide. Cancer patients are at risk for infection exposure and serious complications. A prompt diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection is crucial for the timely adoption of isolation measures and the appropriate management of cancer treatments.

Clinical characteristics and laboratory biomarkers changes in COVID-19 patients requiring or not intensive or sub-intensive care: a comparative study.

Background: Identifying risk factors for severe novel-coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is useful to ascertain which patients may benefit from advanced supportive care. The study offers a description of COVID-19 patients, admitted to a general ward for a non-critical clinical picture, with the aim to analyse the differences between those transferred to the intensive (ICU) and/or sub-intensive care (SICU) units and those who were not.

Methods: This observational retrospective study includes all COVID-19 patients admitted to the Infectious Diseases Unit.

An Integrated Strategy for the Prevention of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Healthcare Workers: A Prospective Observational Study.

Background: Since the beginning of SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, a large number of infections have been reported among healthcare workers (HCWs). The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of SARS-CoV-2 infection among HCWs involved in the first management of infected patients and to describe the measures adopted to prevent the transmission in the hospital.

Methods: This prospective observational study was conducted between February 21 and April 16, 2020, in the Padua University Hospital (north-east Italy).

Predictors of immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome associated with Kaposi's sarcoma: a case report.

We present here a case of immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome associated with Kaposi's sarcoma (KS-IRIS) developed in an AIDS patient two months after initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART). Baseline characteristics of this IRIS-KS case, within a cohort of 12 naïve AIDS-KS patients, were analyzed. No statistically significant differences in CD4 cell counts, plasma HIV RNA load, KS clinical staging, human herpesvirus 8 (HHV8) antibody titers and HHV8 load in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and saliva were evidenced.

Use of polylactic acid implants to correct facial lipoatrophy in human immunodeficiency virus 1-positive individuals receiving combination antiretroviral therapy.

Objective: To assess the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of facial injections of polylactic acid for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) 1-associated facial lipoatrophy, which commonly affects HIV-1-infected patients receiving combination antiretroviral therapy.

Design: A cohort of 50 consecutive HIV-1-infected outpatients with moderate to severe facial lipoatrophy who were receiving antiretroviral therapy were recruited in one institutional center and followed up for 12 months. Patients received the compound subcutaneously at baseline and on days 30, 45, and 60 of the study, for a total of 4 sets of injections; if necessary, 2 additional sets of injections were allowed on days 75 and 90.

Long-term clinical outcome of AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma during highly active antiretroviral therapy.

The long-term impact of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in AIDS patients with Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) was evaluated in 22 consecutive, HAART-naïve KS patients attending a single Italian referral centre for HIV/AIDS. Clinical, virologic and immunologic responses to HAART were assessed at baseline and every three months during the follow-up. Peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC)-associated human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) load was also evaluated by real-time PCR in 13 patients with durable clinical KS complete response (CR).

Treatments of AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma.

Although Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) has decreased in countries where the highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) regimen is available, however it remains, after non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, the most common malignancy in HIV+ patients. Advances in the treatment of AIDS-KS have been achieved, even though a gold standard therapy has not been yet defined. With the availability of HAART, a dramatic KS clinical response has been documented, making HAART essential in all patients.

Novel pharmacological therapies for the treatment of AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma.

Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is the most common cancer associated with AIDS. KS aetiology and pathogenesis are still poorly defined and no definitive treatment has yet been identified. However, the introduction in 1996 of highly active antiretroviral therapy as a standard of care for those infected with HIV-1 determined a strong protection against the development of opportunistic infections, as well as a remission of pre-existing complications, including KS.

Inflammatory pseudotumor of lymph nodes.

A case of inflammatory pseudotumor in a 22-Year-old man is described. Symptoms and signs showed high fever and prominent cervical lymphadenopathy; laboratory findings were consistent with an acute inflammatory process. Diagnosis was reached through a lymph node biopsy which allowed a definitive diagnosis and ruled out several mimicking pathological processes such as malignant lymphoma, infectious diseases and autoimmune disorders.

Acute mediastinitis: a severe complication of transdermal therapy in a patient with ischaemic heart disease. A case report.

Acute mediastinitis is an uncommon and potentially devastating infection. Generally, mediastinitis occurs as a postoperative infection following median sternotomy. We describe a case of acute mediastinitis in a patient with ischaemic heart disease, secondary to the spread of cutaneous infection of the chest wall in the application site of transdermal nitroglycerine patches.

Enanthema as the first clinical manifestation of abacavir hypersensitivity reaction: a case report.

Abacavir is a nucleoside analogue reverse transcriptase inhibitor used in combination with other antiretroviral drugs for the treatment of HIV 1-infection. Approximately 3% of patients who receive abacavir develop an idiosyncratic hypersensitivity reaction. The most common symptoms are fever, skin rash and gastrointestinal disorders.