Publications by authors named "Maria Antonello"
During the COVID-19 pandemic, immunosuppressed patients showed prolonged SARS-CoV-2 infections, with several studies reporting the accumulation of mutations in the viral genome. The weakened immune system present in these individuals, along with the effect of antiviral therapies, are thought to create a favourable environment for intra-host viral evolution and have been linked to the emergence of new viral variants which strongly challenged containment measures and some therapeutic treatments. To assess whether impaired immunity could lead to the increased instability of viral genomes, longitudinal nasopharyngeal swabs were collected from eight immunocompromised patients and fourteen non-immunocompromised subjects, all undergoing SARS-CoV-2 infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Urinary tract infections (UTIs) cause postoperative morbidity in patients undergoing lower gastrointestinal (GI) surgery that can prolong postoperative hospital stays. In patients with a fever of unknown origin (FUO), clinicians ignore what to do while waiting for the results of the urine culture test. This study aimed to develop a nomogram predicting UTI in the case of postoperative FUO.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The continuous emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOC) with immune escape properties, such as Delta (B.1.617.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Detecting tuberculosis (TB) in cases of extrapulmonary infection is challenging due to low levels of bacteria and limited availability of fresh samples for traditional culture testing.
- A study evaluated homemade droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) assays using biopsies, comparing their effectiveness against culture methods on fresh and formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) samples.
- Results showed that the IS6110 ddPCR assay had high sensitivity (98.5%) and accuracy (98.9%) for diagnosing TB compared to traditional methods, outperforming both the rpoB assay and other diagnostic techniques like Xpert and acid-fast bacilli smear microscopy.
To complement RT-qPCR testing for diagnosis of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections, many countries have introduced the use of rapid antigen tests. As they generally display lower real-life performances than expected, their correct positioning as frontline screening is still controversial. Despite the lack of data from daily clinical use, third generation microfluidic assays (such as the LumiraDx SARS-CoV-2 Ag test) have recently been suggested to have similar performances to RT-qPCR and have been proposed as alternative diagnostic tools.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Recent studies showed that plasma SARS-CoV-2 RNA seems to be associated with worse COVID-19 outcome. However, whether specific population can be at higher risk of viremia are to date unexplored.
Methods: This cross-sectional proof-of-concept study included 41 SARS-CoV-2-positive adult individuals (six affected by haematological malignancies) hospitalized at two major hospital in Milan, for those demographic, clinical and laboratory data were available.
Article Synopsis
- Lombardy, Italy had the highest SARS-CoV-2 cases globally from February to April 2020, leading to an analysis of 346 viral genomes.
- Researchers identified seven distinct viral lineages in the region, with some likely emerging locally in Italy.
- The study found evidence of community transmission occurring prior to the first official COVID-19 case report in Lombardy, along with specific genetic mutations in the virus sequences.
Article Synopsis
- * In a group of 55 patients, ddPCR identified the virus in 19 (34.5%), revealing a significant viral load and correlating with severe COVID-19 symptoms in the majority of those testing positive.
- * The findings suggest that ddPCR provides a more reliable diagnosis for COVID-19 in cases where rtPCR results are negative, enhancing patient management and treatment strategies.
Background: The International Headache Society has defined the diagnostic criteria for headache induced by substance use. Recently, a revision to these criteria has been proposed.
Objective: To consider whether the International Headache Society criteria for headache induced by substance use and the proposed revisions for the classification of daily and near-daily headache with medication abuse permit classification of patients commonly seen in a headache center.