Getting Up to Speed: Rapid Pathogen and Antimicrobial Resistance Diagnostics in Sepsis.

Sepsis is a life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to infection. Time to receive effective therapy is a primary determinant of mortality in patients with sepsis. Blood culture is the reference standard for the microbiological diagnosis of bloodstream infections, despite its low sensitivity and prolonged time to receive a pathogen detection.

Impact of a computer system as a triage tool in the management of pulmonary tuberculosis in a HIV reference center in Brazil.

Background: The Neural Clinical Score for tuberculosis (NCS-TB) is a computer system developed to improve the triage of presumed pulmonary TB (pPTB).

Methods: A study was performed with cohorts of pPTB patients cared for at a reference hospital in Northeast Brazil.

Results: The NCS-TB sensitivity was 76.

Coccidioidomycosis in a reference center in Northeast Brazil: clinical/epidemiological profile and most common radiological findings.

Introduction: Coccidioidomycosis, a disease caused by Coccidioides immitis or Coccidioides posadasii, is endemic in arid climatic regions in Northeast Brazil. Its prevalence is higher among young adult males living in rural areas. Existing literature about this disease in Ceará, a Northeast Brazilian state, are scarce.

Predictive factors for disseminated histoplasmosis in AIDS patients with fever admitted to a reference hospital in Brazil.

Introduction: In many settings, the lack of sensitive biomarkers of disseminated histoplasmosis (DH) leads to a clinical reliance on older diagnostic methods and delayed treatment initiation. The early recognition of DH is critical for survival, especially in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). This study aimed to identify clinical and laboratory findings associated with the definitive diagnosis of DH in low-income HIV patients in endemic areas.