Rifapentine access in Europe: growing concerns over key tuberculosis treatment component.

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Weight Gain in Lung Transplantation Patients during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Croatia.

Background: To determine the effect of lockdown measures on lung transplant patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Subjects And Methods: We collected data from Croatian lung transplant patients before and after the lockdown and analyzed changes in weight, BMI, lung function and blood lipid status.

Results: An average increase of 3.

Management of Tuberculosis: Are the Practices Homogeneous in High-Income Countries?

To evaluate and compare practices regarding the diagnosis, isolation measures, and treatment of tuberculosis (TB) in high-income countries and mainly in Europe. A survey was conducted from November 2018 to April 2019 within the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Study Group for Mycobacterial Infections (ESGMYC). The practices observed were compared to the main international guidelines.

Nodular distribution pattern on chest computed tomography (CT) in patients diagnosed with nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) infections.

Background: This study evaluated the prevalence of spreading pathways in nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) pulmonary infections according to nodular distribution patterns seen on chest computed tomography (CT).

Methods: This study included 63 patients diagnosed with NTM lung infections who underwent CT at our institution. A retrospective analysis of CT images focused on the presence and distribution of nodules, presence of intrathoracic lymphadenopathy and the predominant side of infection in the lungs.

Epidemic and pandemic viral infections: impact on tuberculosis and the lung: A consensus by the World Association for Infectious Diseases and Immunological Disorders (WAidid), Global Tuberculosis Network (GTN), and members of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Study Group for Mycobacterial Infections (ESGMYC).

Major epidemics, including some that qualify as pandemics, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), HIV, influenza A (H1N1)pdm/09 and most recently COVID-19, affect the lung. Tuberculosis (TB) remains the top infectious disease killer, but apart from syndemic TB/HIV little is known regarding the interaction of viral epidemics and pandemics with TB. The aim of this consensus-based document is to describe the effects of viral infections resulting in epidemics and pandemics that affect the lung (MERS, SARS, HIV, influenza A (H1N1)pdm/09 and COVID-19) and their interactions with TB.

Prevalence and risk factors for Enterobacteriaceae in patients hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia.

Background And Objective: Enterobacteriaceae (EB) spp. family is known to include potentially multidrug-resistant (MDR) microorganisms, and remains as an important cause of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) associated with high mortality. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and specific risk factors associated with EB and MDR-EB in a cohort of hospitalized adults with CAP.

An international perspective on hospitalized patients with viral community-acquired pneumonia.

Background: Who should be tested for viruses in patients with community acquired pneumonia (CAP), prevalence and risk factors for viral CAP are still debated. We evaluated the frequency of viral testing, virus prevalence, risk factors and treatment coverage with oseltamivir in patients admitted for CAP.

Methods: Secondary analysis of GLIMP, an international, multicenter, point-prevalence study of hospitalized adults with CAP.

Evaluation of Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry in Identification of Nontuberculous Mycobacteria.

Background/aims: Species-level identification of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) is important in making decisions about the necessity and choice of antimicrobial treatment. The reason is predictable clinical significance and the susceptibility profile of specific NTM species. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) is recognized as a diagnostic tool for routine identification of bacteria and yeasts in the clinical laboratory based on protein fingerprint analysis.

Nosocomial pseudo-outbreak of Mycobacterium gordonae associated with a hospital's water supply contamination: a case series of 135 patients.

Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are opportunistic pathogens found in natural and human-engineered waters. In 2009, a relative increase in the isolation of Mycobacterium gordonae from pulmonary samples originating from General Hospital Zabok was noted by the National Mycobacteria Reference Laboratory. An epidemiological survey revealed a contamination of the cold tap water with M.

Evaluation of Xpert MTB/RIF assay for rapid molecular diagnosis of tuberculosis in a two-year period in Croatia.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis remains a major global health problem and is currently killing 1.5 million people every year. One of the most important steps in tuberculosis control is the rapid and accurate laboratory diagnosis.

The geographic diversity of nontuberculous mycobacteria isolated from pulmonary samples: an NTM-NET collaborative study.

A significant knowledge gap exists concerning the geographical distribution of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) isolation worldwide. To provide a snapshot of NTM species distribution, global partners in the NTM-Network European Trials Group (NET) framework (www.ntm-net.

Trends in lung cancer incidence and mortality in Croatia, 1988-2008.

Aim: To describe and interpret lung cancer incidence and mortality trends in Croatia between 1988 and 2008.

Methods: Incidence data on lung cancer for the period 1988-2008 were obtained from the Croatian National Cancer Registry, while mortality data were obtained from the World Health Organization mortality database. Population estimates for Croatia were obtained from the Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations.

A fatal Mycobacterium chelonae infection in an immunosuppressed patient with systemic lupus erythematosus and concomitant Fahr's syndrome.

We present a case of systemic Mycobacterium chelonae infection in an immunosuppressed patient with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), idiopathic hypoparathyroidism, and hypothyroidism. The patient was treated for 3 months for skin infection with clarithromycin monotherapy. Since her condition deteriorated, the antibiotic therapy was switched to intravenously administered clindamycin, cloxacillin, and meropenem.

[Anemia treatment in peritoneal dialysis patients].

Anemia is highly prevalent among chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients and patients receiving renal replacement therapy. In this paper we will outline the prevention and treatment of anemia in patients treated with peritoneal dialysis (PD). PD patients are less anemic and more sensitive to erythropoesis-stimulating agent (ESA) than their hemodialysis (HD) counterparts and, in general, dosages required for achieving similar hemoglobin levels to those achieved in HD patients are remarkably less.

Efficacy and safety of budesonide/formeterol combination therapy in asthma patients.

Budesonide/formoterol as single inhaler was developed for treating asthma patients who are not adequately controlled on glucocorticoides alone. The aim of this study was to evaluate efficacy, safety and patient/physician satisfaction of budesonide/formoterol therapy.Total of 268 asthma patients (120 men, mean age 38.

Different phenotypes of intermittent and persistent respiratory allergy in Zagreb, Croatia.

Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a major chronic respiratory disease because of its prevalence, its impacts on the quality of life, economic burden and links with asthma. A significant relationship between the severity of rhinitis and prevalence of asthma in allergic patients was found both in patients suffering from seasonal rhinitis and in those suffering from perennial-allergic rhinitis (PAR) and asthma. The aim of the study was to investigate allergy phenotypes in patients with intermittent allergic rhinitis (IAR) and persistent allergic rhinitis (PAR) in residents of Zagreb, and to determine if there were any other differences in the clinical (in vivo) and diagnostic (in vitro) presentations of the phenotype of subjects suffering from different types of rhinitis.

Mycobacterium xenopi pulmonary disease - epidemiology and clinical features in non-immunocompromised patients.

Objectives: The genus Mycobacterium has more than 120 well-characterized species. Although the incidence of tuberculosis has decreased over the studied period, other, non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are isolated more often. Since, Mycobacterium xenopi is the most frequent NTM isolate in Croatia we studied its epidemiology and clinical relevance.

Zoonoses and vector-borne diseases in Croatia - a multidisciplinary approach.

Emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases create constant and serious concerns for public health. The majority of emerging infectious diseases (EID) are wildlife zoonotic diseases and vector-borne diseases. Croatia has a long tradition in the control, management and research of EID zoonotic diseases and vector-borne diseases.