The clinical significance of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae rectal colonization in critically ill patients: from colonization to bloodstream infection.

Purpose: To highlight the clinical significance of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) rectal colonization by examining the risk factors for CRKP rectal colonization and subsequent bloodstream infection (BSI) in critically ill patients.

Methodology: Prospective study of CRKP rectal colonization in an intensive care unit (ICU) during a 39-month period. CRKP strains isolated from both the blood cultures and corresponding rectal specimens (n=96) of patients were screened by PCR for the presence of antibiotic resistance-associated genes.

Comparing Abbott m2000 RealTime HIV test and Roche COBAS Ampliprep/COBAS Taqman HIV test, v2.0 in treated HIV-1 B and non-B subjects with low viraemia.

Viral load testing is a valuable tool in HIV clinical care and research. Discrepancies among diverse viral load assays, especially with regard to non-B HIV-1 subtypes have been reported. Our study aimed to explore the impact of HIV subtype (B versus non-B) on the agreement between CAP/CTM, v2.

NK and NKT Cell Depletion Alters the Outcome of Experimental Pneumococcal Pneumonia: Relationship with Regulation of Interferon-γ Production.

Background. Natural killer (NK) and natural killer T (NKT) cells contribute to the innate host defense but their role in bacterial sepsis remains controversial. Methods.

West Nile virus seroprevalence and behavioral risks in HIV-1 infected individuals, Northern Greece, 2011.

Objectives: This study sought to assess the West Nile Virus (WNV) seroprevalence and behavioral risk factors for WNV infection in HIV-1 infected individuals in Northern Greece in 2011.

Methods: We prospectively enrolled 91 HIV-1 consecutive patients followed up in the HIV clinic of the AHEPA University Hospital in the period from November to December 2011. Serum samples were tested for the presence of WNV IgG antibodies.

Short communication: molecular epidemiology of HIV type 1 infection in northern Greece (2009-2010): evidence of a transmission cluster of HIV type 1 subtype A1 drug-resistant strains among men who have sex with men.

A prospective molecular epidemiology study of HIV-1 infection was conducted in newly diagnosed and antiretroviral-naive patients in Northern Greece between 2009 and 2010 using a predefined enrolling strategy. Phylogenetic trees of the pol sequences obtained in this study with reference sequences indicated that subtypes B and A1 were the most common subtypes present and accounted for 44.9% and 42.

Cellular HIV type 1 DNA levels are equivalent among drug-sensitive and drug-resistant strains in newly diagnosed and antiretroviral naive patients.

The emergence of resistance against current antiretroviral drugs to human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is an increasingly important concern to the continuous success of antiretroviral therapy to HIV-1-infected patients. In the past decade, a number of studies reported that the prevalence of transmitted drug resistance among newly diagnosed patients has reached an overall 9% prevalence worldwide. Also, a number of studies using longitudinal HIV-1 patient study cohorts demonstrated that the cellular HIV-1 DNA level in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) has a prognostic value for the progression of HIV-1 disease independently of plasma HIV-1 RNA load and CD4 count.

Time trends and correlates of late presentation for HIV care in Northern Greece during the decade 2000 to 2010.

Background: The aim of our study was to assess the extent of late presentation for HIV care in Northern Greece during the period 2000 to 2010 and to explore correlations aiming to provide guidance for future interventions.

Methods: HIV-positive patients with no prior history of HIV care at presentation and with a CD4 T cell count within three months from the first confirmatory Western blot result were eligible for this study. Late presentation and advanced HIV disease were defined in concordance with the recommendations of the European Late Presenter Consensus working group.

Molecular epidemiology of chronic hepatitis B virus infection in Greece.

Virological data on chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in Greece are limited. HBV genotypes, surface antigen (HBsAg) subtypes, and HBsAg "a" determinant mutations among patients infected chronically with HBV, were investigated. Serum samples from 135 HBsAg positive patients were tested.