Quantification of 1,3-β-d-glucan by Wako β-glucan assay for rapid exclusion of invasive fungal infections in critical patients: A diagnostic test accuracy study.

Objectives: Rapid and reliable exclusion of invasive fungal infections (IFI) by markers able to avoid unnecessary empirical antifungal treatment is still a critical unmet clinical need. We investigated the diagnostic performance of a newly available β-d-Glucan (BDG) quantification assay, focusing on the optimisation of the BDG cut-off values for IFI exclusion.

Methods: BDG results by Wako β-glucan assay (lower limit of detection [LLOD] = 2.

Promoting resilience in the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic: Psychological interventions for intensive care unit (ICU) clinicians and family members.

This contribution draws from the experience of intensive care unit psychologists at 2 frontline hospitals in Milan, Italy, during the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this contribution, we describe the main psychological needs observed in clinicians and in the families of COVID-19 patients and illustrate some psychological interventions implemented to respond to these needs. Containing emotions and promoting resilience were the aims of our interventions.

acquisition and risk of inter-species spread of -plasmid from to in the lower respiratory tract.

In recent years, has emerged as an important agent of hospital-acquired infections, such as pneumonia, urinary tract infection, septicaemia and meningitis, particularly in vulnerable patients. Compared to and , is less commonly associated with genes, yet few cases of plasmid transmission at the gastrointestinal level from carbapenemase (KPC)-producing to have been described. Here we report a case of acquisition, during a 3-month period of hospitalization in the intensive care unit, of a gene carried by a pKpQIL-IT plasmid, and its probable transmission at the bronchial level among different species of , including and .

Intensive multidisciplinary management in critical care patients affected by severe necrotizing soft tissue infections: a cooperative method to improve the efficacy of treatment.

To illustrate the effectiveness of our intensive multidisciplinary management (IMM) in the treatment of severely ill patients with necrotizing soft tissue infections (NSTIs). A retrospective observational study was conducted in a general ICU. Thirty-two consecutive patients undergoing IMM were carefully compared with 30 consecutive patients receiving a standard management (SM).

Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis complicated by multiorgan failure: A case report.

Rationale: We present a case of hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) with severe pulmonary complication and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) hospitalized in our intensive care unit (ICU) in 2014; distinctive trait of this case has been the challenging diagnosis, with a bone marrow biopsy always negative, the severe pulmonary complication with ARDS and severe pulmonary hypertension, and the ferritin temporal kinetics that precisely followed the clinical course of disease.

Patient Concerns: A 32-year-old woman from the Philippines first diagnosed with upper airway infection, was subsequently hospitalized in infectious disease department and treated for community acquired pneumonia.

Diagnoses: After clinical picture worsened with a profound respiratory insufficiency, the patient was intubated and transferred to our ICU.