Triple Combination with Direct Acting Antivirals in the Treatment of Hepatitis C Does not Prolong the QT Interval.

Aims: Antiviral drugs are considered as potentially cardiotoxic, due to prolongation of QT interval which may affect incidence of severe ventricular arrhythmias. The main aim of this retrospective study was to assess the influence of treatment by three antiviral drugs on QT interval and to find patients who are at an increased risk of developing malignant ventricular arrhythmias.

Methods: The study included 23 patients (14 men, 9 women) who were treated with a combination of interferon alpha, ribavirin, and an NS3/4A protease inhibitor.

Long-Term Antibody Response and Vaccination Efficacy in Patients with COVID-19: A Single Center One-Year Prospective Study from the Czech Republic.

Background: The diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 is almost exclusively performed by PCR or antigen detection. The detection of specific antibodies has not yet been considered in official diagnostic guidelines as major laboratory evidence for a case definition. The aim the present study is to analyze antibody responses in outpatient and inpatient cohorts of COVID-19 patients in the Czech Republic over a 12-month period, and assess the potential of antibodies as a diagnostic tool.

Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Infection Modulates the Transcriptional Profiles of CD4 T Cells.

Background: Chronic hepatitis C (CHC) is associated with altered cell-mediated immune response.

Objective: The aim of the study was to characterize functional alterations in CD4 T cell subsets and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) during chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. .

[Caring for women planning pregnancy or who are already pregnant: an infectious disease doctor's view].

The article discusses possible prevention and prophylaxis of infectious diseases affecting the course of pregnancy with respect to the mother, fetus and newborn. Also mentioned are diseases for which there is no vaccination. The options for prevention targeted at the periods before and during pregnancy and after delivery are explained.

A rare case of purulent meningitis caused by Capnocytophaga canimorsus in the Czech Republic - case report and review of the literature.

Background: Invasive infections caused by Capnocytophaga canimorsus are rare. Immunocompromised patients, who report being bitten by or having a close contact with an animal, represent a high-risk group for this infection. There are only few dozens of infections by this bacteria manifesting as purulent meningitis reported worldwide.

[Diagnosis and therapy of hepatitis B virus infection: Czech national guidelines].

The new recommendations reflect the increase in knowledge that has been reported since the release of previous Czech guidelines in September 2014. The basis for these guidelines were the European Association for the Study of the Liver guidelines from April 2017. According to qualified estimates, there are 240 million people with chronic hepatitis B (HBV) infection worldwide.

[Concurrent malaria and rickettsiosis in a patient returning from the Republic of South Africa].

Definitive diagnosis and therapy proved challenging in the case of a 60-year-old male with malaria and rickettsiosis. Returning travellers who are unwell can present practical difficulties in diagnosis and treatment and the focus here is on conditions relevant to the Republic of South Africa. Malaria, rickettsiosis and Q fever are discussed.

Prevalence of hepatitis C virus in adult population in the Czech Republic - time for birth cohort screening.

Chronic hepatitis C is curable disease. Low detection rate could be one of the reasons of poor treatment uptake. It is important to identify HCV prevalence and anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) positive patients in population by effective screening strategy such as risk-based or birth cohort screening programs.

[Novel approaches to control the rise in pertussis cases].

Unlabelled: Pertussis is a respiratory disease caused by the Gram-negative encapsulated bacterium Bordetella pertussis. Despite the high vaccination coverage rate and addition of new booster doses to the immunisation scheme (in response to the epidemiological situation), pertussis is on the rise not only in the Czech Republic but also in many other countries. The age groups at highest risk are infants and, to a lower extent, newborns who can get infected before receiving the first dose of vaccine and develop a severe course of the disease, often requiring admission to hospital.

Effect of antiviral treatment of chronic hepatitis C on the frequency of regulatory T cells, T-cell activation, and serum levels of TGF-beta.

The aim was to analyze T-regulatory cells (Tregs), activated CD8(+) T cells, and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF)-β in hepatitis C patients. We enrolled 31 patients with chronic genotype 1 hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, 30 seropositive persons with spontaneous HCV elimination, and 23 healthy volunteers. The patients were examined at the beginning of the interferon-alpha (IFN-α)-based therapy (baseline) and at weeks 4 (W4) and 12 (W12) of the therapy.

[Determination of the naturally occurring Q80K mutation in the HCV NS3 protease gene].

Objectives: The aim was to introduce a diagnostic method for detecting variants of hepatitis C virus (HCV) with protease NS3 resistance primarily to simeprevir (Q80K mutation in HCV genotype 1a) and its subsequent use in routine practice.

Material And Methods: The detection of HCV resistance-associated variants in the NS3 protease gene by sequence analysis was introduced in the molecular biology laboratory of University Hospital Hradec Kralove in 2015. The primers were designed by sequence analysis software Custom Primers - OligoPerfect™ Designer.

[Diagnosis and therapy of chronic hepatitis B: Czech national guidelines].

The new recommendations reflect the increase in knowledge that has been reported since the release of previous Czech guidelines in April 2009. According to qualified estimates, there are 350-400 million people with chronic hepatitis B (HBV) infection worldwide. The Czech Republic is among the countries with a low prevalence of HBV infection.

[Ocular toxoplasmosis - seeking a strategy for treatment].

Aim: To compare the effectiveness of treatment for ocular toxoplasmosis with pyrimethamine + clindamycin (or sulfadiazine) + a corticoid (Group 1), or azithromycin or a combination of azithromycin with a corticoid or a corticoid alone (Group 2). To determine the relapse rate depending on the treatment approach.

Material And Methods: A total of 25 patients treated for ocular toxoplasmosis over the last five years (2008-2013) were analyzed.

[Cytomegalovirus infection (CMV) in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome].

Cytomegalovirus infection (CMV) in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, AIDS) is the most common opportunistic infection. This infection is harmless for healthy individuals, but for weakened individuals cause disease. The most common form of CMV-infection in patients with AIDS is cytomegalovirus retinitis, which occurs in 15% to 40% of cases.

Cryptococcus neoformans meningoencephalitis in a patient with polyarteritis nodosa.

Case of 59-year-old male with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and a number of comorbidities, who has developed meningoencephalitis caused by Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii with polyarteritis nodosa diagnosed during hospitalization, was presented. Before evidence of meningoencephalitis, the patient was being treated with ketoconazole and low doses of fluconazole (200 mg/day) for alleged candidiasis.

[Pneumococcal meningitis in children].

Objective: Presented are the authors' own experiences with invasive pneumococcal diseases in a group of pediatric inpatients with pneumococcal meningitis treated in the Department of Infectious Diseases, University Hospital and Charles University Faculty of Medicine in Hradec Králové over the last 10 years.

Material And Methods: A group of patients aged 0-18 years and hospitalized in the above facility in 2002-2011 was retrospectively assessed. The patients' basic clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes are shown below.

[Clinical manifestations of pneumococcal infections and the current prevention options].

Pneumococcal infections continue to pose a serious medical problem. A broad range of serotypes, increasing resistance to antibiotics and high pathogenic potential of pneumococci are associated with development of various clinical forms of diseases. Some chronic diseases are an important predisposing factor for development of pneumococcal infections.