Xpert MTB/RIF assay in the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis in children in tertiary care setting in South India.

Xpert MTB/RIF is recommended for the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) in children. We determined the performance of Xpert MTB/RIF in the diagnosis of pulmonary TB in children. The characteristics of children influencing Xpert MTB/RIF positivity were explored.

Discovery of Broad-Spectrum Herpes Antiviral Oxazolidinone Amide Derivatives and Their Structure-Activity Relationships.

Herpesvirus infections are ubiquitous, with over 95% of the adult population infected by at least one strain. While most of these infections resolve without treatment in healthy individuals, they can cause significant morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised, stem cell, or organ transplant patients. Current nucleoside standards of care provide meaningful benefit but are limited due to poor tolerability, resistance, and generally narrow spectrum of activity.

Phenome-wide association study identifies new clinical phenotypes associated with Staphylococcus aureus infections.

Background: Phenome-Wide Association study (PheWAS) is a powerful tool designed to systematically screen clinical observations derived from medical records (phenotypes) for association with a variable of interest. Despite their usefulness, no systematic screening of phenotypes associated with Staphylococcus aureus infections (SAIs) has been done leaving potential novel risk factors or complications undiscovered.

Method And Cohorts: We tailored the PheWAS approach into a two-stage screening procedure to identify novel phenotypes correlating with SAIs.

Simulated Target Attainment of Multidose Regimens of Dalbavancin for Prolonged Durations of Therapy.

Background: Dalbavancin is a long-acting lipoglycopeptide antibiotic that is increasingly utilized for infections that require prolonged treatment durations despite the lack of Food and Drug Administration approval for these indications. There is no consensus regarding optimal dosing of dalbavancin for these infections and no available pharmacokinetic studies to identify optimal dosing for long-term use.

Methods: An in silico pharmacokinetic simulation was performed to assess the predicted dalbavancin concentration resulting from commonly utilized dosing regimens, in addition to modified regimens.

Approach to fever in children.

Background: Fever in children is one of the most common reasons for outpatient visits as well as in-patient evaluation, often causing anxiety among parents and caregivers. Fever can be a standalone feature or be associated with other localising symptoms and signs like rash, lymphadenopathy, or any other organ system involvement with or without a focus of infection. The etiologies of fever vary depending on the clinical setting and epidemiology.

Heterogeneity and Hierarchy of Immune Response to Primary Immunization in HIV-Infected Children on HAART and the Impact of an Additional Dose of Vaccine.

The nature of vaccine response inferiority is not well studied in children living with HIV (CLHIV). The authors investigated Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) and Diphtheria/Pertussis/Tetanus toxoid (DPT) vaccination responses following primary immunization in CLHIV (n = 42) and healthy controls (HC) (n = 38) and the effect of an additional vaccine dose. Antibody responses, CD4 and HBV-specific T/B cells were analysed using CMIA/ELISA and flow-cytometry.

Open Defecation, Livestock Ownership, and Child Nutritional Status in India.

South Asian children are among the most severely malnourished worldwide. One prominent hypothesis is that open defecation in the local area exposes children to human fecal pathogens that can cause diarrhea and malnutrition. Much of the existing research uses district-level measures of open defecation, which could mask important local-area variation.

Wolbachia-carrying Aedes mosquitoes for preventing dengue infection.

Background: Dengue is a global health problem of high significance, with 3.9 billion people at risk of infection. The geographic expansion of dengue virus (DENV) infection has resulted in increased frequency and severity of the disease, and the number of deaths has increased in recent years.

Acute Encephalitis Syndrome in Children and Adolescents: A Five-Year Descriptive Study From South India.

Objective: Acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) in children results in significant neurocognitive deficits or mortality. It is pertinent to study the AES patterns periodically to identify the changes in the etiological trends and outcomes. Our objective was to find the etiological agents of AES, mode of diagnosis, treatment given, and outcomes.

Finding value in novel antibiotics: How can infectious diseases adopt incremental cost-effectiveness to improve new antibiotic utilization?

Research and development of innovative antimicrobials is paramount to addressing the antimicrobial resistance threat. Although antimicrobial discovery and development has increased, difficulties have emerged in the pharmaceutical industry after market approval. In this minireview, we summarize clinical trial data on recently approved antibiotics, calculate incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) values, and explore ways to adapt ICER calculations to the limitations of antimicrobial clinical trial design.

Aspergillosis Causing Orbital Subperiosteal Abscess in an Immunocompetent Child: A Rare Presentation.

Orbital abscesses are primarily seen in children as complication of ethmoid bacterial sinusitis. We report a case of invasive aspergillosis causing orbital abscess in an immunocompetent child which resolved with surgery followed by antifungal therapy. This case highlights need for histopathological, and microbiological examination, including fungal culture in such cases.

Sensitizing methicillin-resistant (MRSA) to cefuroxime: the synergic effect of bicarbonate and the wall teichoic acid inhibitor ticlopidine.

Methicillin-resistant (MRSA) strains are a major challenge for clinicians due, in part, to their resistance to most β-lactams, the first-line treatment for methicillin-susceptible . A phenotype termed "NaHCO-responsiveness" has been identified, wherein many clinical MRSA isolates are rendered susceptible to standard-of-care β-lactams in the presence of physiologically relevant concentrations of NaHCO, and ; moreover, such "NaHCO-responsive" isolates can be effectively cleared by β-lactams from target tissues in experimental infective endocarditis (IE). One mechanistic impact of NaHCO exposure on NaHCO-responsive MRSA is to repress WTA synthesis.

Essential gene knockdowns reveal genetic vulnerabilities and antibiotic sensitivities in .

The emergence of multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria underscores the need to define genetic vulnerabilities that can be therapeutically exploited. The Gram-negative pathogen, , is considered an urgent threat due to its propensity to evade antibiotic treatments. Essential cellular processes are the target of existing antibiotics and a likely source of new vulnerabilities.

Impact of continuous-flow mechanical circulatory support on cerebrospinal fluid motility.

Background: Mechanical circulatory support (MCS), including ventricular assist devices (VADs), have emerged as promising therapeutic alternatives for end-stage congestive heart failure (CHF). The latest generation of these devices are continuous flow (CF) blood pumps. While there have been demonstrated benefits to patient outcomes due to CF-MCS, there continue to be significant clinical challenges.

Essential Gene Knockdowns Reveal Genetic Vulnerabilities and Antibiotic Sensitivities in .

The emergence of multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria underscores the need to define genetic vulnerabilities that can be therapeutically exploited. The Gram-negative pathogen, , is considered an urgent threat due to its propensity to evade antibiotic treatments. Essential cellular processes are the target of existing antibiotics and a likely source of new vulnerabilities.

Fundamentals of blood banking in anesthesiology: A problem-based learning simulation session as an addition to a novel curriculum of transfusion medicine education for anesthesiology residents.

We have previously published a novel transfusion medicine curriculum for first-year anesthesiology residents, making available open access learning materials. We now present a curriculum iteration, by incorporating resident feedback and developing an additional "capstone" session for use at the end of the rotation that integrates several learning points into a practical problem-based simulation. This iteration of the curriculum was piloted with the 2019-2020 PGY-1 anesthesiology residents of the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics.

An observer-blinded, cluster randomised trial of a typhoid conjugate vaccine in an urban South Indian cohort.

Background: Typhoid fever causes nearly 110,000 deaths among 9.24 million cases globally and disproportionately affects developing countries. As a control measure in such regions, typhoid conjugate vaccines (TCVs) are recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).