Publications by authors named "S Bjerrum"

Background: Globally, over one-third of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) disease diagnoses are made based on clinical criteria after a negative bacteriological test result. There is limited information on the factors that determine clinicians' decisions to initiate TB treatment when initial bacteriological test results are negative.

Methods And Findings: We performed a systematic review and individual patient data meta-analysis using studies conducted between January 2010 and December 2022 (PROSPERO: CRD42022287613).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Vaccination before solid organ transplantation (SOT) is essential because immunosuppression post-transplant affects vaccine responses, but not much is known about how effective these vaccines are afterward.
  • In a study of 136 SOT recipients, only 27.9% showed protection against hepatitis B virus (HBV) and 42.6% against invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) after transplantation despite being vaccinated before the procedure.
  • Patients who had seroprotection when listed for transplantation were significantly less likely to have a non-response to both HBV and IPD, indicating that early vaccination is crucial for improving post-transplant outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: The diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) disease and TB infection (TBI) remains a challenge, and there is a need for non-invasive and blood-based methods to differentiate TB from conditions mimicking TB (CMTB), TBI, and healthy controls (HC). We aimed to determine whether combination of cytokines and established biomarkers could discriminate between 1) TB and CMTB 2) TB and TBI 3) TBI and HC.

Methods: We used hemoglobin, total white blood cell count, neutrophils, monocytes, C-reactive protein, and ten Meso Scale Discovery analyzed cytokines (interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12p70, IL-13, interferon (IFN)-ɣ, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α) in TruCulture whole blood tubes stimulated by lipopolysaccharides (LPS), zymosan (ZYM), anti-CD3/28 (CD3), and unstimulated (Null) to develop three index tests able to differentiate TB from CMTB and TBI, and TBI from HC.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Cytomegalovirus infection (CMV) can be fatal for organ transplant recipients as shown in this case report. Maribavir is a recently approved drug, which can be used for therapy-refractory CMV infection or when other treatment options cannot be used. The patient in this case report was a CMV-infected liver transplant recipient, who developed a severe erythema and high CMV DNA during valganciclovir therapy.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Globally, over one-third of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) disease diagnoses are made based on clinical criteria after a negative diagnostic test result. Understanding factors associated with clinicians' decisions to initiate treatment for individuals with negative test results is critical for predicting the potential impact of new diagnostics.

Methods: We performed a systematic review and individual patient data meta-analysis using studies conducted between January/2010 and December/2022 (PROSPERO: CRD42022287613).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF