Prognostic role of gait speed in worsening heart failure.

Background: Worsening Heart Failure (WHF) is associated with adverse prognosis. Identifying novel prognostic markers in WHF is crucial. Gait speed (GS), a validated frailty index, is an easily obtainable parameter that may aid in reclassifying the risk of HF patients.

Inflammatory Response Associated with West Nile Neuroinvasive Disease: A Systematic Review.

Background: West Nile virus (WNV) infection is a seasonal arbovirosis with the potential to cause severe neurological disease. Outcomes of the infection from WNV depend on viral factors (e.g.

Female Genital Schistosomiasis: A Neglected among the Neglected Tropical Diseases.

Schistosomiasis is a neglected parasitic disease linked to water, posing a global public health concern with a significant burden in sub-Saharan Africa. It is transmitted by spp., causing both acute and chronic effects affecting the urogenital or the hepato-intestinal system.

Visceral Leishmaniasis in Immunocompetent Hosts in Brescia: A Case Series and Analysis of Cytokine Cascade.

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a parasitic zoonosis caused by spp. that usually manifests itself in immunocompromised subjects. It is a rare and neglected disease, and it is not endemic in the province of Brescia (Italy).

Amoebic colitis and liver abscess: A rare case of autochthonous invasive infection due to Entamoeba histolytica.

We report an unusual and confirmed case of invasive amebiasis in a non-endemic area where the source of infection remains unknown. During her admission, the patient developed amebic colitis and extraintestinal liver abscess with a favorable outcome following the antiparasitic therapy.

Treatment with valacyclovir during pregnancy for prevention of congenital cytomegalovirus infection: a real-life multicenter Italian observational study.

Background: Valacyclovir is the only treatment demonstrated to be effective for the prevention of vertical transmission of cytomegalovirus within a clinical randomized, placebo-controlled trial and has been reimbursed by the Italian National Health System since December 2020.

Objective: This study reported the results of a real-life Italian multicenter observational study on cytomegalovirus infection in pregnancy evaluating the effect of the introduction of valacyclovir in the clinical practice for the prevention of vertical transmission of cytomegalovirus.

Study Design: The outcomes of women who received valacyclovir treatment and their fetuses or newborns were compared with those of a retrospective cohort observed between 2010 and 2020 who did not receive the antiviral treatment.

Atypical monkeypox presentation in a previously vaccinated MSM HIV-positive adult.

The outbreak of monkeypox virus (MPXV) in non-endemic countries is an international public health emergency, and the diversity in manifestations poses challenges for early diagnosis and isolation. We describe an atypical case of monkeypox (MPX) in a 46-year-old homosexual male living with HIV. He reported 1-day duration fever, a lesion on his chin that, over a period of 18 days, had gradually enlarged and ulcerated.

Management of imported complicated urogenital schistosomiasis in Europe: a TropNet retrospective study.

Background: Schistosomiasis is a neglected tropical disease caused by trematodes of the genus Schistosoma. Schistosoma haematobium causes urogenital schistosomiasis (UGS), a chronic disease characterized by pathology of the urogenital tract leading to potentially severe morbidity for which the treatment is poorly standardized. We conducted a survey in TropNet centres on the clinical presentations and management strategies of complicated urogenital schistosomiasis (cUGS).

Treatment with COLchicine in hospitalized patients affected by COVID-19: The COLVID-19 trial.

Objective: To evaluate whether the addition of colchicine to standard of care (SOC) results in better outcomes in hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

Design: This interventional, multicenter, randomized, phase 2 study, evaluated colchicine 1.5 mg/day added to SOC in hospitalized COVID-19 patients (COLVID-19 trial) and 227 patients were recruited.

Monkeypox, a Literature Review: What Is New and Where Does This concerning Virus Come From?

Among the family, is the most notorious genus. Several DNA viruses belonging to this group are known to produce human disease from the life-threatening variola virus (VARV) (the causative agent of smallpox), monkeypox virus (MPXV), cowpox virus (CPXV), and vaccinia virus (VACV). These still remain a public health concern as VACV or CPXV still cause emerging endemic threads, especially in developing countries.

New insights on malaria.

Malaria is long known as a deadly vector borne infection, caused by five parasite species of the coccidian genus Plasmodia that are present in as many as 85 countries. Despite significant progresses have been achieved to control the infection by early diagnosis and artemisinin combination treatment, insecticide-treated nets and indoor residual spraying, malaria still represents a major public health issue in many endemic low-income countries. New diagnostic tools of higher sensitivity and specificity are now available for use in endemic countries to better guide diagnosis and treatment.

The impact of COVID-19 on communicable and non-communicable diseases in Africa: a narrative review.

The global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has disproportionately impacted global human health, economy, and security. Because of weaker health-care systems, existing comorbidities burden (HIV, malaria, tuberculosis, and non-communicable conditions), and poor socioeconomic determinants, initial predictive models had forecast a disastrous impact of COVID-19 in Africa in terms of transmission, severity, and deaths. Nonetheless, current epidemiological data seem not to have matched expectations, showing lower SARS-CoV-2 infection and fatality rates compared to Europe, the Americas and Asia.

Artesunate monotherapy versus artesunate plus quinine combination therapy for treatment of imported severe malaria: a TropNet retrospective cohort study.

Background: The addition of intravenous quinine (IVQ) to intravenous artesunate (IVA) has been recently suggested by World Health Organization  in areas where artemisinin resistance is highly prevalent. Since IVA is not yet widely available as "Good Manufacturing Practices" product, for several years combination treatment with IVA and IVQ was used in some Italian centers to mitigate the legal risks in using an unlicensed drug.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was designed to compare IVA + IVQ and IVA treatment for imported severe malaria.

Severe imported Plasmodium falciparum malaria in children: characteristics and useful factors in the risk stratification.

Background: Severe imported pediatric malaria is of concern in non-endemic settings. We aimed to determine the features of pediatric severe cases in order to design a model able to stratify patients at presentation.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study including all imported P.

Effects of voice rehabilitation in people with MS: A double-blinded long-term randomized controlled trial.

Background: Hypophonia is a prevailing problem in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS). However, evidence supporting the effectiveness of voice rehabilitation is lacking.

Objective: The aim of this study was to identify the most effective method to reduce hypophonia.

The cascade of care of HIV after one year of follow-up in a cohort of HIV-positive adult patients in three health settings of Morrumbene in rural Mozambique.

Objective: To assess the state of the retention in care of HIV patients in three health settings in Morrumbene, a rural district of Inhambane Province, Mozambique. We evaluated potential factors associated with early loss to follow-up (LTFU), retention in care and ART adherence during the first year of follow-up.

Material And Methods: Retrospective, cross-sectional, observational study.

Valacyclovir for prevention and treatment of fetal CMV infection: inclusion in the Law 648/96 list and launch of the Italian multicentre observational prospective study "MEGAL-ITALI".

Not available.

Serological Response to SARS-CoV-2 in Health Care Workers Employed in a Large Tertiary Hospital in Lombardy, Northern Italy.

Background: COVID-19 pandemic is requesting unprecedented efforts by health-care workers (HCWs) in all countries, and especially in Italy during the first semester of 2020.

Methods: This is a retrospective, observational study conducted at the Spedali Civili General Hospital, in Brescia, Northern Italy during the SARS CoV-2 pandemic in the first semester of 2020. Serum samples from HCWs were tested for SARS-CoV-2 spike protein-specific antibodies.

Impact of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic on tuberculosis treatment outcome in Northern Italy.

https://bit.ly/2OIKnwL

Tocilizumab for the treatment of severe COVID-19 pneumonia with hyperinflammatory syndrome and acute respiratory failure: A single center study of 100 patients in Brescia, Italy.

A hyperinflammatory syndrome (HIS) may cause a life-threatening acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia. A prospective series of 100 consecutive patients admitted to the Spedali Civili University Hospital in Brescia (Italy) between March 9th and March 20th with confirmed COVID-19 pneumonia and ARDS requiring ventilatory support was analyzed to determine whether intravenous administration of tocilizumab (TCZ), a monoclonal antibody that targets the interleukin 6 (IL-6) receptor, was associated with improved outcome. Tocilizumab was administered at a dosage of 8 mg/kg by two consecutive intravenous infusions 12 h apart.