Diagnostic and infection control strategies for Clostridioides difficile infections in a setting of high antimicrobial resistance prevalence.

Clostridioides difficile (CD) is a major nosocomial pathogen and the leading cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea. In light of the strong association between antimicrobial use and CD infections (CDI), it may be hypothesised that areas at higher prevalence of antimicrobial resistance, like the region of Campania in southern Italy, could also have a higher rate of CDI. In this multicentre, region-based, prospective study, we analysed such issues, exploiting CDI incidence data collected from local hospitals.

Molecular Epidemiology and Virulence Profiles of Colistin-Resistant Blood Isolates From the Hospital Agency "Ospedale dei Colli," Naples, Italy.

Resistance to colistin is increasingly reported in clinical isolates. The aim of this study was to analyze the molecular epidemiology and virulence profiles of 25 colistin-resistant blood isolates from the Hospital Agency "Ospedale dei Colli," Naples, Italy, during 2015 and 2016. Colistin MIC values of isolates ranged from 4 to 256 mg/L.

A Novel IncA/C1 Group Conjugative Plasmid, Encoding VIM-1 Metallo-Beta-Lactamase, Mediates the Acquisition of Carbapenem Resistance in ST104 Isolates from Neonates in the Intensive Care Unit of V. Monaldi Hospital in Naples.

The emergence of carbapenemase producing Enterobacteriaceae has raised major public health concern. The aim of this study was to investigate the molecular epidemiology and the mechanism of carbapenem resistance acquisition of multidrug-resistant isolates from 20 neonates in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of the V. Monaldi Hospital in Naples, Italy, from April 2015 to March 2016.

Surveillance of healthcare-associated infections in a neonatal intensive care unit in Italy during 2006-2010.

Background: Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are a frequent complication associated with hospitalization of infants in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). The aim of this study was to evaluate and describe the results of surveillance of HAIs in a III level NICU in Naples, Italy during 2006-2010.

Methods: The surveillance covered 1,699 neonates of all birth weight (BW) classes with >2 days NICU stay.

[Experimental prospective cognitive study on the evaluation of connection of fatigue perception and depression among caregivers and team treating cancer patients receiving oral chemotherapy to systemic chemotherapy. Equi-Car 10 study].

Objective: The Equi-Car 10 is an spontaneous, observational study. The objective was to assess the connection of fatigue perception and depression of caregivers, oncological team and oncological patients in oral chemotherapy to intravenous

Method: The study recruited 60 patients and 60 caregivers. The study was carried out on patients with lung, breast and colon cancer requiring chemotherapy, and family members were chosen as caregivers.

Molecular epidemiology of multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii in a tertiary care hospital in Naples, Italy, shows the emergence of a novel epidemic clone.

The molecular epidemiology of multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii was investigated in two intensive care units of the V. Monaldi university hospital in Naples, Italy, from May 2006 to December 2007. Genotype analysis by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), trilocus sequence-based typing (3LST), and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) of A.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa in a neonatal intensive care unit: molecular epidemiology and infection control measures.

Background: Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a non-fermentative, gram-negative rod, is responsible for a wide variety of clinical syndromes in NICU patients, including sepsis, pneumonia, meningitis, diarrhea, conjunctivitis and skin infections. An increased number of infections and colonisations by P. aeruginosa has been observed in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of our university hospital between 2005 and 2007.

Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia increases intestinal protein permeability and the prevalence of cow's milk protein intolerance.

Aims: Bilirubin is a newly discovered modulator of the gut barrier in vitro and in vivo. We studied the effect of bilirubin on the serosal to mucosal intestinal permeability in vivo. We also investigated the prevalence of cow's milk protein intolerance (CMPI) in infants with moderate hyperbilirubinemia versus matched controls.

Unconjugated bilirubin modulates the intestinal epithelial barrier function in a human-derived in vitro model.

Unconjugated bilirubin promotes intestinal secretion without affecting nutrient digestion or absorption. In the current study, the effects of unconjugated bilirubin (UCB) on the barrier function of the intestinal epithelium were investigated. The apical side of human intestinal cell line Caco-2 monolayers was challenged with purified UCB.

Molecular epidemiology of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae in a neonatal intensive care unit.

Objectives: To investigate the molecular epidemiology of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae in the neonatal intensive care unit of a university hospital in Italy.

Methods: Antibiotic susceptibility was evaluated by disc diffusion and Etest. ESBLs were identified by isoelectric focusing, PCR and DNA sequencing analysis.

Early cord clamping protects at-risk neonates from polycythemia.

Unlabelled: Neonatal polycythemia is a potentially lethal, multi-organ disease. We have performed a prospective, open-label study to test the hypothesis that an early cord clamping proximally to the neonate's abdomen could avert from the neonatal circulation a blood volume critical to the occurrence of polycythemia in at-risk neonates. Newborns were divided into group 1 (clamping time within 10 s) and group 2 (clamping time 11-120 s).

Moderate hyperbilirubinemia induces a transient alteration of neonatal behavior.

Objective: To investigate the behavioral changes induced by moderate hyperbilirubinemia in the otherwise healthy, untreated newborn infant.

Methods: Fifty term neonates (23 boys) with untreated moderate hyperbilirubinemia (median: 14.3 mg/dL; range: 13.