Unexpected positive cultures of humeral head detected with dithiothreitol in primary shoulder arthroplasty.

Background: Unexpected positive cultures (UPCs) are frequently observed in primary shoulder arthroplasty, and its clinical significance has not yet been well defined. This study aimed to evaluate the UPCs in humeral head in primary shoulder replacement and to understand if UPCs increase in patients with risk factors for contamination (previous surgery or infiltrations).

Methods: Patients undergoing total shoulder replacement were enrolled in this prospective observational study.

Hard-to-heal peripheral wounds infected with : a prospective study.

Objective: To investigate as a nosocomial pathogen infecting hard-to-heal peripheral wounds, such as skin wounds, soft tissue abscesses and osteomyelitis. As of 2023, the medical community were alerted against the risk of emerging systemic and central infections; on the other hand literature on peripheral cutaneous regions is still scarce.

Method: In this study, two groups of patients with similar lesions which were infected were compared: one group with the presence of the coryneform rod, the other without.

Dissemination and Hyperinfection Associated with Long-Term Steroid Treatment in a Neurosurgical Population.

Strongyloidiasis develops from the infection with (Family: Strongylidae) and was recently considered a neglected tropical disease by the World Health Organization due to its global distribution and high burden of infection. Here, we present the cases of two patients under corticosteroid therapy after neurosurgical surgery who developed septic shock-like hyperinfection syndrome due to disseminated strongyloidiasis. The first case is a 77-year-old man from Cape Verde who was diagnosed with an extra-axial right parietal brain mass.

WLBU2 Antimicrobial Peptide as a Potential Therapeutic for Treatment of Resistant Bacterial.

Antimicrobial resistance is considered a major health problem, worldwide. It is significantly associated with high morbidity and mortality rates. The current antibiotics have limited therapeutic efficacy in providing treatment for multidrug resistant bacteria.

Synergism between WLBU2 peptide and antibiotics against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Enterobacter cloacae.

Infections caused by Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamase (ESBL) producing Enterobacter cloacae are considered as major therapeutic challenge due to their multidrug-resistant (MDR) phenotype against conventional antibiotics. WLBU2 is an engineered cationic peptide with potent antimicrobial activity. This in-vitro study aimed to evaluate the effects of WLBU2 against clinical isolates of the aforementioned bacteria and assess whether synergistic effects can be achieved upon combination with conventional antibiotics.

Gender differences in clinical features and complications of infective endocarditis: 11-year experience of a single institute in Egypt.

Background: No data exists about the gender differences among patients with infective endocarditis (IE) in Egypt. The objective was to study possible gender differences in clinical profiles and outcomes of patients in the IE registry of a tertiary care center over 11 years.

Results: The IE registry included 398 patients with a median age of 30 years (interquartile range, 15 years); 61.

Clinical features and outcomes of infective endocarditis in Egypt: an 11-year experience at a tertiary care facility.

Background: Few data are available on the characteristics of infective endocarditis (IE) cases in Egypt. The aim of this work is to describe the characteristics and outcomes of IE patients and evaluate the temporal changes in IE diagnostic and therapeutic aspects over 11 years.

Results: The IE registry included 398 patients referred to the Endocarditis Unit of a tertiary care facility with the diagnosis of possible or definite IE.

Nanometric ion pair complexes of tobramycin forming microparticles for the treatment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections in cystic fibrosis.

Sustained pulmonary delivery of tobramycin from microparticles composed of drug/polymer nanocomplexes offers several advantages against traditional delivery methods. Namely, in patients with cystic fibrosis, microparticle delivery can protect the tobramycin being delivered from strong mucoadhesive interactions, thus avoiding effects on its diffusion toward the infection site. Polymeric ion-pair complexes were obtained starting from two synthetic polyanions, through impregnation of their solid dissociated forms with tobramycin in aqueous solution.

The genetically determined production of the alarmin eosinophil-derived neurotoxin is reduced in visceral leishmaniasis.

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is the most severe form of leishmaniasis. Recent findings indicate that dendritic cells have a key role in the defense against the Leishmania parasite and that the activity of this cell may be modified by the eosinophil secretory protein eosinophil-derived neurotoxin (EDN). We hypothesized that the interactions between dendritic cells and EDN might be of importance in the disease development.

The global spread of Middle East respiratory syndrome: an analysis fusing traditional epidemiological tracing and molecular phylodynamics.

Background: Since its discovery in 2012, over 1700 confirmed cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) have been documented worldwide and more than a third of those cases have died. While the greatest number of cases has occurred in Saudi Arabia, the recent export of MERS-coronavirus (MERS-CoV) to Republic of Korea showed that a pandemic is a possibility that cannot be ignored. Due to the deficit of knowledge in transmission methodology, targeted treatment and possible vaccines, understanding this virus should be a priority.

Biomolecular index of therapeutic efficacy in psoriasis treated with anti-TNF-α agents.

Background: Clinical or quality of life assessments are currently available for psoriasis severity evaluation and therapeutic response. Laboratory scores focused to measure and follow treatment efficacy are lacking at present.

Methods: A microscopic and biomolecular score was designed to monitor skin disease severity and clinical response to anti-psoriatic treatments.

Campylobacter jejuni Fatal Sepsis in a Patient with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma: Case Report and Literature Review of a Difficult Diagnosis.

Campylobacter jejuni (C. jejuni) bacteremia is difficult to diagnose in individuals with hematological disorders undergoing chemotherapy. The cause can be attributed to the rarity of this infection, to the variable clinical presentation, and to the partial overlapping symptoms underlying the disease.

Misidentification of Streptococcus uberis as a human pathogen: a case report and literature review.

Streptococcus uberis is an environmental bacterium responsible for bovine mastitis. It is occasionally described as a human pathogen, though in most cases the identification was based on biochemical phenotyping techniques. This report shows that the biochemical phenotyping may incorrectly identify Enterococcus faecium as S.

Postoperative infections after cytoreductive surgery and HIPEC for peritoneal carcinomatosis: proposal and results from a prospective protocol study of prevention, surveillance and treatment.

The incidence of infectious complications due to several contributory causes is particularly elevated and life-threatening in patients undergoing peritonectomy and HIPEC procedure for peritoneal carcinomatosis. Following a previous experience, we started a prospective protocol study of preoperative screening, perioperative prophylaxis and postoperative surveillance and treatment. A total of 111 patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis of various origin underwent CRS with HIPEC between April 2004 and December 2012.

Arthritis caused by group B Streptococcus: a case report.

Streptococcus agalactiae is not only a well-known cause of severe infections in the first 3 months of life but also an unusual organism to be isolated in case of septic arthritis, especially in children. We report a case of a monoarticular arthritis in a 6-month-old girl.

CD81 expression on CD19+ peripheral blood lymphocytes is associated with chronic HCV disease and increased risk for HCV infection: a putative role for inflammatory cytokines.

The level of CD81 cell surface expression, a cellular co-receptor for hepatitis C virus (HCV), is critical for productive HCV infection of host cells. In addition, the cross-linking of HCV-E2 protein to CD81 can alter the function of T and B lymphocytes as well as that of NK cells by interfering with the activation signalling pathway. The down-regulation of CD81 expression on peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) has been associated to effective therapy of HCV infection.

Vaginal and endocervical microorganisms in symptomatic and asymptomatic non-pregnant females: risk factors and rates of occurrence.

Physiological or non-physiological factors may affect the vaginal flora. The occurrence of genital microorganisms in non-pregnant females of all ages was studied, as were the risk factors associated with each microorganism. A retrospective analysis of vaginal and endocervical cultures and wet smears from 27,172 non-pregnant women, between 1996 to 2005, was performed taking into consideration clinical and socio-demographic characteristics.

Cystatin C as a marker of immune complex-associated renal impairment in a Sudanese population with visceral leishmaniasis.

Renal function was studied in visceral leishmaniasis (VL) and post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL) by means of the specific marker cystatin C and related to circulating immune complexes and cytokine production. Forty patients with VL (23 with sub-acute disease and 17 with acute disease), 17 patients with PKDL, and 22 healthy controls were included. Cystatin C, but not creatinine, was significantly raised in VL (P = 0.