Recommendations for the management of pulmonary fungal infections in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Often life-threatening pulmonary fungal infections (PFIs) can occur in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) receiving disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs). Most of the data concerning PFIs in RA patients come from case reports and retrospective case series. Of the ve most widely described PFIs, Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP) has rarely been seen outside Japan, pulmonary cryptococcosis has been diagnosed in only a small number of patients worldwide, pulmonary coccidioidomycosis has almost only been observed in endemic areas, the limited number of cases of pulmonary histoplasmosis have mainly occurred in the USA, and the rare cases of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis have only been encountered in leukopenic patients.

Clinical characteristics and predictors of mortality in cirrhotic patients with candidemia and intra-abdominal candidiasis: a multicenter study.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to describe the characteristics of cirrhotic patients with candidemia and intra-abdominal candidiasis (IAC) and to evaluate the risk factors associated with 30-day mortality.

Methods: A multicenter multinational retrospective study including all consecutive episodes of candidemia and IAC in adult patients with liver cirrhosis in 14 European hospitals during the period 2011-2013 was performed.

Results: A total of 241 episodes (169 candidemia, 72 IAC) were included.

Risk factors for mortality in patients with Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infection.

In this two year retrospective analysis, we evaluated the epidemiology and risk factors for mortality of Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infection (SaBSI). Methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) was isolated in 84 (44.

Candidemia, and infections by Clostridium difficile and carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae: new enteropathogenetic opportunistic syndromes?

In this paper we analyze three enteropathogenetic opportunistic infections represented by Candida spp., C. difficile and carbapenemase-producing K.

The Effect on mortality of fluconazole or echinocandins treatment in candidemia in internal medicine wards [corrected].

The incidence of candidemia has increased over the past two decades, with an increased number of cases in Internal Medicine and a prevalence ranging from 24% to 57%. This single-center retrospective study was performed to evaluate the epidemiology and the risk factors associated with mortality of candidemia in patients admitted to Internal Medicine wards (IMWs) of the City of Health and Sciences, Molinette Hospital, Turin, from January 2004 to December 2012. For each patient, demographic, clinical and microbiological data were collected.

Re-defining tigecycline therapy.

Tigecycline, the first member of the glycylcyclines, has been approved for complicated skin and soft tissue infections (cSSTIs) and complicated intra-abdominal infections (cIAIs). It has a wide range of activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, including anaerobes. Since its approval, the worldwide clinical use of tigecycline has been heterogeneous, either as a monotherapy or as a part of combination therapy, almost exclusively at the standard dosage, in patients with community-acquired (CA) infections as well as health-care associated (HCA) or nosocomial infections (HA), including infections caused by multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria.

Infections caused by KPC-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae: differences in therapy and mortality in a multicentre study.

Objectives: Infections caused by Klebsiella pneumoniae (Kp) carbapenemase (KPC)-producing strains of Kp have become a significant threat in recent years. To assess their outcomes and identify risk factors for 14 day mortality, we conducted a 4 year (2010-13) retrospective cohort study in five large Italian teaching hospitals.

Methods: The cohort included 661 adults with bloodstream infections (BSIs; n = 447) or non-bacteraemic infections (lower respiratory tract, intra-abdominal structure, urinary tract or other sites) caused by a KPC-Kp isolate.

Extra Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) in three HIV-positive patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Background: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a life-saving bridging procedure in patients with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Official indications for ECMO are unclear for immunocompromised and HIV-positive patients affected by severe hypoxemia. Uncertainties are related to prognosis and efficacy of treatment of the underlying disease.

A 30-years review on pharmacokinetics of antibiotics: is the right time for pharmacogenetics?

Drug bioavailability may vary greatly amongst individuals, affecting both efficacy and toxicity: in humans, genetic variations account for a relevant proportion of such variability. In the last decade the use of pharmacogenetics in clinical practice, as a tool to individualize treatment, has shown a different degree of diffusion in various clinical fields. In the field of infectious diseases, several studies identified a great number of associations between host genetic polymorphisms and responses to antiretroviral therapy.

Mortality in patients with early- or late-onset candidaemia.

Objectives: Although candidaemia is a well-known complication of hospital stay and has a crude mortality of ∼40%, few data are available for episodes diagnosed within 10 days after hospital admission. In this paper, we compared the risk factors for mortality according to the onset of candidaemia.

Methods: This was a retrospective study of hospitalized patients with early-onset candidaemia (EOC; ≤ 10 days) or late-onset candidaemia (LOC; >10 days) to identify any distinct clinical characteristics and risk factors for 30 day mortality in two Italian academic centres.