A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY ON THE OUTCOMES OF PNEUMATIC VITREOLYSIS FOR THE TREATMENT OF VITREOMACULAR TRACTION.

Purpose: To study the effectiveness and safety of pneumatic vitreolysis (PVL) for the treatment of symptomatic vitreomacular traction (VMT) and macular holes (MHs) with VMT.

Methods: This was a retrospective, monocentric analysis of 92 consecutive VMT (±MH) patients treated with PVL at University Hospitals Leuven between January 2022 and March 2024.

Results: Release of VMT occurred in 60% of the patients who had VMT and in 86% of the patients who had MHs.

Case report: Personalized triple phage-antibiotic combination therapy to rescue necrotizing fasciitis caused by Panton-Valentine leukocidin-producing MRSA in a 12-year-old boy.

Maximal standard-of-care (SOC) management could not stop the life-threatening progression of a necrotizing fasciitis induced by Panton-Valentine Leukocidin-producing Methicillin-Resistant (MRSA) in a 12-year-old boy. Multi-route phage therapy was initiated along with antibiotics against and , eventually leading to full recovery with no reported adverse events.

AN OUTBREAK OF EXTENSIVELY DRUG-RESISTANT IN A BELGIAN TERTIARY BURN WOUND CENTER.

The burn intensive care unit (ICU) of the Queen Astrid Military Hospital experienced an outbreak with an extensively drug-resistant (XDR-Ab) strain, which began when all burn wound patients from all over Belgium were sent there as part of the national COVID-19 action plan. The purpose of this study is to report on the investigation and strategies that were implemented to contain the outbreak. Between October 2020 and May 2021, five of the 72 patients admitted to the ICU met the acute outbreak case definition (attack rate 7%).

Schistosomiasis in the Military-A Narrative Review.

Schistosomiasis is a parasitosis caused by trematodes of the genus . Humans are infected when coming into contact with freshwater containing the parasites' infective stages, which are amplified through freshwater-dwelling snails acting as intermediate hosts. Schistosomiasis has posed significant problems for troops exposed to freshwater in endemic regions ever since the Napoleonic wars.

Evaluation of antibiofilm agents for treatment of cystic fibrosis-related chronic rhinosinusitis.

Treatment of cystic fibrosis-related chronic rhinosinusitis should target sinonasal biofilms. NaHCO salts with/without xylitol have limited antibiofilm properties, whereas rhDNAse has not. Phage effectivity varies and depends on the phage and the combination with antibiotics.

How to: assess patient suitability for unlicensed phage therapy in the United Kingdom.

Background: Bacteriophage (phage) therapy is a promising alternative antimicrobial approach that has the potential to transform the way we treat bacterial infections. The antibiotic resistance crisis is driving renewed interest in phage therapy. There are currently no licensed phage therapy medicinal products and phage therapy is used in small but growing patient numbers on an unlicensed basis.

Case report: Local bacteriophage therapy for fracture-related infection with polymicrobial multi-resistant bacteria: hydrogel application and postoperative phage analysis through metagenomic sequencing.

Fracture-related infections can be challenging, particularly with concomitant severe bone defects and multi-resistant microorganisms. We present a case of a 42-year-old patient with a fracture-related infection following a war injury from a gunshot, resulting in a 12-cm subtrochanteric segmental bone defect and the detection of four different multi-resistant Gram-negative bacteria. Due to antibiotic drug resistance, treatment with bacteriophages was considered.

Phage-Mediated Digestive Decolonization in a Gut-On-A-Chip Model: A Tale of Gut-Specific Bacterial Prosperity.

Infections due to antimicrobial-resistant bacteria have become a major threat to global health. Some patients may carry resistant bacteria in their gut microbiota. Specific risk factors may trigger the conversion of these carriages into infections in hospitalized patients.

Bacteriophages as potential antibiotic potentiators in cystic fibrosis: A new model to study the combination of antibiotics with a bacteriophage cocktail targeting dual species biofilms of Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Objectives: Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa co-infections in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) are associated with disease severity. Their treatment is complicated by biofilm formation in the sticky mucus obstructing the airways. We investigated the activity of phages-antibiotics combinations using a dual species biofilm (P.

Bacteriophage ISP eliminates Staphylococcus aureus in planktonic phase, but not in the various stages of the biofilm cycle.

Metal-implant associated bacterial infections are a major clinical problem due to antibiotic treatment failure. As an alternative, we determined the effects of bacteriophage ISP on clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus in various stages of its life cycle in relation to biofilm formation and maturation. ISP effectively eliminated all planktonic phase bacteria, whereas its efficacy was reduced against bacteria attached to the metal implant and bacteria embedded within biofilms.

Personalized bacteriophage therapy outcomes for 100 consecutive cases: a multicentre, multinational, retrospective observational study.

In contrast to the many reports of successful real-world cases of personalized bacteriophage therapy (BT), randomized controlled trials of non-personalized bacteriophage products have not produced the expected results. Here we present the outcomes of a retrospective observational analysis of the first 100 consecutive cases of personalized BT of difficult-to-treat infections facilitated by a Belgian consortium in 35 hospitals, 29 cities and 12 countries during the period from 1 January 2008 to 30 April 2022. We assessed how often personalized BT produced a positive clinical outcome (general efficacy) and performed a regression analysis to identify functional relationships.

Use of the Naturally Occurring Bacteriophage Grouping Model for the Design of Potent Therapeutic Cocktails.

The specificity of phages and their ability to evolve and overcome bacterial resistance make them potentially useful as adjuncts in the treatment of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. The goal of this study was to mimic a natural grouping of phages of interest and to evaluate the nature of their proliferation dynamics with bacteria. We have, for the first time, transferred naturally occurring phage groups directly from their sources of isolation to in vitro and identified 13 and 11 phages of 18 different genera, whose host range was grouped as 1.

Eschar in a Belgian traveler returning from Central Europe.

Background: Tularemia is a zoonotic infection caused by , an aerobic, facultative intracellular coccobacillus, encountered especially in the Northern hemisphere. is a pathogen of humans and hundreds of animal species.

Patients And Methods: A Belgian traveler returning from an adventurous vacation in Central Europe presents fever, flu-like symptoms, a skin ulcer with a necrotic center resembling an eschar on the left thigh and painful left inguinal lymphadenopathy.

Physiology of deep closed circuit rebreather mixed gas diving: vascular gas emboli and biological changes during a week-long liveaboard safari.

Diving decompression theory hypothesizes inflammatory processes as a source of micronuclei which could increase related risks. Therefore, we tested 10 healthy, male divers. They performed 6-8 dives with a maximum of two dives per day at depths ranging from 21 to 122 msw with CCR mixed gas diving.

Burn or trauma scoring: experience of the burn unit of the Queen Astrid Military Hospital during the terror attacks on 22 March 2016.

Purpose: On 22 March 2016, the burn unit (BU) of Queen Astrid Military Hospital assessed a surge in severely injured victims from terror attacks at the national airport and Maalbeek subway station according to the damage control resuscitation (DCR) and damage control surgery (DCS) principles. This study delves into its approach to identify a suitable triage scoring system and to determine if a BU can serve as buffer capacity for mass casualty incidents (MCIs).

Methods: The study reviewed retrospectively the origin of explosion, demographic data, sustained injuries, performed surgery, and length of stay of all admitted patients.

When do benefits turn to risks? Impact of a 900 mL whole blood donation on Special Forces performance.

Background: Special Forces (SF) teams operate in remote environments with limited medical support. As a result, they may need to rely on buddy transfusions to treat bleeding teammates. Considering that 450 mL has no direct impact on their combat performances, it might be tempting to take more blood from a compatible donor to save a hemorrhaging teammate.

Improving phage therapy by evasion of phage resistance mechanisms.

Antibiotic failure is one of the most worrisome threats to global health. Among the new therapeutic efforts that are being explored, the use of bacteriophages (viruses that kill bacteria), also known as 'phages', is being extensively studied as a strategy to target bacterial pathogens. However, one of the main drawbacks of phage therapy is the plethora of defence mechanisms that bacteria use to defend themselves against phages.

A systematic review of indications when and how a military walking blood bank could bridge blood product unavailability.

Background: Blood supply problems in remote areas are well known. To overcome this shortage, many countries have developed innovative walking blood bank (WBB) protocols. However, no common standards have yet been set for their use and common actions.