38 research outputs found
Bilateral choroiditis as the only sign of persistent Mycobacterium intracellulare infection following haematogenous spread in an immunocompromised patient
No full textAn immunocompromised patient had positive blood cultures for Mycobacterium intracellulare and no identifiable organ seeding was started on treatment. One month later, the patient was clinically well with negative blood cultures but drug-induced myelotoxicity had developed. Ocular fundus examination at this time revealed bilateral choroidal granulomas which changed patient management
Imported Plasmodium vivax malaria with severe thrombocytopaenia : Can it be severe malaria or not?
No full textBackground: Thrombocytopaenia is the most frequent malaria-associated haematologic alteration observed with all five Plasmodium parasites causing disease in humans. Although not included in the World Health Organization criteria for severe Plasmodium falciparum malaria, severe thrombocytopaenia has been increasingly mentioned as an indicator of P. vivax malaria severity. Case: Here, it is described a case of imported P. vivax malaria in a 37-year old man from Pakistan who presented with severe thrombocytopaenia (5 × 109/L). He was admitted to the intensive care unit and initially treated with a 1-day course of intravenous quinine followed by oral chloroquine and primaquine. The patient's platelet count increased as early as 4 hours after treatment inception and the clinical course was favourable and uneventful. Discussion: This case report, along with a review of published cases focusing on the relationship between thrombocytopaenia and severe P. vivax malaria, suggests that the prognostic role of severe thrombocytopaenia is ambiguous in absence of severe haemorraghic complications and its use as diagnostic criterion of malaria severity may lead to overestimation of severe P. vivax malaria cases. Conclusion: Due to the lack of high quality studies it is at present unclear if severe thrombocytopaenia in the setting of P. vivax malaria should be considered indicative of severe malaria
Family cluster of Chagas disease among Bolivian immigrants in Italy: High rate of maternal-fetal transmission
No full textChagas disease (CD) or American trypanosomiasis is a neglected anthropozoonosis caused by Trypanosoma cruzi that affects 6-8 million people worldwide (mainly in Latin America), 30-40% of whom develop cardiac or digestive complications. Once confined to endemic areas of Latin America, CD has more recently become a global disease as a result of migration flows from endemic to non-endemic regions, particularly in northern America and Europe. Congenital transmission is a particular challenge as it may be sustained for multiple generations and perpetuate the infection even in non-endemic countries
Profile of infective endocarditis observed from 2003 - 2010 in a single center in Italy
No full textBACKGROUND: This study aimed to provide a contemporary picture of the epidemiologic, clinical, microbiologic characteristics and in-hospital outcome of infective endocarditis (IE) observed in a single center in Italy.
METHODS: We performed a retrospective study of patients with definite or probable IE observed at the "L. Sacco" Hospital in Milan, Italy, from January 1, 2003 through December 31, 2010.
RESULTS: 189 episodes of IE in 166 patients were included. The mean number of incident IE in the study period was of 1.27 (range 0.59-1.76) cases per 1000 patients admitted. The median age of the cohort was 57 (interquartile range, 43-72) years, 63% were male and 62.5% had native valve IE. Twenty-six percent were active intravenous drug users (IVDU), 29% had a health care-associated IE and 5% chronic rheumatic disease. Twenty-nine percent of the cases occurred in patients affected by chronic liver disease and 19% in HIV positive subjects. Staphylococcus aureus was the most common pathogen (30%), followed by streptococci. The mitral (34%) and aortic (31%) valves were involved most frequently. The following complications were common: stroke (19%), non-stroke embolizations (25%), heart failure (26%) and intracardiac abscess (9%). Surgical treatment was frequently employed (52%) but in hospital mortality remained high (17%). Health care-associated IE and complications were independently associated with an increased risk of in-hospital death, while surgery was associated with decreased mortality.
CONCLUSION: S. aureus emerged as the leading causative organism of IE in a University hospital in northern Italy. Our study confirmed the high in-hospital mortality of IE, particularly if health care associated, and the protective role of surgery
Author Correction: Draft genome and description of Merdibacter massiliensis gen.nov., sp. nov., a new bacterium genus isolated from the human ileum
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“Duodenibacillus massiliensis” gen. nov., sp. nov., a new species identified in the human duodenum
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“Colibacter massiliensis” gen. nov., sp. nov., a new bacterial species isolated from the Human left colon
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“Tidjanibacter massiliensis” gen. nov., sp. nov., a new bacterial species isolated from the human colon
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Olsenella provencensis sp. nov., Olsenella phocaeensis sp. nov., and Olsenella mediterranea sp. nov. isolated from the human colon
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