Comparison of piperacillin-tazobactam and vancomycin (TZP-VAN) with piperacillin-tazobactam and teicoplanin (TZP-TEI) for the risk of acute kidney injury (CONCOMITANT): A prospective observational, multinational, multi-centre cohort study.

Objective: Both vancomycin (VAN) and teicoplanin (TEI) augment the risk of acute kidney injury (AKI) when combined with piperacillin-tazobactam (TZP). We aimed to compare the risk of AKI among patients receiving TZP-VAN vs. TZP-TEI.

Safety and Efficacy of Dalbavancin in Real Life: Retrospective Analysis of a Large Monocentric Case Series of Patients Treated for Skin/Soft Tissue and Other Difficult-to-Treat Infections.

Dalbavancin is a long-acting lipoglycopeptide, approved for treatment of skin and skin structure infections. Its PK/PD profile and safety allow for short hospital stays even in the case of difficult-to-treat infections requiring long courses of therapy, e.g.

Gut microbiome dynamics and Enterobacterales infection in liver transplant recipients: A prospective observational study.

Background & Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate gut microbiome (GM) dynamics in relation to carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) colonization, CRE infection, and non-CRE infection development within 2 months after liver transplant (LT).

Methods: A single-center, prospective study was performed in patients undergoing LT from November 2018 to January 2020. The GM was profiled through 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing of a rectal swab taken on the day of transplantation, and fecal samples were collected weekly until 1 month after LT.

Predictors of bacteremia and death, including immune status, in a large single-center cohort of unvaccinated ICU patients with COVID-19 pneumonia.

Background: We investigated the possible role of the immune profile at ICU admission, among other well characterized clinical and laboratory predictors of unfavorable outcome in COVID-19 patients assisted in ICU.

Methods: Retrospective analysis of clinical and laboratory data collected for all consecutive patients admitted to the ICUs of the General Hospital of Pescara (Abruzzo, Italy), between 1 March 2020 and 30 April 2021, with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 respiratory failure. Logistic regressions were used to identify independent predictors of bacteremia and mortality.

SOX-1 antibodies in a patient with Crohn's disease: a case report.

Background: The anti-SOX-1 antibodies have been mainly associated with Lambert-Eaton Myasthenic Syndrome (LETMS) and Small-Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC). In this report, we describe the interesting case of a patient with serum anti-SOX-1 antibodies and Crohn's Disease (CD) with ensuing neurological symptoms.

Case Presentation: A Caucasian 67-year-old female was admitted to the Emergency Department with seizures, vertigo, emesis, nausea, postural instability and recurrent falls, over a period of 10 days.

The Gut Microbiota of Critically Ill Patients With COVID-19.

The SARS-CoV-2-associated COVID-19 pandemic has shaken the global healthcare system. Although the best-known symptoms are dry cough and pneumonia, viral RNA has been detected in the stool and about half of COVID-19 patients exhibit gastrointestinal upset. In this scenario, special attention is being paid to the possible role of the gut microbiota (GM).

Breakthrough invasive fungal infection after liver transplantation in patients on targeted antifungal prophylaxis: A prospective multicentre study.

Objective: To investigate the rate of and the risk factors for breakthrough-IFI (b-IFI) after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) according to the new definition proposed by Mycoses-Study-Group-Education-and-Research-Consortium (MSG-ERC) and the European-Confederation-of-Medical-Mycology (ECMM).

Methods: Multicenter prospective study of adult patients who underwent OLT at three Italian hospitals, from January 2015 to December 2018. Targeted antifungal prophylaxis (TAP) protocol was developed and shared among participating centers.

Effective Containment of a COVID-19 Subregional Outbreak in Italy Through Strict Quarantine and Rearrangement of Local Health Care Services.

Background: Since the beginning of the pandemic, the epidemiology of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Italy has been characterized by the occurrence of subnational outbreaks. The World Health Organization recommended building the capacity to rapidly control COVID-19 clusters of cases in order to avoid the spread of the disease. This study describes a subregional outbreak of COVID-19 that occurred in the Emilia Romagna region, Italy, and the intervention undertaken to successfully control it.

Diffuse primary cutaneous infection by in a liver transplant recipient with pulmonary nocardiosis: Importance of prompt identification for clinical resolution.

Fungal infections are rare in the general population but are an emerging cause of disease in immunosuppressed patients, especially solid organ transplant recipients. Here, we report the case of a female Caucasian liver transplant patient who developed pulmonary nocardiosis two months after an episode of liver rejection. At the time of lung nocardiosis, she was being treated with tacrolimus and corticosteroids and suffered from diffuse papular skin lesions.

No progression of subclinical atherosclerosis in HIV-infected patients starting an initial regimen including tenofovir alafenamide/emtricitabine plus raltegravir, dolutegravir or elvitegravir/cobicistat during a two-year follow-up.

Cardiovascular disease has become one of the most common comorbidities among HIV-infected patients, but available data about the correlation between antiretroviral drugs and progression rate of atherosclerotic disease are still limited. We evaluated the progression rate of carotid atherosclerosis in patients starting an initial antiretroviral regimen including one integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI). Observational, prospective study involving HIV-1-infected, antiretroviral therapy-naive, adult patients who started an antiretroviral regimen including tenofovir alafenamide/emtricitabine (TAF/FTC) plus raltegravir (RAL group), elvitegravir/cobicistat (EVG/c group), or dolutegravir (DTG group).

Improvement in liver steatosis after the switch from a ritonavir-boosted protease inhibitor to raltegravir in HIV-infected patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

The ritonavir-boosted protease inhibitor (PI/r) use has been associated with several metabolic abnormalities, and the non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is becoming a very frequent comorbidity among HIV-infected patients. We performed an observational, prospective study of HIV-infected patients with NAFLD, receiving one PI/r plus two nucleoside analogues, who switched from the PI/r to raltegravir or were treated only with lifestyle modification, maintaining antiretroviral therapy unchanged. Changes in liver steatosis after 12 months were evaluated by transient elastography and measurement of controlled attenuation parameter (CAP).

Improvement in insulin sensitivity and serum leptin concentration after the switch from a ritonavir-boosted PI to raltegravir or dolutegravir in non-diabetic HIV-infected patients.

Objectives: An observational, prospective, cohort study was performed to assess changes in insulin sensitivity and serum leptin level after a switch from a ritonavir-boosted PI (PI/r) to raltegravir or dolutegravir in HIV-infected adults on stable combination ART (cART).

Methods: Non-diabetic HIV-infected patients receiving suppressive cART including tenofovir disoproxil fumarate/emtricitabine plus one PI/r, who underwent a switch from the PI/r to raltegravir (group A) or dolutegravir (group B), were enrolled in the study. Serum levels of insulin, leptin and the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA) index were evaluated during a 12 month follow-up.

Cytokines, Hepatic Fibrosis, and Antiretroviral Therapy Role in Neurocognitive Disorders HIV Related.

The HIV may trigger a process of neuronal loss and axonal degeneration throughout the brain, which is carried on by the immune system releasing of proinflammatory cytokines, so that chronic inflammation associated with dysregulated innate immune response, glial cell dysfunction, and adverse antiretroviral therapy (ART) effect play an important role causing milder HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders or asymptomatic neurocognitive impairment. All patients have been tested for neurocognitive functioning through a comprehensive, five-domain neuropsychological battery performed in the study. Human cytokine (interleukin [IL]-6, IL-8, IL-18, and tumor necrosis factor [TNF]-α) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor serum levels were quantified using ELISAs, and the hepatic fibrosis was estimated using the noninvasive Fibrosis 4 (FIB-4) score.