CARNELUTTI A.

The increase in hospitalization due to acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSI) caused by resistant pathogens supports the need for new treatment options. Antimicrobial options for ABSSSI that provide broad-spectrum coverage, including gram-negative pathogens and multidrug-resistant gram-positive bacteria, such as...

Introduction: In clinical practice, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) represents a major threat and has been associated with high rates of inadequate antibiotic treatment and significant increases in morbidity, mortality, and overall healthcare costs. The association between the prescription of an inappropriate or delayed...

Delayed antimicrobial prescriptions and inappropriate treatment can lead to poor outcomes in pneumonia. In nosocomial infections, especially in countries reporting high rates of antimicrobial resistance, the presence of multidrug-resistant gram-negative and gam-positive bacteria can limit options for adequate antimicrobial treatment. New...

Introduction: Infections due to multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria are burdened by high mortality rates. The development of new compounds to face the global threat of resistance is urgently needed. Combination regimens including "old" high-dose antimicrobials are currently limited by the risk of toxicity, resistance selection, and reduced...

Introduction: Influenza represents a major public health threat worldwide. Implementation of good personal health and hygiene habits, together with vaccination, is the most effective tools to reduce influenza burden both in community and in healthcare setting. However, achieving adequate vaccination rates is challenging, and vaccination does...

Introduction: The isolation of multi-drug-resistant gram-negative (MDRGN) pathogens has progressively increased worldwide and has been associated with important delays in the prescription of an adequate antibiotic treatment, resulting in increased mortality rates. Patient's stratification for MDRGN infections to optimize the prescription of an...

Purpose of review: The occurrence of methicillin-resistance in Staphylococcus aureus, that represents the most frequent cause of complicated skin and soft tissue infections (cSSTIs) worldwide, is a major concern and has been associated with increased length of stay, health care costs, and overall mortality. Although vancomycin is still...

Background: Almost half of all cases of invasive aspergillosis (IA) occur in the intensive care unit (ICU), with mortality rates of 70–80% for probable or proven cases. IA has become a major concern among non-neutropenic patients in the ICU with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) but although prompt, appropriate antifungal therapy is...

Purpose of review Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has become a major public health issue worldwide over the last years. MRSA is frequently implicated in the development of skin and soft tissue infections, leading to significant increases in morbidity, mortality and overall healthcare costs. Recent findings In order to face...

Purpose of reviewAn increase of skin and soft tissue infections involving Staphylococcus aureus has been reported in community and hospital settings. Methicillin resistance in S. aureus is associated with treatment failure and increased mortality. Recently, new antimicrobials with enhanced activity against methicillin-resistant Staph. aureus...

ABSTRACT: Bloodstream infections (BSIs) represent a common complication among critically ill patients and a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. The prompt initiation of an effective antibiotic therapy is necessary in order to reduce mortality and to improve clinical outcomes. However, the choice of the empiric antibiotic regimen is often...

Liver transplant candidates and recipients with hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related liver disease greatly benefit from an effective antiviral therapy. The achievement of a sustained virological response before transplantation can prevent the recurrence of post-transplant HCV disease that occurs universally and correlates with enhanced progression...

Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia in non-HIV patients is infrequent and characterized by atypical presentations and increased severity. Although hematogenous dissemination from the lungs can lead to extrapulmonary infections, isolation of oocysts from blood in human subjects has not been documented. We report a case of P. jiroveci pneumonia with...

Background: Scarce data are available about immune cell frequencies in HIV-positive recipients of liver transplant. Alterations in immune subsets can lead to persistent immune activation and disease progression or reduced HIV-specific responses. In liver transplantation, impaired immune tolerance can lead to organ rejection. Methods:...

Purpose of review The increase of skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) represents a major concern both in community and in the hospital setting. Staphylococcus aureus is the most frequently isolated pathogen, and the rise in infections due to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has been associated with inadequate antibiotic...

Purpose of reviewProsthetic joint infections (PJIs) represent one of the most disastrous complications in prosthetic surgery, requiring long hospitalization, prolonged antimicrobial treatment and repeated surgical interventions. No gold standard test to formulate diagnosis exist. A combination of high index of suspicion, physical examination,...

Introduction: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections represent a leading cause of infection-related morbidity and mortality worldwide. There has been a welcome increase in the number of agents available for the treatment of MRSA infection over the last decade and several clinical trials are currently investigating the...

Objectives: Vertebral osteomyelitis (VO) is a compelling clinical entity for clinicians because of its insidious and indolent course, which makes diagnosis difficult. Methods: All patients with a suspected diagnosis of VO were analyzed over an 8-year period (January 2009 to January 2017). The UDIPROVE protocol (UDIne PROtocol on VErtebral...

Background Fluconazole represents a common antifungal option for the treatment of Candida infections in liver transplant recipients. Although adequate antifungal exposure is known to correlate with favorable outcomes in patients with invasive candidiasis, therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) of fluconazole is currently not recommended. Methods We...

Purpose of review Skin and soft tissue infections prevalence is increasing and represent a frequent cause of hospital admission. New guidelines have become available in order to better define these infections and their response to antimicrobial treatment. Gram-positive bacteria, in particular Staphylococcus aureus, remain the most frequently...

Limited data on varicella zoster virus (VZV) vaccine responses are available in HIV-positive adults, especially among those with end-stage renal disease on dialysis or undergoing kidney transplantation (KT). Serological and T cell responses were analyzed using anti-VZV IgG titers, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and flow cytometric...

Purpose of review 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography is a well-established technique for diagnosis and management of a number of neoplastic conditions. However, in recent years the body of literature regarding its potential role in infectious diseases has progressively increased, with promising results....

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Human herpesvirus (HHV)-6 reactivation is associated with severe forms of encephalitis among patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Cases in non-neutropenic patients are uncommon. The efficacy of ganciclovir and other compounds that are used for the treatment of HHV-6 encephalitis remains suboptimal and linked to toxicity....

The net state of immunosuppression, the occurrence of infections, drug-drug interactions, and toxicity can compromise the outcome of liver transplant recipients with multiple comorbidities. We present a 67-year-old man who developed early posttransplant severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbation, pulmonary aspergillosis, and...