Mechanical ventilation, infectious diseases, intensive care unit,

Since 2020, cases of COVID-19-associated pulmonary aspergillosis (CAPA) have been frequently described, representing an important cause of mortality, especially among patients admitted to intensive care unit (ICU). A predisposition to invasive infection caused by Aspergillus spp. in SARS-CoV-2 infected patients can be ascribed either to the direct viral-mediated damage of the respiratory epithelium or to the dysregulated immunity associated with COVID-19. In this case series we have collected the clinical, laboratory and radiological data of 10 patients admitted to the ICU with diagnosis of probable CAPA, according to the recent expert consensus statement, from March 2020 to December 2022 in the Teaching Hospital of Catanzaro in Italy...

BACKGROUND: Risk stratification is a cornerstone of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society COVID-19 treatment guidance. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to define the clinical characteristics and comorbidities associated with critical COVID-19 in children and adolescents. METHODS: Two independent reviewers screened the literature (Medline and EMBASE) for studies published through August 2023 that reported outcome data on patients aged ≤ 21 years with COVID-19...

BACKGROUND: Acute lower respiratory infection (ALRI) caused by respiratory viruses is among the most common causes of hospitalization and mortality in children. We aimed to identify risk factors for poor outcomes in children <5 years old hospitalized with ALRI caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). METHODS: We searched Embase, Medline and Global Health databases and included observational studies reporting risk factors for poor outcomes (defined as use of supplemental oxygen, mechanical ventilation, intensive care unit admission, prolonged hospital stay and mortality) published between January 2011 and January 2023...

BACKGROUND: Fever of unknown origin (FUO) in developing countries is an important dilemma and further research is needed to elucidate the infectious causes of FUO. METHODS: A multi-center study for infectious causes of FUO in lower middle-income countries (LMIC) and low-income countries (LIC) was conducted between January 1, 2018 and January 1, 2023. In total, 15 participating centers from seven different countries provided the data, which were collected through the Infectious Diseases-International Research Initiative platform...

BACKGROUND: Elevated soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) has been associated with a poor prognosis in serious infections. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical value of suPAR in children with acute coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) or multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C). METHODS: Serum suPAR was measured using the suPARnostic AUTO Flex enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in hospitalized children with COVID-19, MIS-C, bacterial pneumonia, and healthy controls...

OBJECTIVE: The study analyzed the clinical features of children who had severe influenza and discussed on the risk factors associated with death in this population. METHODS: A total of 167 children with severe influenza admitted to the intensive care unit of our hospital from January 2018 to August 2023 were selected and divided into the death group (27 cases) and the survival group (140 cases). Demographic characteristics and clinical data were collected and compared between the two groups...

BACKGROUND: The health crisis due to Covid-19 led to the search for therapeutics that could improve the evolution of the disease. Remdesivir, an antiviral that interferes with viral replication, was one of the first to be used for the treatment of this pathology. OBJECTIVE: To determine clinical course and mortality of patients with severe SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia treated with remdesivir, in comparison of those who didn't receive the medication. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Retrospective cohort study, with medical records review of COVID-19 patients, between August 2020 and August 2021...

BACKGROUND: Pyogenic liver abscess (PLA) is a severe and potentially fatal infectious disease. Klebsiella pneumoniae is the predominant pathogen responsible for PLA. This study aims to investigate the clinical characteristics and prognostic factors of K. pneumoniae-induced pyogenic liver abscess (KP-PLA), particularly those caused by carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae (CRKP). METHODS: PLA patients from January 2010 to December 2021 were performed to investigate the differences of K...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: In June 2022, the mRNA COVID-19 vaccination was recommended for young children. We examined clinical characteristics and factors associated with vaccination status among vaccine-eligible young children hospitalized for acute COVID-19. METHODS: We enrolled inpatients aged 8 months to <5 years with acute community-acquired COVID-19 across 28 US pediatric hospitals from September 20, 2022 to May 31, 2023. We assessed demographic and clinical factors, including the highest level of respiratory support, and vaccination status defined as unvaccinated, incomplete, or complete primary series [at least 2 (Moderna) or 3 (Pfizer-BioNTech) mRNA vaccine doses ≥14 days before hospitalization]...

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the incidence and etiology of neonatal meningitis and to assess the associated risk factors, complications and outcomes in a nationwide multicenter retrospective descriptive study. METHOD: Twenty-seven centers from 7 geographical regions participated in the study. Newborns with a positive cerebrospinal fluid culture and/or cerebrospinal fluid polymerase chain reaction were included in the study. Demographic characteristics, clinical, laboratory and neuroimaging findings and mortality characteristics were analyzed...

BACKGROUND: Older age and chronic conditions are associated with severe influenza outcomes; however, data are only comprehensively available for adults ≥65 years old. Using data from the Influenza Hospitalization Surveillance Network (FluSurv-NET), we identified characteristics associated with severe outcomes in adults 18-49 years old hospitalized with influenza. METHODS: We included FluSurv-NET data from nonpregnant adults 18-49 years old hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed influenza during the 2011-2012 through 2018-2019 seasons...

INTRODUCTION: Despite the implementation of complex interventions, ICU mortality remains high and more so in developing countries. The demand for critical care in Sub-Saharan Africa is more than ever before as the region experiences a double burden of rising rates of non-communicable diseases (NCD) in the background battle of combating infectious diseases. Limited studies in Tanzania have reported varying factors associated with markedly high rates of ICU mortality. Investigating the burden of ICU care remains crucial in providing insights into the effectiveness and challenges of critical care delivery...

INTRODUCTION: Certain criteria for ventilator-associated events (VAE) definition might influence the type of an event, its detection rate and consequently the resource expenditure in intensive care unit. The Impact of Infections by Antimicrobial-Resistant Microorganisms - Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia (IMPACTO MR-PAV) aims to evaluate the incidence and diagnostic accuracy of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) using the current criteria for VAP surveillance in Brazil versus the VAE criteria defined by the US National Healthcare Safety Network-Center for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) criteria...

Background and objective Characterizing the epidemiological features of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is highly important for developing and implementing effective control measures against it. However, there is scarce data about the presenting features and outcomes in ICU patients with COVID-19 in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). In light of this, this study aimed to assess the characteristics of and outcomes in COVID-19 ICU patients in KSA in order to describe and identify the risks associated with morbidity and mortality among them...

BACKGROUND: In the last decade, Ibrutinib has become the standard of care in the treatment of several lymphoproliferative diseases such as chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and several non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Beyond Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibition, Ibrutinib shows broad immunomodulatory effects that may promote the occurrence of infectious complications, including opportunistic infections. The infectious burden has been shown to vary by disease status, neutropenia, and prior therapy but data focusing on severe infections requiring intensive care unit (ICU) admission remain scarce...

BACKGROUND: We aimed to estimate the proportion of children hospitalized for influenza whose illness was complicated by bloodstream infection, describe their clinical course, and identify the factors associated with bloodstream infection. METHODS: We performed active surveillance for laboratory-confirmed influenza hospitalizations among children ≤16 years old at the 12 Canadian Immunization Monitoring Program Active hospitals, from the 2010-2011 to 2020-2021 influenza seasons...

BACKGROUND: Respiratory viral infections are common among pediatric transplant patients, with human rhinovirus (HRV) being the most frequent. In pediatric patients undergoing hemopoietic cell transplant (HCT), infection with HRV has been associated with progression to lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) and adverse outcomes. We describe the clinical presentation and outcomes of HRV infection in children undergoing HCT. METHODS: Single-center retrospective study...

INTRODUCTION: COVID-19 induced cytokine storm is a well-documented phenomena that contributes significantly in the disease's evolution and prognosis. Therefore, therapies such as therapeutic plasma exchange, constitute a mainstay of therapeutic management especially for critically-ill patients. METHODS: We conducted a monocentric retrospective cohort study in the Resuscitation Department of the Mohammed VI University Hospital of Oujda-Morocco, to evaluate the efficiency of therapeutic plasma exchange on critically-ill COVID-19 patients over a 6 months period...

BACKGROUND: The organ dysfunction that is associated with death in COVID-19 patients has not been determined in multicenter epidemiologic studies. In this study, we evaluated the major association with death, concomitant organ dysfunction, and proportion of multiple organ failure in deaths in patients with COVID-19, along with information on organ support. METHODS: We performed an observational cohort study using the Japanese multicenter research of COVID-19 by assembling a real-world data (J-RECOVER) study database...

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus. Although it is known that the COVID-19 acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is associated with higher incidence of pulmonary barotrauma, unique mechanisms causing the aforementioned complication are still to be investigated. The goal of this research was to investigate the incidence of barotrauma among COVID-19 patients treated in the intensive care unit (ICU) and to examine different clinical outcomes among those subjects...