The main aim of this network meta-analysis is to identify the empiric antibiotic (Em-ATB) with the highest probability of being the best (HPBB) in terms of (1) cure rate and (2) mortality rate in ...hospitalised patients with community acquired pneumonia (CAP) .
Inclusion criteria: (1) adult patients (>16 years old) diagnosed with CAP that required hospitalisation; (2) randomised to at least two different Em-ATBs, (3) that report cure rate and (4) are written in English or Spanish.
(1) ambiguous antibiotics protocol and (2) published exclusively in abstract or letter format.
Medline, Embase, Cochrane and citation reviews from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2018. Risk of bias: Cochrane's tool. Quality of the systematic review (SR): A MeaSurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews-2. Certainity of the evidence: Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation.
frequentist method performed with the 'netmeta' library, R package.
27 randomised controlled trials (RCTs) from the initial 41 307 screened citations were included. Regarding the risk of bias, more than one quarter of the studies presented low risk and no study presented high risk in all domains. The SR quality is moderate.
two networks were constructed. Thus, two Em-ATBs have the HPBB: cetaroline 600 mg (two times a day) and piperacillin 2000 mg (two times a day).
three networks were constructed. Thus, three Em-ATBs have the HPBB: ceftriaxone 2000 mg (once a day) plus levofloxacin 500 (two times a day), ertapenem 1000 mg (two times a day) and amikacin 250 mg (two times a day) plus clarithromycin 500 mg (two times a day). The certainity of evidence for each results is moderate.
For cure rate, ceftaroline and piperaciline are the options with the HPBB. However, for mortality rate, the options are ceftriaxone plus levofloxacin, ertapenem and amikacin plus clarithromycin. It seems necessary to conduct an RCT that compares treatments with the HPBB for each event (cure or mortality) (CRD42017060692).
Managing the inflammatory response to SARS-Cov-2 could prevent respiratory insufficiency. Cytokine profiles could identify cases at risk of severe disease.
We designed a randomized phase II clinical ...trial to determine whether the combination of ruxolitinib (5 mg twice a day for 7 days followed by 10 mg BID for 7 days) plus simvastatin (40 mg once a day for 14 days), could reduce the incidence of respiratory insufficiency in COVID-19. 48 cytokines were correlated with clinical outcome.
Patients admitted due to COVID-19 infection with mild disease.
Up to 92 were included. Mean age was 64 ± 17, and 28 (30%) were female. 11 (22%) patients in the control arm and 6 (12%) in the experimental arm reached an OSCI grade of 5 or higher (p = 0.29). Unsupervised analysis of cytokines detected two clusters (CL-1 and CL-2). CL-1 presented a higher risk of clinical deterioration vs CL-2 (13 33% vs 2 6% cases, p = 0.009) and death (5 11% vs 0 cases, p = 0.059). Supervised Machine Learning (ML) analysis led to a model that predicted patient deterioration 48h before occurrence with a 85% accuracy.
Ruxolitinib plus simvastatin did not impact the outcome of COVID-19. Cytokine profiling identified patients at risk of severe COVID-19 and predicted clinical deterioration.
https://clinicaltrials.gov/, identifier NCT04348695.
BackgroundHerpes zoster (HZ) affects 1 in 3 persons in their lifetime, and the risk of HZ increases with increasing age and the presence of immunocompromising conditions. In Spain, vaccination ...guidelines were recently updated to include the recommendation of the new recombinant zoster vaccine (RZV) for certain risk groups.AimTo describe the epidemiology of HZ-related hospitalisations in Spain in order to prioritise vaccination recommendations and define a baseline to monitor the effectiveness of vaccination policies.MethodsRetrospective study using the National Health System's Hospital Discharge Records Database, including all HZ-related hospitalisations from 1998 to 2018.ResultsThe 65,401 HZ-related hospitalisations, corresponded to an annual mean hospitalisation rate of 6.75 per 100,000 population. There was an increasing trend of HZ hospitalisations over the study period. This rate was higher in males and older age groups, particularly over 65 years. Comorbidities with higher risk of readmission were leukaemia/lymphoma (RR 2.4; 95% CI: 2.3-2.6) and solid malignant neoplasm (RR 2.2; 95% CI: 2.1-2.4). Comorbidities associated with higher risk of mortality were leukaemia/lymphoma (RR 2.9; 95% CI: 2.7-3.2), solid malignant neoplasm (RR 2.9; 95% CI: 2.7-3.1) and HIV infection (RR 2.2; 95% CI: 1.8-2.7).ConclusionOf all patients hospitalised with HZ, those with greater risk of mortality or readmission belonged to the groups prioritised by the current vaccination recommendations of the Spanish Ministry of Health. Our study provided relevant information on clinical aspects of HZ and established the base for future assessments of vaccination policies.
Comirnaty® is an mRNA vaccine against COVID-19 which has been administered to millions of people since the end of 2020. Our aim was to study epidemiological and clinical factors influencing ...reactogenicity and functional limitation after the first two doses of the vaccine in health care workers (HCWs).
Prospective post-authorization cohort study to monitor safety and effectiveness of the vaccine.
Local side effects were mild and presented both with first and second dose of Comirnaty. Systemic side effects were more frequent after 2nd dose. Nevertheless, previous SARS-CoV-2 infection was associated with systemic effects after the first dose of the vaccine (OR ranging from 2 to 6). No severe adverse effects were reported. According to multivariate analysis, the degree of self-reported functional limitation after the first dose increased with age, female sex, previous COVID-19 contact, previous SARS-CoV-2 infection, and Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI). After the second dose, the degree of functional limitation observed was lower in those with previous SARS-CoV-2 infection, and it was positively associated to the degree of functional limitation after the first dose.
Systemic adverse effects were more frequent after the second dose of Comirnaty. Previous SARS-CoV-2 infection was associated with systemic effects after the first dose. Age, female sex, previous COVID-19, previous isolation due to COVID-19 contact, and CCI showed to be independent predictors of the degree of functional limitation after the 1st dose of Comirnaty®. After the 2nd dose, the degree of functional limitation was lower in those who previously had SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Infection by SARS-CoV2 has devastating consequences on health care systems. It is a global health priority to identify patients at risk of fatal outcomes. 1955 patients admitted to HM-Hospitales from ...1 March to 10 June 2020 due to COVID-19, were were divided into two groups, 1310 belonged to the training cohort and 645 to validation cohort. Four different models were generated to predict in-hospital mortality. Following variables were included: age, sex, oxygen saturation, level of C-reactive-protein, neutrophil-to-platelet-ratio (NPR), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte-ratio (NLR) and the rate of changes of both hemogram ratios (VNLR and VNPR) during the first week after admission. The accuracy of the models in predicting in-hospital mortality were evaluated using the area under the receiver-operator-characteristic curve (AUC). AUC for models including NLR and NPR performed similarly in both cohorts: NLR 0.873 (95% CI: 0.849-0.898), NPR 0.875 (95% CI: 0.851-0.899) in training cohort and NLR 0.856 (95% CI: 0.818-0.895), NPR 0.863 (95% CI: 0.826-0.901) in validation cohort. AUC was 0.885 (95% CI: 0.885-0.919) for VNLR and 0.891 (95% CI: 0.861-0.922) for VNPR in the validation cohort. According to our results, models are useful in predicting in-hospital mortality risk due to COVID-19. The RIM Score proposed is a simple, widely available tool that can help identify patients at risk of fatal outcomes.
The assessment of liver fibrosis has gained importance since the progression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Indeed, the description of the association between undetected liver fibrosis ...and lifestyle in terms of antioxidant habits, comorbidity and quality of life (QoL) domains may help in the characterization of subjects with NAFLD. A cross-sectional evaluation of (n = 116) consecutive patients from an Internal Medicine ambulatory evaluation was performed. Demographic data, lifestyle, co-morbidity, QoL (according to the SF-36 index) and analytical values to calculate the oxidative related Fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) index were recorded. The association between FIB-4 and co-morbidity, antioxidant habits in QoL was assessed in univariate analysis (p < 0.05) and confirmed in multivariable analysis for 4 of the 8 SF-36 categories: Physical QoL, Physical role, Social QoL and General QoL, as well as in the Physical summary of SF-36 (p < 0.05). Finally, interactions were assessed between co-morbidity, FIB-4 and antioxidant habits showed in the prediction of mean SF-36 (p < 0.01). Liver fibrosis assessed by the oxidative surrogate index FIB-4 is associated with the interaction between antioxidant lifestyle, co-morbidity and physical, social and general aspects of QoL in apparent liver disease-free individuals, generating a proof of concept for health empowerment and personalized medicine.
The prevalence of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) is a growing global health concern. Recent advances have demonstrated significant reductions in acute cardiovascular events through the management of ...modifiable cardiovascular risk factors. However, these factors are responsible for about 50% of the global cardiovascular disease burden. Considering that CVDs are one of the top mortality causes worldwide, the concept of residual cardiovascular risk is an important emerging area of study. Different factors have been proposed as sources of residual risk markers, including non-HDL particles characterization, as well as inflammation measured by serum and imaging technics. Among these, metabolic-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) remains controversial. Two opposing viewpoints contend: one positing that fatty liver disease merely reflects classical risk factors and thus adds no additional risk and another asserting that fatty liver disease independently impacts cardiovascular disease incidence. To address this dilemma, one hypothetical approach is to identify specific hepatic energy-yielding mechanisms and assess their impact on the cardiovascular system. Ketogenesis, a metabolic intermediate process particularly linked to energy homeostasis during fasting, might help to link these concepts. Ketogenic metabolism has been shown to vary through MASLD progression. Additionally, newer evidence supports the significance of circulating ketone bodies in cardiovascular risk prediction. Furthermore, ketogenic metabolism modification seems to have a therapeutic impact on cardiovascular and endothelial damage. Describing the relationship, if any, between steatotic liver disease and cardiovascular disease development through ketogenesis impairment might help to clarify MASLD's role in cardiovascular risk. Furthermore, this evidence might help to solve the controversy surrounding liver steatosis impact in CVD and might lead to a more accurate risk assessment and therapeutic targets in the pursuit of precision medicine.
COVID-19 has overloaded health system worldwide; thus, it demanded a triage method for an efficient and early discrimination of patients with COVID-19. The objective of this research was to perform a ...model based on commonly requested hematological variables for an early featuring of patients with COVID-19 form other viral pneumonia. This investigation enrolled 951 patients (mean of age 68 and 56% of male) who underwent a PCR test for respiratory viruses between January 2019 and January 2020, and those who underwent a PCR test for detection of SARS-CoV-2 between February 2020 and October 2020. A comparative analysis of the population according to PCR tests and logistic regression model was performed. A total of 10 variables were found for the characterization of COVID-19: age, sex, anemia, immunosuppression, C-reactive protein, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cardiorespiratory disease, metastasis, leukocytes and monocytes. The ROC curve revealed a sensitivity and specificity of 75%. A deep analysis showed low levels of leukocytes in COVID-19-positive patients, which could be used as a primary outcome of COVID-19 detection. In conclusion, this investigation found that commonly requested laboratory variables are able to help physicians to distinguish COVID-19 and perform a quick stratification of patients into different prognostic categories.
—El eritema elevatum et diutinum es una forma localizada, crónica y benigna de vasculitis leucocitoclástica cutánea que evoluciona hacia una peculiar fibrosis concéntrica y depósito secundario de ...material lipídico. Su causa es desconocida, pero se supone en relación con el depósito vascular de inmunocomplejos. Entre los posibles problemas médicos asociados se incluyen enfermedades hematológicas, especialmente la gammapatía monoclonal IgA.
Una mujer de 24 años presentaba múltiples pápulas y placas localizadas simétricamente sobre la superficie de extensión de las extremidades, especialmente en torno a zonas articulares. La exploración reveló además múltiples placas elevadas, firmes, que afectaban por completo la superficie palmar de las manos. La biopsia de un elemento reciente descubrió un infiltrado neutrofílico dérmico y polvillo nuclear alrededor de vasos con vasculitis leucocitoclástica. En los estudios complementarios se encontró positividad para anticuerpos anticitoplasma de neutrófilo (p-ANCA) (anti-mieloperoxidasa MPO). El tratamiento con sulfona 100 mg/día condujo a una respuesta clínica espectacular.
Describimos un ejemplo de eritema elevatum et diutinum con una distribución atípica afectando las palmas, circunstancia escasamente referida. Además discutimos el posible significado de la asociación con una prueba positiva para p-ANCA.
—Erythema elevatum et diutinum is a distinctive benign chronic localized form of cutaneous leukocytoclastic vasculitis which results in patterned concentric fibrosis and secondary deposition of lipid material. Its cause is unknown but it is presumed to be related to vascular immune complex deposition. Associated medical problems include hematologic diseases, most frequently IgA monoclonal gammopathy.
A 24 year-old female presented with multiple symmetrically distributed reddish brown papules and plaques located predominantly over the extensor aspects of the extremities, specially near the joints. Examination revealed also multiple elastic-hard raised plaques involving thoroughly her palms. A biopsy taken from a recent lesion revealed a neutrophilic infiltrate and nuclear dust around the dermal vessels, with leucocytoclastic vasculitis. Screening for internal disease showed no abnormal findings except for p-ANCA positive test (anti-MPO). Treatment with dapsone 100 mg daily led to a dramatic clinical response.
We describe an example of erythema elevatum et diutinum which had an unusual distribution involving the palms, a circumstance scarcely reported so far. We discuss also the possible significance of the associated p-ANCA positive test.
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