•Frail elderly COVID-19 patients showed frequent extrapulmonary signs and symptoms.•Frailty, dehydration and mechanical ventilation predicted mortality in the elderly.•Secondary infections and ...metabolic complications should be considered in the elderly.
The spectrum of COVID-19 clinical manifestations is not yet known. In the elderly, mortality and extrapulmonary involvement appears more frequent than expected.
A multicentre-retrospective-case-series study of COVID-19 patients, aged ≥65 years, hospitalised between March 1 and June 15, 2020. Patients were classified at admission into 3 groups based on their Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) score: 1–3 (group A), 4–6 (group B) and 7–9 (group C).
Of the 206 patients in the study, 60 (29%) were assigned to group A, 60 (29%) to B and 86 (42%) to C. Significantly more frequent in group C than in B or A were: mental confusion (respectively 65%, 33%, 7%; P < 0.001), kidney failure (39%, 22%, 20%; P = 0.019), dehydration syndrome (55%, 27%, 13%; P < 0.001), electrolyte imbalance (54%, 32%, 25%; P = 0.001), and diabetic decompensation (22%, 12%, 7%; P = 0.026). Crude mortality was 27%. By multivariate logistic regression model independent predictors of death were male sex (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 2.87,95%CI = 1.15–7.18), CFS 7–9 (aOR = 9.97,95%CI = 1.82–52.99), dehydration at admission (aOR = 4.27,95%CI = 1.72–10.57) and non-invasive/invasive ventilation (aOR = 4.88,95%CI = 1.94–12.26).
Elderly patients with a high CFS showed frequent extrapulmonary signs at admission, even in the absence of lung involvement. These findings, along with a high CFS, predicted a significant risk of mortality.
Splenic nodules are uncommon entities that occur rarely in the general population. Although an infectious etiology (primarily bacteria, followed by mycobacteria) is usually found, noninfectious ...diseases, including malignancies and autoimmune disorders, can also be involved. For instance, in course of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs), in particular Crohn's Disease, aseptic splenic abscesses have been reported in patients with a long history of illness, or in those unresponsive to medical treatments, while are only anecdotally reported in the early phase of the disease. Hence, we presented the case of aseptic splenic nodules as a first manifestation of Crohn's Disease.
A 21-year-old woman with a silent medical history was admitted to the Emergency Department of our hospital complaining of fever of 38-39 °C (mainly in the evening) for the past 10 days and left flank abdominal pain, accompanied by sweating and fatigue. An abdominal computed tomography showed multiple splenic nodules of unknown origin. Because of the absence of clinical improvement after several antibiotic therapiesand a positron emission tomography (PET) with hypercaptation strictly localized to spleen, she underwent splenectomy, in suspicion of lymphoma. For persistence of symptoms after splenectomy, she underwent many instrumental examination, including a colonoscopy with bowel and intestinal biopsies that poses diagnosis of Crohn's disease. A second PET confirmed this diagnosis showing this time also the gastrointestinal involvement.
An unusual onset of Crohn's disease with multiple splenic nodules is reported. This case suggests that in light of splenic nodules of unknown etiology attention should be paid to all possible diagnoses of aseptic abscesses, including IBDs (primarily Crohn's Disease).
Purpose
We aimed to evaluate HIV-1 compartmentalization between the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma and investigate as to which extent HIV-1 strains in CSF differ from those in blood and whether ...a correlation with either plasma viral load (pVL) or an altered blood–brain barrier (BBB) does exist.
Study design
We retrospectively evaluated paired CSF/blood samples collected from 86 HIV+ patients. HIV-RNA quantification,
pol
(PR/RT), and
V3
sequencing were performed. HIV coreceptor tropism (CRT) was inferred (g2p, false-positive rate 10%, FPR). Data of standard CSF analysis were also reviewed; an altered CSF/plasma albumin ratio signified BBB damage. Neurological abnormalities (NA) were recorded.
Results
Overall, 32% of patients had a CSF/plasma HIV-RNA ratio > 1 (
discordance
); 3% of patients had detectable CSF HIV-RNA despite suppressed pVL (
escape
). Discordance was more frequent in ART-treated patients (
p
< 0.001) and in patients with NA (
p
= 0.016), but was independent of BBB damage (
p
= 0.65) and AIDS diagnosis (
p
= 0.96). Finally, CSF/plasma discordance was significantly more frequent (
p
< 0.0001) in patients with lower pVL values (< 10.000 copies/ml).
Env
divergence > 10% was found in 44% of sequences and was associated with ART (
p
= 0.008) and NA (
p
= 0.037). Overall, 24% of patients had a discordant CSF/blood CRT. A 100% nucleotide identity was observed in only 7.3% of
pol
sequences; notably, 10% of patients had resistance-associated mutations in CSF, but not in blood.
Conclusions
Our data confirm an independent replication and evolution of HIV within the CSF. A number of factors either hinder or contribute to the compartmentalization of HIV.
The onset of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is related to the development of non-neoplastic liver disease, such as viral infections and cirrhosis. Even though patients with chronic liver diseases ...undergo clinical surveillance for early diagnosis of HCC, this cancer is often diagnosed in advanced stage. In this case locoregional treatment is not possible and systemic therapies are the best way to control it. Until now sorafenib, a Raf and multi-kinase inhibitor has been the best, choice to treat HCC systemically. It showed a survival benefit in multicenter phase III trials. However the proper patient setting to treat is not well defined, since the results in Child-Pugh B patients are conflicting. To date various new target drugs are under developed and other biological treatments normally indicated in other malignancies are under investigation also for HCC. These strategies aim to target the different biological pathways implicated in HCC development and progression. The target drugs studied in HCC include anti-VEGF and anti-EGFR monoclonal antibodies, tyrosine kinase inhibitors and mTOR inhibitors. The most important challenge is represented by the best integration of these drugs with standard treatments to achieve improvement in overall survival and quality of life.
Highlights • to evaluate long-term effects of HCV eradication in HIV-HCV co-infected patients. • SVR (sustained virological response) and non-SVR groups compared. • decreasing FIB-4 and APRI trends ...observed after SVR (median 8 year-follow-up). • no difference in absolute or percentage CD4 slope and CD4/CD8 ratio trend over time. • higher mortality in non-SVR group, with no difference in AIDS and non-AIDS events
Objectives
We assessed whether changes in community viral load (CVL) over time were associated with the rate of new HIV diagnoses (NDs).
Methods
HIV‐1‐positive individuals referred to our institute ...and permanently residing in our province were considered for inclusion in the study. A total of 861 HIV‐infected adults with at least one HIV RNA measurement (12 530 measurements in total) between 2008 and 2014 were included. Viraemia copy‐years were calculated from all HIV RNA values for each patient using the trapezoidal rule; multiple CVL indicators were considered. Total NDs and recent infections (< 1 year) were analysed separately. The association between NDs and CVL was tested by means of mixed Poisson models, with CVL as a fixed effect and year as a random effect.
Results
The incidence of NDs was 2.28 per 100 000 residents in 2008 and 2.52 per 100 000 residents in 2014. Total numbers of NDs and recent infections did not vary significantly over time (P for trend 0.879 and 0.39, respectively). Mean HIV RNA decreased from 31 095.8 HIV‐1 RNA copies/mL in 2008 to 21 231.5 copies/mL in 2014 (P < 0.001); a downward trend was always observed regardless of the CVL indicator considered. Depending on the indicator, there were some differences in CVL by patient characteristics. The most substantial contributors to CVL appeared to be male individuals, men who have sex with men (MSM), non‐Italians, and untreated subjects (all P < 0.05). The relative risk of ND increased among Italians and MSM with an increasing proportion of subjects having an undetectable HIV RNA, and decreased in the same population with increasing levels of CVL.
Conclusions
In our setting, CVL represented a good marker of access to care and treatment; however, reduced CVL did not coincide with a reduction in the rate of NDs.
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