In recent decades, antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) emerged and spread among humans and animals worldwide. In this study, we evaluated the presence of ARB and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in ...the raw sewage of two hospitals in Brazil. Sewage aliquots were inoculated in a selective medium with antibiotics. Bacterial identification was performed by MALDI-TOF and ARGs were assessed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). A total of 208 strains from both hospitals were isolated (H1 = 117; H2 = 91). A wide variety of Enterobacterales and non-Enterobacterales species were isolated and most of them were Enterobacter spp. (13.0%), Proteus mirabilis (10.1%), and Klebsiella pneumoniae (9.6%). blaTEM and blaKPC were the most frequent β-lactamase-encoding genes and the predominant macrolide resistance genes were mph(A) and mel. Many species had the three tetracycline resistance genes (tetD, tetM, tetA) and strB was the prevalent aminoglycoside resistance gene. Two Staphylococcus haemolyticus strains had the mecA gene. Quinolone, colistin, and vancomycin resistance genes were not found. This study showed that hospital raw sewage is a great ARB and ARG disseminator. Strict monitoring of hospital sewage treatment is needed to avoid the spread of these genes among bacteria in the environment.
Main Recommendations
Patients with chronic atrophic gastritis or intestinal metaplasia (IM) are at risk for gastric adenocarcinoma. This underscores the importance of diagnosis and risk ...stratification for these patients. High definition endoscopy with chromoendoscopy (CE) is better than high definition white-light endoscopy alone for this purpose. Virtual CE can guide biopsies for staging atrophic and metaplastic changes and can target neoplastic lesions. Biopsies should be taken from at least two topographic sites (antrum and corpus) and labelled in two separate vials. For patients with mild to moderate atrophy restricted to the antrum there is no evidence to recommend surveillance. In patients with IM at a single location but with a family history of gastric cancer, incomplete IM, or persistent
Helicobacter pylori
gastritis, endoscopic surveillance with CE and guided biopsies may be considered in 3 years. Patients with advanced stages of atrophic gastritis should be followed up with a high quality endoscopy every 3 years. In patients with dysplasia, in the absence of an endoscopically defined lesion, immediate high quality endoscopic reassessment with CE is recommended. Patients with an endoscopically visible lesion harboring low or high grade dysplasia or carcinoma should undergo staging and treatment.
H. pylori
eradication heals nonatrophic chronic gastritis, may lead to regression of atrophic gastritis, and reduces the risk of gastric cancer in patients with these conditions, and it is recommended.
H. pylori
eradication is also recommended for patients with neoplasia after endoscopic therapy. In intermediate to high risk regions, identification and surveillance of patients with precancerous gastric conditions is cost-effective.
The Atlantic Forest harbors the world’s greatest diversity of harvestmen. However, this biome is highly modified and fragmented, negatively impacting biodiversity. Thus, the present study aimed to ...inventory the harvestmen fauna in the Fernão Dias Environmental Protection Area (Fernão Dias EPA), in southern Minas Gerais state, Brazil. The study was conducted in the municipality of Gonçalves, within the Fernão Dias EPA. Harvestmen sampling took place from October 2019 to March 2020. A total of 265 individuals from 24 species and morphospecies were collected. Reported six new species for the state: Acanthogonyleptes singularis (Mello-Leitão, 1935), Ampheres luteus (Giltay, 1928), Meteusarcoides caudatus (Piza, 1940), Ogloblinia intermedia (Soares, 1944), Megapachylus anomalus (Mello-Leitão, 1922), and Gonyleptes pseudogranulatus (Soares, 1946). This underscores the importance of the Fernão Dias EPA for the protection of the harvestmen fauna in the state of Minas Gerais.
Background: Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is a complex procedure, requiring enhanced technical skills. Translation into clinical practice of ESD training programs has not been documented. ...Our aim was to assess ESD training pathways of endoscopists participating in dedicated workshops and its clinical impact on ESD outcomes. Methods: Participants of live porcine models ESD workshops, from 2013 to 2019, were included. They were invited to complete a survey focusing on human ESD performance after training, prior skills/competencies, complete learning pathway, and clinical outcomes. Results: From 118 invited participants, 40 (34%) completed the questionnaire. Nineteen (47%) endoscopists performed human ESD after the workshop, predominantly male (89%). At the beginning of human ESD, endoscopists had a mean of 7.7 (standard deviation (SD) 4.1) years of endoscopic experience and were all performing endoscopic mucosal resection (and emergency endoscopy. Before ESD practice, 100% of the participants were trained with live animal models and 68% with ex vivo models. The majority started clinical ESD in the lower third of the stomach or rectum (90%), with lesions ≤30 mm (89%). Each endoscopist performed a median of 19 (interquartile range 8–32) cumulative ESDs, over a mean of 3.9 (SD 2.0) years. Total en bloc resection rate was 92%, R0 resection rate 88%, and curative resection rate 86%, whereas adverse events remained <10%. Endoscopists with >10 human ESD procedures achieve clinical competence thresholds. Conclusions: Participants of ESD workshops are adequately skilled prior to clinical ESD, complying with recommendations for training and properly implementing the technique. Transfer to clinical practice, of prior ESD skills obtained in hands-on training courses, was documented. Structured training programs achieve clinical outcomes exceeding established standards, namely in the very initial clinical phase.
Highlights • Glycosylation changes are a hallmark of cancer cells. • Glycosylation plays a key role in fundamental pathophysiological steps of GC. • Deciphering GC cell “glycans code” contributes to ...its molecular understanding. • Glycan biomarkers hold an opportunity for improving early cancer diagnosis and therapy.
INTRODUCTIONIn Brazil, Biomphalaria glabrata, B. tenagophila, and B. straminea are intermediate hosts of Schistosoma mansoni, the etiological agent of schistosomiasis mansoni. Molluscicide use is ...recommended by the WHO for controlling the transmission of this parasite. Euphorbia milii latex has shown promising results as an alternative molluscicide. Thus, a natural molluscicide prototype kit based on freeze-dried E. milii latex was developed and evaluated against Biomphalaria spp. METHODSE. milii latex was collected, processed, and lyophilized. Two diluents were defined for freeze-dried latex rehydration, and a prototype kit, called MoluSchall, was produced. A stability test was conducted using prototype kits stored at different temperatures, and a toxicity assay was performed using Danio rerio. Additionally, MoluSchall was tested against B. glabrata under semi-natural conditions according to defined conditions in the laboratory. RESULTSMoluSchall was lethal to three Brazilian snail species while exhibiting low toxicity to D. rerio. Regardless of storage temperature, MoluSchall was stable for 24 months and was effective against B. glabrata under semi-natural conditions, with the same LD100 as observed under laboratory conditions. CONCLUSIONSMoluSchall is a natural, effective, and inexpensive molluscicide with lower environmental toxicity than existing molluscicides. Its production offers a possible alternative strategy for controlling S. mansoni transmission.
Abstract
The prevalence of
Helicobacter pylori
remains high in the older population. Specific age-related peculiarities may impact the outcomes of
H
.
pylori
treatment. The aim of the study was to ...evaluate the diagnostics and effectiveness of
H
.
pylori
eradication between the younger and older European populations. “European Registry on
H. pylori
Management (Hp-EuReg)” data from 2013 to 2022 were analyzed. Patients were divided into older (≥ 60 years) and younger (18–59 years) groups. Modified intention-to-treat (mITT) and per-protocol (PP) analysis was performed. 49,461 patients included of which 14,467 (29%) were older-aged. Concomitant medications and penicillin allergy were more frequent among the older patients. Differences between younger and older populations were observed in treatment duration in first-line treatment and in proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) doses in second-line treatment. The overall incidence of adverse events was lower in the older adults group. The overall first-line treatment mITT effectiveness was 88% in younger and 90% in the older patients (p < 0.05). The overall second-line mITT treatment effectiveness was 84% in both groups. The effectiveness of the most frequent first- and second-line triple therapies was suboptimal (< 90%) in both groups. Optimal efficacy (≥ 90%) was achieved by using bismuth and non-bismuth-based quadruple therapies. In conclusion, the approach to the diagnostics and treatment of
H
.
pylori
infection did not generally differ between younger and older patients. Main differences were reported in the concurrent medications, allergy to penicillin and adverse events both in first- and second-line treatment. Optimal effectiveness rates were mostly achieved by using bismuth and non-bismuth-based quadruple therapies. No clinically relevant differences in the effectiveness between the age groups were observed.
Adherence to Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) eradication treatment is a cornerstone for achieving adequate treatment efficacy.
To determine which factors influence compliance with treatment.
A ...systematic prospective non-interventional registry (Hp-EuReg) of the clinical practice of European gastroenterologists. Compliance was considered adequate if ≥90% drug intake. Data were collected until September 2021 using the AEG-REDCap e-CRF and were subjected to quality control. Modified intention-to-treat analyses were performed. Multivariate analysis carried out the factors associated with the effectiveness of treatment and compliance.
Compliance was inadequate in 646 (1.7%) of 38,698 patients. The non-compliance rate was higher in patients prescribed longer regimens (10-, 14-days) and rescue treatments, patients with uninvestigated dyspepsia/functional dyspepsia, and patients reporting adverse effects. Prevalence of non-adherence was lower for first-line treatment than for rescue treatment (1.5% vs. 2.2%; p < 0.001). Differences in non-adherence in the three most frequent first-line treatments were shown: 1.1% with proton pump inhibitor + clarithromycin + amoxicillin; 2.3% with proton pump inhibitor clarithromycin amoxicillin metronidazole; and 1.8% with bismuth quadruple therapy. These treatments were significantly more effective in compliant than in non-compliant patients: 86% versus 44%, 90% versus 71%, and 93% versus 64%, respectively (p < 0.001). In the multivariate analysis, the variable most significantly associated with higher effectiveness was adequate compliance (odds ratio, 6.3 95%CI, 5.2-7.7; p < 0.001).
Compliance with Helicobacter pylori eradication treatment is very good. Factors associated with poor compliance include uninvestigated/functional dyspepsia, rescue-treatment, prolonged treatment regimens, the presence of adverse events, and the use of non-bismuth sequential and concomitant treatment. Adequate treatment compliance was the variable most closely associated with successful eradication.
Esophageal Bullous Pemphigoid Castelo Branco, Catarina; Fonseca, Tomás; Marcos-Pinto, Ricardo
European journal of case reports in internal medicine,
02/2022, Volume:
9, Issue:
2
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Bullous pemphigoid is a rare autoimmune dermatologic disease that usually occurs in the elderly. Mucous membrane lesions occur in about 10-35% of patients and are almost always limited to the oral ...mucous membrane. Esophageal involvement is very rare (4% of cases) and usually presents with chest pain, dysphagia, and odynophagia, though patients are frequently asymptomatic. We report the case of newly diagnosed bullous pemphigoid in a 76-year-old man with a past medical history of dementia. He presented with cutaneous manifestations but also severe gastrointestinal bleeding due to extensive esophageal involvement. Although bullous pemphigoid is mainly a skin disease, mucous membrane lesions should not be overlooked as they are associated with an even poorer outcome. A high index of suspicion for esophageal involvement is needed as its presentation can be fatal, as with our patient.
Bullous pemphigoid is a rare autoimmune disease that should be suspected in elderly patients with itchy cutaneous lesions.Mucous membrane lesions should always be evaluated, as they are associated with a poor prognosis, even if asymptomatic.Early diagnosis should be the main focus, as steroids, the mainstay of treatment, may not be effective in severe cases.