Objectives To determine and quantify differences in efficacy between treatment regimens for brucellosis. Design Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials assessing different antibiotic regimens and durations of treatment for human brucellosis. Data sources PubMed, CENTRAL, Lilacs, conference proceedings, and bibliographies with no restrictions on language, study year, or publication status. Review methods Search, application of inclusion and exclusion criteria, data extraction, and assessment of methodological quality independently performed in duplicate. Primary outcomes were relapse and overall failure resulting from primary failure or relapse. Relative risks with 95% confidence intervals were calculated and pooled with a fixed effect model. Results 30 trials and 77 treatment arms were included. Overall failure was significantly higher with doxycyclinerifampicin compared to doxycycline-streptomycin, mainly due to a higher rate of relapse (relative risk 2.80, 95% confidence interval 1.81 to 4.36; 13 trials, without heterogeneity). Results were consistent among patients with bacteraemia and complicated brucellosis. Doxycycline-streptomycin resulted in a significantly higher rate of failure than doxycycline-rifampicinaminoglycoside (triple drug regimen) (2

BackgroundPneumonia is a common and potentially serious illness. Corticosteroids have been suggested for the treatment of different types of infection, however their role in the treatment of pneumonia remains unclear. This is an update of a review published in 2011. ObjectivesTo assess the efficacy and safety of corticosteroids in the treatment of pneumonia. Search methodsWe searched the Cochrane Acute Respiratory Infections Group's Specialised Register, CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, and LILACS on 3 March 2017, together with relevant conference proceedings and references of identified trials. We also searched three trials registers for ongoing and unpublished trials. Selection criteriaWe included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that assessed systemic corticosteroid therapy, given as adjunct to antibiotic treatment, versus placebo or no corticosteroids for adults and children with pneumonia. Data collection and analysisWe used standard methodological procedures expected by Cochrane. Two review authors independently assessed risk of bias and extracted data. We contacted study authors for additional information. We estimated risk ratios (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) and pooled data using the Mantel-Haenszel fixed-effect model when possible. Main resultsWe included 17 RCTs comprising a total of 2264 participants; 13 RCTs included 1954 adult participants, and four RCTs included 310 children. This update included 12 new studies, excluded one previously included study, and excluded five new trials. One trial awaits classification.All trials limited inclusion to inpatients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), with or without healthcare-associated pneumonia (HCAP). We assessed the risk of selection bias and attrition bias as low or unclear overall. We assessed performance bias risk as low for nine trials, unclear for one trial, and high for seven trials. We assessed reporting bias risk as low for three trials and high for the remaining 14 trials.

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The relative efficacy, safety and ecological implications of macrolides vs. quinolones in the treatment of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) are debatable. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials comparing any macrolide vs. any quinolone for the treatment of CAP among adult inpatients or outpatients, as monotherapy or both in combination with a beta-lactam. We did not limit inclusion by pneumonia severity, publication status, language or date of publication. The primary outcomes assessed were 30-day all-cause mortality and treatment failure. Two authors independently extracted the data. Fixed effect meta-analysis of risk ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals was performed. Sixteen trials (4989 patients) fulfilling inclusion criteria were identified, mostly assessing outpatients with mild to moderate CAP. All-cause mortality was not significantly different for macrolides vs. quinolones, RR 1.03 (0.63-1.68, seven trials), with a low event rate (2%). Treatment failure was significantly lower with quinolones, RR 0.78 (0.67-0.91, 16 trials). The definition of failure used in the primary studies was not clearly representative of patients' benefit. Microbiological failure was lower with quinolones, RR 0.63 (0.49-0.81, 13 trials). All adverse events, adverse events requiring discontinuation and any premature antibiotic discontinuation were significantly more frequent with macrolides, mainly on account of gastrointestinal adverse events. Resistance development was not assessed in the trials. Randomized controlled trials show an advantage of quinolones in the treatment of CAP with regard to clinical cure without need for antibiotic modification at end of treatment and gastrointestinal adverse events. The clinical significance of this advantage is unclear.

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Background Right heart catheterization (RHC) and echocardiography are both routinely used for pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP) assessment in lung transplantation (LT) candidates, although this is not mandated by current guidelines. We aimed to explore the performance of echocardiographic PASP as an indicator of pulmonary hypertension in LT candidates, in order to assess the necessity of RHC. Methods From a retrospective registry of 393 LT candidates undergoing RHC and echocardiography during 2015–2019, patients were assessed for the presence of pulmonary hypertension (PH), defined as mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP) above 20 mmHg, according to two methods—echocardiography and RHC. The primary outcome was the correlation between the PASP estimated by echocardiography to that measured by RHC. Secondary outcomes were the prediction value of the echocardiographic evaluation and its accuracy. Results The mean value of PASP estimated by echocardiography was 49.5 ± 20.0 mmHg, compared to 42.5 ± 18.0 mmHg measured by RHC. The correlation between the two measurements was moderate (Pearson’s correlation: r = 0.609, p < 0.01). Echocardiography PASP measurements were moderately discriminative to diagnose PH, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.72 (95% CI 0.66–0.77). Echocardiographic overestimation of PASP of more than 10 mmHg was found in 35.0% of the patients, and underestimation was found in 11.6% of the patients. Conclusion In the pre-surgical evaluation of LT candidates, echocardiographic estimation of PASP had moderate correlation and limited accuracy compared to the PASP measured by RHC. We thus recommend performing routine RHC to all LT candidates, regardless of the echocardiographic estimation of PASP.

Purpose: To evaluate the role of diabetes mellitus in the incidence, risk factors, and outcomes of AKI (acute kidney injury) in patients admitted with ACS (acute coronary syndrome). Methods: We performed a comparative evaluation of ACS patients with vs. without DM who developed AKI enrolled in the biennial ACS Israeli Surveys (ACSIS) between 2000 and 2018. AKI was defined as an absolute increase in serum creatinine (³0.5 mg/dL) or above 1.5 mg/dL or new renal replacement therapy upon admission with ACS. Outcomes included 30-day major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) and 1-year all-cause mortality. Results: The current study included a total of 16,879 patients, median age 64 (IQR 54–74), 77% males, 36% with DM. The incidence of AKI was significantly higher among patients with vs. without DM (8.4% vs. 4.7%, p < 0.001). The rates of 30-day MACE (40.8% vs. 13.4%, p < 0.001) and 1-year mortality (43.7% vs. 10%, p < 0.001) were significantly greater among diabetic patients who developed vs. those who did not develop AKI respectively, yet very similar among patients that developed AKI with vs. without DM (30-day MACE 40.8% vs. 40.3%, p = 0.9 1-year mortality 43.7 vs. 44.8%, p = 0.8, respectively). Multivariate analyses adjusted to potential confounders, showed similar independent predictors of AKI among patients with and without DM, comprising; older age, chronic kidney disease, congestive heart failure, and peripheral arterial disease. Conclusions: Although patients with DM are at much greater risk for AKI when admitted with ACS, the independent predictors of AKI and the worse patient outcomes when AKI occurs, are similar irrespective to DM status.

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