Total thyroidectomy followed by radioiodine therapy is an optimal treatment strategy that makes it possible to achieve a cure in a vast majority of pediatric patients with differentiated thyroid carcinomas. Risk of recurrence is strongly associated with tumor stage, extent of surgery, the young patient's age, and presence of symptoms at diagnosis.

IMP-type metallo-beta-lactamase-producing bacteria have recently emerged worldwide. We conducted a case-control study in which 69 inpatients harboring bla(IMP)-positive Pseudomonas aeruginosa and 247 control subjects with bla(IMP)-negative pathogens were investigated. Prolonged hospitalization, antineoplastic chemotherapy, corticosteroid therapy (P=.001), and indwelling urinary catheters (P=.04) were risk factors for isolation of bla(IMP)-positive pathogens. The predominant source was urine (P=.001). The duration of antibiotic treatment and the total dose (including of carbapenems) were significantly greater among case patients than among control subjects (P<.01). bla(IMP)-positive P. aeruginosa isolates were more frequently resistant to multiple drugs (P=.001) and caused more infections (P=.001) than bla(IMP)-negative pathogens. There were no significant differences in bacteriological outcome (P=.94); however, infection-related death was more frequent among case patients than among control subjects (P=.023). These results suggest that precautionary measures against the spread of bla(IMP)-positive isolates are needed, because, for most of such pathogens, no antibiotic is potent enough to be used as a single agent in treatment of infection.

It is crucial to consider the presence of UDs and meningoencephalitis for the choice of antifungals and treatment duration for cryptococcosis in non-HIV patients. Three- and six months-administration of azoles for pulmonary cryptococcosis with or without UDs, respectively is reasonable.

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The results suggest the following: (1) that the deletions of p15 and/or p16 genes play a key role in the progression of ATL; and (2) that these deletions are reliable prognostic factors that predict shortened survival times.