Antibiotherapy is the main determinant of Clostridium difficile infection due to the imbalance determined in the intestinal flora. Clostridium difficile infection can be considered a current public health problem, given the increased incidence, both as a nosocomial infection as well as at community level, by excessive, uncontrolled and unjustified use of antibiotics, high contagiousness, negative influence on health systems in the increased number of days of hospitalization and implicitly increased costs, and last but not least, the substantial deterioration of the quality of the patient�s life. The retrospective study over a 12-month period over a group of 106 patients revealed the following profile of the patient affected by Clostridium difficile infection: females, aged 66.75 � 15.66, from the urban area, hospitalized in the medical section, who had diarrhea more than 2 days after admission, but up to 28 days after this event, due to prolonged antibiotic therapy with ceftriaxone, associated with a gastric secretion inhibitor, on a background of multiple associated pathologies. It is very important for all health systems to control this phenomenon and this is only possible by applying effective measures to prevent the onset of CDI, of relapses and contamination, thus identifying the judicious use of antibiotics.
Background: Anthracyclines remain the cornerstone of the treatment in many cancers including lymphomas, leukemia and sarcomas, and breast cancer. The cardiomyopathy that develops from anthracyclines can lead to heart failure and decreased survival. Multiple mechanisms are involved the pathophysiology of anthracycline-induced heart failure. Study Question:We hypothesise that anthracycline induced-cardiac (AIC) pathology can be monitored using a panel of blood biomarkers including High-Sensitive Cardiac Troponin T (hs-cTnT) for myocytes necrosis, and N-Terminal Pro-Hormone Brain Natriuretic Peptide (NT-proBNP) for parietal stress.Study Design: A prospective, institutionally-approved study recruited all cancer patients scheduled to start anthracycline chemotherapy in the Transilvania University cancer clinics.Measures and Outcomes: Transthoracic 2D echocardiography (2D-ETT) and the measurements of NT-proBNP and hs-cTnT plasma levels were performedat the beginning of the study, and 3 months and 6 months after anthracycline treatment initiation. Results:The plasma levels of hs-cTnT at 3 months (rho = 0.439, p = 0.0001) and 6 months (rho = 0.490, p = 0.0001) are correlated with AIC occurrence. For a cut-off value of hs-cTnT at 3 months> 0.008 ng/ml we obtained 66.7% sensitivity, 67.9% specificity for developing AIC at 6 months, with a 54.5% positive predictive value and a 87.8% negative predictive value. The NT-proBNP serum levels at 3 months (rho = 0.495, p = 0.0001) and 6 months (rho = 0.638, p = 0.0001) are correlated with an AIC diagnosis at 6 months. For a cut-off value of NT-proBNP at 3 months > 118.5 pg/ml we obtained 80% sensitivity and 79.2% specificity for evolution to AIC at 6 months, with 52.2% positive predictive value and 93.3% negative predictive value. 4Conclusions: In anthracycline-treated cancer patients, the increase in plasma levels of NT-proBNP and of hs-cTnT can predict the development of anthracycline-induced cardiomyopathy. Early identification of at-risk patients will potentially allow for targeted dose-reductions and will diminish the number of patients developing cardiac pathology.
Diabetic foot is a current public health problem and a late consequence of diabetes. Morbidity and mortality are significant, seriously affecting the patient�s quality of life. Treatment of the diabetic foot is a long-lasting, highly resource-consumption process. Using negative pressure therapy leads to shorter hospitalization periods, better functional outcomes, significantly contributes to decreasing the number of amputations and improving patient�s quality of life. 49 year-old patient is hospitalized with necrotizing at right foot and shank, neglected type II diabetes. It is performed amputation of atypical necessity, right leg, transtarsal, open stump. After successive debridements, negative pressure therapy is installed for a period of 24 days. This favors the formation of the granular bed, the remission of the infection, allowing grafting. The graft is partially integrated and plantar reconstruction is performed with sural reversal flap. The local and functional results are satisfactory, with the flap viability and the possibility of moving with support on the right leg, preventing the amputation of the shank. Negative pressure therapy has a multitude of advantages, it is preferable to conventional therapies, and it can have higher costs, but accelerates healing and improves the quality of life of the patient.
To determine the resistance pattern of bacterial pathogens involved in infections of the patients aged between 18-64 years, admitted in a ICU from a 1518-bed university-affiliated hospital. A retrospective study of bacterial pathogens was carried out on 351 patients aged between 18-64 years admitted to the ICU, from January to December 2017. In this study there were analysed 469 samples from 351 patients (18-64 years). A total of 566 bacterial isolates were obtained, of which 120 strains of Klebsiella spp. (35.39%%), followed by Nonfermenting Gram negative bacilli, other than Pseudomonas and Acinetobacter (NFB) (75- 22.12%), Acinetobacter spp. (53 - 15.63%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Proteus (51 - 15.04%), and Escherichia coli (49 - 14.45%). The most common isolates were from respiratory tract (394 isolates � 69.61%). High rates of MDR were found for Pseudomonas aeruginosa (64.70%), MRSA (62.65%) and Klebsiella spp. (53.33%), while almost all of the isolated NFB strains were MDR (97.33%). There was statistic difference between the drug resistance rate of Klebsiella and E. coli strains to ceftazidime and ceftriaxone (p[0.001), cefuroxime (p[0.01) and to cefepime (p[0.01). The study revealed an alarming pattern of antibiotic resistance in the majority of ICU isolates.
In those countries where education and smoking prevention campaigns are carried out at school level, there has been a decline in the prevalence of smoking among pupils. Nicotine addiction represents a sum of pharmacological, electrophysiological and molecular genetic mechanisms and behavior patterns. The study was conducted from December 2016, to July 2017 and it consisted in an online survey posted on a website. The participants accessed the survey through an e mail link. The study population consisted of 1144 teachers (from primary school, gymnasium and college). The declared percentage of daily smokers was 14%, below the European average, while 20.5% were declared ex-smokers, 11.2% were occasional smokers and 54.4% never smoked. The theme of smoking was approached by 79.2% of teachers during conducting classes and 81.6% of them advised smokers to stop smoking. Teachers can influence the pupils� behavior by personal example and by teaching, inside and outside the school, thus preventing nicotine addiction. Decreasing the prevalence of smoking among teachers will inevitably lead in the future to a decrease of adolescent smokers� incidence. Our study was a pilot project that can draw important directions in educational and preventive campaigns in schools.
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