Scandinavian journal of infectious diseases
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Scand. J. Infect. Dis. · Nov 2014
Procalcitonin better than C-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and white blood cell count in predicting DNAemia in patients with sepsis.
Procalcitonin (PCT) levels can be used to predict bacteremia and DNAemia in patients with sepsis. In this study, the diagnostic accuracy of PCT in predicting blood culture (BC) results and DNAemia, as detected by real-time PCR (RT-PCR), was compared with that of other markers of inflammation commonly evaluated in patients with suspected sepsis, such as C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and white blood cell (WBC) count. ⋯ PCT showed a better diagnostic accuracy than CRP, ESR, and WBC count in predicting DNAemia and bacteremia in patients with suspected sepsis.
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Colistin (COL) has become the backbone of the treatment of infections due to extensively drug-resistant (XDR) Gram-negative bacteria. The most common restriction to its use is acute kidney injury (AKI). ⋯ COL-induced nephrotoxicity occurred significantly more often in patients older than 60 y of age and was related to low initial GFR estimations and high CCI scores, which were basically determined by age.
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Scand. J. Infect. Dis. · Sep 2014
Comparative StudyComparison of IGRA tests and TST in the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection and predicting tuberculosis in risk groups in Krakow, Poland.
The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) in risk groups in Krakow, using the QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube (QFT-GIT) test and the tuberculin skin test (TST); we also sought to assess the rate of progression to active disease over 4-5 y of follow-up. ⋯ The prevalence of positive QFT-GIT and TST was high in the study risk groups. The best predictor of active TB in the homeless and close contacts groups was a positive QFT-GIT together with a positive TST.
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Scand. J. Infect. Dis. · Sep 2014
Observational StudyRisk factors for infection and predictors of mortality among patients with KPC-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae bloodstream infections in the intensive care unit.
Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC)-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae (KPC-Kp) infections in intensive care units (ICUs) are associated with increased mortality. We aimed to determine risk factors for infection and predictors of 30-day mortality in ICU patients with KPC-Kp bloodstream infections (BSI). ⋯ Many risk factors are involved in KPC-Kp BSI among ICU patients. The high mortality in patients with KPC-KP BSI in the ICU requires the implementation of appropriate infection control measures.
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Scand. J. Infect. Dis. · Sep 2014
Case ReportsAggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans infection mimicking lung cancer: a case report.
Pulmonary infections can mimic a pulmonary neoplasm. Multiple organisms, including bacteria, viruses, and fungi, can present with similar clinical, radiographic, and surgical findings as neoplastic processes. ⋯ We present a case of A. actinomycetemcomitans and Actinomyces co-infection that presented as a mediastinal mass, with surgical findings similar to lung malignancy but with biopsy and culture showing an infectious origin. After antibiotic treatment, follow-up images showed resolution of the mass.