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Francesco Chiodo

Publications and source records attributed to Francesco Chiodo.

83 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed2002

[Reduction of antibiotic resistance of Enterococcus faecalis in infections of the genitourinary tract].

Antimicrobial susceptibility levels of Enterococcus faecalis isolated from urine were followed up at our University Hospital during three years (1999-2001), in order to evaluate the trend of antibiotic resistance of this common community-acquired pathogen of the genito-urinary tract. One thousand and 249 consecutive strains were examined, and a surprisingly low resistance profile was detected. As a result, penicillin , ampicillin, nitrofurantoin and piperacillin may still represent first-line agents in our area when community-acquired urinary tract enterococcal infections is of concern, pending in vitro susceptibility studies.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed2002

[Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: a three-year epidemiological and microbiological survey of high-risk patients].

In order to assess the frequency, and epidemiological and microbiological features, of respiratory and blood stream infection due to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in high-risk patients, all S. aureus strains cultured from reliable clinical specimens (respiratory secretions obtained by tracheo-bronchial aspirate or bronchoalveolar lavage, or blood cultures), were prospectively evaluated over a three-year period, in six inpatient wards selected on the ground of an elevated frequency of severe and/or nosocomially-acquired infections, because of the prevalence of immunocompromised patients, organ transplant recipients, or need of intensive care. Repeatedly positive cultures obtained from a single patient within 30 days were considered as one isolate. Of 507 S. aureus strains responsible for pneumonia or sepsis in the selected wards, 317 (62.5%) proved methicillin-resistant, in absence of significant variations throughout the study period, and according to the specimen origin. Methicillin-resistant S. aureus strains prevailed over sensitive ones in all examined wards (from a 95% rate of the respiratory intensive care unit, to 55.9% of the pneumology department), save the neonatal and pediatric intensive care unit (41.4%). Most of methicillin-resistant S. aureus isolates were recovered from lower airways, compared with blood cultures (p<.0001). The majority of the 317 methicillin-resistant strains were found in the general intensive care unit (42.6%), followed by the pneumology department (18%), and the respiratory intensive care unit (16.4%). Among methicillin-resistant S. aureus strains, a broad variation of sensitivity to other antimicrobial agents was observed: from 3.3% of erythromycin, to 76.9% of chloramphenicol, and 79.7% of cotrimoxazole; glycopeptide antibiotics remained effective against all cultured strains. In our three-year survey of more than 500 episodes of documented staphylococcal infection involving high-risk patients, methicillin resistance was a very common feature, observed at a greater frequency than that reported in literature studies focusing on surgical, pneumological, or intensive care settings. A long-term microbiological monitoring of high-risk inpatient wards may allow a continued update of local antimicrobial susceptibility maps, and significantly add to both chemoprophylaxis and empiric treatment strategies of patients which are either immunocompromised or hospitalized for a long period.

Humans↗
PubMed2002

[Effects induced by the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) on disseminated bacterial infection during HIV disease].

In order to assess the frequency, risk factors, etiology, and clinical outcome of HIV-related sepsis and bacteremia, according to the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), all episodes occurred in patients hospitalized during years 1993-1995 (pre-HAART era), have been compared with those diagnosed after HAART introduction (years 1997-2000). On the whole, 498 patients suffered from sepsis/bacteremia in the two considered time periods, but the frequency of this complication proved significantly lower during the last 4 years, as opposed to the pre-HAART period (5.3 versus 18.2 episodes per patient-year: p<.0001). Among potential risk factors, during the last 4 years a significant rise of mean CD4+ lymphocyte count was observed (p<.0001), together with a reduced frequency of neutropenia (absolute neutrophil count <1000 cells/ L) (p<.02), and a less frequent association with an advanced HIV disease (stage C, CDC) (p<.03). Despite a remarkably reduced mean duration of admission, during the HAART era a significant increase of nosocomial- versus community-acquired infection occurred (p<.002), with a related greater frequency of gram-negative bacilli of environmental origin: Pseudomonas, Xanthomonas (Stenotrophomonas), Acinetonbacter spp., and non-fermenting bacilli (p<.05). No significant difference was noticed between the two considered periods, as to patients' age, gender, and type of exposure to HIV, use of central vascular lines, prior administration of steroids, antimicrobials, and cotrimoxazole, as well as disease outcome (including the frequency of related deaths). On the whole, the significant drop of frequency of HIV-associated sepsis/bacteremia occurred after the introduction of HAART (over 3.4-fold, compared with that observed prior to HAART use), proved associated with a reduced degree of immunodeficiency, and a less advanced underlying disease. The proportional increase of nosocomial infections and related pathogens did not match with the apparently significant reduction of mean admission time. A careful and continued monitoring of epidemiological, microbiological, clinical, and treatment features of disseminated bacterial disease looks mandatory even during the HAART era, in order to update therapeutic and prophylactic strategies of HIV disease management.

Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active↗
PubMed2001

Iliac osteomyelitis and gluteal muscle abscess caused by Streptococcus intermedius.

Streptococcus intermedius, included in the 'milleri group', is a commensal of the mouth and upper respiratory tract but it has often been associated with various pyogenic infections, such as endocarditis, pneumonia, abdominal or cerebral abscess, rarely with osteomyelitis, and exceptionally with muscular abscess. The first observed case of iliac osteomyelitis with gluteal muscle abscess caused by S. intermedius is reported. It is essential to recognise members of the 'milleri group' as possible agents of bone and muscle pyogenic infection because its management requires a timely diagnosis and prolonged antimicrobial treatment to achieve complete clinical and radiological recovery.

Abscess↗
PubMed1999

Fatal Campylobacter jejuni bacteraemia in patients with AIDS.

Two fatal cases of Campylobacter jejuni septicaemia in patients with AIDS were characterised by severe HIV-related immunodeficiency, negative stool cultures and presentation during hospitalisation, developing a clinical picture of fulminant septic shock despite therapy with appropriate antibiotics. Campylobacter spp. are important opportunist pathogens in HIV disease and may cause a septicaemic illness in the absence of enteric disease.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Prospective, open-label comparative study of liver toxicity in an unselected population of HIV-infected patients treated for the first time with efavirenz or nevirapine.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the two nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) when first introduced in an antiretroviral regimen, a prospective open-label assessment of the frequency, severity, risk factors, and outcome of hepatotoxicity was performed. METHOD: Liver enzymes were followed-up during 18 months in patients who received efavirenz (EFV; 324 patients) or nevirapine (NVP; 299). RESULTS: The two study groups were comparable, except for the lower baseline CD4+ count found in the EFV group. No differences were found when considering the type and duration of eventual prior anti-HIV therapy; frequency and length of protease inhibitors, methadone, or anti-tubercular drug use; HCV-HBV co-infection; other hepatobiliary disorders; and alcohol-drug abuse. The frequency of overall and first-month drug interruption proved similar in the two study groups. A hepatotoxicity characterized by at least a 2-fold increase of transaminases versus baseline was significantly linked with NVP, and the number of patients showing hepatotoxicity tended to a reduction in the EFV group. Also the time to peak transaminase alterations was shorter in the NVP group. All significant differences regarding liver-pancreatic toxicities were controlled per eventual baseline hepatobiliary-pancreatic diseases, HIV stage, and concurrent drug therapies. DISCUSSION: Hepatotoxicity is a significant concern in the setting of antiretroviral-treated HIV disease. NVP-based HAART may be more hepatotoxic than EFV-based HAART, and a role is played by chronic liver disorders. Although concurrent hepatobiliary disorders and the possible hepatotoxicity of antiretrovirals do not represent contraindications to nonnucleoside inhibitor use, strict monitoring is recommended.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A decade surveillance study of Mycobacterium xenopi disease and antimicrobial susceptibility levels in a reference teaching hospital of northern Italy: HIV-associated versus non-HIV-associated infection.

OBJECTIVE AND METHOD: The aim of our survey is to investigate the epidemiology and in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility levels of 35 consecutive Mycobacterium xenopi strains responsible for confirmed disease at a University Hospital from 1993 to 2002 and to identify eventual differences in the in vitro sensitivity profile between the 17 strains isolated from patients with HIV disease and the 18 isolates cultured from non-HIV-infected individuals. RESULTS: The involvement of lower airways accounted for 88.6% of cases; but atypical pulmonary findings, including cavitation and a prominent inflammatory reaction, recently emerged in HIV-infected patients successfully treated with HAART, which raises the possible role of immune reconstitution syndrome in the clinical pathomorphism of this opportunistic disease. When compared with non-HIV-infected patients, patients with HIV disease had a lower mean age and a tendency to suffer from late relapses. The greatest overall in vitro sensitivity rate was registered for capreomycin and protionamide (100% of strains) followed by kanamicin (96.6%), whereas susceptibility rates for the first-line compounds such as ethambutol, isoniazid, and rifampicin were slightly lower (85.7% to 91.4%). No temporal variation in the susceptibility index was seen over the study decade. Non-HIV-infected patients experienced a higher frequency of M. xenopi isolates that proved to be resistant to at least one tested compound compared with HIV-associated episodes, despite the heavy and prolonged exposure of HIV-infected patients to broad spectrum antimicrobials, which included agents effective on atypical mycobacteria. Only one HIV-positive patient developed rifampicin resistance in his third disease recurrence. CONCLUSION: A rapid diagnosis, a reliable differentiation between colonization and disease, and an optimal therapeutic choice for atypical mycobacterial disease (including M. xenopi one) are still serious challenges for clinicians and bacteriologists who treat immunocompromised patients, such as those with HIV disease. In the immunocompromised host, diagnostic difficulties posed by late identification and eventually concurrent opportunistic disorders add their negative effects to therapeutic problems due to the unpredictable in vitro susceptibility profile of atypical mycobacteria, such as M. xenopi.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[SARS: a new emergency in the world health].

The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) is a new life-threatening respiratory disease which has its origins in Guangdong province, China, where the earliest known cases were identified in November 2002. Since then, probable cases of SARS have been reported in 30 countries and the current cumulative number of cases is 8,240 with 745 deaths and a global fatality rate of 9%. The most frequently involved areas include China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Canada, Vietnam and Philippines. Most cases of SARS to date have occurred in young adults and this disease appears to spread most commonly by close person-to-person contact, involving exposure to infectious droplets and body fluids. This transmission pattern generally involves household members, health care workers and international travellers, while a large and sudden cluster of almost simultaneous cases in an housing estate of Hong Kong has raised the possibility of transmission from an environmental source. The most common presenting symptoms are fever, malaise, non-productive cough and dyspnea, associated with pulmonary interstitial infiltrates on chest radiography. A novel coronavirus is associated with this outbreak, and the laboratory evidences indicate that this virus has an etiologic role in SARS, but the role of other concurrent viral agents (such as metapneumovirus) identified in these patients requires further investigation.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[HIVAb, HCVAb and HBsAg seroprevalence among inmates of the prison of Bologna and the effect of counselling on the compliance of proposed tests].

OBJECTIVES: The aims of the study were to evaluate the HIVAb, HCVAb and HBsAg seroprevalence among Italian and foreign inmates of the prison of Bologna, to evaluate if the extensive counselling of "new" inmates has significantly enhanced adherence to laboratory tests. DESIGN: The serological status was determined by a blood withdraw following the informed consent. Before asking their consent, patients were informed by cultural mediators who had been instructed about the aims of the study/exam during introductory meetings. The initial step managed by mediators was followed by further individual counselling interventions, carried out by hospital infective disease unit, prison and prison drug abuse service physicians. The laboratory tests were performed in an external structure. SETTING: Prison of Bologna. PARTICIPANTS: The study was conducted on 433 subjects among a whole population of 900 inmates in the local prison: 390 subjects were males (90.1%) and 43 were females (9.9%). The median age of the whole population was 34.86 years (+/- 9.9). The studied population counted 147 (33.9%) intravenous drug users (IDU) and 286 not addicts (66.1%). As regards nationality, 212 subjects were Italian (48.9%) and 221 (51.1%) foreigners. Among the total 433 inmates considered, 78 (18%) were known as previous IDU with conviction history or condemned to long term sentences, while 59 (13.6%) were inmates recently convicted active IDU assisted by the internal drug abusers service. The third group was composed by 296 inmates imprisoned during the summer (103 Italians and 193 foreigners) self declared not IDU. RESULTS: A. 12.5% of inmates were HIV positive, 8.1% HBV positive and 31.1% HCV positive. 25 subjects were found positive both to HIV and HCV; 1 both to HIV and HBV and 5 to HIV, HBV and HCV. HIV positivity is more common among Italian vs. foreigners inmates, among IDU vs. not IDU. HCV positivity is more common among Italian vs. foreigners inmates, and among IDU vs. not IDU. The distribution of HBV seropositivity among the different groups shows no statistically significant differences. All subjects receiving multi-focal counselling reached better compliance levels: 10% vs. 1% for HIV, 16% vs. 1% for HBV and 35% vs. 0.3% for HCV, with statistically significant coefficients of contingency. CONCLUSIONS: In the prison of Bologna drug addiction is prevalent in italian seropositive personers and it is often associated with HIV and HCV positivity. Foreign inmates, mostly in the not-IDU group, show a lower prevalence of these two infections. Multi-focal counselling before test increased significantly the adherence of inmates to the study.

Adult↗