Major cluster of paediatric 'true' primary chilblains during the COVID-19 pandemic: a consequence of lifestyle changes due to lockdown.

BACKGROUND: Over the last months, during the COVID-19 pandemic, a growing number of chilblain-like lesions were reported mainly in children and rarely in young adults. The relationship with SARS-CoV-2 infection was postulated, often without any laboratory, instrumental or clinical confirmation. The disclosure of information about chilblain-like lesions as a COVID-19 manifestation in social media has created concern in children's families and paediatricians. OBJECTIVES: To verify whether the chilblain-like lesions were caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection. METHODS: Prospective study on a case series including children who presented with acral lesions at the Pediatric Dermatology Outpatient and Pediatric Emergency Unit of the University of Bologna, from 1 April to 30 April 2020. We reported demographical, laboratory and clinical features, history of close contact with COVID-19 patients, presence of similar skin lesions in other family members, precipitating and risk factors for chilblain onset. RESULTS: We evaluated eight patients (five females, three males) aged between 11 and 15 years. We excluded acute or previous SARS-CoV-2 infection with RT-PCR nasopharyngeal swab, serum antibody levels using chemiluminescent immunoassays. Other acute infections causing purpuric lesions at the extremities were negative in all patients. Skin lesion biopsy for histological and immunohistochemical evaluation was made in two cases and was consistent with chilblain. PCR assay on skin lesion biopsy for parvovirus B19, Mycoplasma pneumoniae and SARS-CoV-2 was performed in a patient and resulted negative. We identified common precipitating and risk factors: physical (cold and wet extremities, low BMI), cold and wet indoor and outdoor environment, behaviours, habits and lifestyle. We therefore reached a diagnosis of primary chilblains. CONCLUSIONS: During the COVID-19 pandemic, a 'cluster' of primary chilblains developed in predisposed subjects, mainly teenagers, due to cold exposure in the lockdown period. Laboratory findings support our hypothesis, although it is also possible that an unknown infectious trigger may have contributed to the pathogenesis.

Management of cytomegalovirus infection in pregnancy: is it time for valacyclovir?

BACKGROUND: Congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is the leading infectious cause of neurological impairment for which, currently, there are no approved antenatal treatment options. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this article was to summarize the available evidence on the use of valacyclovir during pregnancy to prevent and treat congenital CMV infection and disease. SOURCES: Two databases (PubMed and ClinicalTrial.gov) were reviewed. CONTENT: Six relevant documents were identified, namely one observational study, three clinical trials, two case reports. Most relevant findings were those from two clinical trials. A phase 2/3 placebo-controlled study showed a decrease of 71% (5 of 45 vs 14 of 47) in rate of CMV vertical transmission in women treated with 8 g/day valacyclovir following primary CMV infection in pregnancy. A phase 2, single-arm clinical trial, showed that 8 g/day valacyclovir administered to mothers of symptomatic infected foetuses increased the portion of asymptomatic neonates to 82% (34 of 41), compared with 43% (20 of 47) in untreated pregnancies from a historical cohort. IMPLICATIONS: Studies in favour of using valacyclovir during pregnancy for prevention and treatment of congenital CMV infection are emerging but are still few. Randomized clinical trials on large cohorts of patients investigating the efficacy on prevention and treatment of congenital CMV are required. Unfortunately, this will be probably not be feasible at least in the short period. In the meantime, data on the 'off label' use of valacyclovir for CMV in pregnancy could be collected within a multicentre observational study.

Antibiotic Resistance and Therapy Outcome in H. pylori Eradication Failure Patients.

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) eradication fails in a definite amount of patients despite one or more therapeutic attempts. Curing these patients is progressively more difficult, due to development of antibiotic resistance. Current guidelines suggest testing antibiotic susceptibility in H. pylori isolates following two therapeutic attempts. AIM: to evaluate the development of antibiotic resistance, MIC values trends and therapeutic outcomes in patients who failed at least one H. pylori eradication therapy. METHODS: consecutive patients, referred to perform upper gastrointestinal endoscopy (UGIE) to our Unit from January 2009 to January 2019 following at least one therapeutic attempt were considered. Bacterial resistance towards clarithromycin, metronidazole and levofloxacin was tested. Patients received either a susceptibility-guided therapy or Pylera®. RESULTS: a total of 1223 patients were H. pylori positive, and antibiotic susceptibility was available for 1037. The rate of antibiotic resistance and MIC values significantly increased paralleling the number of previous therapeutic attempts. Eradication rates of antibiogram-tailored therapies remained stable, except for the sequential therapy if used as a third line. As a rescue treatment, the Pylera® therapy achieved cure rates comparable to those of the other culture-guided therapies. CONCLUSIONS: A significant increase in the secondary resistance towards the three tested antibiotics was observed, both as rate and MIC values, in correlation with the number of therapy failures. These findings should be considered when administering an empirical second-line therapy. Pylera® therapy eradication rates are comparable to culture-tailored therapies.

Automatic environmental disinfection with hydrogen peroxide and silver ions versus manual environmental disinfection with sodium hypochlorite: a multicentre randomized before-and-after trial.

BACKGROUND: New technologies for automated disinfection have been developed, including the use of hydrogen peroxide atomized by specific equipment, with associated silver compounds. AIMS: To compare the effectiveness of an automated disinfection system with hydrogen peroxide <8% and silver ion versus a manual method with 0.5% sodium hypochlorite solution when evaluating the reduction of microbial mesophilic contamination and Clostridium difficile presence; and to evaluate the time required for both of these processes. METHODS: This was a randomized multicentre trial performed in different hospital wards that had been occupied previously by patients with Clostridium difficile infection. When patients were discharged their rooms were randomized to one of two decontamination arms. The surfaces where sampled using swabs, before and after disinfection. Swab samples were cultured for quantitative detection of microbial mesophilic contamination and qualitative detection of C. difficile. FINDINGS: Before disinfection, 13% of surfaces decontaminated with hydrogen peroxide and silver ions and 20% of surfaces decontaminated with sodium hypochlorite showed presence of C. difficile spores. After disinfection, the samples containing C. difficile were 0% (P < 0.001) in the group decontaminated with hydrogen peroxide and silver ions, and were 3% (P < 0.001) in the group decontaminated with sodium hypochlorite. This difference was not statistically significant; nor was the difference in the reduction of the microbial mesophilic contamination. CONCLUSION: The differences between the groups were not statistically significant; however, the disinfection with hydrogen peroxide and silver ions is preferable due to less dependence on operators.

Prospective Epstein-Barr virus-related post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder prevention program in pediatric allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant: virological monitoring and first-line treatment.

BACKGROUND: In 28 pediatric allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (allo-HSCT) recipients, we aimed to evaluate: (i) the impact of routine Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA monitoring on the development of EBV-related post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (EBV-PTLD); (ii) the incidence of EBV infection and the potential risk factors; and (iii) the suitability of whole blood (WB) as clinical specimen to monitor the risk of patients to develop EBV-PTLD. METHODS: Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction assay was performed on WB samples for all patients. EBV DNA quantification also in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) samples was adopted for the patients at higher risk of developing EBV-PTLD (≥ 10,000 copies/mL WB). RESULTS: High EBV DNAemia levels were observed in 37.5% of the actively infected recipients (57.1%). Severe aplastic anemia, matched-unrelated donor transplant, the reduced-intensity conditioning regimen and, to a lesser extent, the in vivo T-cell depletion with anti-thymocyte immunoglobulin were associated with high viral load. A significant correlation between EBV DNA levels in WB and PBMC samples was obtained (r = 0.755, P < 0.001). A similar kinetics of EBV DNA in the 2 blood compartments was observed. Clinically, both specimen types appeared to be equally informative to assess the risk of patients to develop PTLD. On the basis of EBV DNAemia levels, in 3 patients (10.7%) immunosuppressive therapy was reduced and 1 patient (3.5%) received early treatment for probable EBV disease. No patients developed EBV-PTLD. CONCLUSION: WB proved to be a suitable clinical specimen to monitor EBV DNA load after allo-HSCT for the management of EBV infection and PTLD prevention.

Comparison between MALDI-TOF MS and FilmArray Blood Culture Identification panel for rapid identification of yeast from positive blood culture.

In this study we evaluated MALDI-TOF MS and FilmArray methods for the rapid identification of yeast from positive blood cultures. FilmArray correctly identified 20/22 of yeast species, while MALDI-TOF MS identified 9/22. FilmArray is a reliable and rapid identification system for the direct identification of yeasts from positive blood cultures.

Clinical evaluation of the Roche Elecsys CMV IgG Avidity assay.

Congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection has potentially severe consequences in newborns. The testing of pregnant women for CMV-specific antibodies may be useful for the identification of women at risk of transmitting the infection to the fetus. The determination of CMV IgG avidity helps to establish the timing of infection as IgG avidity matures during the course of infection. This study examines the performance of the Elecsys CMV IgG Avidity assay using preselected samples from patients at different phases of CMV infection. The Elecsys CMV IgG Avidity assay was tested at three sites using sequential samples from patients with recent primary CMV infection, as well as single samples from patients with recent primary or past CMV infection. The Elecsys assay discriminated well between early (low avidity) and late (high avidity) phases of infection in sequential serum samples. Overall, 98.8% of low-avidity samples corresponded to infection onset <180 days before sampling and 77.8% of all high-avidity results corresponded to infection onset >90 days before sampling. The assay's sensitivity was 90-97%, with specificity ranging from 89 to 100%, depending on the consideration of gray-zone avidity values. Single samples from recent primary or past infection showed similar distributions of avidity results. The Elecsys CMV IgG Avidity assay results are in agreement with preselected samples from patients with primary or past CMV infection, showing that the test is an adequate predictor of the phase of infection.

Congenital cytomegalovirus infection: patterns of fetal brain damage.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is the most prevalent infectious agent causing neurological dysfunction in the developing brain. This study analysed the different patterns of tissue damage, particularly in the brain, of fetuses with documented CMV infection. We studied 45 fetuses at 20-21 weeks of gestation with congenital CMV infection documented by invasive positive prenatal diagnosis. At the time of amniocentesis, abnormal ultrasound findings had been recorded for 13 of the 45 fetuses (29%). Histological and immunohistochemical characterization was performed on the placenta, brain, heart, lung, liver, kidney, and pancreas. The different degrees of brain damage were correlated with tissue viral load, inflammatory response, placental functionality, and extramedullary haematopoiesis. Even though a high CMV load was detected in all amniotic fluids, brain infection occurred in only 62% of the fetuses and with different degrees of severity. Tissues with a low viral load showed a globally weak inflammatory response, and fetuses had only mild brain damage, whereas tissues with a high CMV load showed prominent infiltration of the activated cytotoxic CD8(+) T-lymphocytes responsible for immune-mediated damage. Furthermore, severe placental infection was associated with diffuse villitis and necrosis, consistent with functional impairment and possible consequent hypoxic cerebral damage. Brain injury induced by CMV congenital infection may be the result of uncontrolled viral replication, immune-mediated damage by cytotoxic CD8(+) T-lymphocytes, and, in the presence of placental insufficiency, fetal hypoxia.

Clinical evaluation of new automated cytomegalovirus IgM and IgG assays for the Elecsys(®) analyser platform.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a leading cause of physical and neurological abnormalities in newborns. Hence, the diagnosis of CMV infection in pregnant women is necessary in order to allow appropriate management of their pregnancy. New assays have been developed for the Roche Elecsys® immunoassay platform that detect CMV-specific immunoglobulin (Ig)M and IgG, with the IgM assay designed to target IgM produced at the start of infection rather than IgM persisting later in infection. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of the new assays compared with other commercial kits widely distributed in laboratories. The performance of the Elecsys and comparator CMV IgM and IgG assays was assessed using 967 preselected patient samples characterised by CMV infection status, as well as being compared using 1,668 unselected clinical samples. The Elecsys CMV IgM and IgG assays performed consistently with comparator assays using the preselected samples. The Elecsys CMV IgM assay showed improved sensitivity compared with the Enzygnost® assay in primary infection (91.2 % vs. 79.4 %) and improved specificity over the Architect® assay in potentially cross-reacting samples (94.1 % vs. 82.4 %). The Elecsys IgM assay reported fewer positive results in the later stages of CMV infection compared with ETI-CYTOK-M ELISA, while the Elecsys IgG assay reported slightly fewer negative results in the early stages of infection compared with ETI-CYTOK-G ELISA. There was good agreement between Elecsys and comparator assays using unselected clinical samples (range 90.4-99.4 %). The Elecsys CMV IgM and IgG assays compare well with routinely used assays and are suitable for clinical use.

Neuroimaging in CMV congenital infected neonates: how and when.

Neonatal congenital infections are an important cause of mortality, morbidity and long-term neurodevelopmental and sensorineural sequelae. Many pathogens can cause in utero infection, and among them, cytomegalovirus (CMV) plays a prominent role. In developed countries, CMV poses major health problems as it is the most common pathogen leading to congenital infection, and the leading cause of nonhereditary deafness in children. Evaluation of central nervous system (CNS) involvement in congenital CMV infected newborns is mandatory to better assess the severity of the disease, to guide adequate treatment, to define prognosis, and to tailor follow-up observations and parents' counselling. Cerebral ultrasonography (cUS), Computed Tomography (CT), and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) are the currently available techniques to evaluate infants with suspected or proven congenital CMV infection. In congenital CMV infection, their role in early detection and confirmation of cerebral involvement within the first month of life is crucial to initiate specific treatment with antivirals. Neonatologists, paediatricians and radiologists should be aware of the role, the limitations and the inherent risks related to the use of these specific neuroimaging diagnostic tools in these infants. In this article we will discuss from a neonatological perspective the advantages, disadvantages, risks and limitations of each imaging technique.

Update on the prevention, diagnosis and management of cytomegalovirus infection during pregnancy.

Human cytomegalovirus (CMV) is the leading cause of congenital infection, with morbidity and mortality at birth and sequelae. Each year approximately 1-7% (Rev Med Virol 2010; 20: 311) of pregnant women acquire a primary CMV infection. Of these, about 30-40% transmit infection to their fetuses. The risk of serious fetal injury is greatest when maternal infection develops in the first trimester or early in the second trimester. Between 10 and 15% of congenitally infected infants are acutely symptomatic at birth and most of the survivors have serious long-term complications. Until a few years ago, laboratory testing was not possible to precisely define the maternal immune status, the recent development of advanced serological tests (IgG avidity test, IgM immunoblot and neutralizing antibody testing) allow us to identify, among pregnant women with suspected CMV, those with primary infection who are therefore at high risk of transmitting CMV to the fetus. This is done with the use of a screening test. As most maternal infections are asymptomatic, the only way to disclose primary infection is to implement specific serological testing as early in pregnancy as possible (before week 12-16 of gestation). Given the high risk of mother-fetus transmission and fetal damage, prenatal diagnosis is recommended to women with primary CMV infection contracted in the first half of pregnancy and in case of fetal abnormalities suggestive of infection. The correct interpretation of serological and virological tests followed by appropriate counselling by an expert physician is an effective tool to reduce the number of unnecessary pregnancy terminations by over 70%.

Daclizumab and alemtuzumab as induction agents in adult intestinal and multivisceral transplantation: rejection and infection rates in 40 recipients during the early postoperative period.

BACKGROUND: Allograft rejection in intestinal transplantation occurs frequently, and bacterial, fungal, and viral infections related to strong immunosuppression regimens remain an important complication posttransplantation. Induction therapy has enabled improvement in graft and patient survival rates. OBJECTIVES: In analyze the effects of daclizumab and alemtuzumab as induction therapies on inflections complications and incidence of acute cellular rejection (ACR) during the early posttransplantation period. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between December 2000 and August 2009, we performed 43 intestinal transplantation procedures in 42 adult recipients (median [SD] age, 34.8 [9.5] years; male-female ratio, 22:20; isolated or multivisceral graft, 32/11), and compared findings during the first 30 days posttransplantation in 40 recipients. Patients were divided into 2 groups: 12 treated with daclizumab (Zenapax; Hoffman-La Roche Ltd, Basel, Switzerland): 8 isolated intestinal grafts and 4 multivisceral grafts) and 28 treated with alemtuzumab (Campath-1H: 22 isolated intestinal grafts and 6 multivisceral grafts). Maintenance immunosuppression was based on tacrolimus and steroids in the first group and low-dose tacrolimus in the second group. RESULTS: During the first month posttransplantation, 8 daclizumab recipients (66.6%) experienced 9 episodes of mild ACR, which were successfully treated with steroid therapy, and 8 patients (66.6%) developed a bacterial infection requiring treatment. Fourteen episodes of ACR occurred in 12 alemtuzumab recipients (42.8%): 11 mild, 1 mild to moderate, and 2 moderate; 16 patients (57.1%) required treatment for infections. Five-year patient cumulative survival was 66% in daclizumab recipients and 43% in alemtuzumab recipients. Five-year graft survivals was 66% in daclizumab recipients and 41% in alemtuzumab recipients. In both groups, P was not statistically significative. CONCLUSIONS: The infection rate is considerably high with both protocols. Alemtuzumab seems to offer better immunosuppression against ACRs during the first month posttransplantation.

Comprehensive surgical intestinal rescue and transplantation program in adult patients: Bologna experience.

INTRODUCTION: Surgical approaches to complicated benign intestinal failure are accepted worldwide, especially in the pediatric population. Intestinal transplant surgery is thought to rescue patients in whom complications of total parenteral nutrition (TPN) develop. OBJECTIVE: To report our experience with surgical intestinal rescue in an adult population with intestinal failure. PATIENTS AND METHODS: An intestinal rehabilitation program initiated at our institution included comprehensive medical rehabilitation, surgical bowel rescue, and transplantation. From 2000 to 2009, of 81 adult patients referred by our gastroenterologists for bowel rehabilitation, 42 (51,8%) underwent 43 transplantations (32 isolated intestinal grafts and 11 multivisceral grafts). Underlying diseases were primarily short-bowel syndrome, Gardner syndrome, and intestinal pseudo-obstruction. Thirty-nine patients (48,2%) underwent surgical rescue (40 cases) consisting of bowel resection, adhesiolysis, stricturoplasty, liver transplantation with portocaval hemitransposition (6 cases in 5 patients). Underlying diseases were primarily intestinal fistulas, stenosis, or perforations, short-bowel syndrome, cocoon syndrome, and complete portal thrombosis. RESULTS: After a mean (SD) follow-up of 1043 (1016) days, in the transplantation population, 21 patients (50%) are alive, with a 1-, 3-, 5-year patient survival of 76%, 59%, and 52%, respectively, and graft survival of 66%, 54%, and 48%, respectively. After 901 (404) days in the rescue population, 32 patients (82%) are alive (2 died, and 5 were lost to follow-up); in 75%, TPN 25% was discontinued, and are receiving oral feeding with TPN support. The 1- and 3-year survival rate was 100% and 83%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Deaths occurred primarily in the transplantation population. Intestinal surgical rescue, when possible, is optimal.

Monitoring cytomegalovirus T-cell immunity in small bowel/multivisceral transplant recipients.

BACKGROUND: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a major cause of graft failure and posttransplantation mortality in intestinal/multivisceral transplantation. CMV infection exhibits a wide range of clinical manifestations from asymptomatic infection to severe CMV disease. STUDY'S PURPOSE: The purposes of this study were to assess the utility of measuring CMV-specific cellular immunity in bowel/multivisceral transplant recipients and to provide additional information on the risk of infection and development of CMV disease. METHODS: We studied 10 bowel/multivisceral transplant recipients to investigate the kinetics of CMV infection using real-time polymerase chain reaction (on blood and biopsy tissue samples) and CMV-specific T-cell reconstitution by Enzyme-linked ImmunoSPOT Assay (ELISPOT) that enumerates Interferon-gamma-secreting CMV-specific T cells upon in vitro stimulation with viral antigens (pp65 and IE-1). RESULTS: All patients were seropositive for CMV. According to the pattern of T-cell reconstitution occurring either within the first month after transplantation or later, patients were classified as early (n = 7) or late responders (n = 3). Clinically, early responder patients (3/7; 43%) experienced asymptomatic or mild CMV infections, whereas all late responders (3/3; 100%) developed moderate or severe CMV disease. A reduction in mean and peak CMV viral load was observed in early responders, whereas the onset time of infection did not differ significantly between early and late CMV responders. CONCLUSIONS: A good and early reconstitution of CMV-specific T-cell immune responses after transplantation is a critical determinant in controlling CMV infections. Simultaneous monitoring of CMV infection and CMV-specific T-cell immunity predicts T-cell-mediated control of CMV infection.