Efficacy of Antifungal Monotherapies and Combinations against Aspergillus calidoustus.

Invasive fungal infections due to Aspergillus calidoustus with decreased azole susceptibility are emerging in the setting of azole prophylaxis and are associated with poor outcomes. We assessed the in vitro activity of antifungal drugs used alone or in combinations against A. calidoustus and found a synergistic effect between voriconazole and terbinafine at concentrations within the therapeutic range. An invertebrate Galleria mellonella model of A. calidoustus infection tended to support the potential benefit of this combination.

[Infectious causes of cerebral ring-enhancing lesions]. / Origine infectieuse des lésions cérébrales à rehaussement annulaire.

Diagnosis of cerebral ring enhancing lesions on CT or MRI studies is quite frequent. Their differential diagnosis is diverse, including infectious, tumoral, demyelinating and vascular diseases. Information provided by cranial imaging, notably by the different sequences on magnetic resonance imaging (TI, T2, FLAIR and diffusion-weight imaging) is helpful to differentiate between the different causes. The aim of this article is to discuss some of infection which may occur in our region and presenting as a cerebral lesion with annular enhancement. We consider infection in immunocompetent and immunocompromised patient.

[Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection: signification, role and performance of mesure of cell-mediated immune response]. / Infection à Mycobacterium tuberculosis: Signification, rôle et performance des tests immunologiques.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection: signification, role and performance of mesure of cell-mediated immune response The tuberculin skin test (TST) and IGRAs are to date the unique way to identify individuals latently infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In contrast to IGRAs, test specificity of TST is clearly affected by prior vaccination with attenuated strain M. bovis (BCG). Moreover, there is evidence suggesting that the accuracy of IGRAs is higher than that of TST and therefore IGRAs should perform better to detect latent tuberculosis in immunosuppressed individuals. However, neither TST nor IGRAs permit to discriminate between latent and active infection. Furthermore, there is no available test capable to identify whether individual with latent infection harbor live or dead mycobacteria and thus to detect who is at risk to develop active tuberculosis.

[Infectious complications in elderly with chronic hematological malignancies]. / Complications infectieuses chez la personne âgée présentant une hémopathie maligne chronique.

Chronic blood malignancies in the elderly remain incurable diseases. However, recent advances in therapies allow not only to extend treatment at advanced ages and in presence of significant comorbidities, but also to induce prolonged remissions. However, this is achieved at the cost of increased risk of infectious diseases, due to disease--and treatment-related immunosuppression. This article will review the infectious diseases associated with chronic lymphatic leukemia, myelodysplastic syndrome and multiple myeloma. Furthermore we will discuss the recommendation of anti-infectious prophylaxis and vaccination for each of the conditions listed above.

[Parasitic infections: when to think about it?]. / Parasitoses digestives autochtones: quelques bonnes raisons d'y penser.

When patients return from the Tropics, parasitic infections are immediately being considered when they present with digestive symptoms. Using three examples, we describe parasitic infections acquired in Switzerland simulating other more common community pathologies, which in each case resulted in delayed diagnosis. Awareness among primary care physicians of these rare diseases, whose treatment may be unfamiliar, should improve the care of patients and avoid such late presentations.

Nonoccupational HIV post-exposure prophylaxis: a 10-year retrospective analysis.

BACKGROUND: We conducted a retrospective analysis of administration of nonoccupational HIV post-exposure prophylaxis (nPEP) in a single centre where tracing and testing of the source of exposure were carried out systematically over a 10-year period. METHODS: Files of all nPEP requests between 1998 and 2007 were reviewed. Characteristics of the exposed and source patients, the type of exposure, and clinical and serological outcomes were analysed. RESULTS: nPEP requests increased by 850% over 10 years. Among 910 events, 58% were heterosexual exposures, 15% homosexual exposures, 6% sexual assaults and 20% nonsexual exposures. In 208 events (23%), the source was reported to be HIV positive. In the remaining cases, active source tracing enabled 298 HIV tests to be performed (42%) and identified 11 HIV infections (3.7%). nPEP was able to be avoided or interrupted in 31% of 910 events when the source tested negative. Of 710 patients who started nPEP, 396 (56%) reported side effects, among whom 39 (5%) had to interrupt treatment. There were two HIV seroconversions, and neither was attributed to nPEP failure. CONCLUSIONS: nPEP requests increased over time. HIV testing of the source person avoided nPEP in 31% of events and was therefore paramount in the management of potential HIV exposures. Furthermore, it allowed active screening of populations potentially at risk for undiagnosed HIV infection, as shown by the increased HIV prevalence in these groups (3.7%) compared with a prevalence of 0.3% in Switzerland as a whole.

Full-course oral levofloxacin for treatment of hospitalized patients with community-acquired pneumonia.

Most guidelines for the management of hospitalized patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) recommend commencing therapy with intravenous antibiotics, primarily because of concern about absorption of oral antibiotics in acutely ill patients. However, patients who respond are rapidly switched to oral therapy, which has been shown to reduce costs and to shorten the length of stay. The aim of the present study was to determine whether a full course of oral antibiotics is as efficacious and as safe as intravenous-to-oral sequential antibiotic therapy for the treatment of hospitalized, non-ICU patients with CAP. In an open-labelled, controlled study, 129 hospitalized patients with CAP were randomly assigned in a 2:1 ratio to receive either a full course of oral levofloxacin (500 mg q12 h) or an intravenous-to-oral sequential therapy consisting of intravenous ceftriaxone (2 g q24 h) with or without clarithromycin (500 mg q12 h) followed by an oral antibiotic (a beta-lactam agent in the majority of patients). The primary study endpoint was the resolution of CAP; secondary endpoints included length of stay and overall mortality. CAP resolved in 72 of 79 (91.1%) patients in the levofloxacin group and in 34 of 37 (91.9%) patients in the intravenous-to-oral sequential therapy group (difference, -0.8%, 95%CI, -11.6-10.0). Median length of stay was 8 days (range, 2-74 days) in the levofloxacin group and 10 days (range, 3-29 days) in the intravenous-to-oral sequential therapy group ( P=0.28). Day 30 mortality rates were 1.3% (1 of 79) and 8.1% (3 of 37), respectively (difference, -6.8%, 95%CI, -16.0-2.3). Full-course oral levofloxacin is as efficacious and as safe as standard intravenous-to-oral sequential antibiotic therapy for the treatment of hospitalized patients with CAP.

Cost-effectiveness of full-course oral levofloxacin in severe community-acquired pneumonia.

Oral levofloxacin is as efficient as sequential antibiotic treatment in community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). The current authors assessed whether oral levofloxacin treatment of patients with severe CAP, followed-up for 30 days, would save money. Over a 12-month period, 129 hospitalised patients with severe non-intensive care unit CAP were randomly assigned to receive either oral levofloxacin or sequential antibiotic treatment. Direct and indirect costs were compared over a 30-day period from several perspectives. CAP resolved in 71 out of 77 oral levofloxacin (92%) and in 34 out of 37 sequential antibiotic treatment patients (92%). Patients' characteristics, treatment duration, hospital length of stay and mortality were similar in both groups. Drug acquisition costs were 1.7-times smaller in oral levofloxacin patients, who were less often transferred to rehabilitation centres, but they used more physicians' visits during follow-up and their total costs were lower. As only a minority of patients was still active, inability to work and, hence, indirect costs were similar in both groups. In this study, oral levofloxacin for severe non-intensive care unit community-acquired pneumonia was equally effective as sequential antibiotic treatment, but did not lead to major costs savings except for drug acquisition costs. External factors linked with patients' characteristics and/or medical practice are likely to play a role and should be addressed.

[Pericardial involvement in an HIV-infected patient]. / Atteinte péricardique chez le patient infecté par le virus de l'immunodéficience humaine (VIH).

Pericarditis and myocarditis are frequent in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), but most cases are asymptomatic or masked by signs and symptoms of other organ system disease. We present a case of cardiac tamponade, secondary to a disseminated tuberculosis infection, in a patient with HIV infection. In HIV-infected patients with symptomatic pericardial effusion, about two thirds have an identifiable cause. A review of the literature emphasises the role of pericardiocentesis in the management of these patients.

AIDS-related opportunistic illnesses occurring after initiation of potent antiretroviral therapy: the Swiss HIV Cohort Study.

CONTEXT: Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome-related opportunistic illnesses (Ols) continue to occur after initiation of potent antiretroviral therapy in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Risk factors for clinical progression to Ols during potent therapy are not well defined. OBJECTIVE: To examine the incidence of and risk factors for Ols among patients treated with potent antiretroviral therapy in a population-based study. DESIGN: The Swiss HIV Cohort Study, a prospective cohort study of adult HIV-infected persons. SETTING: Seven study centers throughout Switzerland. PATIENTS: A total of 2410 cohort study participants with a potential follow-up of at least 15 months after starting potent therapy between September 1995 and December 1997. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Disease-specific incidence of Ols during the 6 months preceding potent antiretroviral therapy and at 3 intervals after initiating therapy; risk factors for development of Ols during therapy. RESULTS: Of the 2410 participants, 143 developed 186 Ols after initiation of potent antiretroviral therapy. Incidence of any OI decreased from 15.1 per 100 person-years in the 6 months before therapy to 7.7 in the first 3 months after starting treatment, 2.6 in the following 6 months, and 2.2 per 100 person-years between 9 and 15 months. Reductions in incidence ranged from 38% per month for Kaposi sarcoma (P<.001) to 5% per month for non-Hodgkin lymphoma (P = .31). Baseline CD4 cell count continued to predict the risk of disease progression after initiating potent therapy. Compared with CD4 cell counts above 200 x 10(6)/L, the hazard ratio for developing Ols was 2.5 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.4-4.5) for counts between 51 and 200 x 10(6)/L and 5.8 (95% CI, 3.2-10.5) for counts below 51 x 10(6)/L at baseline. Independent of baseline CD4 cell count, a rise in CD4 cell count by 50 x 10(6)/L or more and undetectable HIV-1 RNA in plasma (<400 copies/mL) by 6 months reduced risk of subsequent events, with hazard ratios of 0.32 (95% CI, 0.20-0.52) and 0.39 (0.24-0.65), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our data indicate that the risk of developing an OI for a person receiving potent antiretroviral therapy is highest during the initial months of therapy. Baseline CD4 cell count and immunologic and virologic response to treatment were strong predictors of disease progression in patients receiving potent therapy. Individuals with CD4 cell counts of 50 x 10(6)/L or below may need close clinical surveillance after initiation of potent therapy.