Heterogeneity in Cystic Echinococcosis Management Among Spanish Centers: Results from a National Survey.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the availability of different procedures, diagnostic tests, and treatments, as well as the procedures and techniques used in the management of cystic echinococcosis (CE) in Spain. This was a cross-sectional study performed from September to December 2018 in Spain. A survey directed to CE-treating clinicians was conducted to collect information regarding the center characteristics and the different protocols of management followed. Thirty-nine centers among 76 contacted centers participated in the survey, most of them belonging to the public health system and attending both adult and children. The median number of patients with CE attended during the last three years per center was 15. Percutaneous techniques were used only in seven centers, and surgery was the most frequently used therapeutic approach. Drugs and duration of treatment (both when administered exclusively or when combined with surgery/puncture, aspiration, injection, and reaspiration) were very variable depending on the centers. There is a high variability in the management of CE among Spanish centers. These results stress the importance of promoting the diffusion of existing knowledge, adapting the WHO recommendations to our setting, and referring patients to referral centers at a national level.

Executive Summary of the Consensus Statement of the Spanish Society of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology (SEIMC), the Spanish Society of Tropical Medicine and International Health (SEMTSI), the Spanish Association of Surgeons (AEC), the Spanish Society of Pneumology and Thoracic Surgery (SEPAR), the Spanish Society of Thoracic Surgery (SECT), the Spanish Society of Vascular and Interventional Radiology (SERVEI), and the Spanish Society of Paediatric Infectious Diseases (SEIP), on the Management of Cystic Echinococcosis.

The Spanish Society of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology (SEIMC), the Spanish Society of Tropical Medicine and International Health (SEMTSI), the Spanish Association of Surgeons (AEC), the Spanish Society of Pneumology and Thoracic Surgery (SEPAR), the Spanish Society of Thoracic Surgery (SECT), the Spanish Society of Vascular and Interventional Radiology (SERVEI), and the Spanish Society of Paediatric Infectious Diseases (SEIP) considered it pertinent to issue a consensus statement on the management of cystic echinococcosis (CE) to guide healthcare professionals in the care of patients with CE. Specialists from several fields (clinicians, surgeons, radiologists, microbiologists, and parasitologists) identified the most clinically relevant questions and developed this Consensus Statement, evaluating the available evidence-based data to propose a series of recommendations on the management of this disease. This Consensus Statement is accompanied by the corresponding references on which these recommendations are based. Prior to publication, the manuscript was open for comments and suggestions from the members of the SEIMC and the scientific committees and boards of the various societies involved.

[Recommendations for the diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of the pregnant woman and child with Chagas disease. Sociedad Española de Infectología Pediátrica. Sociedad de Enfermedades Infecciosas y Microbiología Clínica. Sociedad Española de Ginecología y Obstetricia]. / Recomendaciones para el diagnóstico, seguimiento y tratamiento de la embarazada y del niño con enfermedad de Chagas.

Congenital transmission of Chagas disease now occurs in areas where the disease is non-endemic, and also from one generation to another. According to epidemiological data from Latin America, the prevalence of the disease in pregnant women is 0.7%-54%, and the prevalence of vertical transmission is around 5%-6%. Congenital T. cruzi infection is an acute infection in newborns that should be treated with anti-parasitic therapy. The treatment of pregnant women could also have an impact on the control of the disease. This article has been prepared following the recommendations suggested by a group of experts in Infectious Diseases, Microbiology, Gynaecology and Paediatrics.

Pandemic H1N1 influenza-associated hospitalizations in children in Madrid, Spain.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of children hospitalized with 2009 pandemic influenza (pH1N1) in Madrid, Spain. PATIENTS/METHODS: We included patients less than 14 years of age admitted to one of 18 hospitals in Madrid, Spain, between May 1 and November 30, 2009 and diagnosed with pH1N1 by polymerase chain reaction. A retrospective chart review was conducted and data were compared by age, presence of high-risk medical conditions, and pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) admission. RESULTS: A total of 517 pH1N1 cases were included for final analysis. One hundred and forty-two patients (27·5%) had predisposing underlying illnesses, with immunosuppression (36 children, 7%) and moderate persistent asthma (34, 6·6%) being the most common ones. Patients with underlying medical conditions had longer hospital stays [median 5, interquartile range (IQR) 3-8 days, versus median 4, IQR 3-6, P < 0·001] and required intensive care (20·4% versus 5·9%, P < 0·001) and mechanical ventilation more frequently than previously healthy children. Globally, intensive care was required for 51 patients (10%) and invasive mechanical ventilation for 12 (2%). Pediatric intensive care unit admission was significantly associated with abnormal initial chest X-ray [Odds Ratio (OR) 3·5, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1·5-8·5], underlying neurological condition (OR 3·1, CI 1·2-7·5) and immunosuppression (OR 2·9, 1·2-6·8). Five patients (0·9%) died; two with severe neurological disease, two with leukemia, and one with a malignant solid tumor. CONCLUSIONS: Children with underlying medical conditions experienced more severe pH1N1 disease. Risk factors for admission to the PICU included underlying neurological conditions, immunosuppression and abnormal initial chest X-ray.