Multiple cerebral septic emboli sourcing from a ventricular assist device: a case report.

Background: Patients carrying portable cardiac devices are at high risk of serious infections, such as endocarditis and sepsis. The event of a neurological complication should be taken into account, despite the fact that this group of patients is as a rule, strictly anticoagulated and monitored duly. Case Description: We present the case of a patient of middle age with heart failure awaiting for organ transplantation, and meanwhile having a ventricular assist device (VAD) implanted. The suspicion of an infection was raised following a purulent drainage from the external lead of the device, as well as the clinical picture of malaise, fever and sweating. A right hemiparesis complicated the condition and the brain computerized tomography (CT) scan demonstrated the presence of several hemorrhagic lesions. The suspicion of septic emboli was proven following the result of hemoculture yielding Staphylococcus epidermidis. Conclusions: The patient was treated with antibiotics, anti-seizure drugs and with supportive therapy, with good recovery of the clinical picture. He was transferred to a cardiac surgery facility for a revision, or eventually for a replacement of the VAD. There is clearly a need for an increased awareness of probable neurological events among patients holding external heart devices. Available guidelines for their follow-up and monitoring should be strictly respected, in order to avoid complications, and eventually install a prompt and adequate treatment.

Predictors of mortality in hemodialysis patients with COVID-19: A single-center experience.

INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected patients with preexisting comorbidities, particularly dialysis patients. The aim of this study was to determine predictors of mortality in this population. METHODOLOGY: We conducted an observational, retrospective, cohort study collecting data from pre and post-vaccine from the electronic medical records of a single dialysis center at Hygeia International Hospital Tirana, Albania. RESULTS: Of 170 dialysis patients, 52 were diagnosed with COVID-19. The prevalence of COVID-19 infection in our study was 30.5%. The mean age was 61.5 ± 12.3 years and 65.4% were men. The mortality rate in our cohort was 19.2%. Mortality rates were higher in patients with diabetic nephropathy (p < 0.04) and peripheral vascular disease (p < 0.01). Elevated C- reactive protein (CRP) (p < 0.018), high red blood cell distribution width (RDW) (p < 0.03), and low lymphocyte and eosinophil counts, were found to be risk factors for severe COVID-19 disease. ROC analysis identified lymphopenia and eosinopenia as the strongest predictors of mortality. After the vaccine administration, the mortality rate in the vaccinated population was 8%, in contrast to the 66.7% mortality rate that was found in the unvaccinated group (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our study revealed that risk factors for the development of severe COVID-19 infection were RDW, low lymphocyte and eosinophil counts, elevated levels of CRP. Lymphopenia and eosinopenia were determined as the most important predictors of mortality, in our cohort. Mortality was notably lower among vaccinated patients.

Albanian university students' knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding COVID-19 infection and vaccine: A cross-sectional study.

INTRODUCTION: COVID-19 pandemic remains a public health concern worldwide. Given that, students represent a subgroup of the population with an impact on the pandemic. AIM: The aim of this study is to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of Albanian students about COVID-19, and to provide a database to plan and implement preventive evidence-based interventions. METHODOLOGY: An online survey was conducted among Albanian university students during April-May 2022, to collect information on their knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to COVID-19, through a structured questionnaire. RESULTS: A total of 906 students, 72.8% females, were included in it. 93.4% of participants knew the ways of transmission of COVID-19; 92.5% had information about preventive measures, but only 30% knew about quarantine and 37.0% knew vaccination as a preventive measure. Regarding attitudes, 54.8% of participants believed that COVID-19 infection is very dangerous. 46.5% have a negative attitude toward covid vaccines. Almost all respondents (93.7%) apply regular hand washing as a preventive measure; 82.8% cover their mouth when coughing or sneezing; but only 28.2% always use a mask indoors. CONCLUSIONS: Albanian university students had good knowledge, positive attitudes, and appropriate preventive practices against COVID-19, but the study found that some limitations in terms of information and misconceptions still exist. Raising awareness and providing adequate information, education, and more effective communication programs will have a positive impact on increasing knowledge, improving attitudes, and supporting the required student behavior change.

Diagnosis of monkeypox virus - An overview.

Monkeypox is an emerging zoonotic disease caused by monkeypox virus which is a DNA virus. The virus is transmitted to humans as a result of close contact with infected animals, infected humans or contaminated inanimate objects. The disease has a incubation period usually 7-14 days and it causes fever, headache, fatigue, myalgia, widespread body aches, swelling in lymph nodes and skin lesions. It may be difficult to distinguish monkeypox on the basis of clinical presentation alone, especially for cases with an atypical appearance, because of the various conditions that cause skin rashes. Testing should be offered to anyone who falls under the suspected case definition for monkeypox infection. Suitable samples are surface lesion and/or skin materials such as exudates swabs and crusts. Laboratory confirmation of specimens from suspected case is done using nucleic acid amplification testing, such as real-time or conventional polymerase chain reaction. Confirmation of MPXV infection should consider clinical and epidemiological information. Positive detection using an OPXV PCR assay followed by confirmation of MPXV via PCR and/or sequencing, or positive detection using MPXV PCR assay in suspected cases indicates confirmation of MPXV infection. Genetic sequence data (GSD) provide information on the origin and epidemic and characteristics of cases. There is a need to develop a more global and effective laboratory network for this emerging zoonosis, as well as to strengthen laboratory capacity, and international specimens referral capacities.

Evaluation of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and immune response in patients vaccinated with Pfizer-Biontech vaccine.

INTRODUCTION: Research on SARS-CoV-2 virus has focused on aspects such as treatment, virology, epidemiology and vaccine development. The efficacy of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 is important for controlling the pandemic. This study assessed how the immune response is affected by age and gender, and its role in causing inflammation as measured by neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in vaccinated patients versus non-vaccinated COVID-19 negative patients. METHODOLOGY: A case-control study was done involving 187 randomly selected patients who had undergone laboratory examinations to evaluate the SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody titer and hematological parameters at 21 to 31 days after the second dose of vaccination. Patients were divided into case and control groups according to their vaccination status. RESULTS: The average age among the cases was 51 ± 13 years whereas the average age among the control group was 47 ± 15 years. In cases where the response to immunization was measured by SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody, results had a median of 7.7 U/mL characterized by a large variation (p < 0.0001). There was no significant difference based on age (p = 0.451) and gender (p = 0.622) in SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody titers in patients vaccinated with two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. In addition, there was no significant difference in NLR ratio between cases and controls (p = 0.117). CONCLUSIONS: Our data showed that there is no inflammation at 21 to 31 days post vaccination with Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, regardless of age and gender, based on the hematological parameters.

Premature Ovarian Failure Related to SARS-CoV-2 Infection.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is known to have a wide spectrum of effects on the respiratory, cardiac, neurological, hematopoietic, gastrointestinal, ocular and urological systems, but there is very little information on its effects on the human ovary. Our aims are to describe a unique case that developed amenorrhea during and after SARS-CoV-2 infection and to push researchers to do more researches to understand the effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection on the ovaries. A 27-year-old female patient presented with amenorrhea. She had fever on the second day of the menstrual cycle, and her cycle had been interrupted on the same day. The patient had a sub-febrile temperature, myalgia, fatigue, sweating, loss of appetite, and mild sleep disorder. Based on clinical, laboratory, and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) data of a nasopharyngeal swab sample, she had a positive result for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Till now there are limited publications on the effect of SARS-CoV-2 infection on the ovaries. In particular, the potential adverse effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection on fertility are unclear. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients need to be followed up for a long time, and clinicians need to pay attention to menstrual disturbances, especially in young female patients. More evidence, through both epidemiologic and clinical studies, as well as long-term follow-up studies, is needed to understand the impact of this infection on the human ovary, especially in reproductive-aged women.

Vector-borne and zoonotic infections and their relationships with regional and socioeconomic statuses: An ID-IRI survey in 24 countries of Europe, Africa and Asia.

BACKGROUND: In this cross-sectional, international study, we aimed to analyze vector-borne and zoonotic infections (VBZI), which are significant global threats. METHOD: VBZIs' data between May 20-28, 2018 was collected. The 24 Participatingcountries were classified as lower-middle, upper-middle, and high-income. RESULTS: 382 patients were included. 175(45.8%) were hospitalized, most commonly in Croatia, Egypt, and Romania(P = 0.001). There was a significant difference between distributions of VBZIs according to geographical regions(P < 0.001). Amebiasis, Ancylostomiasis, Blastocystosis, Cryptosporidiosis, Giardiasis, Toxoplasmosis were significantly more common in the Middle-East while Bartonellosis, Borreliosis, Cat Scratch Disease, Hantavirus syndrome, Rickettsiosis, Campylobacteriosis, Salmonellosis in Central/East/South-East Europe; Brucellosis and Echinococcosis in Central/West Asia; Campylobacteriosis, Chikungunya, Tick-borne encephalitis, Visceral Leishmaniasis, Salmonellosis, Toxoplasmosis in the North-Mediterranean; CCHF, Cutaneous Leishmaniasis, Dengue, Malaria, Taeniasis, Salmonellosis in Indian Subcontinent; Lassa Fever in West Africa. There were significant regional differences for viral hemorrhagic fevers(P < 0.001) and tick-borne infections(P < 0.001), and according to economic status for VBZIs(P < 0.001). The prevalences of VBZIs were significantly higher in lower-middle income countries(P = 0.001). The most similar regions were the Indian Subcontinent and the Middle-East, the Indian Subcontinent and the North-Mediterranean, and the Middle-East and North-Mediterranean regions. CONCLUSIONS: Regional and socioeconomic heterogeneity still exists for VBZIs. Control and eradication of VBZIs require evidence-based surveillance data, and multidisciplinary efforts.

Severe hypocalcaemia in a COVID-19 female patient.

SUMMARY: Comorbidities are a risk factor for patients with COVID-19 and the mechanisms of disease remain unclear. The aim of this paper is to present a case report of an COVID-19 patient with severe hypocalcaemia. This is a report of an 81-year-old female, suffered from myalgia and fatigue for more than 3-4 weeks. Fever and cough appear 2 days before she presented to the emergency room. On physical examination, she was febrile with a temperature of 38.8°C, accompanied by cough, sore throat, headache, fatigue, and muscle ache. Her past medical history was remarkable with no chronic disease. She had lymphopenia. Laboratory test revealed moderate liver dysfunction, hypoalbuminemia, and severe hypocalcaemia (serum corrected calcium level: 5.7 mg/dL). Parathyroid hormone (PTH) was 107.9 pg/mL (range: 15-65) and 25(OH)2D levels was 4.5 ng/mL (range: 25-80). Chest CT scan detected peripheral ground-glass opacity. Throat swab for coronavirus by RT-PCR assay tested positive for the virus. She was treated with lopinavir/ritonavir, third generation cephalosporin, anticoagulant, daily high-dose calcium acetate, vitamin D3, fresh frozen plasma and oxygen therapy. She was discharged after two negative throat swab tests for coronavirus by conventional RT-PCR. LEARNING POINTS: Comorbidities are a risk factor for patients with COVID-19. Laboratory findings are unspecific in COVID-19 patients; laboratory abnormalities include lymphopenia, elevated of LDH, CPK and the inflammatory markers, such as C reactive protein, ferritinemia and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate. In addition to inflammatory markers, in COVID-19 patients it is crucial to check the level of vitamin D and calcium. There may be a correlation between vitamin D deficiency and the severity of COVID-19 disease.

Short epidemiological overview of the current situation on COVID-19 pandemic in Southeast European (SEE) countries.

We are living in times where a viral disease has brought normal life in much of the world to a halt. The novel coronavirus known as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) started in December 2019 in Wuhan, China initially and in a short time crossed the European borders. After mitigating the epidemic in China, Italy became one of the most COVID-19 affected countries worldwide. International travelers are important sources of infectious diseases and a possible source of epidemic. Due to its political, geographic, and cultural similarities, Italy is one of the main economic partners of Southeast European (SEE) countries. Our data show that infection in index cases in all 11 SEE countries was travel-related with Italy being a source country for 8/11 countries. After the first case identifications on February 25, the number of cases in SEE countries is continually rising reaching the total number of 15,612 with 565 fatal cases and overall case fatality ratio (CFR) of 3.6 (median 3.8, range 0.8-5.5) by April 10, 2020. At a time when the COVID-19 pandemic is approaching its peak, apart from the problems with treatment of the disease and care for critically ill patients, there are other equally important problems, such as organization of outbreak response, provision of health care, lack of hospital personnel, disruption of personal protective equipment supply chains and health care workers (HCWs) protection. But what is more important is the heroic behavior of the HCWs who are showing their humanity by disregarding their lives.

Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome in a Patient with Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome.

We presently report the case of hantavirus infection in a 45-year-old male who was hospitalized to our clinic of infectious diseases, with fever, myalgia, vomiting, nausea, headache, and abdominal pain. The physical findings included hepatomegaly, splenomegaly, rash, and conjunctival injection. Eight days before the start of complaints, the patient has cut trees in the mountain. An acute renal failure was observed with an oliguria and an increase of serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen. Urinalysis shows albuminuria and hematuria. Elevations of amylase, lipase, and liver enzymes levels, low serum albumin level, and thrombocytopenia were observed. A positive ELISA test for hantavirus IgM/IgG antibodies confirmed hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome. On the third day of hospitalization, the patient had seizures. The unenhanced head computed tomography (CT) performed after seizures showed subcortical bilateral hypodensities within frontal, parietal, and occipital regions corresponding to areas of increased signal intensity in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) associated with cerebral edema in posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES). The treatment consisted of supportive therapy. The patient underwent another head MRI with contrast enhancement after 2 months, which resulted normal.

A case with high bilirubinemia and hemolytic anemia during leptospirosis and a short review of similar cases.

BACKGROUND: Leptospirosis is characterized by very diverse clinical manifestations, which may range from flu-like subclinical forms to very severe presentations characterized by multi-organ failure, or to atypical presentations. One of its most aggressive presentations is Weil's disease, characterized by jaundice, hemorrhagic phenomena and renal failure. Cases with high bilirubinemia over 30mg/dL are not communes in human leptospirosis. Our aims are to present an atypical case presentation of human leptospirosis, characterized by jaundice and hemolytic anemia, and to make a short review in PubMed for similar cases. At the same time we want to emphasize the diversity of the clinical presentation of human leptospirosis. METHODS: A 54-year-old man presents at the emergency department of the infectious medicine with severe fatigue, nausea, vomiting, and generalized weakness. On exam, he was alert and well oriented; blood pressure was 80/50 mmHg and icteric. First blood examinations confirmed high bilirubinemia, thrombocytopenia and acute renal failure. RESULTS: Based on anamnestic and clinical evaluations, blood and serology examinations, the patient resulted with leptospirosis. The bilirubin reached 73.4mg/dL. At the same time on PubMed research we found only limited cases with leptospirosis associated with bilirubinemia over 30mg/dL and over less with hemolytic anemia. CONCLUSION: Based on our clinical experience, as well as literature data, we suggest that clinicians should have a high index of suspicion in cases of jaundice with exposure possibilities for infectious diseases. Connection of high bilirubinemi over then 30mg/dL and hemolytic anemia in human leptospirosis is an unical case report.

Supporting healthcare workers on front lines of the Covid-19 fight.

Un unexpected infection by a novel coronavirus (SAR CoV-2) started by the end of December in Wuhan, China, spreading all over other countries, and Italy was one of the most affected ones. WHO declared the pandemic on 11th March, 2020. Despite the numerous unknown aspects of this infection, the healthcare system had to face a multidimensional emergency. Albania, a small country with a geographical, historical and cultural relationship with Italy was one of the first countries giving support and starting a profitable collaboration focusing on the mission to provide the necessary help for the health care workers. In order to help the Italian healthcare system to face up to the situation two medical teams firstly (in March) and a group of 60 health care workers later in April were sent to Italy (Brescia Hospital) to support clinical activities in departments with COVID-19 patients. This important contribution showed the great solidarity and helped to strengthen the partnership between the two countries.

A novel id-iri score: development and internal validation of the multivariable community acquired sepsis clinical risk prediction model.

We aimed to develop a scoring system for predicting in-hospital mortality of community-acquired (CA) sepsis patients. This was a prospective, observational multicenter study performed to analyze CA sepsis among adult patients through ID-IRI (Infectious Diseases International Research Initiative) at 32 centers in 10 countries between December 1, 2015, and May 15, 2016. After baseline evaluation, we used univariate analysis at the second and logistic regression analysis at the third phase. In this prospective observational study, data of 373 cases with CA sepsis or septic shock were submitted from 32 referral centers in 10 countries. The median age was 68 (51-77) years, and 174 (46,6%) of the patients were females. The median hospitalization time of the patients was 15 (10-21) days. Overall mortality rate due to CA sepsis was 17.7% (n = 66). The possible predictors which have strong correlation and the variables that cause collinearity are acute oliguria, altered consciousness, persistent hypotension, fever, serum creatinine, age, and serum total protein. CAS (%) is a new scoring system and works in accordance with the parameters in third International Consensus Definitions for Sepsis and Septic Shock (Sepsis-3). The system has yielded successful results in terms of predicting mortality in CA sepsis patients.

Portraying infective endocarditis: results of multinational ID-IRI study.

Infective endocarditis is a growing problem with many shifts due to ever-increasing comorbid illnesses, invasive procedures, and increase in the elderly. We performed this multinational study to depict definite infective endocarditis. Adult patients with definite endocarditis hospitalized between January 1, 2015, and October 1, 2018, were included from 41 hospitals in 13 countries. We included microbiological features, types and severity of the disease, complications, but excluded therapeutic parameters. A total of 867 patients were included. A total of 631 (72.8%) patients had native valve endocarditis (NVE), 214 (24.7%) patients had prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE), 21 (2.4%) patients had pacemaker lead endocarditis, and 1 patient had catheter port endocarditis. Eighteen percent of NVE patients were hospital-acquired. PVE patients were classified as early-onset in 24.9%. A total of 385 (44.4%) patients had major embolic events, most frequently to the brain (n = 227, 26.3%). Blood cultures yielded pathogens in 766 (88.4%). In 101 (11.6%) patients, blood cultures were negative. Molecular testing of vegetations disclosed pathogens in 65 cases. Overall, 795 (91.7%) endocarditis patients had any identified pathogen. Leading pathogens (Staphylococcus aureus (n = 267, 33.6%), Streptococcus viridans (n = 149, 18.7%), enterococci (n = 128, 16.1%), coagulase-negative staphylococci (n = 92, 11.6%)) displayed substantial resistance profiles. A total of 132 (15.2%) patients had cardiac abscesses; 693 (79.9%) patients had left-sided endocarditis. Aortic (n = 394, 45.4%) and mitral valves (n = 369, 42.5%) were most frequently involved. Mortality was more common in PVE than NVE (NVE (n = 101, 16%), PVE (n = 49, 22.9%), p = 0.042).

Two cases of imported hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome and systematic review of literature.

Many factors are involved in the epidemiology of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS). Imported cases, as well as those by emigrants, have been reported in literature worldwide. Our goal is to document two cases of HFRS, imported by two immigrants from two countries, and to make a review of the imported HFRS literature data. We performed a systematic literature review (PRISMA guidelines) of imported cases of HFRS and herein describe our two clinical cases. We found 20 published papers, with 16 of them in English and 4 in other languages. Twenty-three patients with travel- or immigration-associated HFRS, including our two cases, were identified. We included only papers that were in English. The average age of the patients was 35.9 ±â€¯15.13 years, and the ratio of male to female was 8:1. Imported disease from Europe to Europe occurred in seven cases, America to Europe occurred in four cases, Europe to America occurred in two cases, America to America occurred in two cases, Asia to Asia in one case, Asia to Europe in one case, and Europe to Asia in one case. The results of the two cited cases are based on the clinical-laboratory, anamnestic, and serologic data for both the patients who tested positive for HFRS. Our systematic analysis shows that international travelers are important sources of infectious diseases. HFRS related to travel and immigration is a rare event. Principal risk factors for travelers and immigrants are camping outside recommended areas or under unsuitable conditions. In recent years, various publications have shown that international travelers and immigrants have expanded the spectrum of imported infectious diseases. The literature data show that the actual reported numbers of imported case of HFRS are limited.