Microevolution in genomic short sequence repeats ofCandida albicans in non-neutropenic patients

Infectious diseases remain a major health problem and cause of death worldwide. It is expected that the socio-economic impact will further intensify due to escalating resistance to antibiotics, an ageing population and an increase in the number of patients under immunosuppressive therapy and implanted medical devices. Even though radiolabeled probes and leukocytes are routinely used in clinical practice, it might still be difficult to distinguish sterile inflammation from inflammation caused by bacteria. Moreover, the majority of these probes are based on the attraction of leukocytes which may be hampered in neutropenic patients. Novel approaches that can be implemented in clinical practice and allow for swift diagnosis of infection by targeting the microorganism directly, are posing an attractive strategy. Here we review the current strategies to directly image bacteria using radionuclides and we provide an overview of the preclinical efforts to develop and validate new approaches. Indeed, significant progress has been made in the past years, but very few radiopharmaceuticals (that were promising in preclinical studies) have made it into clinical practice. We will discuss the challenges that remain to select good candidates for imaging agents targeting bacteria.

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Minireview: Peptide Analogs and Short Sequence Oligopeptides as Modulators of Skin Pigmentation

Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry ◽

10.2174/1568026614666140601221519 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 14 (12) ◽

pp. 1418-1424 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Anan Ubeid ◽

Basil Hantash

Keyword(s):

Skin Pigmentation ◽

Short Sequence ◽

Peptide Analogs

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‘No Trickery with Montage’: On Reading a Sequence in Godard‘s Pierrot le fou

Film Studies ◽

10.7227/fs.5.2 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 8-29

Author(s):

Daniel Morgan

Keyword(s):

Short Sequence ◽

Single Event ◽

Actual Structure ◽

Close Analysis ◽

The Way

This paper is organised around an analysis of a short sequence from Godard‘s Pierrot le fou (1965). Although the sequence appears to be a series of repetitions, close analysis reveals it to be a single event presented in a carefully fragmented order. This unexpected fact generates questions about how to account for the relation between our initial beliefs about the organisation of the sequence and our knowledge of its actual structure. We come to see, in an intimate way, that reflection on the way we watch and understand film is one of the central themes of Godard‘s filmmaking.

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Pharmacist-Driven Antibiotic Stewardship Program in Febrile Neutropenic Patients: A Single Site Prospective Study in Thailand

Antibiotics ◽

10.3390/antibiotics10040456 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (4) ◽

pp. 456

Author(s):

Kittiya Jantarathaneewat ◽

Anucha Apisarnthanarak ◽

Wasithep Limvorapitak ◽

David J. Weber ◽

Preecha Montakantikul

Keyword(s):

Infectious Diseases ◽

Antibiotic Stewardship ◽

Empirical Therapy ◽

University Hospital ◽

Control Group ◽

Great Opportunity ◽

Stewardship Program ◽

Determine Role ◽

Neutropenic Patients ◽

Infectious Diseases Consultation

The antibiotic stewardship program (ASP) is a necessary part of febrile neutropenia (FN) treatment. Pharmacist-driven ASP is one of the meaningful approaches to improve the appropriateness of antibiotic usage. Our study aimed to determine role of the pharmacist in ASPs for FN patients. We prospectively studied at Thammasat University Hospital between August 2019 and April 2020. Our primary outcome was to compare the appropriate use of target antibiotics between the pharmacist-driven ASP group and the control group. The results showed 90 FN events in 66 patients. The choice of an appropriate antibiotic was significantly higher in the pharmacist-driven ASP group than the control group (88.9% vs. 51.1%, p < 0.001). Furthermore, there was greater appropriateness of the dosage regimen chosen as empirical therapy in the pharmacist-driven ASP group than in the control group (97.8% vs. 88.7%, p = 0.049) and proper duration of target antibiotics in documentation therapy (91.1% vs. 75.6%, p = 0.039). The multivariate analysis showed a pharmacist-driven ASP and infectious diseases consultation had a favorable impact on 30-day infectious diseases-related mortality in chemotherapy-induced FN patients (OR 0.058, 95%CI:0.005–0.655, p = 0.021). Our study demonstrated that pharmacist-driven ASPs could be a great opportunity to improve antibiotic appropriateness in FN patients.

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Outcomes of Neutropenic Patients with Clostridium difficile Infection

Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology ◽

10.1017/ice.2020.950 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 41 (S1) ◽

pp. s339-s340

Author(s):

Roopali Sharma ◽

Deepali Dixit ◽

Sherin Pathickal ◽

Jenny Park ◽

Bernice Lee ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Clostridium Difficile ◽

Length Of Stay ◽

Hospital Mortality ◽

Treatment Failure ◽

Odds Ratio ◽

Adjusted Odds Ratio ◽

Hospital Length ◽

Hospital Length Of Stay ◽

End Point ◽

Neutropenic Patients

Background: Data from Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) in neutropenic patients are still scarce. Objective: To assess outcomes of CDI in patients with and without neutropenia. Methods: The study included a retrospective cohort of adult patients at 3 academic hospitals between January 2013 and December 2017. The 2 study arms were neutropenic patients (neutrophil count <500/mm3) and nonneutropenic patients with confirmed CDI episodes. The primary outcome evaluated the composite end point of all-cause in-hospital mortality, intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, and treatment failure at 7 days. The secondary outcome evaluated hospital length of stay. Results: Of 962 unique cases of CDI, 158 were neutropenic (59% men) and 804 were nonneutropenic (46% men). The median age was 57 years (IQR, 44–64) in the neutropenic group and 68 years (IQR, 56–79) in the nonneutropenic group. The median Charlson comorbidity score was 5 (IQR, 3–7.8) and 4 (IQR, 3–5) in the neutropenic and nonneutropenic groups, respectively. Regarding severity, 88.6% versus 48.9% were nonsevere, 8.2% versus 47% were severe, and 3.2% versus 4.1% were fulminant in the neutropenic and nonneutropenic groups, respectively. Also, 63% of patients (60.9% in nonneutropenic, 65.2% in neutropenic) were exposed to proton-pump inhibitors. A combination CDI treatment was required in 53.2% of neutropenic patients and 50.1% of nonneutropenic patients. The primary composite end point occurred in 27% of neutropenic patients versus 22% of nonneutropenic patients (P = .257), with an adjusted odds ratio of 1.30 (95% CI, 0.84–2.00). The median hospital length of stay after controlling for covariates was 21.3 days versus 14.2 days in the neutropenic and nonneutropenic groups, respectively (P < .001). Complications (defined as hypotension requiring vasopressors, ileus, or bowel perforation) were seen in 6.0% of the nonneutropenic group and 4.4% of the neutropenic group (P = .574), with an adjusted odds ratio of 0.61 (95% CI, 0.28–1.45). Conclusions: Neutropenic patients were younger and their cases were less severe; however, they had lower incidences of all-cause in-hospital mortality, ICU admissions, and treatment failure. Hospital length of stay was significantly shorter in the neutropenic group than in the nonneutropenic group.Funding: NoneDisclosures: None

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