Bmc Infect Dis
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Vitamin D3 and gargling for the prevention of upper respiratory tract infections: a randomized controlled trial.
We undertook a 2X2 factorial, randomized controlled trial (RCT) to assess whether vitamin D3 supplementation (10,000 international units per week) versus placebo and gargling versus no gargling could prevent viral, clinical upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) in university students. ⋯ These results suggest that vitamin D3 is a promising intervention for the prevention of URTI. Vitamin D3 significantly reduced the risk of laboratory confirmed URTI and may reduce the risk of clinical infections.
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Severe infections in neutropenic patient often progress rapidly leading to life-threatening organ dysfunction requiring admission to the Intensive Care Unit. Management strategies include early adequate appropriate empirical antimicrobial, early admission to ICU to avoid any delay in the diagnostic and therapeutic management of organ dysfunction. ⋯ Non anti-infectious agents and recent advances will also be discussed. At present, most of large-scale studies and recommendations in neutropenic patients stem from hematological patients and will need further validation in ICU patients.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Interferon-gamma as adjunctive immunotherapy for invasive fungal infections: a case series.
Invasive fungal infections are very severe infections associated with high mortality rates, despite the availability of new classes of antifungal agents. Based on pathophysiological mechanisms and limited pre-clinical and clinical data, adjunctive immune-stimulatory therapy with interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) may represent a promising candidate to improve outcome of invasive fungal infections by enhancing host defence mechanisms. ⋯ The present study provides evidence that adjunctive immunotherapy with IFN-γ can restore immune function in fungal sepsis patients, warranting future clinical studies to assess its potential clinical benefit.
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Multicenter Study
The epidemiology, antifungal use and risk factors of death in elderly patients with candidemia: a multicentre retrospective study.
The elderly patients affected by candidemia are growing in proportion to inpatients, but available data are limited. We aimed to determine the epidemiology, antifungal management and clinical risk factors of death in the elderly population with candidemia in China. ⋯ Elderly patients with candidemia had poor prognoses characterized by certain host and hospital-related risk factors and special pathogen resistance features. More awareness of the burden of this disease is required, and the absence of antifungal therapies should be avoided to improve the prognoses of elderly patients with this severe infection.
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Hospitalized patients are at increased risk for candidemia and invasive candidiasis (C/IC). Improved therapeutic regimens with enhanced clinical and pharmacoeconomic outcomes utilizing existing antifungal agents are still needed. ⋯ A short course of i.v. anidulafungin, followed by early step-down to oral azole therapy, is an effective and well-tolerated approach for the treatment of C/IC.