Influenza Vaccination and Associated Factors among Korean Cancer Survivors : A Cross-Sectional Analysis of the Fourth & Fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys

Influenza vaccination is important for cancer survivors, a population with impaired immunity. This study was designed to assess influenza vaccination patterns among Korean cancer survivors. In this cross-sectional analysis, data were obtained from standardized questionnaires from 943 cancer survivors and 41,233 non-cancer survivors who participated in the Fourth and Fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (2007-2011). We identified the adjusted influenza vaccination rates and assessed factors associated with influenza vaccination using multivariate logistic regression. Cancer survivors tended to have a higher adjusted influenza vaccination rate than the general population. The rates for influenza vaccination in specific cancer types such as stomach, hepatic, colon, and lung cancers were significantly higher than non-cancer survivors. Among all cancer survivors, those with chronic diseases, elderly subjects, and rural dwellers were more likely to receive influenza vaccination; those with cervical cancer were less likely to receive influenza vaccination. Cancer survivors were more likely to receive influenza vaccinations than non-cancer survivors, but this was not true for particular groups, especially younger cancer survivors. Cancer survivors represent a sharply growing population; therefore, immunization against influenza among cancer survivors should be concerned as their significant preventative healthcare services.

Influência do tratamento com benzonidazol na resposta imunológica de camundongos infectados com cepas do trypanosoma cruzi de diferentes biodemas / Influence of treatment with benznidazole in the immune response of mice infected with Trypanosoma cruzi strains of different biodemes

A infecção pelo Trypanosoma cruzi determina uma resposta imunológica inata do hospedeiro vertebrado, decorrente da multiplicação parasitaria em macrófagos e a produção de Interferon gama (IFNy) pelas células T ativadas, além de estimulação policlonal de células do baço, com imunossupressão. Por outro lado tem sido demonstrado que o tratamento com quimioterápico Benzonidazol em camundongos infectados, além de determinar uma destruição dos parasitos, tem também uma ação sobre o sistema imunológico em camundongos infectados com cepas do T. cruzi com diferentes graus de suscetibilidade ao Benzonidazol, como a cepa Y (suscetível ao quimioterápico) e a cepa Colombiana (resistente). No presente estudo procura-se investigar a influência do tratamento com o Benzonidazol sobre a resposta imunológica em camundongos infectados com cepa suscetível (Cepa Y) ou resistente (Colombiana). Foram utilizados 320 camundongos, subdivididos em grupos experimentais: Infectados tratados cepa Y (YT) e não tratados (Y-NT); Colombiana tratados (COL-T) e não tratados (COL-NT), Tratados não infectados (TNI) e Controles sem tratamento (CI). O inóculo foi de 1,0 x 104 por via intraperitoneal. O tratamento foi iniciado no pico parasitêmico de cada cepa, sendo no 7º dia após a infecção nos animais infectados pela cepa Y e, nos tratados e não infectados, no 18º dia de infecção na cepa Colombiana. A quimioterapia foi realizada em 60 doses (100mg/kg/dia de Benzonidazol-Benz). Os camundongos sacrificados na fase aguda e na fase crônica em todos os grupos tiveram as secções de coração e músculo esquelético coletadas, fixadas e processadas para o estudo histopatológico em secções coradas pela Hematoxilina & Eosina e Picro-Sirius. Investigou-se a resposta humoral pela sorologia (Imunofluorescência indireta) e pela reação de Elisa. A resposta celular pela proliferação celular do baço, e pela avaliação quantitativa das subpopulações celulares no baço de CD4+, CD8+...

Infection with T. cruzi determines an immunological response in the vertebrate host, wit h parasites multiplication in macrophages, with production of TNFα by these cells an IFNγ, by stimulated T. cells: a polyclonal multiplication of spleen cells is present, with immunossuppression. Treatment of infected mice with BENZ showed that this chemotherapy determines parasitic destruction and also stimulates the immunological system in mice infected either with the Y or the Colombian strain which differs in the susceptibility to chemotherapy with BENZ. In the present study we intend to investigate the influence of treatment with BENZ on the immunological response in mice infected either with the Y strain (susceptible) or the Colombian strain (resistant). This study was performed by comparing the results obtained with the groups of mice not infected and treated, and infected controls, not treated. Material and methods : Number of animals: 320, sub-divided in the experimental groups:Ystrain infected and treated with BENZ(YT) or not-treated (YNT); Colombian treated (COL-T) and not-treated (COL-NT); treated not infected (TNI); Control not treated (COL-NT). Inoculum : 1x104 trypomastigotes, (blood forms) injected intraperitoneally. Treatment was initiated in the peak of parasitemia for each strain:7th day for the Y strain and in the 18th day in the infection with the Colombian strain. Chemotherapy was performed in 60 doses (100mg x kg x day) of BENZ. Mice were killed in the acute and chronic phases post infection; sections of the heart and skeletal muscles were collected, fixed and processed for histopathology, in sections stained with Hematoxylin and Eosin, and with Picro-Sirius staining, for collagen. The humoral response was evaluated by serological reactium of indirect immununofluorescence and ELISA reaction. Celular responses were evaluated by celular proliferation in the spleen of CD4+, CD8+...

Neonatal sepsis in a Nigerian Tertiary Hospital: Clinical features, clinical outcome, aetiology and antibiotic susceptibility pattern

Background: Neonatal sepsis is a significant cause of neonatal mortality in developing countries. The aetiological agents and their antimicrobial susceptibility patterns are dynamic.Objectives: This study determined clinical features, aetiology, antimicrobial susceptibility and clinical outcome of neonatal sepsis in a Nigerian Tertiary Hospital.Methods: Neonates undergoing sepsis evaluation at a Nigerian Tertiary Hospital were included in the study. Demographic and clinical information were obtained using standard questionnaires. Blood samples were cultured on MacConkey, Blood and Chocolate agar. Isolated bacteria were identified based on morphology, Gram stain appearance and standard commercially prepared biochemical tests. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed on Mueller-Hinton agar using the Kirby-Bauer method.Results: Eighty-five of the 180 neonates admitted during the study period were recruited. Fifty-five neonates presented with early-onset sepsis and 30 with late-onset sepsis. Culture-proven sepsis was detected in 19 (22.4%) neonates. The incidence of culture-proven sepsis in the hospital was 2.8/100 live-births. The most common clinical feature at presentation was respiratory distress. Gram-negative bacteria accounted for 78.9 percent of all isolates and were the only organisms encountered in early-onset sepsis. Isolated pathogens were predominantly Klebsiella spp (31.6%), Enterobacter spp (21.1%) and coagulase-negative Staphylococci (15.8%). The isolates were most sensitive to ofloxacin. Gram-negative bacteria showed high resistance to cefuroxime and ampicillin. The case-fatality rate was 26%.Conclusion: Gram-negative bacilli, especially Klebsiella spp, was predominant. Neonatal sepsis persists as a cause of mortality in this region. Regular antimicrobial surveillance for empirical treatment remains an important component of neonatal care