Epidemiology and predictors of a poor outcome in elderly patients with candidemia.

BACKGROUND: Candidemia affects patient populations from neonates to the elderly. Despite this, little information is available about the epidemiology of candidemia in elderly patients. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of 987 episodes of candidemia in adults (>14 years of age) from the databases of three laboratory-based surveys of candidemia performed at 14 tertiary care hospitals. Patients aged ≥60 years were considered elderly (group 1, n=455, 46%) and were compared to younger patients (group 2, n=532, 54%) regarding demographics, underlying diseases, comorbidities, exposure to medical procedures, species, treatment, and outcome. RESULTS: The median APACHE II score was significantly higher in the elderly patients (19 vs. 15, p=0.03). Variables that were observed significantly more frequently in elderly patients included admission to an intensive care unit, diabetes mellitus, renal failure, cardiac disease, lung disease, receipt of antibiotics or H2 blockers, insertion of a central venous catheter, mechanical ventilation, and candidemia due to Candida tropicalis. The 30-day mortality of elderly patients was significantly higher than that of younger patients (70% vs. 45%, p<0.001). Factors associated with higher mortality by multivariate analysis included APACHE II score and being in group 1 (elderly). Factors associated with mortality in elderly patients were lung disease and the receipt of mechanical ventilation. CONCLUSIONS: Elderly patients account for a substantial proportion of patients with candidemia and have a higher mortality compared to younger patients.

Antibody response to Haemophilus influenzae type b tetanus conjugate vaccine with two doses given at 3 and 5 months of age.

BACKGROUND: In developed countries, the use of Hib conjugate vaccines has led to the near disappearance of invasive Hib disease, but costs have limited its use in developing countries. In order to identify more economical vaccination schedules, we carried out a trial to evaluate the immunogenicity of an alternative two-dose PRP-T regimen, based on a previous report in which carrier priming could be obtained with prior diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP) vaccination. METHODS: Healthy infants were enrolled to receive the PRP-T given at 3 and 5 months of age, with DTP vaccination given at 2, 4 and 6 months of age. Serum specimens were obtained at 3, 6 and 15 months of age. IgG anti-Hib titer determination was performed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to evaluate serologic response and its duration. RESULTS: One-hundred and seventeen infants were enrolled. The geometric mean titer (GMT) of antibody to PRP was low in the pre-immunization samples (0.13 mg/mL), achieving high values after two doses of PRP-T (27.42 mg/mL), with all titers over 1 mg/mL; the GMT at 15 months was 5.45 mg/mL; 94.6% of infants had serologic responses after the two doses of vaccination, with average intervals of 27 and 22 days between DTP and PRP-T first-to-first and second-to-second administrations, respectively. However, these intervals were 11 and 3 days for infants who did not have serologic responses (P50.0013 and 0.0030, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that two doses of PRP-T can induce high antibody titers using the proposed schedule; moreover, the GMT assessed at 15 months of age was also protective. The enhanced immune response observed in the study could be explained by the previous administration of the DTP vaccine, since the longer the interval between DTP and PRP-T, the better the response to Hib vaccine. The PRP-T vaccine given at 3 and 5 months of age may be an economical alternative to the current proposed schedule, which could make the introduction of Hib vaccination in developing countries more feasible, considering the relatively high cost of this vaccine.

Aztreonam no tratamento de infecçöes causadas por bacilos Gram-negativos de múltiplas resistências / Astreonam in the treatment of infections caused by Gram-negative bacilli of multiple resistance

Aztreonam é um composto de uma nova classe de agentes Beta-lactâmicos monocíclicos sintéticos com atividade contra a grande maioria das bactérias Gram-negativas, mas nao contra as bactérias Gram-positivas ou anaeróbias. Aztreonam foi usado para tratar 23 pacientes com importantes infeccçoes por germes Gram-negativos. Neste estudo dos 17 homens e seis mulheres, haviam 11 casos de infecçoes urinárias, três de pneumonia, três de meningite e seis com outros locais de infecçao. Noventa por cento das infecçoes foram curadas tanto por critérios clínicos como microbiológicos sem significantes reaçoes adversas ou toxicidade pela droga.

Avaliaçäo sorológica de imunizaçäo contra o sarampo com duas doses administradas aos 6 e 11 meses de idade: estudo prospectivo / Serological evaluation of the immunization against meales with 2 doses administered at 6 and 11 months of age: a prospective study

A eficácia sorológica de um esquema de vacinaçäo contra o sarampo empregando duas doses da vacina BIKEN CAM 70, sendo a primeira dose administrada aos 6 meses de idade e a segunda aos 11 meses de idade foi avaliada através de um estudo prospectivo. A amostra de sangue foi colhida entre 6 e 12 meses (média de 8,0 ñ 1,7 meses) após a segunda dose da vacina, tendo-se empregado para pesquisa de anticorpos específicos a reaçäo de imunofluorescência indireta (RIFI) e a técnica imunoenzimática ELISA. Anticorpos para o sarampo na amostra de sangue pós-vacinal foram detectados em 88,5% (85/96) das crianças quando foi empregada a RIFI e em 96,8% (93/96) quando se empregou a técnica imunoenzimática ELISA. Nenhuma das crianças apresentou, durante o perído do estudo, quadro clínico compatível com sarampo. Em regiöes em que uma proporçäo significativa de casos ocorrem antes s 9 meses de idade, o esquema de vacinaçäo de 2 doses, a primeira aos 6 e a segunda aos 11 meses de idade, pode representar alternativa válida para o controle do sarampo