Efficacy of acne vulgaris treatment protocols according to its clinical forms.

To compare results of different treatment regimens based on stratification of acne to prescribe the right treatment protocol according to clinical form and grade of acne. A transversal, cohort study conducted in 230 patients with acne vulgaris. Patients were divided into three groups according to acne severity and the results of each protocol determined in 0, 4, 6, 8, 12, 18 and 24 weeks. Statistical analysis was conducted using Wilcoxon and Mann-Whitney tests 230 patients (99 females and 131 males) took part in the study. In first grade acne (70 patients), the most effective drug for papulo-pustular lesions was azelaic acid, where the average value of the reduction was 1.03% per week. For comedone reduction, the most effective drug resulted retinol with 17.7% mean reduction per week. In second grade acne (66 patients), the most effective scheme was: doxycycline + topical retinoid + benzoyl peroxide. In the third grade (92 patients), the most effective drug was oral isotretinoin. Accurate stratification, based on clinical characteristics is required for better outcome. Treatment success is related to the respective individually tailored treatment schemes in patients with acne.

Isolation of the first New Delhi metallo-ß-lactamase-1 (NDM-1)-producing and colistin-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae sequence type ST15 from a digestive carrier in Albania, May 2018.

OBJECTIVES: Carbapenemases represent a public health threat, as they can spread through horizontal gene transfer and cause outbreaks. New Delhi metallo-ß-lactamase-1 (NDM-1) is a metallo-ß-lactamase that has spread rapidly in the last decade, causing worldwide alarm. This study aimed to describe the first isolate of NDM-1-producing and extensively drug resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae in Albania, its clinical context and genetic characterization. METHODS: Strain was isolated from both oral and rectal intensive care unit admission screening swabs of a 70-year-old male patient with no history of international travel in the previous 6 months. Sequencing was performed by Illumina NextSeq500 platform, with a paired-end run of 2 by 150bp, after Nextera XT paired-end library preparation. Sequencing reads were assembled using SPAdes Genome (version 3.6.1) with accurate de novo settings. The assembled contigs were uploaded into the online tools: BIGSdb-Kp, ResFinder and PlasmidFinder. RESULTS: Isolate was resistant to all tested antibiotics but tigecycline and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. Sequencing revealed the presence of acquired resistance genes conferring resistance to ß-lactams (blaNDM-1, blaCMY-6, blaCTX-M-15and blaSHV-28), aminoglycosides (rmtC, aac(6')-Ib3), fluoroquinolones (oqxA, oqxB, aac(6')-Ib-cr), fosfomycin (fosA) and sulfonamides (sul1). The blaNDM-1 gene was located on an IncA/C2 plasmid. Plasmid mediated mcr-1 to mcr-8 genes were absent in both isolates. Resistance to colistin was due to an amino acid substitution (Thr157Pro) in PmrB protein. CONCLUSIONS: NDM-1-producing Enterobacteriaceae are spreading in the Balkans. Identification of NDM-1-producing and extensively drug resistant K. pneumoniae ST15 in Albania is a cause for serious concern. There should be a continuous national and Balkan multinational surveillance of blaNDM-1-carrying isolates.

Dermatomycosis frequency and localization sites.

INTRODUCTION: Since the prevalence of skin mycotic infections is changing and is area depended we aimed to analyze the frequency of the skin myocotic infections and the appearance sites. MATERIAL AND METHODS: There were involved 560 patients referred to the Dermatology Clinic of University Clinical Center of Kosova during a period of one year. RESULTS: The mean age of our study group was around thirties with a predominance of female and rural patients. Although most of cases presented with single site disease localization, we observed the increase in number of cases with more than one site localization with age. CONCLUSION: The increased prevalence skin mycotic infections, as well as more than one place of localization deserve a multidimensional approach.

Behavioral risk factors and prevalence of HIV and other STIs among female sex workers in Tirana, Albania.

The paper presents the results of the research and a comparative analysis of findings on key indicators for the study population. The study instrument was a standardized behavior study questionnaire provided in the Family Health International published manual (Family Health International, 2000). The target group was female sex workers working in Tirana. The prevalence of biological infections was low. HIV was detected in one case. Syphilis and Hepatitis B rates resulted to be respectively 6.5% and 7.6%. The median age of the study participants is 28 years. Almost 38% of the participants were illiterate, and more than half belong to the Roma community. Almost 50% of the respondents had received money in exchange of sex for the first time 18 years earlier. Almost 65% of respondents reported two or more different sex partners in the last seven days, while almost 30% referred five or more. Condom use at last sex with a paying client was reported by almost 68%. Consistent condom use with paying clients in the last month was reported by almost 35% of the respondents.

Trends in the prevalence of transfusion-transmissible infections among blood donors in Albania.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study is to determine the trend of transfusion transmitted infection in blood donors. METHODS: In this study 52727 blood donors were retrospectively evaluated for markers of hepatitis B, C, HIV(1/2), and syphilis. To screen the blood donors for HIV(1/2)(HIV(1/2) Ag/Ab COMBO, ABBOTT Laboratory, Delkenheim, Germany), the microparticle enzyme immunoassay (MEIA) method was used. For HBsAg and anti-HCV third generation MEIA kits (ABBOTT Laboratory, Delkenheim, Germany) were used and for the syphilis RPR test the Biokit SA (Barcelona, Spain) was used. RESULTS: A total of 52,727 donors were tested within the five year period, of which 15 (0.03%), 3531 (6.7%), 323 (0.6%), and 35 (0.07%) were positive for HIV, HBV, HCV, and syphilis, respectively. The prevalence of TTI in blood donors was 7.4%. It increased steadily from 5.1% in 2004 to 8.3% in 2006, stayed in same level in 2007, and decreased to 8.1% in 2008. Distribution of transfusion-transmissible infection (TTI) based on donor status was 13.8% in first time commercial remunerated blood donors, 9.4% in first time voluntary blood donors, and 9.7% in family replacement blood donors. CONCLUSIONS: Our results in this study showed that family replacement donors are more likely to transmit transfusion-transmissible infections (TTIs) than voluntary donors, but are safer than commercial blood donors. So blood transfusion services should work on replacement of family blood donors with voluntary non-remunerated blood donors.