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Congenital Cytomegalovirus infection is the leading non-genetic cause of neurosensory deafness. We compared the outcomes of a treated group of children to an untreated group. The effect of antiviral therapy on hearing improvement between baseline and 2-year follow-up was statistically significant. These results suggest that the benefit of 6-week therapy is not limited to preventing further hearing deterioration.

We report the first Italian case of Mycobacterium chimaera disseminated infection in a patient with a history of cardiac surgery. The patient was initially diagnosed with sarcoidosis and started on immunosuppressive therapy. Ten months later she developed a vertebral osteomyelitis: M. chimaera was isolated from bone specimen. A review of the literature shows that M. chimaera infection occurs specifically in this population of patients, due to contamination of heater-cooler units used during cardiosurgery. Devices responsible for the transmission were produced by Sorin Group Deutschland. Mycobacterium chimaera infection should be included in the differential diagnosis for patients undergoing cardiac surgery.

Although disseminated Mycobacterium avium complex disease occurs mainly in immunocompromised hosts, especially HIV-infected patients in the last stage of the disease (AIDS), this condition is still rare in immunocompetent subjects. We report the case of a Caucasian man who received a left ventricular assist device two years before as a bridge to heart transplantation, that began to present signs and symptoms of mycobacterial infection. The diagnostic work-up we performed showed the presence of Mycobacterium intracellulare in lungs and both peripherical and bone marrow blood. Although evaluated, we found no abnormalities in the patient's immune system that can be related to mycobacterial infection. The beginning of a specific therapy made the patient slowly improve and further nuclear medicine assay (PET-TC) showed a good reduction in radio-labelled drug captation.

Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) is an emerging life-threatening infection in immuno-compromised patients. The incidence of IPA following kidney transplantation is low (between 0.7 and 4%), yet mortality remains unacceptably high (75-80%). A first line therapy with voriconazole or lipid formulations of amphotericin B is often limited by co-morbidities, adverse effects and drug interactions. The case within this publication is the first described report of IPA in a renal transplant recipient responding to aerosolized amphotericin B lipid complex.

We describe a case of symptomatic acute HIV infection in a young man where a fourth-generation rapid screening test combining HIV-specific antibody and p24 antigen was negative. In highly suspicious cases of acute HIV infection, plasma HIV RNA assays together with conventional, non-rapid screening tests should be used.

Cerebral aspergillosis is a rare and highly fatal infection that mainly affects immunocompromised patients. We report on a case of a heart transplanted Caucasian man, who arrived at our hospital because of the onset of diplopy. We performed a broad diagnostic work-up: the brain MRI showed a single ring-enhancing thalamo-mesencephalic area suggestive of abscess lesion; cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis disclosed galactomannan and beta-D-glucan antigens. Thus the antifungal therapy was immediately started. We decided to discontinue the therapy 16 months later because of severe hepatic toxicity, given that the patient was persistently asymptomatic, brain imaging showed a progressive resolution of the abscess area and CSF antigen analysis was persistently negative. The follow-up at three months was unchanged.

Efavirenz is a non-nucleoside-reverse-transcriptase-inhibitor used as part of highly-active-antiretroviral-therapy for the treatment of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1 infection. The present paper aims to describing the impact of efavirenz dose reduction on the pharmaceutical budget at the Verona University Hospital. A budget impact analysis comparing two prescribing scenarios was conducted: all patients treated with the efavirenz full dose (600 mg per day) vs. a proportion of patients treated with a reduced dose (200-400 mg per day). All outpatients referring to the Infectious Disease Clinic in the period November 2009-October 2011 were selected. Out of 132 patients treated with efavirenz, 25 were not considered, mainly due to a too short treatment period. Of the remaining 107 patients, 68 received the full dose, while 39 received a reduced dosage. The analysis included the cost of the drug and of diagnostic tests, from the National Health Service perspective. The daily dose reduction of efavirenz saved 54,664 euros (a 30% expenditure reduction). In sum, new strategies for pharmaceutical system sustainability are necessary; despite forthcoming expiring patents of several drugs, spending on antiretroviral drugs is expected to rise. This paper suggests a way of linking clinical benefits and cost reduction.

We relate the case of a 17 year old girl with active pulmonary tuberculosis which mimicked a severe community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) associated to rhabdomyolysis. This report underlines the importance of excluding the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis in any case of CAP which does not respond to standard antibiotic therapy, remembering that the empiric use of fluoroquinolones could delay the initiation of anti-tuberculosis treatment. This is, to our knowledge, the first description of a case of pulmonary tuberculosis complicated with rhabdomyolysis in a young girl without comorbidities.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a pathology whose control is still unsatisfactory at global level. Traditional diagnostic techniques for active TB diagnosis are inadequate: the diagnostic gold standard is the cultural exam which suffers from lengthy processing and requires highly specialized laboratories. This study analyzed the diagnostic sensitivity of the tuberculin skin test (TST) and QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube (QFT-IT) in 135 active, microbiologically confirmed TB cases. Sensitivity was 76% for both tests and reached cumulative levels close to 90%. QFT-IT revealed a statistically higher sensitivity than TST in a group of patients affected by various causes of immunosuppression, but was less sensitive in subjects with low levels of circulating CD4+ cells. The number of circulating CD4+ cells showed a direct correlation with the stimulated IFN-gamma production. QFT-IT also demonstrated a decreased IFN-gamma production, with a significant sensitivity reduction, in patients affected by advanced forms of pulmonary TB.

Therapeutic strategies in the management of skin and soft tissue infections should take account of different variables: epidemiological trends (community or hospital acquired infections), pathogen or pathogens involved, virulence, seriousness of pathology (possible co-morbidities, knowledge of local epidemiology and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of community and hospital strains. Therapy often should be started promptly, and on an empiric base, once microbiological analysis have been performed, waiting for culture and antimicrobial susceptibility testing. Surgical incision and drainage represent essential therapeutic procedures in the treatment of many complicated skin and soft tissue infections such as abscesses and fasciitis. Gram-positive bacteria and specifically Staphylococcus aureus, are the main cause of such kind of infections. Therefore antistaphylococcal beta-lactams represents a first choice in empirical antimicrobial chemotherapy. Considering high incidence of MRSA in Italian hospitals, treatment of hospital acquired skin and soft tissue infections should be based on glycopeptides combined with third generation cephalosporins, piperacillin-tazobactam, carbapenems or fluoroquinolones. Recently, new drugs (as linezolid, daptomycin, tigecycline) demonstrated good efficacy in the treatment of serious infections caused by multi-drug resistant microorganisms. Most recent guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of skin and soft tissue infections were published in 2005 by Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA). In Italy, the multidisciplinary group of Federazione delle Associazioni dei Dirigenti Ospedalieri Internisti (FADOI) published guidelines for the treatment of skin and soft tissue infections in Internal Medicine wards in 2005. General approach and methodology in writing test were based on analysis of data from available scientific literature and comparing them with actual Italian epidemiological trends and drug prescribing policy. Considering these guidelines, we updated the newest antimicrobial drugs suggested for the treatment of skin and soft tissue infections, such as daptomycin and tigecycline.

To assess the potency, efficacy and toxicity of abacavir/lamivudine (ABC/3TC) versus tenfovir/emcitrabine (TDF/FTC) with efavirenz (EFV) in naive patients with HIV infection a prospective observational study was carried out to evaluate immunovirological parameters every three months and metabolic parameters every six months. In all, 21 patients were enrolled (10 on ABC/3TC and 11 on TDF/FTC). Fisher's test revealed no statistically significant difference between the two arms in terms of immunological recovery and control of viral replication. For metabolic parameters at week 48 no statistically significant differences were noted between the two arms. The two ABC/3TC and TDF/FTC backbones showed the same potency; ABC had a more negative impact on metabolic parameters without statistical power.

Antimicrobial therapy of intra-abdominal infection should consider its aetiology, which is generally polymicrobial, and its location with the aim of selecting the most suitable antimicrobial agents not only according to its spectrum but also to its pharmacokinetics profile Currently, both monotherapy and association therapy can be used, thanks the availability of newer drugs characterized by a wide range of antimicrobial activity both against aerobes and anaerobes. Antibiotic choice and duration therapy vary also according to the infection severity .

Mycoplasma hominis and Ureaplasma urealyticum are frequently isolated from the cervical and vaginal tracts of HIV-negative asymptomatic women. Published data lack indisputable conclusions and doubts still exist as to whether these mycoplasmas are pathogens or mere co-factors associated with genital infections. We therefore conducted a surveillance study to investigate the prevalence of genital mycoplasmas in HIV-1 positive women (110 patients), attending the outpatient Infectious Diseases Clinic of our tertiary referral Hospital, by speculum examination, PAP test, endocervical and vaginal swabs obtained by gynaecologists. Ureaplasma urealyticum was isolated from the cervix of 45 women (41%). Mycoplasma hominis was recovered from 12 women (11%), in four of whom it was isolated at the same time from the vagina. PAP test results ruled out subclinical cervicitis in all women. Bacterial vaginosis, assessed by Amsel criteria and the Nugent score, was absent in all women. Our data show that the mycoplasmas in question are found in the lower genital tract of asymptomatic HIV-1-positive women at a frequency similar to that reported in the HIV-negative female population, and make a role for these microorganisms unlikely in the aetiology of cervico-vaginal infections also in this particular patient population.

Acute mediastinitis is an uncommon and potentially devastating infection. Generally, mediastinitis occurs as a postoperative infection following median sternotomy. We describe a case of acute mediastinitis in a patient with ischaemic heart disease, secondary to the spread of cutaneous infection of the chest wall in the application site of transdermal nitroglycerine patches.

Abacavir is a nucleoside analogue reverse transcriptase inhibitor used in combination with other antiretroviral drugs for the treatment of HIV 1-infection. Approximately 3% of patients who receive abacavir develop an idiosyncratic hypersensitivity reaction. The most common symptoms are fever, skin rash and gastrointestinal disorders. Respiratory symptoms occurred in approximately 20% of patients who have hypersensitivity reaction. We describe the first case, to our knowledge, of hypesensitivity reaction characterized by enanthema and fever without skin rash promptly resolved after discontinuation of abacavir