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To investigate the dynamic evolution of vaccine hesitancy toward both COVID-19 and influenza in a context characterized by the compresence of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and seasonal flu epidemics, a two times repeated cross-sectional exploratory design was performed at Udine Hospital (Italy) following a cohort of 479 adult patients with a previous history of SARS-CoV-2 infection in 2020. Vaccine attitude was assessed through standardized telephone interviews performed at 12 and 18 months after the acute illness. The first interview reported the success of the 2020/21 seasonal influenza immunization with 46.8% (224/479) of the participants showing a positive attitude, especially the elderly and people with comorbidities (p

SARS-CoV-2 infection represents a new challenge for solid organ transplantation (SOT) with evolving recommendations. A cross-sectional survey was performed (February–June 2024) to describe practices among Member States of the Council of Europe (COE) on the use of organs from deceased donors with resolved or active SARS-CoV-2 infection. Overall, 32 out of 47 Member States with a transplant program participated in the study. Four (12.5%) countries did not use organs from deceased donors either with resolved or with active SARS-CoV-2 infection and 8 (25%) countries accepted organs only from deceased donors with resolved SARS-CoV-2 infection. Donor evaluation for SARS-CoV-2 included universal screening with standard PCR testing on respiratory specimens generally (61.4%) performed within 24 h prior to organ recovery. Further microbiological, immunological and radiological investigations varied. Most waitlisted patients receiving organs from a deceased donor with active (94.5%) or resolved (61.5%) SARS-CoV-2 infection were preferred to have natural, vaccine-induced or hybrid SARS-CoV-2 immunity. Most countries did not require recipients to undergo specific anti-SARS-CoV-2 treatment as pre-exposure (0%), post-exposure prophylaxis (15.4%) or modification of immunosuppression regimen (24%). This study highlights similarities and heterogeneities in the management of SARS-CoV-2 positive donors between COE countries, and a potential to safely expand donors’ pool.

Expected and unexpected donor-derived infections are a rare complication of solid organ transplantation, but can result in significant morbidity and mortality. Over the last years, the growing gap existing between patients on the waiting list and available organs has favored the use of organs from donors with suspected or confirmed infections, thanks to the improvement of risk mitigation strategies against transmission of well recognized and emerging infections. Given the recent developments, the particular interest of this review is to summarize data on how to maximize utilization of HIV+ donors in HIV+ recipients, the use of HCV-viremic donors and HBV positive donors. This article also covers the implications for recipient of organs from donors with bacteremia and the challenge of multidrug resistant (MDR) infections. Lastly this review describes emerging risks associated with recent Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemics.

Abstract Intra-abdominal infections (IAIs) are common surgical emergencies and are an important cause of morbidity and mortality in hospital settings, particularly if poorly managed. The cornerstones of effective IAIs management include early diagnosis, adequate source control, appropriate antimicrobial therapy, and early physiologic stabilization using intravenous fluids and vasopressor agents in critically ill patients. Adequate empiric antimicrobial therapy in patients with IAIs is of paramount importance because inappropriate antimicrobial therapy is associated with poor outcomes. Optimizing antimicrobial prescriptions improves treatment effectiveness, increases patients’ safety, and minimizes the risk of opportunistic infections (such as Clostridioides difficile) and antimicrobial resistance selection. The growing emergence of multi-drug resistant organisms has caused an impending crisis with alarming implications, especially regarding Gram-negative bacteria. The Multidisciplinary and Intersociety Italian Council for the Optimization of Antimicrobial Use promoted a consensus conference on the antimicrobial management of IAIs, including emergency medicine specialists, radiologists, surgeons, intensivists, infectious disease specialists, clinical pharmacologists, hospital pharmacists, microbiologists and public health specialists. Relevant clinical questions were constructed by the Organizational Committee in order to investigate the topic. The expert panel produced recommendation statements based on the best scientific evidence from PubMed and EMBASE Library and experts’ opinions. The statements were planned and graded according to the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) hierarchy of evidence. On November 10, 2023, the experts met in Mestre (Italy) to debate the statements. After the approval of the statements, the expert panel met via email and virtual meetings to prepare and revise the definitive document. This document represents the executive summary of the consensus conference and comprises three sections. The first section focuses on the general principles of diagnosis and treatment of IAIs. The second section provides twenty-three evidence-based recommendations for the antimicrobial therapy of IAIs. The third section presents eight clinical diagnostic-therapeutic pathways for the most common IAIs. The document has been endorsed by the Italian Society of Surgery.

Perioperative antibiotic prophylaxis (PAP) in lung transplant recipients (LuTRs) has high heterogeneity between centers. Our aim was to investigate retrospectively the approach to PAP in our center over a 20-year period (2002–2023), and its impact on early post-operative infections (EPOIs) after lung transplantation (LuT). Primary endpoint was diagnosis of EPOI, defined as any bacterial infection including donor-derived events diagnosed within 30 days from LuT. Main exposure variables were type of PAP (combination vs. monotherapy) and PAP duration. We enrolled 111 LuTRs. PAP consisted of single-agent or combination regimens in 26 (25.2%) and 85 (74.8%) LuTR. Median PAP duration was 10 days (IQR 6–13) days. Piperacillin/tazobactam was the most common agent used either as monotherapy (n = 21, 80.7%) or as combination with levofloxacin (n = 79, 92.9%). EPOIs were diagnosed in 30 (27%) patients. At multivariable analysis no advantages were found for combination regimens compared to single-agent PAP in preventing EPOI (OR: 1.57, 95% CI: 0.488–5.068, p:0.448). The impact of PAP duration on EPOIs development was investigated including duration of PAP ≤6 days as main exposure variables, without finding a significantly impact (OR:2.165, 95% CI: 0.596–7.863, p: 0.240). Our results suggest no advantages for combination regimens PAP in preventing EPOI in LuTR.

This large, multicenter, retrospective cohort study including onco-hematological neutropenic patients with Pseudomonas aeruginosa bloodstream infection (PABSI) found that among 1213 episodes, 411 (33%) presented with septic shock. The presence of solid tumors (33.3% vs. 20.2%, p < 0.001), a high-risk Multinational Association for Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC) index score (92.6% vs. 57.4%; p < 0.001), pneumonia (38% vs. 19.2% p < 0.001), and infection due to multidrug-resistant P. aeruginosa (MDRPA) (33.8% vs. 21.1%, p < 0.001) were statistically significantly higher in patients with septic shock compared to those without. Patients with septic shock were more likely to receive inadequate empirical antibiotic therapy (IEAT) (21.7% vs. 16.2%, p = 0.020) and to present poorer outcomes, including a need for ICU admission (74% vs. 10.5%; p < 0.001), mechanical ventilation (49.1% vs. 5.6%; p < 0.001), and higher 7-day and 30-day case fatality rates (58.2% vs. 12%, p < 0.001, and 74% vs. 23.1%, p < 0.001, respectively). Risk factors for 30-day case fatality rate in patients with septic shock were orotracheal intubation, IEAT, infection due to MDRPA, and persistent PABSI. Therapy with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor and BSI from the urinary tract were associated with improved survival. Carbapenems were the most frequent IEAT in patients with septic shock, and the use of empirical combination therapy showed a tendency towards improved survival. Our findings emphasize the need for tailored management strategies in this high-risk population.