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Clinical Microbiology Best PracticesA Laboratory Medicine Best Practices Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Nucleic Acid Amplification Tests (NAATs) and Algorithms Including NAATs for the Diagnosis of Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile in AdultsThe evidence base for the optimal laboratory diagnosis of Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile in adults is currently unresolved due to the uncertain performance characteristics and various combinations of tests. This systematic review evaluates the diagnostic accuracy of laboratory testing algorithms that include nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) to detect the presence of...
ReviewPoint-of-Care HIV Viral Load Testing: an Essential Tool for a Sustainable Global HIV/AIDS ResponseThe global public health community has set ambitious treatment targets to end the HIV/AIDS pandemic. With the notable absence of a cure, the goal of HIV treatment is to achieve sustained suppression of an HIV viral load, which allows for immunological recovery and reduces the risk of onward HIV transmission.
ReviewExtended Dosing Regimens for Fungal ProphylaxisInvasive fungal diseases carry high morbidity and mortality in patients undergoing chemotherapy for hematological malignancies or allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. In order to prevent these life-threatening infections, antifungal chemoprophylaxis plays an important role in daily clinical practice.
ReviewHypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniaeHypervirulent K. pneumoniae (hvKp) is an evolving pathotype that is more virulent than classical K. pneumoniae (cKp). hvKp usually infects individuals from the community, who are often healthy.
ReviewMicroorganisms in the Placenta: Links to Early-Life Inflammation and Neurodevelopment in ChildrenPrenatal exposure to various stressors can influence both early and later life childhood health. Microbial infection of the intrauterine environment, specifically within the placenta, has been associated with deleterious birth outcomes, such as preterm birth, as well as adverse neurological outcomes later in life.
ReviewFactors That Influence the Immune Response to VaccinationThere is substantial variation between individuals in the immune response to vaccination. In this review, we provide an overview of the plethora of studies that have investigated factors that influence humoral and cellular vaccine responses in humans.
ReviewCandida parapsilosis: from Genes to the BedsidePatients with suppressed immunity are at the highest risk for hospital-acquired infections. Among these, invasive candidiasis is the most prevalent systemic fungal nosocomial infection.
ReviewEchinococcosis: Advances in the 21st CenturyEchinococcosis is a zoonosis caused by cestodes of the genus Echinococcus (family Taeniidae). This serious and near-cosmopolitan disease continues to be a significant public health issue, with western China being the area of highest endemicity for both the cystic (CE) and alveolar (AE) forms of echinococcosis.
ReviewMethicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Prosthetic Valve Endocarditis: Pathophysiology, Epidemiology, Clinical Presentation, Diagnosis, and ManagementStaphylococcus aureus prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE) remains among the most morbid bacterial infections, with mortality estimates ranging from 40% to 80%. The proportion of PVE cases due to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has grown in recent decades, to account for more than...
ReviewNDM Metallo-β-Lactamases and Their Bacterial Producers in Health Care SettingsNew Delhi metallo-β-lactamase (NDM) is a metallo-β-lactamase able to hydrolyze almost all β-lactams. Twenty-four NDM variants have been identified in >60 species of 11 bacterial families, and several variants have enhanced carbapenemase activity.