Serotypes and Clonal Composition of Streptococcus pneumoniae Isolates Causing IPD in Children and Adults in Catalonia before 2013 to 2015 and after 2017 to 2019 Systematic Introduction of PCV13

The goal of this study was to investigate the distribution of serotypes and clonal composition of Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates causing invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in Catalonia, before and after systematic introduction of PCV13. Pneumococcal strains isolated from normally sterile sites obtained from patients of all ages with IPD received between 2013 and 2019 from 25 health centers of Catalonia were included. Two study periods were defined: presystematic vaccination period (2013 and 2015) and systematic vaccination period (SVP) (2017 to 2019). A total of 2,303 isolates were analyzed. In the SVP, there was a significant decrease in the incidence of IPD cases in children 5 to 17 years old (relative risk [RR] 0.61; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.38 to 0.99), while there was a significant increase in the incidence of IPD cases in 18- to 64-year-old adults (RR 1.33; 95% CI 1.16 to 1.52) and adults over 65 years old (RR 1.23; 95% CI 1.09 to 1.38). Serotype 8 was the major emerging serotype in all age groups except in 5- to 17-year-old children. In children younger than 5 years old, the main serotypes in SVP were 24F, 15A, and 3, while in adults older than 65 years they were serotypes 3, 8, and 12F. A significant decrease in the proportions of clonal complexes CC156, CC191, and ST306 and an increase in those of CC180, CC53, and CC404 were observed. A steady decrease in the incidence of IPD caused by PCV13 serotypes indicates the importance and impact of systematic vaccination. The increase of non-PCV13 serotypes highlights the need to expand serotype coverage in future vaccines and rethink vaccination programs for older adults. IMPORTANCE We found that with the incorporation of the PCV13 vaccine, the numbers of IPD cases caused by serotypes included in this vaccine decreased in all of the age groups. Still, there was an unforeseen increase of the serotypes not included in this vaccine causing IPD, especially in the >65-year-old group. Moreover, a significant increase of serotype 3 included in the vaccine has been observed; this event has been reported by other researchers. These facts call for the incorporation of more serotypes in future vaccines and a more thorough surveillance of the dynamics of this microorganism

Nurses' perceptions of aids and obstacles to the provision of optimal end of life care in ICU

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Impacto del aislamiento de Aspergillus spp. en las primeras 24 h de ingreso en pacientes críticos con neumonía grave por el virus influenza

10 páginasObjective To determine the incidence and impact of Aspergillus spp. isolation (AI) on ICU mortality in critically ill patients with severe influenza pneumonia during the first 24 h of admission. Design Secondary analysis of an observational and prospective cohort study. Setting ICUs voluntary participating in the Spanish severe Influenza pneumonia registry, between June 2009 and June 2019. Patients Consecutive patients admitted to the ICU with diagnosis of severe influenza pneumonia, confirmed by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Interventions None. Main variables of interest Incidence of AI in respiratory samples. Demographic variables, comorbidities, need for mechanical ventilation and the presence of shock according at admission. Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) scale calculated on ICU admission. Results 3702 patients were analyzed in this study. AI incidence was 1.13% (n = 42). Hematological malignancies (OR 4.39, 95% CI 1.92–10.04); HIV (OR 3.83, 95% CI 1.08–13.63), and other immunosuppression situations (OR 4.87, 95% CI 1.99–11.87) were factors independently associated with the presence of Aspergillus spp. The automatic CHAID decision tree showed that hematologic disease with an incidence of 3.3% was the most closely AI related variable. Hematological disease (OR 2.62 95% CI 1.95–3.51), immunosuppression (OR 2.05 95% CI 1.46–2.88) and AI (OR 3.24, 95% CI 1.60–6.53) were variables independently associated with ICU mortality. Conclusions Empirical antifungal treatment in our population may only be justified in immunocompromised patients. In moderate-high risk cases, active search for Aspergillus spp. should be implemented

Adipokines as New Biomarkers of Immune Recovery : Apelin Receptor, RBP4 and ZAG Are Related to CD4+ T-Cell Reconstitution in PLHIV on Suppressive Antiretroviral Therapy

A significant proportion of people living with HIV (PLHIV) who successfully achieve virological suppression fail to recover CD4 T-cell counts. Since adipose tissue has been discovered as a key immune organ, this study aimed to assess the role of adipokines in the HIV immunodiscordant response. This is a multicenter prospective study including 221 PLHIV starting the first antiretroviral therapy (ART) and classified according to baseline CD4 T-cell counts/µL (controls > 200 cells/µL and cases ≤ 200 cells/µL). Immune failure recovery was considered when cases did not reach more than 250 CD4 T cells/µL at 144 weeks (immunological nonresponders, INR). Circulating adipokine concentrations were longitudinally measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. At baseline, apelin receptor (APLNR) and zinc-alpha-2-glycoprotein (ZAG) concentrations were significantly lower in INRs than in immunological responders (p = 0.043 and p = 0.034), and they remained lower during all ART follow-up visits (p = 0.044 and p = 0.028 for APLNR, p = 0.038 and p = 0.010 for ZAG, at 48 and 144 weeks, respectively). ZAG levels positively correlated with retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4) levels (p < 0.01), and low circulating RBP4 concentrations were related to a low CD4 T-cell gain (p = 0.018 and p = 0.039 at 48 and 144 weeks, respectively). Multiple regression adjusted for clinical variables and adipokine concentrations confirmed both low APLNR and RBP4 as independent predictors for CD4 T cells at 144 weeks (p < 0.001). In conclusion, low APLNR and RBP4 concentrations were associated with poor immune recovery in treated PLHIV and could be considered predictive biomarkers of a discordant immunological response

Fetuin-A, inter-α-trypsin inhibitor, glutamic acid and ChoE (18:0) are key biomarkers in a panel distinguishing mild from critical coronavirus disease 2019 outcomes

The mechanistic pathways leading to immune dysregulation and complications driven by uncontrolled severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection remain major challenges.1, 2 Hence, a detailed analysis of the proteome, metabolome and lipidome profile of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients showing different severity grades might shed light on the disease pathophysiology and unveil new predictive biomarkers to promptly ascertain patient's outcomes. Our COVID-19 study cohort included 273 SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals recruited during the first wave (March–April 2020) in three different hospitals and grouped by the disease severity following the medical inclusion criteria3 in mild, severe or critical (Figure 1A), from whom demographic, preexisting clinical conditions and COVID-19 treatments are summarized in Table S1. The greatest significant differences were observed between mild and critically ill patients. These findings indicated that older individuals with comorbidities such as hypertension, obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disorders, mostly presenting dyspnea (Figure 1B), may be at higher risk of suffering from severe respiratory distress with subsequent oxygen and drug requirements and, eventually, died. Similarly, the serum biochemical composition analysis revealed a well-differentiated blood pattern previously defined for critically ill patients (Figure S1).This work has been developed in the framework of the COVIDOMICS’ project supported by Direcció General de Recerca i Innovació en Salut (DGRIS), Departament de Salut, Generalitat de Catalunya (PoC-6-17 and PoC1-5). The research has also been funded by the Programa de Suport als Grups de Recerca AGAUR (2017SGR948), the SPANISH AIDS Research Network [RD16/0025/0006, RD16/0025/0007 and RD16/0025/0020]-ISCIII-FEDER (Spain), the Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Infecciosas-ISCIII [CB21/13/00020], Madrid, Spain and Consejeria de Transformacion Economica, Industria, Conocimiento y Universidades Junta de Andalucía (research Project CV20-85418). Elena Yeregui was supported by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) under grant agreement “FI20/00118″ through the programme “Contratos Predoctorales de Formación en Investigación en Salud”. Laia Revertéwas supported by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) under grant agreement “CD20/00105″ through the programme “Contratos Sara Borrell”. Francesc Vidal was supported by grants from the Programa de Intensificación de Investigadores (INT20/00031)-ISCIII and by “Premi a la Trajectòria Investigadora dels Hospitals de l’ICS 2018″. Anna Rull was supported by a grant from IISPV through the project “2019/IISPV/05″ (Boosting Young Talent), by GeSIDA through the “III Premio para Jóvenes Investigadores 2019″ and by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) under grant agreement “CP19/00146″ through the Miguel Servet Program. Maria José Buzón was supported by the Miguel Servet Program (CP17/00179). Ezequiel Ruiz- Mateos was supported by the Spanish Research Council (CSIC). Alicia Gutiérrez-Valencia was supported by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III, cofinanced by the European Development Regional Fund (“A way to achieve Europe”), Subprograma Miguel Servet (grant CP19/00159). This project was also funded by a donation from the city Council of Perafort (to Teresa Auguet).Peer reviewe