Diagnostic Difficulties in a Severely Ill HIV Patient with Multiple Superinfections - A Case Report

As chronic HIV infection is prone to co-infections more than any other infectious condition, many severely immune-depressed patients require advanced diagnostic investigations and complex treatment

Precision Medicine and its Role in the Treatment of Sepsis: A Personalised View

In recent years, a new form of medicine has become increasingly significant, namely, personalised medicine (PM). PM is a form of care in which treatment is tailored for an individual patient

Staphylococcal Scalded Skin Syndrome in Child. A Case Report and a Review from Literature

Staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome (SSSS) is the medical term used to define a skin condition induced by the exfoliative toxins produced by Staphylococcus aureus. The disorder is also known as Ritter disease, bullous impetigo, neonatal pemphigus, or staphylococcal scarlet fever. The disease especially affects infants and small children, but has also been described in adults. Prompt therapy with proper antibiotics and supportive treatment has led to a decrease in the mortality rate

Low Serum Vitamin D in COVID-19 Patients Is Not Related to Inflammatory Markers and Patients’ Outcomes—A Single-Center Experience and a Brief Review of the Literature

The aim of the study was to evaluate the vitamin D status in hospitalized COVID-19 patients and the correlation with C reactive protein (CRP), ferritin, fibrinogen, and peripheral blood leukocytes, as well as inflammatory derived indices. A prospective study was performed on 203 COVID-19 hospitalized patients, classified by disease severity. Blood was collected after admission, and inflammatory biomarkers and vitamin D status were assessed using routine laboratory procedures. No significant correlation was found between vitamin D serum levels and disease severity stratified by different age groups. However, the highest vitamin D levels were found in patients with mild disease: median 29.39 (IQR 12.12–44.02) ng/mL, while for moderate and severe forms the serum levels were significantly lower: median 15.10 (IQR 9.56–24.11) ng/mL for moderate, and 18.86 (IQR 12.50–27.88) ng/mL for severe; p = 0.009. Patients with no comorbidities showed a significantly higher level of vitamin D median 24.72 (IQR 16.05–31.52) ng/mL compared to subjects with at least one comorbidity: median 16.02 (IQR 9.81–25.22) ng/mL, p = 0.004. We did not find an association between vitamin D levels and inflammatory biomarkers except for significantly lower vitamin D levels in moderate and severe COVID-19 compared to mild disease forms

Reply to Chambers, P. Comment on “Huțanu et al. Low Serum Vitamin D in COVID-19 Patients Is Not Related to Inflammatory Markers and Patients’ Outcomes—A Single-Center Experience and a Brief Review of the Literature. Nutrients 2022, 14, 1998”

We thank Patrick Chambers for his interest [...

The Relevance of Coding Gene Polymorphysms of Cytokines and Cellular Receptors in Sepsis

Sepsis is an injurious systemic host response to infection, which can often lead to septic shock and death. Recently, the immune-pathogenesis and genomics of sepsis have become a research topic focusing on the establishment of diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers. As yet, none have been identified as having the necessary specificity to be used independently of other factors in this respect. However the accumulation of current evidence regarding genetic variations, especially the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of cytokines and other innate immunity determinants, partially explains the susceptibility and individual differences of patients with regard to the evolution of sepsis. This article outlines the role of genetic variation of some serum proteins which have the potential to be used as biomarker values in evaluating sepsis susceptibility and the progression of the condition

Genetic variability of ANG2-35G>C gene as a predictor factor in sepsis

To date it is unknown if there is a predisposition to sepsis. In this respect, genetic studies have been conducted with the aim to find gene variants which can point out a higher predisposition to developing sepsis. The primary objective of this study is to highlight whether the genetic polymorphism of Angiopoietin-2 gene (ANG2-35G>C) is present mainly in septic patients. As secondary objectives we aimed to evaluate if there are any associations between ANG2-35G>C polymorphism and the severity scores Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) and Simplified Acute Physiology Score (SAPS) as well as routine tests in septic patients such as C reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT). We enrolled adult patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). After admission to the ICU and the diagnosis of sepsis, blood samples were collected and the severity scores: APACHE II, SAPS were calculated on the first day of ICU admission. We recorded the following from the blood samples: CRP, PCT, angiopoietine2 (Ang-2). We performed several one-way ANOVA tests to determine any significant mean difference of the analyzed variables. We observed that variant genotypes of ANG2-35G>C gene polymorphism are significantly related to CRP, aspect which increases this biomarker credibility compared with others (i.e., PCT), in septic patients. ANG2-35G>C gene polymorphism is associated with severity scores, APACHE II, and SAPS in sepsis