Comparison of the estimated treatment effect of voriconazole on mortality using propensity scores–matched analysis and standardized mortality ratio-weighted analyses.

<p>^a OR: Odds ratio;</p><p>^b CI: Confidence interval.</p

Use of caspofungin and voriconazole according to FDA approved indications and factors associated with increased unapproved use.

<p>Use of caspofungin and voriconazole according to FDA approved indications and factors associated with increased unapproved use.</p

Change in the rates of systemic antifungal use during the study period.

<p>The rate of increase for caspofungin was 2.94/100 hospitalization, each year (95% CI: 2.83–3.06) and for voriconazole 3.43/100 hospitalization, each year (95%CI: 3.27–3.60).</p

Descriptive characteristics of the study population. Patients who used at least one systemic antifungal agent in the hospital between the years 2001–2003.

<p>Descriptive characteristics of the study population. Patients who used at least one systemic antifungal agent in the hospital between the years 2001–2003.</p

Comparison of the estimated treatment effect of caspofungin on mortality using propensity scores–matched analysis and standardized mortality ratio-weighted analyses.

<p>^a OR: Odds ratio;</p><p>^b CI: Confidence interval.</p

Number of hospitalization episodes with at least one dose of systemic antifungal use between 2001 and 2003.

<p>Since fluconazole constitutes a majority of use, a separate column shows use when patients who only used fluconazole are excluded (W/o flu column).</p><p>^a W/o flu: Patients who used only fluconazole were excluded.</p><p>^b AMB: Amphotericin B deoxycholate.</p><p>^c LF-AMB: Lipid formulations of amphotericin B.</p

Ribavirin for Patients with Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a potentially fatal tick-borne infection. The virus is widely distributed around the world and reports of sporadic cases and outbreaks have recently increased significantly. Some authors have proposed that ribavirin improves survival in CCHF and this view appears to be widely accepted. Methods: We evaluated the efficacy of ribavirin in reducing mortality by conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis. We included randomized controlled trials and observational studies that compared the outcomes of CCHF patients who were treated with ribavirin with those of patients that were not treated. The main endpoint we assessed was survival. We also evaluated secondary endpoints, i.e. adverse events, length of stay in the hospital, time taken for laboratory values to return to normal and requirement for blood products. A pooled estimate of the relative risks for survival from each study was obtained by using random effects models. Results: One randomized controlled trial and seven observational studies met our inclusion criteria. Most observational studies suffered from different types of bias due to inappropriate selection of controls. Compilation of data from all included studies showed that ribavirin did not improve survival in CCHF (relative risk 1.06, 95% confidence interval 0.97-1.16). Analysis of secondary endpoints did not suggest a clinically significant beneficial effect either. Conclusions: Our systematic review and meta-analysis revealed that the available data in the literature are inadequate to support a claim of efficacy of ribavirin in CCHF. We believe a real uncertainty exists over the benefit of ribavirin in the treatment of CCHF, which necessitates the urgent conduct of a randomized placebo-controlled trial.WoSScopu

Successful outpatient management of pelvic actinomycosis by ceftriaxone: a report of three cases

Pelvic actinomycosis is a chronic granulomatous suppurative disease caused by actinomyces israeli. Intravenous penicillin is the preferred antimicrobial but it requires hospitalization up to one month. An outpatient treatment strategy would be cost effective and a good choice for patients. Here we present three cases in which intramuscular ceftriaxone was successfully used in the outpatient settings following surgery and IV penicillin treatment in the hospital