A. Direkvand-Moghadam, Parviz Karimi, S. Nourolahi
{"title":"Neonatal Outcomes Among Pregnant Women with COVID-19","authors":"A. Direkvand-Moghadam, Parviz Karimi, S. Nourolahi","doi":"10.5812/iji.106039","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5812/iji.106039","url":null,"abstract":"Context: COVID-19 is a serious threat to the world as a whole, and pregnant women are at increased risk of the infection. Objectives: In the present study, we have reviewed the outcomes of neonates of pregnant women with COVID-19. Data Sources: We searched Medline, Web of Science, and Scopus databases from December 2019 to April 2020. The search was conducted using the following keywords: COVID-19, newborn, neonatal mortality, neonatal morbidity, pregnant women, pregnancy outcome, or combinations of these keywords. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were all English language articles about COVID-19 in pregnant women and outcomes of pregnancy. Review articles were excluded because of reporting repetitive articles. Study Selection: Two researchers independently screened the titles of all recorded citations, removed duplicate records, and distinguished potentially relevant studies for inclusion. Then, abstracts of selected citations were independently reviewed by two researchers for further relevance, with full-text manuscripts retrieved as appropriate. In disagreement cases, a third consultant was asked to act as an intervener. Results: In total, 6 articles had inclusion criteria. Newborns were examined by laboratory methods, including; the pharyngeal swab specimens, throat swab specimen, amniotic fluid, cord blood, breast milk. The neonatal complications such as a slight increase in the myocardial enzyme, fever, tachycardia, thrombocytopenia, vomiting and pneumothorax, shortness of breath, mild pulmonary infection, transient tachypnea and the skin rashes higher concentrations of IgG and IgM are reported. The shortness of breath was the most frequent clinical first symptom among neonates. Conclusions: There are strong ambiguities concerning the vertical transmission from mother to fetus. Extensive research is needed to resolve ambiguities about the virus and its impact on pregnancy outcomes.","PeriodicalId":13989,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Infection","volume":"3 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-08-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89287798","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Acute Respiratory Infection in Co-Infection Form of Bacteria and Virus, Human Bocavirus with Streptococcus pneumoniae: A Case Report","authors":"Mehrdad Mohammadi","doi":"10.5812/iji.106476","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5812/iji.106476","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction: Human bocavirus (HBoV) belongs to the Parvoviridae family, which has been revealed to be associated with respiratory and gastrointestinal infections in children. There are many reports worldwide on respiratory infection or gastroenteritis caused by this virus. Case Presentation: In a twin case (a girl and a boy), we demonstrated that HBoV infection in combination with Streptococcus pneumonia as co-infection caused the death of a 14-month-old girl with a history of high fever and wheezing. A week later, her brother presented with almost the same symptoms, but only HBoV was found in a nasopharyngeal aspirate sample. Discussion: This case suggests that lower respiratory tract infections due to HBoV may cause severe and life-threatening diseases, resulting in death in combination with a bacterial infection, such as S. pneumonia. The study suggests replacing multiplex PCR as a fast and meticulous method instead of conventional and time-consuming microbiological methods for determining the causative organism for respiratory infections.","PeriodicalId":13989,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Infection","volume":"42 6 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-08-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88183313","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Comparative Evaluation of Linezolid and Teicoplanin in the Treatment of Ventilator-Associated MRSA Pneumonia: A Single-Center Experience","authors":"Md. Jahidul Hasan, S. Nessa, R. Rabbani","doi":"10.5812/iji.104447","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5812/iji.104447","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a serious infection in an intensive care unit (ICU). Ventilator-associated MRSA pneumonia (VAMP) in critically ill patients causes a high rate of mortality. Objectives: This study mainly aimed to compare the clinical outcomes and associated drug safety perspective of linezolid and teicoplanin in VAMP treatment. Methods: This retrospective study included 98 adult ICU patients with VAMP, where 42 patients (LZD group) and 56 patients (TPN group) received a standard dose of linezolid and teicoplanin, respectively, for their VAMP treatment. Adverse reactions associated with linezolid and teicoplanin were considered. Clinical outcomes and 30-day mortality rates were compared in both groups. Results: The LZD group showed a higher MRSA eradication rate (97%, n = 34) than the TPN group (94.3%, n = 53) (P = 0.034). The linezolid and teicoplanin therapy was suddenly discontinued in 19% and 5.3% of the patients in the LZD and TPN groups, respectively, before completing the full duration of antibiotic therapy due to developed adverse drug reactions (ADRs), including thrombocytopenia (LZD/TPN groups: 7/1 event), tachycardia (LZD group: 1 event), and nephrotoxicity (TPN group: 2 events). This discontinuation increased the total duration of antibiotic therapy in 19% (n = 42) and 5.3% (n = 56) of the patients (P = 0.034) in the LZD and TPN groups, respectively. Conclusions: VAMP is a life-threatening event in critically ill ICU patients worldwide. In this study, teicoplanin showed better clinical outcomes with a certain higher level of drug safety compared to linezolid in the treatment of ventilator-associated MRSA pneumonia.","PeriodicalId":13989,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Infection","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88739924","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Traditional Medicine","authors":"Faisal Muhammad","doi":"10.5812/iji.107090","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5812/iji.107090","url":null,"abstract":"<jats:p />","PeriodicalId":13989,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Infection","volume":"118 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-07-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87963739","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Comparison of COVID-19 Severity Between Tropical and Non-Tropical Countries","authors":"Florence Tushabe","doi":"10.5812/iji.104142","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5812/iji.104142","url":null,"abstract":": Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has affected the whole world. However, it is not clear whether the disease affects all countries equally. This paper analyzes the severity of COVID-19 in tropical and temperate countries by comparing the data of infections and deaths registered four months after the onset of the disease. Data were segregated, summarized, visualized, and interpreted. The severity of the disease was quantified in each country and recommendations were made for both categories of countries. The research found that the severity of the disease in terms of infection or death was six times more in countries located in the temperate region.","PeriodicalId":13989,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Infection","volume":"74 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-07-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74235676","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Evaluation of Antibacterial Properties of Chimeric Bovine Lactoferrin Peptide for Inhibition of Food and Plant Pathogens","authors":"H. Sarhadi, M. H. Jahandar, Abbas Tanhaeian","doi":"10.5812/iji.104594","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5812/iji.104594","url":null,"abstract":": The resistance of microorganisms to conventional antibiotics has prompted researchers to produce new antimicrobial compounds. Antimicrobial peptides can be alternatives to chemical antibiotics. Antimicrobial peptides are produced approximately by all living organisms to fight infection. Lactoferrin is an iron glycoprotein that plays an important role in the immune system. Lactoferricin and lactoferrampine have stronger antimicrobial activities than lactoferrin. In this study, we investigated the inhibitory effects of a combination of chimeric bovine lactoferricin and lactoferrampine on microorganisms including Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhimurium, Enterococcus faecalis, and Listeria monocytogenes, as well as plant pathogens including Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae, Pseudomonas viridiflava, Xanthomonas translucens, Xanthomonas perforans, Erwinia amylovora, Pectobacterium carotovorum, and Agrobacterium tumefaciens. The results showed that chimeric bovine lactoferrin had a good inhibitory effect against pathogenic microorganisms and plant pathogens. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) for pathogenic microorganisms Salmonella typhimurium and Listeria monocytogenes were 7.562 µg/mL and 15.125 µg/mL, respectively, which showed the highest sensitivity to chimeric bovine lactoferrin. The MIC and MBC for plant pathogens were 0.497 µg/mL and 0.997 µg/mL, respectively, which were related to Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae and it showed the highest sensitivity to chimeric bovine lactoferrin.","PeriodicalId":13989,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Infection","volume":"33 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-06-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82633269","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Toxoplasmosis Among HIV Patients and Healthy Volunteers in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria","authors":"E. Onosakponome, A. Abah, M. Wogu","doi":"10.5812/iji.102929","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5812/iji.102929","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Toxoplasmosis is a serious infection, especially among the immune-compromised people such as HIV/AIDS patients. Objectives: This study assessed the seroprevalence and associated risk factors of toxoplasmosis among HIV patients and healthy volunteers or immuno-competent persons (IP) in Port Harcourt. Methods: A total of 400 (200 per group) randomly-selected sera were tested for IgG and IgM T. gondii antibodies using ELISA technique. CD4 cell counts were also determined. Demographic and risk factors were determined using a well-structured questionnaire. Results: Overall seroprevalence for HIV and IP using IgG and IgM toxoplasma antibodies was 36.0%, 21.5%, and 1.5%, 7.0%, respectively. The age group f 40 years and above had the highest seroprevalence of 25.3% among the HIV positive persons, while the age groups 25 - 29 years had the highest seroprevalence of 20.0% among the IP. Traders’ positive with HIV had the highest seroprevalence of 30.0% and 0.9% for IgG and IgM toxoplasma antibodies, respectively. HIV subjects with a secondary education showed the highest seroprevalence of 20.0%. More HIV positive females were infected with toxoplasmosis 18.5%. In all, 6.7% (P > 0.05) of the seropositive patients had CD4 cell counts of less than 200 cells/µL, indicating no correlation between seroprevalence and CD4 cell counts of HIV/AIDS patients. Risk factors in this study included the history of living with pets, farming and eating improperly-washed fruits and vegetables. Conclusions: Seroprevalence of Toxoplasmosis was high among HIV patients in Port Harcourt. It is suggested that the institutions included the Toxoplasmosis test as one of the routine tests for HIV patients.","PeriodicalId":13989,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Infection","volume":"9 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-06-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80916500","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Roghaye Keykhasalar, Masoud Homayouni Tabrizi, P. Ardalan
{"title":"Antioxidant Property and Bactericidal Activity of Linum usitatissimum Seed Essential Oil Nanoemulsion (LSEO-NE) on Staphylococcus aureus","authors":"Roghaye Keykhasalar, Masoud Homayouni Tabrizi, P. Ardalan","doi":"10.5812/iji.101639","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5812/iji.101639","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Linum usitatissimum Seed Essential Oil (LSEO) as an efficient antimicrobial compound contains various types of phytochemicals, such as lignans and phenols. Objectives: In the current study, we produced LSEO nanoemulsion (LSEO-NE) to study its antioxidant capacity and bactericidal activity against Staphylococcus aureus. Methods: The LSEO-NE was produced using the ultrasonication method and characterized by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS), and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Then, we measured its antioxidant activity utilizing both ABTS and DPPH tests at four different LSEO-NE concentrations (200, 600, 800, and 1000 µg/mL) compared to glutathione. Finally, we evaluated its bactericidal activity on S. aureus by studying Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing (AST) using LSEO-NE-smeared discs compared to non-smeared and kanamycin discs. Results: The 67.3 nm droplets of LSEO-NE with PDI of 0.452 exhibited strong antioxidant activity, similar to glutathione, in both ABTS (IC50 = 350 µg/mL) and DPPH (IC50 = 235 µg/mL) tests. Moreover, the AST results revealed the significant sensitivity of S. aureus to LSEO-NE-smeared discs when compared to non-smeared and kanamycin discs. Conclusions: According to the results, LSEO-NE can be applied as a safe, natural, and effective antibiotic for bacterial infections caused by S. aureus in most organs, such as the respiratory system and skin. However, further in vivo studies are required to evaluate the LSEO-NE antibacterial efficiency against other pathogenic S. aureus strains.","PeriodicalId":13989,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Infection","volume":"90 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"78244410","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
F. Hammami, M. Koubaa, Abrakhom Zeyni, A. Chakroun, K. Rekik, C. Marrakchi, M. Ben Jemaa
{"title":"An Unusual Variant of Lemierre’s Syndrome with Multiple Abscesses and Hepatic Vein Thrombosis","authors":"F. Hammami, M. Koubaa, Abrakhom Zeyni, A. Chakroun, K. Rekik, C. Marrakchi, M. Ben Jemaa","doi":"10.5812/iji.101633","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5812/iji.101633","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction: Lemierre’s syndrome is an uncommon, life-threatening disease that develops as a severe complication of oropharyngeal infection. However, this syndrome has also been reported during anaerobic septicemia, originating from diverse sources of infection, such as the gastrointestinal system. The diagnosis of this syndrome remains challenging, and is often prompted by the detection of Fusobacterium necrophorum in blood culture, rather than with clinical signs or symptoms. Case Presentation: A previously healthy 38-year-old woman was hospitalized for a 6-day history of fever, watery diarrhea, and vomiting. Physical examination of the patient showed fever, pharyngitis, and diffuse abdominal tenderness. Laboratory investigations revealed elevated inflammatory markers, and two blood cultures revealed Fusobacterium necrophorum. An abdominal ultrasound showed a liver abscess and hepatic vein thrombosis. The thoracoabdominal and cerebral computed tomography scan confirmed the results of the abdominal ultrasound. It additionally revealed bilateral lung nodules and a parietal brain abscess. The patient’s general condition and her laboratory test results, improved after receiving treatment with ceftriaxone and metronidazole. She received antibiotics for three months, without anticoagulation therapy. Repeated computed tomography scans showed a resolution of the liver, pulmonary, and brain abscesses, as well as the recanalization of the hepatic vein. Conclusions: Lemierre’s syndrome emerges as a result of septic illness and liver abscesses in case of gastrointestinal symptoms despite the lack of common presentation.","PeriodicalId":13989,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Infection","volume":"55 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-04-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"90207545","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}