Marco Rizzi

Candida infective endocarditis: report of 15 cases from a prospective multicenter study.

Candida species are an uncommon cause of infective endocarditis (IE). Given the rarity of this infection, the epidemiology, prognosis, and optimal therapy of Candida IE are poorly defined. We conducted a prospective, observational study at 18 medical centers in Italy, including all consecutive patients with a definite diagnosis of IE admitted from January 2004 through December 2007. A Candida species was the causative organism in 8 cases of prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE), 5 cases of native valve endocarditis (NVE), 1 case of pacemaker endocarditis, and 1 case of left ventricular patch infection. Candida species accounted for 1.8% of total cases, and for 3.4% of PVE cases. Most patients (86.6%) had a health care-associated infection. PVE associated with a health care contact occurred after a median of 225 days from valve implantation. Ten patients (66.6%) were treated with caspofungin alone or in combination with other antifungal drugs. The overall mortality rate was 46.6%. Mortality was higher in patients with PVE (5 of 8 cases, 62.5%) than in patients with NVE (2 of 5 patients, 40%). A better outcome was observed in patients treated with a combined medical and surgical therapy. Candida IE should be classified as an emerging infectious disease, usually involving patients with intravascular prosthetic devices, and associated with substantial related morbidity and mortality. Candida PVE usually is a late-onset disease, which becomes clinically evident even several months after an initial episode of transient candidemia. Abbreviations: CVC = central venous catheter, ICU = intensive care unit, IE = infective endocarditis, IV = intravenous, NVE = native valve endocarditis, PVE = prosthetic valve endocarditis, SEI = Italian Study on Endocarditis.

Rilpivirine: drug profile of a second-generation non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase HIV-inhibitor.

Rilpivirine (RPV) is a next-generation non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) of the diarylpyrimidine family. RPV can be given once daily, is well absorbed and should be administered with food. It is eliminated mainly by hepatic metabolism. Two phase III noninferiority trials (ECHO and THRIVE), compared RPV 25mg with efavirenz (EFV) 600 mg, both given once daily, and combined with 2NRTI backbone. At week 48, response rate for pooled data were 84 versus 82% (difference: 2%; 95% CI: -2.0 to 6.0%). EFV arms performed better than RPV arms when at higher baseline HIV RNA, so RPV was approved for treatment-naïve patients with HIV RNA below 100,000 copies/ml. Approximately 90% of viruses phenotypically resistant to RPV showed cross-resistance to ETR. Conversely, phenotypic analysis showed that in EFV arm, none were resistant to the second-generation NNRTIs. CD4 count increases were similar between groups, but RPV showed a lower rate of discontinuation due to adverse events and lower rates of central nervous system effects, rash and lipid abnormalities. Potency, tolerability and co-formulation in a single tablet (Eviplera®, Complera®) make this drug a new and attractive option for the treatment of HIV.

New Times for an Old Disease: Intracranial Mass Lesions Caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis in 5 HIV-Negative African Immigrants

BACKGROUND The tuberculosis epidemic is still a global emergency, and its spread in the past 20 years has been fueled by the acquired immune deficiency syndrome pandemic and increasing drug resistance. International travel and migration may increase the incidence of tuberculosis in industrialized countries. METHODS We reviewed the clinical charts of patients admitted to the infectious diseases unit of Ospedali Riuniti (Bergamo, Italy) to identify patients with intracranial mass lesions caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. RESULTS During the past 6.5 years, 5 of 30 patients with a mass of infectious origin in the brain had tuberculous brain lesions diagnosed. All 5 were human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-negative adults and African immigrants. No patient had concomitant meningitis, 1 had a concomitant pulmonary disease, and 3 subjects reported a past history of tuberculosis. At presentation, no patient had fever and 3 had seizures. Examination of cerebrospinal fluid revealed normal findings for 4 of 4 subjects, and neuroimaging showed multiple intracranial mass lesions in 4 of 5 patients. The diagnosis was definite for 2 subjects (based on analysis of brain specimens) and presumptive for 3 subjects (1 had concomitant pulmonary tuberculosis, and 2 had clinical response to therapy). Results of susceptibility tests for M. tuberculosis were available for 2 patients: both isolates were resistant to isoniazid, and 1 was also resistant to streptomycin. Duration of medical treatment ranged from 11 to 23 months, and 2 subjects underwent surgical procedures at the time of diagnosis. All 5 patients recovered. CONCLUSIONS Clinicians in western countries should consider the possible role of tuberculosis in causing mass lesions in the brain, particularly in immigrants from regions where tuberculosis is endemic.

Reduced adherence to antiretroviral therapy is associated with residual low-level viremia

The source and significance of residual low-level viremia (LLV) during combinational antiretroviral therapy (cART) remain a matter of controversy. It is unclear whether residual viremia depends on ongoing release of HIV from the latent reservoir or if viral replication contributes to LLV. We examined the relationship between adherence and LLV. Adherence was estimated by pharmacy refill and dichotomized as ≥95% or <95%. Plasma HIV-RNA was determined, with an ultrasensitive test having a limit of detection of 3 copies/mL at least 2 times over the follow-up period. Patients were grouped according to HIV-RNA over time as K<3: constantly <3 copies/mL; V<3: sometimes below or above the cutoff limit but always <50 copies/mL; K>3: constantly between 3 and 50 copies/mL; and V>50: a measure of >50 copies/mL minimum. Overall, 2789 patients were included. At each time point approximately 92% of the patients presented an HIV-RNA <50 copies/mL and two-thirds of those <3 copies/mL, 34.6% of patients had <3 copies/mL constantly, 32.7% sometimes below or above the cutoff limit but always <50 copies/mL, 9.5% constantly between 3 and 50 copies/mL, and 23.2% a measure of >50 copies/mL minimum. The mean adherence rate was 92.1% (95% confidence interval [CI] from 91.1% to 93.1%) in K<3 patients, similar in V<3 patients (91.9%), but lowered to 88.8% in K>3 patients and to 88.4% in V>50 patients (P<0.0001). Approximately 55% of patients in groups K<3 and V<3 showed an adherence rate ≥95%; this proportion lowered to ~51% in K>3 and to 48% in V>50. Moreover, 34% of patients with a steady adherence <95% were categorized as K>3, whereas 21.7% of those with a drug holiday (21.7%) were observed in the V>50 group (P=0.002). A steady viral suppression can occur despite moderate cART non-adherence, but reduced adherence is associated with low-level residual viremia, which could reflect new rounds of HIV replication. However, a detectable HIV-RNA could also be detected in patients with optimal cART adherence, indicating additional mechanisms favoring HIV persistence.

Long-term effect of a four-drugs induction regimen for patients with high baseline viral load

The long‐term effects of an intensified induction regimen are unknown. In this pilot, randomized, prospective study we evaluate the effect of a short‐term four‐drugs induction regimen in patients with high baseline viral load.

Candida endocarditis: systematic literature review from 1997 to 2014 and analysis of 29 cases from the Italian Study of Endocarditis

ABSTRACT Introduction: Candida Endocarditis (CE) is a deadly disease. It is of paramount importance to assess risk factors for acquisition of both Candida native (NVE) and prosthetic (PVE) valve endocarditis and relate clinical features and treatment strategies with the outcome of the disease. Areas covered: We searched the literature using the Pubmed database. Cases of CE from the Italian Study on Endocarditis (SEI) were also included. Overall, 140 cases of CE were analyzed. Patients with a history of abdominal surgery and antibiotic exposure had higher probability of developing NVE than PVE. In the PVE group, time to onset of CE was significantly lower for biological prosthesis compared to mechanical prosthesis. In the whole population, greater age and longer time to diagnosis were associated with increased likelihood of death. Patients with effective anti-biofilm treatment, patients who underwent cardiac surgery and patients who were administered chronic suppressive antifungal treatment showed increased survival. For PVE, moderate active anti-biofilm and highly active anti-biofilm treatment were associated with lower mortality. Expert commentary: Both NVE and PVE could be considered biofilm-related diseases, pathogenetically characterized by Candida intestinal translocation and initial transient candidemia. Cardiac surgery, EAB treatment and chronic suppressive therapy might be crucial in increasing patient survival.

Infezioni del sistema nervoso centrale

La terapia antimicrobica delle infezioni del sistema nervoso centrale presenta alcune peculiari difficolta. Si tratta di malattie comunemente gravi, a elevata letalita ed esiti importanti, tali da rendere ancora piu utile sia la tempestivita della diagnosi, almeno presuntiva, sia l’avvio della terapia, spesso ancora prima che siano disponibili i dati microbiologici. Inoltre, se per le meningiti e spesso possibile giungere a una diagnosi eziologica con l’esame del liquor, per altre infezioni del sistema nervoso centrale — ascessi, encefaliti, infezione di sistemi di derivazione liquorale — e sovente difficile ottenere campioni microbiologicamente significativi. Infine, la scelta dei farmaci antimicrobici e resa difficile dalla limitata diffusione di molte molecole nel sistema nervoso centrale.