Early Antibiotic Discontinuation in FUO
Febrile NeutropeniaHematological MalignancyFebrile neutropenia requires prompt initiation of broad-spectrum antibiotics, which can be responsible for side-effects and selection of resistance. This study demonstrates the safety of an early discontinuation of empirical treatments, in carefully selected patients presenting with fever of unknown origin.
Efficacy of an Investigational Thermal Rehab Machine on Body Cooling in Hyperthermic Individuals...
Cryotherapy EffectExertional heat stroke (EHS) is an emergency medical condition that is prevalent in military soldiers, athletes, and laborers. It is diagnosed when the rectal temperature is above 40°C with the presence of central nervous dysfunction (altered mental status). The gold standard method of care for EHS is immediate onsite whole body cooling using cold-water immersion (cooling rates >0.15°C•min-1), which is reported to have the highest cooling rate. In the treatment of EHS, selecting a cooling modality with a high cooling rate becomes crucial to minimize the time above the critical threshold of body temperature at 40°C to less than 30 minutes for the best chance of survival and to minimize the severity of prognosis. However, in situations where cold water immersion is not feasible (in certain military, firefighter, or other remote settings), other cooling modalities must be available that have a cooling capacity similar to that of cold-water immersion. In this proposed study, the investigators aim to examine the cooling rates of the Polar Breeze® device (developed by Statim Technologies, LLC, Clearwater, FL) compared to rotating ice towels, a cooling method often recommended by sports medicine professionals as an alternative to cold-water immersion, and passive rest in participants with exercise-induced hyperthermia.
Passive Enhanced Safety Surveillance of Stamaril® Vaccine in Korea
Yellow FeverThis is a passive enhance safety surveillance (ESS) of Stamaril® vaccine in Korea. The objective is to collect suspected related adverse events following vaccination with Stamaril® in routine practice.
A Diagnostic Test for Familial Mediterranean Fever
Familial Mediterranean FeverFamilial Mediterranean Fever (FMF) is the most common auto-inflammatory disease (prevalence: 1-5 / 10,000 inhabitants). It is due to mutations of the MEFV gene, encoding variants of the Pyrin inflammasome. Inflammasomes are protein complexes of innate immunity producing pro-inflammatory cytokines (interleukin-1β). In vitro, preliminary results demonstrated that activation of the Pyrin inflammasome (measured by interleukin-1β concentration) by kinase inhibitors is significantly increased in FMF patients compared to subjects with a similar clinical picture, and healthy controls. In addition, a measure of cell death yielded significant results in differentiating patients from controls. The investigators hypothesize that this fast and simple functional test can serve as a diagnostic tool for FMF.
Non- Inferiority Fractional-doses Trial for Yellow Fever Vaccine
Yellow FeverIn the recent past there has been a number of large urban Yellow Fever outbreaks in sub-Saharan Africa, tropical South Americas, The demand for Yellow Fever vaccines in response to the large urban outbreaks occurring concurrently and the risk of further spread through Africa and to Asia was larger than the available global supply. In this situation, the World Health Organisation (WHO) developed recommendations for the use of fractional doses of Yellow Fever vaccine as a dose-sparing strategy. These recommendations were based on data from a limited number of clinical trials, none of which had been conducted in Africa. This was due to the uncertainties on the minimum dose requirement. Our study complements a study which is comparing full standard dose to 1/5th of standard dose of all four WHO-prequalified YF vaccines in adults (ClinicalTrials.gov number: NCT02991495), and is currently ongoing at KEMRI CGMRC and Epicentre, Mbarara which is designed to answer questions on the use of current stock of YF vaccines with a potency as close as possible to each manufacturers' minimum release. Data from this trial will inform a WHO recommendation on using 1/5th of the current standard dose of vaccine for outbreak control. However, since many vials will contain excess YF vaccine such that 1/5th of a vial is likely to be substantially above the current minimum potency requirements, these data may not be scientifically explanatory regarding the minimum dose required for preventive use. The new complementary study, aims to determine the lowest YF vaccine dose that is non-inferior to the current standard full dose among populations in sub-Saharan Africa. The study will be conducted in Kenya (KEMRI Center for Geographical Medicine Research-Coast (CGMR-C), Kilifi) and Uganda (Epicentre, Mbarara) with trial participants recruited at both sites, using vaccine from one WHO-prequalified manufacturer (Institut Pasteur de Dakar, Senegal (IPD)).
Hospital Admissions in Children Aged 3 Months to 5 Years Presenting With Fever to the Emergency...
FeverThis study primarily aims to describe factors associated with hospitalisation of children aged 3 months to 5 years presenting with fever to an urban paediatric A&E departments by describing and analysing characteristics both of those patients admitted to hospital and those managed in the community. To complement this, information on the short-term healthcare utilization by families attending the emergency department because of feverish illness will be collected. The study will be carried out in one participating centre in Switzerland and the United Kingdom, respectively, to enable a head to head comparison of the assessment and admission practices in two European countries. The resulting data will be used as the basis for further research in this area and will provide information on how to optimally structure service provision in acute febrile childhood illness.
Meropenem Versus Meropenem Plus Glycopeptide in Patients With Febrile Neutropenia After Allogenic...
Allogenic Blood Stem Cell TransplantationFebrile NeutropeniaObservational study to compare the treatment in neutropenic patients after allogenic blood stem cell transplantation, with meropenem or meropenem plus glycopeptide.
Characterization of T Cell Responses Following Yellow Fever Virus Vaccination in Healthy Adults...
Yellow FeverThe investigators at Rockefeller University are doing this research to study how the immune system responds to viruses and other infectious agents by using the yellow fever 17D vaccine as a model. The YFV-17D vaccine is one of the safest and most effective vaccines known and has been used to vaccinate humans against yellow fever virus (YFV) infection since the 1930s. By studying how the human immune system responds to the YFV vaccine we hope to learn more about the normal functioning of the immune system so that it might be possible to design new, more effective types of vaccines to prevent important infectious diseases. The reason for doing this research is: Currently there is very little information about which factors determine the effectiveness of the initial (primary) immune response to a foreign substance (antigen), such as a virus, that person may be exposed to. There is also very little known about what determines how effectively and for how long a person's immune system can react to the same antigen to prevent another infection. Studies in animals have given us important information about how the immune systems of other animals behave upon initial or repeated exposure to antigens,but these topics have not been studied in detail in humans. The following hypotheses will be tested: The magnitude of the initial expansion of T lymphocytes (the "clonal burst") specific for the infecting virus determines the level at which memory T cell responses are generated against the specific viral antigen and the duration of the memory T cell response generated in the body. The majority of CD8 T cells generated after immunization are yellow fever specific and not "bystander activation" of non-specific cells.
Bedside Ultrasound Predicts Progression of Severity of Disease in Dengue Fever
DengueFeverThe purpose of this study is determine the ability of bedside ultrasound performed in the Emergency Department and Outpatient Department can predict the severity of disease during a Dengue Fever outbreak in children, in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Our hypothesis is that the presence of gallbladder wall thickening, pulmonary edema/effusions, ascites, pericardial effusion in children correlates with progression to more severe disease.
Procalcitonin Levels in Patients With Fever and a Central Line
FeverProcalcitonin (PCT) is one of many inflammatory markers which rises in response to infection. Many studies have shown this marker to be more indicative of a patient's clinical course in comparison to other inflammatory markers, such as Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR) and C reactive protein (CRP), when assessing a patient's risk for serious infection. A particular population with potential for serious infection is that of the patient with fever and a central line, most often secondary to an oncologic disease. These patients are often neutropenic and unable to fight off infection, thereby rendering them extremely vulnerable to rapid declines in clinical status. By identifying a level of procalcitonin which is significant as a threshold for serious bacterial infection, the investigators can very early on identify the sickest patients and those who could potentially have a worse clinical course and/or outcome. The primary study goal is to identify whether a level of procalcitonin exists above which rates of bacteremia or serious bacterial infections in patients with fever and a central line exist. The investigators will try to determine if levels of PCT correlate with bacterial infection in line sepsis in the specific population of patients who most often have a central line secondary to an oncologic process. The investigators proposed this theory since peak values of PCT have been shown to be elevated in acute settings making it a useful tool in this particular population.