Active clinical trials for "Infections"

To evaluate the safety and efficacy of adefovir dipivoxil in prolonging survival of patients with advanced HIV disease. In CMV prophylaxis substudy: To evaluate the efficacy of adefovir dipivoxil in preventing the development of CMV end-organ disease in patients with advanced HIV coinfected with CMV. The optimal treatment for HIV infection and the prevention of CMV disease has not been identified. Currently available antiretroviral therapies are hampered by both significant toxicities and the development of resistance. In addition, agents for preventing CMV disease, such as oral ganciclovir, are complicated by poor bioavailability and decreased compliance secondary to toxicities. Moreover, discordant results have been reported regarding the effectiveness of oral ganciclovir for preventing CMV disease. There is a need for newer agents with anti-HIV and anti-herpesvirus activity that have good pharmacokinetic and safety profiles and that will be well tolerated by patients. Adefovir dipivoxil is an oral pro-drug of PMEA, a nucleoside analog with activity against a broad spectrum of retroviruses and herpesviruses, including important human pathogens, such as HIV-1, HIV-2 and CMV. Due to its anti-HIV and anti-herpesvirus activity, adefovir dipivoxil may be able to decrease the incidence of opportunistic herpesvirus infections and prolong survival in patients with advanced HIV infection.

To evaluate and compare the effectiveness of a 2-month regimen of rifampin and pyrazinamide versus a 1-year course of isoniazid (INH) to prevent the development of tuberculosis in patients who are coinfected with HIV and latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTb). Current guidelines recommend 6 to 12 months of treatment with INH for purified protein derivative (PPD)-positive individuals. Problems with this treatment include compliance, adverse reaction, and the possibility of not preventing disease due to INH-resistant organisms. Studies suggest that two or three months of rifampin and pyrazinamide may be more effective than longer courses of INH. A two-month prevention course should help to increase compliance. In addition, the use of two drugs (rifampin and pyrazinamide) may help overcome problems with drug resistance.

To determine the safety profile, assess pharmacokinetic properties (blood levels), and obtain preliminary indication of the antiviral and immunologic effects of recombinant CD4 immunoglobulin G (CD4-IgG). CD4-IgG may be effective in blocking HIV transmission and spread, that is, CD4-IgG has antiviral effects. Studies done in adult patients with AIDS and AIDS related complex (ARC) have shown that rCD4 can be safely administered by intravenous bolus, intramuscular or subcutaneous injection. No serious or dose-limiting, drug-related toxicities have been observed to date.

To determine the safety and maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of 2',3'-dideoxyinosine (ddI), given orally and intravenously, in infants and children with AIDS. The study also measures bloodstream and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of the administered drug, and provides a preliminary assessment of the effectiveness of ddI on HIV replication. AMENDED: Based on safety established in the first dosing phase of 52 weeks and long term dosing data in adults, the dosing period will be extended to 104 weeks. Original design: Information presently available indicates that ddI has high antiviral activity with less apparent toxicity than zidovudine (AZT) (the drug presently used to treat AIDS).

AMENDED: 04-12-91 Population of patients changed FROM those who are intolerant of systemic therapy with NON-sight-threatening CMV retinitis TO those AIDS patients intolerant of systemic therapy with CMV retinitis. AMENDED: 8/8/90. Changes made in neutrophils count from < 500 to < 750 cells/mm3. Nonrandomized eyes will not be used for the primary efficacy evaluation. ORIGINAL DESIGN: To determine the effectiveness and safety of ganciclovir (DHPG) therapy in AIDS patients suffering from active cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection of the retina of the eye (retinitis) when the drug is administered directly into the fluid-filled vitreous cavity of the eye by injection. CMV retinitis is the most frequently seen opportunistic infection of the eye in AIDS patients, and left untreated can lead to severe visual loss and blindness. While systemic administration of DHPG has been shown to be an effective treatment for CMV retinitis, the chronic administration required may be complicated by decreased blood cell counts (granulocytopenia) which may require discontinuation of treatment. While withholding treatment may allow recovery from the granulocytopenia, interruption of therapy may result in reactivation of the retinitis. Injection of DHPG into the vitreous cavity of the eye may be of benefit to severely neutropenic patients with CMV retinitis.

To evaluate the clinical, immunologic, and virologic effects of oral zidovudine (AZT) plus intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) versus AZT plus placebo (albumin). It is estimated that by 1991, there may be 10,000 to 20,000 HIV-infected children in the United States. HIV infection in children is most often associated with symptomatic disease and poor prognosis. Treatment with antiviral therapy may be effective in changing the course of disease and decreasing mortality in this vulnerable population. AZT treatment has been shown to decrease mortality and the frequency of opportunistic infections in certain adult AIDS patients; therefore, it is likely that children may also benefit from this antiviral therapy. In addition, bacterial infections are frequently found in HIV-infected children. Because pooled human serum immunoglobulin, another name for antibodies, is effective in reducing bacterial infection in patients with defects of immunity, it may reduce the rate of bacterial infection in HIV-infected children as well. In this study, AZT will be administered together with IVIG to determine safety, tolerance, and efficacy of the combined treatment.

To determine whether administration of human recombinant erythropoietin (REPO) improved or eliminated the anemia seen in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected patients after therapy with zidovudine (ZDV).

The aim is to study the association of H. pylori infection with T2DM and its relation with glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels

The incidence and prevalence of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) infections have gradually increased over the years worldwide (1-3). In China, Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) was the most prevalent NTM specie (4), while challenged by long treatment duration, frequent drug-induced adverse events, lack of treatment alternatives, poor treatment outcome and high recurrence rate (5, 6). In order to maximize the efficacy of the few available drugs and prevent the development of drug resistance, ensuring adequate plasma drug concentrations are of importance. Despite the role of pathogen susceptibility, determined by minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), is non-negligible, the evidences regarding its association with treatment outcome are limited, especially for rifamycin and ethambutol. The difficulties in explaining the clinical values of MIC might partially be attributed to the lack of in vivo drug exposure data, which cannot be accurately predicted by the dose administered because of between-patient pharmacokinetic variability (7). Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) is a strategy to guide and personalize treatment by measuring plasma drug concentrations and pathogen susceptibility, which might have the potential to improve treatment response to MAC lung disease. In this observational study, the hypothesis is that the drug exposure and/or MIC of antimycobacterial drugs are correlated to the treatment response of MAC lung disease, which is assessed from the perspective of treatment outcome, mycobacterial culture negative conversion, lung function, radiological presentation and self-reported quality of life. Consenting adult patients with culture-positive MAC lung disease will be recruited in study hospital. Respiratory samples (sputum and/or bronchoalveolar lavage fluid) will be collected regularly for mycobacterial culture on the basis of BACTEC MGIT 960 system and MIC will be determined using a commercial broth microdilution plate. Drug concentrations will be measured at 1 and/or 6 months after treatment initiation using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The final treatment outcome is recorded at the end of MAC treatment and defined according to an NTM-NET consensus statement (8).

The number of care home residents is increasing and urinary tract infections (UTIs) are common amongst this group. Accurate diagnosis of UTI is important because not treating an infection may lead to serious consequences including death. However, giving antibiotic treatment when there isn't an infection causes side effects and antibiotic resistance, making future infections harder to treat. Unfortunately, there are several challenges that mean that it is difficult to diagnose UTI accurately in care home residents. Firstly, UTIs don't always cause clear symptoms for people who live in care homes. They sometimes just cause symptoms like confusion which can have lots of different possible causes. Secondly, it may be hard for people living with dementia to say how they are feeling or to easily provide a urine sample. Thirdly, many people who live in care homes have bacteria present in their urine even when they are well, but this not harmful and does not need treatment. Finally, urine tests that are currently available do not give accurate or quick results. We have thought about some new ways that might help show us if someone in a care home really has a UTI but we don't know yet whether these will work. Our ideas include 1) Working out which symptoms or signs mean a UTI is more likely 2) Detecting new markers of infection in urine samples and 3) Trying out new bedside tests that give rapid results. For this study we plan to recruit 100 care home residents who will be followed up over 6 months. All 100 participants will provide information and a urine sample at the beginning of the study. 25 of these participants will also provide repeated weekly samples for 4 weeks to look at any changes in the urine over time. Additional information and urine samples will be collected if a participant develops a possible UTI during the study and any treatments will be recorded. Our findings will be used to develop a funding application for a larger study aiming to improve the diagnosis of UTI in care home residents.