Active clinical trials for "Infections"

To investigate if administration of probiotics, either orally or vaginally, Can reduce the number of episodes of acute bacterial cystitis and/or Has tolerable adverse effect profile Improves general QoL in these women Improves the immune function and other physiological stress markers Reduces inflammation in urinary bladder epithelium

Despite improvements in perioperative care, non-cardiac surgery remains associated with significant and costly complications. Analysis of perioperative deaths in the United Kingdom suggests that roughly 80% are directly attributable to infectious and cardiovascular complications. The best available evidence suggests that medical optimization is the preferred strategy to reduce cardiac risks but there has been no novel strategy to reduce nosocomial infection rates in over 20 years. Emerging evidence in both the non-operative and operative setting suggest that statin drugs may prevent both infectious and cardiac events. The mechanism(s) of action are not entirely clear but appear to independent of lipid lowering effects and are often referred to as pleiotropic effects. Two key elements of the pleiotropic effects of statins appear to be their anti-inflammatory properties and improved endothelial vascular reactivity. The statin dose required to maximize these effects is unknown. A large observational trial suggests a contradictory dose effect with higher doses associated with reduced infectious complications and lower doses associated with fewer cardiac complications. Doctors therefore still have many unanswered questions about the use of statins in the perioperative setting. Should they be routinely started on all or only certain surgical patients? What dose of statin should be used? If a patient is already on a statin, should their dose be altered perioperatively? The latter question is particularly relevant in light of the marked increase in statin use. Recruitment logs for an ongoing trial demonstrate that over 70% of patients undergoing high-risk surgery were taking a statin but at markedly variable doses. This population presents an ideal opportunity to determine if there is a dose response relationship between statins and pleiotropic effects. We therefore propose an observational study that will determine anti-inflammatory and endothelial effects in high-risk surgical patients on varying doses of a perioperative statin drug. Atorvastatin diminishes the rise in C-reactive protein (CRP), measured 48 hours after elective vascular surgery, in a dose dependent fashion. Secondary Hypotheses: Atorvastatin reduces endothelial dysfunction after elective vascular surgery, as measured by brachial artery ultrasound, in a dose dependent fashion.

The purpose of this study is to determine if (recurrent) cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection of the mother results in pregnancy complications such as preterm delivery, severe preeclampsia, poor fetal growth, or stillbirth.

Urinary tract infections occurs in trauma. We investigate whether a nitrofurazone coated can reduce the number of urinary tract infections.

Cancer of the anus occurs at very high rates in young men with HIV and is caused by a virus called human papillomavirus (HPV). Anal cancer has increased during the HIV epidemic despite effective therapies for HIV. Unfortunately, anal cancer presents at a late stage because there is no screening program to find it at an early stage. Rates of other cancers such as cervical cancer have been reduced through the use of Pap smears. The researchers' plan is to do the same type of screening for anal cancer as has been done for cervical cancer. If abnormalities are found then treatment can be started. The researchers hope that this approach will help to prevent anal cancer. Testing for HPV will also be done to see if this helps to detect early cancer and to see how accurate different tests, pathologists and clinical examiners are at detecting and agreeing on any abnormalities. The main outcome is the presence of any pre-cancerous or early cancer changes as determined by high resolution anoscopy (HRA). HRA involves looking through a microscope into the anus and this allows very tiny changes to be identified. Pieces of tissue can then be taken to make a definite diagnosis.

The purpose of this study is to determine the extent to which vaginal microflora and immune profiles of patients with urinary tract infection (UTI) differ from healthy controls.

RATIONALE: Studying ways to diagnose fungal infections early may help doctors plan the best treatment. PURPOSE: This clinical trial is studying laboratory tests to see how well they find aspergillosis early in patients at high risk of fungal infection caused by treatment for hematologic cancer or other disease.

Antibiotic Therapy for Hospital-Acquired Infections in ICU Patients. A prospective, observational, multicenter study (ANTHICUS).

To test the association between anti-Chlamydia serum titers and anti-Mycoplasma antibodies with Acute Coronary Syndromes.

The purpose of this study is to prevent catheter-related infections in newborn infants admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). This study will compare the effectiveness of daily chlorhexidine versus isopropyl alcohol in preventing the growth of microbes in catheters.