Active clinical trials for "Infections"

Fever is one of the most common problems in pediatrics. Differentiating between bacterial infections, that require antibiotic therapy, and viral infections that resolve on their own is an important challenge for physicians. C-reactive protein (CRP) is a protein that increases in response to inflammation and its level is generally higher in bacterial infections compared to viral infections. it can be measured by a simple blood test, however its utility as a sole marker for bacterial infection is limited. The hypothesis of the study is that measuring CRP velocity, e.g the value of CRP divided by the hours since the fever started will improve the utility of CRP for the diagnosis of bacterial infections in children.

Human papillomavirus (HPV)-infection belong to the most common sexually transmitted diseases worldwide. HIV-infected men having sex with men /MSM) are strongly associated with a higher prevalence of genitoanal HPV-infection, and perianal HPV-infections have been detected in up to 90% of HIV-positive men. The data concerning the incidence of oral HPV-infection in HIV-positive men, especially in the era of highly antiretroviral therapy, are conflicting. Thus, this prospective study mainly focuses on the incidence and prevalence of oral HPV-infection, spectrum of HPV-types, and oral high-risk HPV viral load in HIV-positive men.

According to the centres taking part in the ALHICE survey, the number of HIV-HCV co-infected women is currently decreasing. This drop was first noted in 2006 and persisted in 2007. What might have been considered a chance phenomenon during the first year (2006) was confirmed in the beginning of 2008. In view of this information, the investigators wished to ascertain the reality of this trend and to investigate its causes, by attempting to answer the following questions: - Has the prevalence of risk factors for HCV infection changed among the general population over the past 10 years? Has the prevalence of risk factors for HCV infection changed among HIV/HCV co-infected women over the past 10 years? Is the change in the number of co-infected women who gave birth during the past 10 years related to the prevalence of certain risk factors among this population? Is the change in the number of co-infected women who gave birth during the past 10 years related to a decrease in certain risk factors for HCV infection among the general population? Have changes in addictive behaviour among women of child-bearing age played a role in the decreasing number of HCV-contaminated children? Furthermore, follow-up data from HCV-infected children born during this period will provide information concerning the course of HCV infection. The objectives are to study trends in numbers of deliveries among HCV/HIV co-infected women as well as trends in risk factors for HCV infection among women of child bearing age and lastly to create a cohort of HCV infected children.

This study will use the licensed HPV vaccine, Gardasil, as a surrogate for an HIV vaccine, in order to explore some of the ethico-legal,psycho-social and logistical challenges involved in running an HIV vaccine trial in adolescents.

This work also highlights the presence of an unknown virus double-stranded DNA. In this project we propose 1) incorporating a bank of 150 samples from patients with diabetic foot infection in grades 2-4; 2) to study the microbial flora of a selection of 50 diabetic feet previously untreated with antibiotics for bacterial metagenomics, viral metagenomics and a minimum of 10 per culturomique; 3) to evaluate the use of targeted quantitative PCR on the most frequent new species frequency in the disease and incidentally get a sense of their role in the evolution and prognosis of the disease, including failures of and targeted antibiotic therapy on all 150 samples.

It is hypothesized that the procalcitonin has a role to play in prediction of intra-amniotic subclinical infection.

It is hypothesized that implementing plasma CrAg screening in clinics providing routine HIV care will enable identification of Vietnamese adult patients with advanced HIV (CD4 ≤100 cells/μL) who have early cryptococcal disease, enable prompt preemptive treatment with high-dose fluconazole, and improve survival.

Patients with acute decompensation of cirrhosis, or acute on chronic liver failure often present with malnutrition, and due to the in-hospital stay, their nutritional intake can vary widely, with several periods of fasting, and sometimes insufficient nutritional support. Therefore patients are prone to develop malnutrition or, the already present malnutrition worsens its status. Our aim is to evaluate the daily changes in nutritional status in patients with acute decompensation of cirrhosis and evaluate the changes in plasma and serum biomarkers.

The principal research objective is to determine the impact of antibiotic use on the risk of developing long term bowel symptoms after infection with the germ Campylobacter.

Invasive bacterial infection is a dangerous but relatively uncommon disease where bacteria spread deep into the body causing diseases like blood poisoning ('bacteraemia'), pneumonia, meningitis and others. The various bacteria of the streptococcus family are an important cause, often leading patients to require intensive care despite which, for some strains, one in five patients die. One notable form is called necrotising fasciitis, a condition where bacteria rapidly spreads through and destroys the layers of tissue just under the skin. As individuals vary greatly in their risk of developing such serious infections, investigating how the genome, the inherited blueprint of our bodies, of these patients differs from that of healthy volunteers can help to explain why the disease develops in some and not others. For some streptococcal bacteria such as Streptococcus pneumoniae this approach is already proving successful; for others such as the "Group A" strain (Streptococcus pyogenes) it has yet to be explored but carries excellent potential. The investigators have secured the support of the Lee Spark Necrotising Fasciitis Foundation to recruit from their membership survivors of streptococcal infections and some of their family members. The investigators will also ask infection specialists from NHS hospitals to invite patients they have looked after. The investigators also have a small existing collection. Taking part would involve registering information on a website, discussing the study on the telephone and then providing us with a sample of saliva from which the investigators can isolate DNA. The investigators would prepare the sample for analysis of the genome and compare the patients with both their family and an existing reference collection from healthy volunteers using technology that reads the DNA code. Our study will be a first key step in renewing efforts to understand the determinants of invasive streptococcal infection, which is important for developing better treatments and vaccines.