Active clinical trials for "Communicable Diseases"

The aim of this study is to analyze the perceptions, representations and expe-riences of malaria prophylaxis in patients born in endemic areas and living in France. This analysis could lead to better understanding and communication between the medical profession and patients in malaria. It would also provide patient-specific responses to their expectations, as to their families.

The main questions being addressed are (1) how patient reported outcomes change during treatment for HCV, (2) how treatment impacts liver function and liver status, and (3) how much treatment costs from the payer's perspective and the patient's perspective. The hypothesis being tested is that treatment has a negative effect on the quality of life during treatment. The negative effect is expected to be temporary. Successful treatment, which is equated with a virological cure of the infection, is expected to result in an improvement in quality of life compared to baseline and to improvement in markers of liver function and liver status. Costs of treatment are expected to be $80,000-$200,000 per virological cure.

This study aims to determine whether a cranberry concentrate reduces recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs) in women. Approximately 150 adult women will be recruited to participate in this study. Subjects will be randomized to either the cranberry supplement or placebo treatment for 12 months. Subjects and investigators will be blinded to which supplement they are taking.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of hyperic oxygen treatment on the immune response in patients with necrotizing soft tissue infections

Throughout project, the investigators design, evaluate and disseminate infection control and antibiotic stewardship (ABS) measures aimed at reducing the incidence of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). The measures will focus on known departments with high incidence of CDI, i.e. a) hematology/oncology, b) other departments/wards demonstrating above-average infection rates, which were identified throughout previous studies. The infection control package will include staff training, hand hygiene programs and disinfection measures. Throughout the ABS package, investigators will develop and implement ABS measures specifically designed for patients at the highest risk of developing hospital-acquired infections, i.e. those treated on hematological/oncological wards. Potentially useful ABS actions even in critically ill patients are early reduction of exposure based on microbiological results, timely cessation of anti-infective treatment, thoughtful implementation of screening measures and biomarkers, defined approaches to patients known to be allergic to penicillins, and vigorous enforcement of clinical and microbiological diagnosis of infection focus. The IC and ABS measures aim at educating and assisting clinical personnel in realizing treatments according to official guidelines. There will not be a direct contact between study personnel and patient. There will be no direct recruitment of patients.

This study will investigate the cost and impact of Healthcare Associated Infection (HAI) to patients, the health service and the wider community. This is in order to develop a model to allow policy makers to compare the cost effectiveness of Infection Prevention and Control measures in NHSScotland. The model will support policy makers and clinical teams in building a patient centred, safe, effective and efficient service.

Multicenter observational survey of the presence of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) on trans vaginal ultrasound (TVUS) probes, and of the behavior of professionals during US examination and probe disinfection. This will allow modeling the risk of HPV transmission, and could contribute establishing future guidelines for reducing the risk of transmission of microorganisms and the risk of infection through TVS.

Febrile neutropenia (FN) is a clinically important adverse effect of myelosuppressive chemotherapy. If patients present with FN, attention is focussed on well-recognized sites of origin of infection: the airways, urinary tracts, and skin. However, infections can be only documented clinically in about two-third of febrile episodes, whereas a causative microbial pathogen cannot be identified in the majority (>70%) of cases. Pre-treatment oral evaluation aimed to identify and eliminate oral/dental foci is only routinely used in patients at high risk for oral complications (i.e. head and neck cancer patients and stem cell transplantation recipients). However, any patient treated with myelosuppressive chemotherapy, be it for cure or palliation, is at risk of developing infection in and/or originating from the oral cavity. Nevertheless, in these patients dental screening is somewhat randomly employed at the oncologist's discretion. More insight into the pre-treatment oral condition and its potential role in FN is mandatory, particularly considering the growing numbers of older patients retaining their natural dentition and the increase of dental diseases and cancer incidence with age. In addition, oral diseases may aggravate chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis (OM). OM is associated with an inflammatory response, which together with ulcerations providing a portal of entry for bacteria, can result in FN and systemic inflammatory syndrome (SIRS) and/or sepsis. Evidence suggests that microorganisms are involved in the pathobiology of OM, but no longitudinal studies using open-end sequencing are available. Furthermore, comparing bacteria identified in blood cultures in febrile patients with those of the oral cavity will expand the knowledge on the role of the oral cavity as a potential source of bacteremia. The investigators expect that the results will provide a scientific base for subsequent intervention studies on the efficacy of dental screening and elimination of foci, and other interventions aimed at modifying the oral environment before and during chemotherapy.

Cytomegalovirus is the most important opportunistic infection after kidney transplant, with increased in mortality, morbidity and higher costs of transplantation. Despite the favorable efficacy (lower acute rejection) results of the most worldwide used regime, tacrolimus, mycophenolate and prednisone, or the investigators local common regimen, tacrolimus, azathioprine and prednisone, this combinations are associated with higher incidence of cytomegalovirus infection, disease and recurrence. Namely, sirolimus use is associated with decreased risk of cytomegalovirus infection/disease, and there is not a prospective cohort to evaluate the conversion to sirolimus efficacy to decrease the cytomegalovirus infection recurrence. Given this, the investigators propose a study of their own initiative that attends local needs: evaluate the conversion to sirolimus efficacy in decrease the cytomegalovirus recurrence after kidney transplant.

The choice of antimicrobial therapy to treat complex bone and joint infections (BJI) is challenging, requiring consideration of: (i) the problem of bone diffusion; (ii) the necessity of using antimicrobials active against bacterial biofilms; (iii) the growing incidence of antibiotic resistance; and (iv) the high risk of severe adverse events (SAE) in response to first-line antimicrobials in these patients. Consequently, off-label use of recently developed antimicrobials, such as daptomycin, is frequently required as salvage therapy in complex BJI. Even if daptomycin does not have approval for the treatment of BJI, the Infectious Diseases Society of America guidelines propose this antibiotic as alternative therapy for prosthetic joint infection. The recommended dose is 6 mg/kg/d, whereas recent data support the use of higher doses in these patients as bone penetration of daptomycin is limited. The present cohort study aimed to assess the safety and efficacy of prolonged high-dose (>6 mg/kg/d) daptomycin salvage therapy in patients with complex BJI.