Active clinical trials for "Communicable Diseases"

Because the potential benefit of standard intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG) - obtained from unselected donor pools including a varying proportion of donors previously exposed to CMV - has not yet been explored in pregnant women, the investigators performed a longitudinal prospective study on the possible efficacy of IVIG for prevention or therapy of fetal CMV infection.

The main objective of the study is to investigate the impact of H. pylori infection on immune activation and clinical outcome in HIV patients. Other specific study objectives are: To investigate the effects of H. pylori infection on immune activation and the T-cell profile in HIV positive patients and compare those with HIV negative controls. To assess the influence of H. pylori infection on virological and immune parameters, and on clinical progression of HIV infection (WHO stage, opportunistic infections). To assess the prevalence of H. pylori infection among HIV patients in the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital. To assess the prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms in HIV patients in Kumasi. To assess the association of H. pylori infection with gastrointestinal symptoms and pathology in HIV patients. To compare the clinical and immunological response to antiretroviral therapy and in HIV-patients with and without concomitant H. pylori infection.

Background and Purpose:The level of the surgical wound healing of the epidermis takes 6-12 hours, and the peak period of 48 hours to achieve healing.The traditional postoperative wound care was every 1-3 days clean with saline and gauze or other dressing and not opened .In traditional concept the wound touch the water that will increase the rate of wound infection.England Department of Health in 2008 surgical wound care guidelines about surgery wound cleaning solution comparison. It was no significant difference in wound infection.with normalsaline and tap water. 2012 The Cochrane Collaboration: Water for wound cleansing systematic review of the literature that wound clean water has no effect on the rate of wound infection and healing rate, conducive to personal hygiene and cost-effective. Under high temperature and humid environments in our country, after surgery not bathe often affect patients' satisfaction and increase the cost of dressing and manpower, Was opened a line after surgery the wound can be shower? It is important about surgical wound care guidelines, but also the patient daily asked a high degree of issues. Purpose of this study (1) post-operative 48 hours, shower or not wound infection rate (2) post-operative 48 hours, shower or not the pain score (3) post-operative 48 hours, shower or not the comfortable (4) post-operative 48 hours, shower or not the care costs.

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether there has been a change in the number of hospital admissions for respiratory tract infections among children following the July 2007 introduction of a ban on smoking in public places in England.

Poor Ecuadorian older people suffer from chronic dietary deficiencies of zinc, iron, copper, vitamins C, B6, B12, D, and folic acid. The investigators have previously shown that these deficiencies are associated with impaired immune function and increased incidence of respiratory infections (RI). The hypothesis is that correction of these specific nutrient deficiencies will improve immune response and thereby enhance resistance to respiratory infections. To test this hypothesis this study will evaluate the effect of supplementation with specific vitamins and minerals found to be deficient in poor elderly Ecuadorians on markers of immune function and the incidence of RI. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in 320 older people (≥65 y)will be carried out in Quito, Ecuador. Participants will receive multivitamin and mineral supplements or placebo tablets daily for 12 months. Nutrients will be provided at US Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) levels, except for vitamin C and zinc doses, which will be 5 times and 1.25 times higher than the RDA, respectively. Incidence of respiratory infections (the primary outcome) will be assessed weekly by field nurses and physicians from the study team. Secondary outcomes include delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) skin test, cathelicidin production by mucosa respiratory cells, and serum C-reactive protein (CRP) as measures of immune function. Blood micronutrient levels and haemoglobin status will be collected as measures of adherence to the trial regimen. Incidence rate of RI and rate ratio (RR) will be calculated to quantify the effect of the intervention on the incidence of respiratory infection. This will be the first trial of its kind conducted specifically in a population of older people known to have poor micronutrient status. The findings of the study may be important for similar populations in other low- and middle-income countries.

This study aims to assess how large an additional disease burden and what extra costs are generated by antibiotic resistance in patients suffering from infections caused by gram-negative bacteria, such as Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, in hospitals in the Netherlands.

The investigators will conduct qualitative interviews of hospital personnel regarding HAI prevention practices, and use coded data from these interviews to assist in developing standardized practices.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the current standard of wound care following vascular operations compared to to a negative pressure wound therapy (vacuum dressing) and the rate of surgical site infections (SSIs) in patients undergoing surgery to restore blood flow to the lower limb(s). Negative pressure wound therapy consists of a closed, sealed system that produces negative pressure (vacuum) to the wound surface. The device itself consists of open-cell foam that is sealed with an occlusive adhesive dressing (covers and sticks to the incision) and suction is maintained by connecting suction tubes to a vacuum pump and waste collector. The investigators objectives are to determine whether there will be any reduction in surgical site infection and this potential reduction will influence length of hospital stay, emergency room visits, antibiotic use and need for re-operation.

This will be a pilot, open label study involving 65 participants. All participants will be followed until seroconversion or until the last enrolled participant completes one year of follow-up, whichever happens first. Participant study number will be given at the screening visit, prior to inclusion in the study. The chosen intervention and study regimen are based on the dynamics of viral infection and the pharmacokinetics of the study drugs. In order to inhibit reverse transcription nucleoside and nucleotide analogues need to be phosphorylated intracellularly. On the other hand, available data indicate that it takes approximately 10 hours between exposure and HIV viral integration, offering a window of opportunity for Raltegravir to block integration and thus prevent infection, given that this drug does not need to be metabolized to exert its effect. The intervention will be maintained for 4 weeks following exposure, in accordance with Brazilian and CDC guidelines for PEP.

Palatability testing of a new paediatric formulation of valacyclovir in children 4-12 years of age and at least one of their parents. Children will be included, who received (val)acyclovir prophylaxis in the past, or will probably need it in the future i.e. children with primary immune deficiency or cancer.