Active clinical trials for "Communicable Diseases"

The main goal of this research study is to use data from activity trackers (such as Fitbits), lab tests, and surveys to see if activity, sleep, and heart rate data can tell the difference between when someone has a respiratory illness (e.g., flu) and when they are feeling healthy. The research will also study an investigational flu@home test and app. If successful, results from the study could be used in the future to better identify people with respiratory illness. In addition, this study will test the accuracy of an at-home flu test kit compared to laboratory test results.

The overarching goal of this research is to assess whether the post-operative use of closed-incision Negative Pressure Therapy (ciNPT) accelerates healing of surgical wounds, improves surgical outcomes, and reduces the rate of local complications in high-risk, obese, post-bariatric patients undergoing abdominal body-contouring procedures (abdominal panniculectomy or "abdominoplasty") compared to standard wound care. The investigators postulate that ciNPT can cost-effectively improve outcomes and standard of post-surgical care in this specific category of patients. This hypothesis will be tested through a prospective, interventional, case-control, randomized clinical trial.

Ascites is the most common complication of cirrhosis, and its development is associated with substantially increased mortality. Ascites infection including spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP), bacterascites and fungal infections. SBP is one of the most feared complications of ascites. The EASL guidelines recommend that diagnostic criteria of SBP is defined on the ascitic fluid polymorphonuclear leucocytes (PMN) count ≥250 cell/μl, with or without ascites fluid positive culture. However, in clinical practice. Up to 30% of hospitalized patients are considered as suspicious SBP, and treated as SBP without a laboratory-confirmed cause of infection. and is present in 10-30% of all hospitalized patients with ascites. Besides, fungal infection in ascites was aslo related to high mortality in cirrhosis patients. Thus, to diagnose ascites infection promptly is the key step to prevent the complication. Since, the sensitivity of bacterial culture is limited even if ascites is directly injected into blood culture bottles at the besides. New method to identified the pathogen is needed. Here, we aim to use metagenomic next-generation sequencing(mNGS) to provide the first-ever demonstration of precision medicine for the diagnosis of ascites infection in hospitalized patients, with immediate impact on clinical care and patients outcomes. The method of mNGS is undertaken by BGI Genomics Company which is a licensed clinical diagnostic laboratory in China. In this multicenter and prospective clinical study, we are planning to detect ascites sample by mNGS and compare the performance of mNGS and routine microbiological testing. Ultimately, we aim to improve the diagnosis of ascites infection and improve patients' outcomes.

This study will determine the tissue penetration of the novel tetracycline antibiotic, omadacycline (Nuzyra, Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Inc.), into the extracellular, interstitial fluid of soft tissue in diabetic patients with lower limb wound infections. Penetration will be compared with a group of healthy volunteer control participants.

Background: Infections associated with mechanical ventilation are associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality, which results not only in an increase in hospitalization days and care costs, but also in an increase in DALYS (years of life disability adjustment) in the population. Critically ill patients have a high risk of infection as a result of underlying immunodeficiency, comorbidity and placement of invasive devices (such as endotracheal tubes and intravascular devices). Infections in these patients constitute a challenge for hospital authorities, as they are considered a social and economic problem that influences the quality of care, in a system where health services are increasingly affected by high patient care costs and the reduction of public spending. The decrease in the number of bacteria in the oral cavity reduces the presence of microorganisms available for translocation and colonization of the lower respiratory tract; Therefore, performing oral care intervention is considered an economically attractive method to reduce the risk of developing infections associated with endotracheal intubation. In our environment, oral cleaning is performed as part of the nursing care package granted to all patients of the ICU, however, there is no standardized method among nursing staff that guarantees the desired prevention. Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of mouth-rinse with 0.12% chlorhexidine to prevent infections associated with mechanical ventilation in patients in the intensive care unit in a third level hospital in Mérida, Yucatán. Hypothesis: Mouth-rinse with 0.12% chlorhexidine twice daily more effective and safe than mouthwash with bicarbonated isotonic solution twice daily to prevent infections associated with mechanical ventilation in patients in the intensive care unit of a hospital third level. Methodology: Double-blind randomized controlled clinical trial with active substance for the evaluation of the non-inferiority of the efficacy and safety of mouthwash with 0.12% chlorhexidine twice daily compared to isotonic bicarbonated solution twice daily for the prevention of any infection associated with mechanical ventilation in patients requiring endotracheal intubation in the intensive care unit of a third level hospital.

For patients having a bone or joint infections, with or without device, optimal surgical therapy could be sometimes non-feasible, especially in the elderly population. Therefore, a medical therapy with oral prolonged suppressive antibiotic therapy (PSAT) seems to be an option to prevent recurrence and prosthesis loosening. Subcutaneous (SC) administration of injectable intravenous antibiotics as prolonged suppressive antibiotic therapy could be a convenient way when oral treatment is not available to facilitate ambulatory care, this practice being considered as routine care. The aim of this study is to evaluate tolerance and efficacy of subcutaneous administration of antibiotics for prolonged suppressive antibiotic therapy in patients having this treatment as part of their routine care.

Peroral endoscopic myotomy is a novel, promising endoscopic technique for achalasia considering its minimal invasive characteristics and comparable efficacy to Heller myotomy. Numerous studies have focused on the efficacy, safety as well as technical aspects of POEM. However, few efforts have been made to the issue of antimicrobial prophylaxis in POEM. Postoperative prophylactic antibiotics are universally initiated on call to the operating room or at the start of POEM and consist of second-generation cephalosporins. The mean duration of antibiotic regimen after POEM was 3 days ranging from 1 day to 7 days. Numerous studies have shown that a single dose of antibiotic prophylaxis in a variety of surgical procedures. Other studies have shown that prolonged administration of antibiotics for longer than 24 hours add no benefit in many surgeries. Prolonged use of antibiotics not only increases the costs and exposure to drug toxicity directly but also may be associated with an increased risk of acquired antibiotic resistance as well as infection with Clostridium difficile. Thus, investigators intend to perform a prospective randomized study to confirm the validity of single-dose antimicrobial prophylaxis for the prevention of infectious complications following peroral endoscopic myotomy.

The CDC quotes a rate of wound infection of 2-5% for inpatient surgery. Patients undergoing a vascular operation, however, are generally at an increased risk of wound infection with rates often close to 5-10%. Groin incisions are an additional risk factor for surgical site infections, with rates of wound infection being quoted from 10-15%, and even as high as 30% in high risk patients. The use of implantable calcium sulfate beads mixed with antibiotics may help to lower the rate of infection in these high risk patients.

Maternal infections affect the basal immune status of neonates. One of the possible mechanism is the fetomaternal microchimerism, in which some cells and active substances are exchanged bi-directionally between maternal and fetal circulation through placenta. Even in the absence of a direct (vertical) transmission of pathogens to fetuses, certain infections make the neonates more prone to allergies and some adverse events of early vaccinations. We postulate that the basal immune status of neonates born to HIV and LTBI infected mothers is primed by gestational exposure to immunological active molecules, which could results in an altered response to early BCG vaccination. Transcripts expression identified by RNA sequencing are compared between sets of mother-child and their respective umbilical cord blood, and between groups of infected and non-infected pairs.

Sexually transmitted infections (STI) are important causes of reproductive health morbidity and mortality, and have long been implicated as major co-factors in the sexual transmission of HIV. Both ulcerative and non-ulcerative STI have been found to be strongly associated with HIV in cross-sectional and prospective studies and hence STI prevention and care are important aspects of HIV prevention. Periodic Presumptive Treatment of STIS (PPT) where risk populations are presumptively treated with a single dose of Azithromycin+Cefixime in regular intervals of 3 months has been shown to be effective in reducing STI prevalence at population level and has recently been integrated into the National STI guidelines of Tanzania. The USAID funded Sauti program will be one of the first to implement these new guidelines and roll out PPT in high risk populations in selected regions in Tanzania. This study will evaluate the impact of PPT as delivered by the Sauti program on prevalence of STIs in men who have sex with men and female sex workers in Dar es Salaam and Shinyanga respectively.