Active clinical trials for "Communicable Diseases"

Infections are common causes of morbidity and mortality in pediatric cancer patients. Today, there are limited data on the incidence, distribution of specific infections, causative agents and risk factors for severe infections in this population. Moreover, little data exist on the epidemiology of infections among pediatric patients with solid tumors. The objectives of the present study are to define the incidence, categories of infections by organ systems, etiologic agents and risk factors for infections in different pediatric malignancies. The results of this study will help the investigators to better understand the epidemiology of infections in the different types of pediatric malignancies, enable the investigators to identify high risk patients, and design a better approach to empiric treatment of these patients. A prospective, multi-center study, conducted in 5 pediatric hematology-oncology units across Israel (Rambam Medical Center, Haemek Medical Center, Schneider Children's Medical Center, Hadassah Medical Center, Soroka Medical Center). All children aged 0-18 years of age, newly diagnosed with cancer and admitted to day care or inpatient departments with fever of >38.0 C will be included in the study. Demographic, clinical and microbiological figures will be collected in each center by a research assistant supervised by the infectious disease specialist. Data will be collected according to a pre-defined Patient Data Form and entered into an electronic data base that will be analyzed accordingly. In each event of febrile episode during chemotherapy, the following data will be collected by a research assistant using a patient data form and computerized software: Demographic data: age, gender, ethnicity. Clinical data: Underlying disease, immunizations, prophylactic antibiotics, presence of central venous catheter, intensity of chemotherapy, duration of fever, duration and severity of neutropenia, diagnosis of present event. Imaging data Microbiological data Outcome The statistical analysis will be performed by an epidemiologist and statistician using the SPSS 12.0 software.

Corneal diseases are a major cause of blindness worldwide, and corneal infections are a substantial cause of blindness in Asia. The aim of the Asia Cornea Society Infectious Keratitis Study (ACSIKS) is to study infectious keratitis (corneal infections) in Asian countries, so as to improve strategies for prevention and treatment, and to reduce the burden of blindness in Asia. The first phase of ACSIKS is an 18-month observational study involving 11 eye hospitals in 8 Asian countries; these hospitals manage more than 6700 cases of corneal infections every year. From the first quarter of 2012, all patients with a corneal infection will be recruited and a standard ACSIKS protocol will be applied; this protocol includes the use of a common set of study forms and a suggested panel of microbiological examinations. However, each centre will be continue to treat their patients with the anti-infective therapy standard for their centre. Data will be recorded for each patient for a period of six months, including their medical and surgical management, the final clinical outcome and vision. Bacterial and fungal growths from patients will also be stored for further research during a second phase of ACSIKS. These studies will focus on evaluating the resistance of the most common bacterial infections to the current available antibiotics, performing DNA testing to compare our strains with bacterial infections in the West, and to developing new diagnostic tests and anti-infective therapies tailored to corneal infections in Asia.

The purpose of this study is to find out if we can predict the progress of acute upper respiratory tract infection to acute bacterial rhinosinusitis in Finnish conscripts by symptoms, clinical, endoscopic or radiological findings, middle meatal swab samples or nitric oxide measurement.

The purpose of this investigation is to evaluate how early biomarkers of infection and inflammation perform in identifying patients at risk for poor outcome in sepsis and septic shock.