scholarly journals The use of cyclosporine modifies the clinical and histopathological presentation of tuberculosis after renal transplantation

2000 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 225-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eloir BIZ ◽  
Carlos Alberto Pires PEREIRA ◽  
Luis Antonio Ribeiro de MOURA ◽  
Ricardo SESSO ◽  
Maria Lucia dos Santos VAZ ◽  
...  

Tuberculosis is one of the most frequent opportunistic infections after renal transplantation and occurred in 30 of 1264 patients transplanted between 1976 and 1996 at Hospital São Paulo - UNIFESP and Hospital Dom Silvério, Brazil. The incidence of 2.4% is five times higher than the Brazilian general population. The disease occurred between 50 days to 18 years after the transplant, and had an earlier and worse development in patients receiving azathioprine, prednisone and cyclosporine, with 35% presenting as a disseminated disease, while all patients receiving azathioprine and prednisone had exclusively pulmonary disease. Ninety percent of those patients had fever as the major initial clinical manifestation. Diagnosis was made by biopsy of the lesion (50%), positivity to M. tuberculosis in the sputum (30%) and spinal cerebral fluid analysis (7%). Duration of treatment ranged from 6 to 13 months and hepatotoxicity occurred in 3 patients. The patients who died had a significant greater number of rejection episodes and received higher doses of corticosteroid. In conclusion, the administration of cyclosporine changed the clinical and histopathological pattern of tuberculosis occurring after renal transplantation.

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanouil I. Papadogiannakis ◽  
Emmanouil N. Velonakis ◽  
Gregory K. Spanakos ◽  
Alexander F. Koutinas

Prototheca wickerhamiiis ubiquitous, saprophytic achlorophyllous algae that cause opportunistic infections in the dog and cat and disseminated disease usually in immunocompromised animals. In this report an uncommon case of canine cutaneous protothecosis is presented. A 6-year-old female boxer was brought in with skin lesions that consisted of nodules and generalized footpad hyperkeratosis, depigmentation, and erosion. Cytology and histopathology showed pyogranulomatous inflammation along with organisms containing round sporangia with spherical sporangiospores. PCR and sequencing identified the causal organism asPrototheca wickerhamii. Therapy applied in this patient with either fluconazole alone or combination of amphotericin B and itraconazole proved effective only for footpad lesions but not for skin nodules. Systemic therapy seems to be ineffective for skin nodules, at least in chronic cases of canine cutaneous protothecosis. Although canine protothecosis usually presents with the disseminated form, cutaneous disease as sole clinical manifestation of the infection may also be witnessed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 79 (3) ◽  
pp. 229-232
Author(s):  
Ana Beatriz Ayroza Galvão Ribeiro GOMES ◽  
Milena Sales PITOMBEIRA ◽  
Douglas Kazutoshi SATO ◽  
Dagoberto CALLEGARO ◽  
Samira Luisa APÓSTOLOS-PEREIRA

ABSTRACT Background: Azathioprine is a common first-line therapy for neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD). Objective: The aim of this study was to determine whether long-term treatment (>10 years) with azathioprine is safe in NMOSD. Methods: We conducted a retrospective medical record review of all patients at the School of Medicine of the University of São Paulo (São Paulo, Brazil) who fulfilled the 2015 international consensus diagnostic criteria for NMOSD and were treated with azathioprine for at least 10 years. Results: Out of 375 patients assessed for eligibility, 19 were included in this analysis. These patients’ median age was 44 years (range=28-61); they were mostly female (17/19) and AQP4-IgG seropositive (18/19). The median disease duration was 15 years (range=10-39) and most patients presented a relapsing clinical course (84.2%). The median duration of treatment was 11.9 years (range=10.0-23.8). The median annualized relapse rates (ARR) pre- and post-treatment with azathioprine were 1 (range=0.1-2) and 0.1 (range=0-0.35); p=0.09. Three patients (15.7%) had records of adverse events during the follow-up, which consisted of chronic B12 vitamin deficiency, pulmonary tuberculosis and breast cancer. Conclusion: Azathioprine may be considered a safe agent for long-term treatment (>10 years) of NMOSD, but continuous vigilance for infections and malignancies is required.


2017 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wang Xin ◽  
Yang Hui ◽  
Zhang Xiaodong ◽  
Cui Xiangli ◽  
Wang Shihui ◽  
...  

Objectives: Valganciclovir 900 mg/day is approved for cytomegalovirus (CMV) prophylaxis, but 450 mg/day is seems also effective. We systematically reviewed the efficacy and safety of low-dose versus high-dose valganciclovir prophylaxis in renal transplantation recipients. Methods: An electronic search was conducted up to November 29, 2016. The primary outcomes were incidences of CMV, CMV disease, mortality and opportunistic infection. The second outcomes were acute rejection, allograft loss, adverse drug reaction (ADR). Results: 7 cohort studies, all with high quality involving (1431 patients) were included. There was no significant difference of the incidence of following CMV disease (1271 patients, odds ratio [OR] 0.74, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.38-1.43, p=0.36), acute rejection (1343 patients, OR 0.77, 95%CI 0.53-1.14, p=0.19), allograft loss (1271 patients, OR 0.64, 95%CI 0.31-1.35, p=0.24), mortality (1271 patients, OR 0.55, 95%CI 0.20-1.47, p=0.23) and opportunistic infections (OI) (985 patients, OR 0.76, 95%CI 0.52-1.10, p=0.14) between the low-dose and the high-dose valganciclovir  prophylaxis. And no significant difference was observed for premature valganciclovir discontinuation (1010 patients, OR 0.81, 95%CI 0.52-1.25, p=0.33) and the incidence of leukopenia (1082 patients, OR 0.65, 95%CI 0.34-1.22, p=0.18) between the two regimens. Conclusion: 450 mg and 900 mg doses of valganciclovir are equipotent for CMV universal prophylaxis. CMV 450 mg prophylaxis should be used for renal transplant recipients. This article is open to POST-PUBLICATION REVIEW. Registered readers (see “For Readers”) may comment by clicking on ABSTRACT on the issue’s contents page.


Medicina ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wojciech Wołyniec ◽  
Małgorzata Sulima ◽  
Marcin Renke ◽  
Alicja Dębska-Ślizień

Introduction. The immunosuppression used after transplantation (Tx) is associated with an increased risk of opportunistic infections. In Europe, parasitic infections after Tx are much less common than viral, bacterial and fungal ones. However, diseases caused by parasites are very common in tropical countries. In the last years the number of travellers with immunosuppression visiting tropical countries has increased. Methods. We performed a literature review to evaluate a risk of parasitic infections after Tx in Europe. Results. There is a real risk of parasitic infection in patients after Tx travelling to tropical countries. Malaria, leishmaniasis, strongyloidiasis and schistosomiasis are the most dangerous and relatively common. Although the incidence of these tropical infections after Tx has not increased, the course of disease could be fatal. There are also some cosmopolitan parasitic infections dangerous for patients after Tx. The greatest threat in Europe is toxoplasmosis, especially in heart and bone marrow recipients. The most severe manifestations of toxoplasmosis are myocarditis, encephalitis and disseminated disease. Diarrhoea is one of the most common symptoms of parasitic infection. In Europe the most prevalent pathogens causing diarrhoea are Giardia duodenalis and Cryptosporidium. Conclusions. Solid organ and bone marrow transplantations, blood transfusions and immunosuppressive treatment are associated with a small but real risk of parasitic infections in European citizens. In patients with severe parasitic infection, i.e., those with lung or brain involvement or a disseminated disease, the progression is very rapid and the prognosis is bad. Establishing a diagnosis before the patient’s death is challenging.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Micaella Kantor ◽  
Anarella Abrantes ◽  
Andrea Estevez ◽  
Alan Schiller ◽  
Jose Torrent ◽  
...  

Entamoeba histolyticais the responsible parasite of amoebiasis and remains one of the top three parasitic causes of mortality worldwide. With increased travel and emigration to developed countries, infection is becoming more common in nonendemic areas. Although the majority of individuals infected withE. histolyticaremain asymptomatic, some present with amoebic colitis and disseminated disease. As more is learned about its pathogenesis and the host’s immune response, the potential for developing a vaccine holds promise. This narrative review outlines the current knowledge regardingE. histolyticaandE. disparand insight in the development of a vaccine.


2020 ◽  
Vol 58 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew A. Hevey ◽  
Ige A. George ◽  
Adriana M. Rauseo ◽  
Lindsey Larson ◽  
William Powderly ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Cryptococcal epidemiology is shifting toward HIV-negative populations who have diverse presentations. Cryptococcal antigen (CrAg) testing is also changing, with development of the lateral flow assay (LFA) having reported increased sensitivity and specificity, but with minimal knowledge in the HIV-negative population. In this study, we evaluate the real-life performance of CrAg testing in patients with cryptococcal disease. We conducted a retrospective review of patients with cryptococcosis from 2002 to 2019 at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. Latex agglutination (LA) was used exclusively until April 2016, at which point LFA was used exclusively. Demographics, presentations, and testing outcomes were evaluated. Serum CrAg testing was completed in 227 patients with cryptococcosis. Of 141 HIV-negative patients, 107 had LA testing and 34 had LFA testing. In patients with disseminated disease, serum CrAg sensitivity by LA was 78.1% compared to 82.6% for LFA. In patients with localized pulmonary disease, serum CrAg sensitivity was 23.5% compared to 90.9% for LFA. Of 86 people living with HIV (PLWH), 76 had LA testing, and 10 had LFA testing. Serum CrAg sensitivity for LA was 94.7% compared to 100% for LFA in patients with disseminated disease. We noted a significant improvement in sensitivity from LA testing to LFA testing, predominantly in those with localized pulmonary disease. However, both LFA and LA appear to be less sensitive in HIV-negative patients than previously described in PLWH.


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