Clinical and laboratory outcomes of the solid cancer patients reinfected with SARS-CoV-2

Introduction: The objective of this study was to evaluate the clinical and laboratory outcomes of solid cancer patients who were reinfected with COVID-19. Methods: Patients who were tested negative on the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) PCR test and those with improved clinical conditions after infection with COVID-19 were enrolled in this study. Patients who received a positive COVID-19 PCR test 28 days after the initial positive PCR test were considered as reinfected. Results: A total of 1024 patients with the diagnosis of solid malignancy and COVID-19 PCR positivity were examined. The reinfection rate was 3.1%. Mortality rate of reinfection was 34.3%. The serum ferritin and creatinine values in reinfection were found to be significantly higher than the first infection (respectively; p = 0.015, p = 0.014). Conclusion: This study has demonstrated one of the first preliminary clinical results of COVID-19 reinfection in solid cancer patients.

The Use of Cell Salvage During Second-stage Reimplantation for the Treatment of Chronic Hip Periprosthetic Joint Infection: a Retrospective Cohort Study

Introduction Given the possibility of undetectable infection, the use of cell salvage is relatively contraindicated in cases of reimplantation for chronic hip periprosthetic joint infection (PJI). However, there is no published data supporting this assertion. The purpose of the current study was to compare the reinfection rate and rate of in second-stage reimplantation for PJI with or without intraoperative cell salvage reinfusion.Materials and methods We identified 125 patients who underwent two-stage exchange for chronic hip PJI between November 2012 and April 2019. The groups of patients who had and had not received intraoperative cell salvage reinfusion were compared with respect to the curative infection-free rate and need for postoperative ABT. We identified independent factors associated with ABT using multiple regression analysis.Results The log-rank survival curve with an endpoint of infection eradication failure was not significantly different between the cell salvage group (98.4%, 95% CI 95.3-99.9%) and the control group (95.3%, 95% CI 90.2-99.9%) at one year (log rank, P = .330). Meanwhile, the rates of postoperative ABT in the cell salvage group were significantly lower than those in the control group (11.5% vs 26.6%, P = .041). In multivariable models, patient age, body mass index (BMI), preoperative haemoglobin level, and intraoperative cell salvage were independent predictors of ABT exposure (P < .05).Conclusions The use of cell salvage during reimplantation in two-stage exchange for chronic hip PJI did not appear to increase the reinfection rate, while it significantly reduced the rate of postoperative allogeneic red blood transfusion. Greater age, lower BMI, lower preoperative haemoglobin, and non-intraoperative cell salvage reinfusion were associated with higher rate of allogeneic red blood transfusion.

Transmission Dynamics of Schistosoma haematobium among School-Aged Children: A Cohort Study on Prevalence, Reinfection and Incidence after Mass Drug Administration in the White Nile State of Sudan

The reinfection rate of schistosomiasis after mass drug administration (MDA) has not been documented in Sudan. We aimed to explore the transmission dynamics of urogenital schistosomiasis after MDA, targeting school-aged children in the White Nile State of Sudan, assessing the prevalence, reinfection rate, and incidence. A single dose of praziquantel (40 mg/kg) was administered to 1951 students in five primary schools from January to February 2018 immediately after a baseline survey, and follow-up surveys were performed at 2 weeks and 6 months after treatment. We examined Schistosoma haematobium eggs by centrifugation methods. The overall reinfection rate at 6 months after treatment was 9.8% (95% confidence interval: 0.5–17.4%). By school, the reinfection rate was highest in the Al Hidaib school, whose prevalence was highest at baseline. The reinfection rate was significantly higher in high-infection areas than low-infection areas (p = 0.02). Of the prevalence at 6 months in high-infection areas, 41% of cases were due to reinfection. MDA interventions are decided upon and undertaken at the district level. A more targeted treatment strategy should be developed with a particular focus on tracking high-risk groups, even within a school or a community.

Hepatitis C reinfection in former and active injecting drug users in Belgium

Background There is currently no systematic screening for hepatitis C (HCV) reinfection in people who inject drugs (PWID) after treatment in Belgium. However, in a recent meta-analysis, the overall HCV reinfection rate was 5.9/100 person-years (PY) among PWID. Accordingly, this study was undertaken to investigate the reinfection rate in former and active PWID who achieved the end of treatment response after direct-acting antiviral (DAA) treatment in Belgium. Methods This observational cross-sectional study recruited individuals with a history of injecting drug use who had achieved the end of treatment response to any DAA treatment between 2015 and 2020. Participants were offered a post-treatment HCV RNA test. Results Eighty-five potential participants were eligible to participate and contacted, of whom 60 participants were enrolled in the study with a median age of 51.0 (IQR 44.3–56.0) years; it was reported that 23.3% continued to inject drugs intravenously after DAA treatment. Liver cirrhosis was present in 12.9%. The majority had genotype 1a (51.7%) or genotype 3 (15.0%) infection. We detected no reinfections in this study population. The total time patients were followed up for reinfection in the study was 78.5 PY (median 1.0 years IQR 0.4–2.0). Conclusion Reinfection after successful treatment with DAA initially appears to be very low in Belgian PWID. Therefore, efforts should be made to screen individuals with persistent risk behaviors for reinfection systematically. In addition, a national HCV registry should be established to accurately define the burden of HCV infection and reinfection in Belgium and support the elimination of viral hepatitis C in Europe. Trial registration clinicaltrials.gov NCT04251572, Registered 5 Feb 2020–Retrospectively registered, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04251572.

Reinfection rates after one- and two-stage revision surgery for hip and knee arthroplasty: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Purpose Revisions for periprosthetic joint infection of knee and hip arthroplasty can be performed following one- or two-stage treatment protocols. Current literature is inconclusive whether one protocol is superior to the other, as prior literature reported similar reinfection rates for both treatment options. We aimed to provide a systematic review and meta-analysis of current literature on septic arthroplasty revisions. Methods Between April 2015 and December 2020, Medline, Embase, and The Cochrane Library were searched for studies reporting reinfection outcomes in patients treated with one-stage and two-stage knee or hip revision arthroplasty. Two reviewers independently extracted data and disagreements were resolved by a third investigator. We utilized a double arcsine transformation, prior to pooling using a random-effects model. Results For hip revision arthroplasty, we identified 14 one-stage studies (n = 1237) with a pooled reinfection rate of 5.7% (95% CI 3.7–8.1%), and 46 two-stage studies (n = 5009) with a reinfection rate of 8.4% (95% CI 6.9–9.9%). For knee revision arthroplasty, 6 one-stage studies (n = 527) and 48 two-stage studies (n = 4344) were identified with reinfection rates of 12.7% (7.0–19.7%) and 16.2% (13.7–19.0%), respectively. Overall, reinfection rates did not vary substantially after subgroup analysis. Limitations of our study are the limited amount of one-stage studies that introduce a potential bias. Conclusion The reinfection rates following one- and two-stage hip and knee arthroplasty revisions were similar. Knee reinfection rates have increased compared to the previous analysis. Individual patient characteristics and adequate treatment algorithms are needed for a more individual selection approach, until a randomized trial is performed.

COVID-19 convalescent plasma donors: impact of vaccination on antibody levels, breakthrough infections and reinfection rate.

From April 2020 through May 2021 in Padova Province 3395 COVID-19 recovered patients were recruited as potential convalescent plasma donors and tested for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Since January 2021 COVID-19 vaccination campaign began in Italy, the impact of vaccination on antibody levels and suspect vaccine breakthrough infections in these subjects were investigated. Post-vaccination anti-Sars-Cov-2 antibody level in 54 previously infected subjects had an exponential increase compared to pre-vaccination level regardless of the number of vaccine doses. However after 100 days from vaccination SARS-CoV-2 antibody level tends to decline. Post-vaccination primary infections were detected in 15 cases, with 3 possible breakthrough infections after a full vaccination course. In these cases, antibody response after infection was present but weaker than the one of subjects vaccinated after natural infection. A trend toward stronger antibody response was observed with increasing distance between natural infection and vaccination. Additionally, 2 cases of asymptomatic reinfections are also discussed.

Efficiency of Surgical Debridement and Implant Retaining in Treatment of Early Postoperative and Acute Hematogenous Periprosthetic Infections of Hip

Background. Periprosthetic infection is a devastating complication that influences the duration of treatment and patients life quality. Debridement, Antibiotics and Implant Retention (DAIR) is considered as least invasive surgery patients with stable implant, except cases of chronical periprosthetic infection. The aim of this study was to evaluate efficiency of surgical debridement and implant retaining in control over infection in group patients with early postoperative and acute hematogenous periprosthetic infections. Materials and Methods.We performed retrospective monocentral cohort study of treatment early postoperative and acute hematogenous periprosthetic infections of hip in 26 patients. The group included cases with stable implants and period between manifestation of infection and DAIR no more than 4 weeks. We have classified infection as early postoperative in 22 patients (84,2%) and as acute hematogenous in 4 cases (15,8%). Results.At mean follow-up 42,8±2,3 mounts five patients underwent removal of implant due to reinfection. We performed successful twostage revision for four of them and had to perform resection arthroplasty in one case. Thus, DAIR protocol was successful in 80,8(%) cases. The mean Harris Hip Score significantly improved compared to preoperative values from 59,2±2,5 to 80,5±1,3 at the last follow-up (p = 0,0002, Z-3,7). Conclusions.The efficiency of DAIR according to our data was 80,8%. These results allow to consider DAIR as a method of treatment of patients with early postoperative and acute hematogenous periprosthetic infections. Exchange of modular components can decrease the reinfection rate.

Correction to: Schistosoma haematobium infection morbidity, praziquantel effectiveness and reinfection rate among children and young adults in Gabon

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via the original article.

Midterm outcome of biosynthetic collagen prosthesis for treating aortic and peripheral prosthetic graft infections

Objectives To report the midterm outcomes of treating prosthetic peripheral and aortic graft infections using a biosynthetic collagen prosthesis in a tertiary vascular center. Methods A retrospective analysis of all patients with prosthetic peripheral and aortic graft infections who underwent in situ reconstruction using a biosynthetic collagen prosthesis between March 2015 and November 2020 was conducted. Perioperative and midterm outcomes were analyzed. Results A biosynthetic collagen prosthesis was used in 19 patients (14 males, median age 66 years) to reconstruct the femoral artery ( n = 6), iliac artery ( n = 1), and infrarenal aorta ( n = 12). All patients were treated for a prosthetic vascular graft infection. The median follow-up period was 26.6 months (range 1–66 months). The 30-day graft failure rate was 15.7% ( n = 3), leading to a major amputation in one patient (5.3%). All grafts were occluded aortofemoral reconstructions in patients with occluded superficial femoral artery and were treated by immediate thrombectomy. The 30-day mortality rate was 5.3% ( n = 1), and survival after 3 years was 63.2%. The reinfection rate was 5.3% ( n = 1). At 13.6 months, the occlusion of a femoral graft was detected in 5.3% ( n = 1) and was treated with a new interposition graft. We observed no graft rupture or degeneration during follow-up. Conclusions Although results of in situ repair with autologous vein seem to be superior with little or none reinfection and low number of occlusions, biosynthetic collagen prostheses show acceptable midterm outcomes in terms of graft occlusion and mortality after prosthetic peripheral and aortic graft infections. Similar to other xenogenous materials, the reinfection rate is low with this prosthesis. With regard to immediate availability and easy handling, the use of a biosynthetic collagen prosthesis might be favorable compared to other replacement materials while treating prosthetic graft infections.