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Since the start of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, several treatment options have been proposed (e.g. steroids, heparin, antivirals and monoclonal antibodies). Remdesivir was the first antiviral approved for the treatment of COVID-19, even though controversial evidence exists concerning the efficacy. Therefore, we aimed to conduct a study to evaluate whether the use of remdesivir was associated with lower mortality in patients with COVID-19. We conducted a nested case–control study of a retrospective cohort collecting medical records of people with SARS-CoV-2 infection admitted in the infectious Disease Unit of Sassari University Hospital (S.C. Clinica di Malattie Infettive, AOU di Sassari, Italy), or in the Infectious Disease Unit of Foggia (AOU "Ospedali Riuniti" Foggia), between 1 July 2020 and 10 November 2021. The outcome considered was death; thus, we matched death (cases) to survivors (controls) by sex and age (1:1). We included in the study 342 patients, with 171 deaths (cases) and 171 survivors (controls). Remdesivir was administered to 60 people in the control group and to 18 people in the case group (35.1% vs. 10.5%, p <.0001). In the multivariate analysis, treatment with remdesivir and heparin was associated with lower mortality (OR: 0.19 [95% CI :0.10–0.38], p <.0001; OR: 0.39 [95% CI: 0.21–0.74] p =.004, respectively). On the contrary, diabetes, oxygen therapy and CPAP/NIV were associated with higher mortality. Our study showed lower mortality in people with SARS-CoV-2 infection treated with remdesivir. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Furthermore, a high percentage of patients (approximately 76%) underwent surgery for prosthesis debridement or replacement together with antimicrobial therapy; they represent the same patients who achieved the primary or secondary outcome. 04*** ht 4 Group A: patients receiving a two-dose regimen of dalbavancin; Group B: patients receiving other drugs combination. /> ht 1 Group A: patients receiving a two-dose regimen of dalbavancin; Group B: patients receiving other drugs combination. [Extracted from the article]

Introduction: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major cause of chronic liver disease, with approximately 71 million chronically infected individuals worldwide. Treatment of chronic hepatitis C has considerably improved in the last few years thanks to the introduction of direct-acting antivirals able to achieve sustained virological response in more than 95% of patients. Successful anti-HCV treatment can halt liver disease progression and solve the HCV-related extra-hepatic manifestations, eventually reducing liver-related and overall mortality. Areas covered: With the aim to respond to unmet needs in patient's identification, universal access to antiviral therapy and treatment optimization in specific setting of HCV-infected patients, a group of Italian experts met in Stresa in May 2018. The summary of the considerations arising from this meeting and the final statements are reported in this paper. Expert commentary: All the advances on HCV cure may have a real clinical impact not only in individual patients but also at the social health level if they are applied to all infected patients, independently from the stage of liver disease. Further improvements are needed in order to attain HCV elimination, such as the development of an enhanced screening program working in parallel to the present treatment options. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Five cases of varicella occurred in a women's prison in Rome. A serosurvey conducted in the prison found that 14.5% of the inmates were susceptible. The sensitivity and positive predictive value of a history of varicella were high, whereas specificity was rather low. The attack rate among susceptible inmates was approximately 22%. Preventive measures probably contributed to reduce infection spread. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]