View clinical trials related to Infection.
Filter by:Acquiring diarrhoea in hospital is a serious problem and most frequently occurs when susceptible patients receive antibiotics as part of their (often life-saving) care. The commonest cause is Clostridium difficile - a bacterium that normally lives in up to a third of us but causes no problems. Rates of infection had been falling with increased awareness and improved hygiene but they are starting to creep up again. Clostridium difficile can cause a range of disease from a short-lived mild diarrhoea to severe disease of the bowel with major effects on the whole body and even death. This study aims to identify substances in the stool and in the blood to enable doctors to predict how severe that individual's disease will be. These tests can easily be performed. If they prove accurate in identifying the subsequent severity of the patient's illness due to Clostridium difficile, patients predicted to develop the worst disease can receive the most intensive treatments before they become too unwell to benefit. On the other hand, patients whose disease is predicted by these markers to run its course without causing serious consequences can be spared the side effects and risks of more intensive treatment.
The principal research objective is to determine the impact of antibiotic use on the risk of developing long term bowel symptoms after infection with the germ Campylobacter.
Worldwide, central nervous system infections such as inflammation of brain (encephalitis), inflammation of meninges (meningitis) and sudden onset of weakness of muscles which maybe infectious in origin result in significant illness and death and healthcare costs. Vast majority of central nervous system infections remain without an identifiable cause. There is also concern about new and emerging infections. This study thus intends to fill in the gaps in knowledge with regards to central nervous system infections in Singapore to give a thorough description of burden of causes of central nervous system infections and detection of outbreaks of new pathogens. Patients suspected of central nervous system infection will be recruited from 5 restructured Singapore hospitals and their blood and other clinical specimens will be sent for testing. Patients will also be followed up to assess long term outcomes and socio-economic costs of these infections. This will help clinicians, policymakers and public health officials in estimating financial and societal costs of CNs infections in Singapore.
Study hypothesis: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) patients with chronic bacterial colonization have lower levels of mucins and antimicrobial peptides in their airways
Developed before the establishment of a structured process for drug assessment, nitrofurantoin is now being prescribed frequently given the rise in multi-resistant gram-negative pathogens. Doubts remain regarding fosfomycin's long-term clinical effectiveness. A randomized, controlled trial is needed to explore the clinical effectiveness and better define the side effect profiles of both nitrofurantoin and fosfomycin. This multi-center open trial will randomize 600 non-pregnant women at three international sites (200 each in Poland, Switzerland, and Israel) at increased risk for carriage of resistant uropathogens and with suspicion of uncomplicated lower urinary tract infection to receive either oral nitrofurantoin 100 mg three times daily for 5 days or a single 3g dose of oral fosfomycin. Patients will be followed for clinical and bacteriologic response at days 14 and 28 post therapy completion. The study hypothesis holds that nitrofurantoin will be superior to fosfomycin in clinical efficacy at final follow-up.
The purpose of the investigation is to compare two catheter lock solutions (TaurolockTMHep100 and Heparin 100 IE/ml), on the occurence of catheter related blood stream infection, in patients with intestinal failure and a central venous access device for home parenteral nutrition.
Invasive bacterial infection is a dangerous but relatively uncommon disease where bacteria spread deep into the body causing diseases like blood poisoning ('bacteraemia'), pneumonia, meningitis and others. The various bacteria of the streptococcus family are an important cause, often leading patients to require intensive care despite which, for some strains, one in five patients die. One notable form is called necrotising fasciitis, a condition where bacteria rapidly spreads through and destroys the layers of tissue just under the skin. As individuals vary greatly in their risk of developing such serious infections, investigating how the genome, the inherited blueprint of our bodies, of these patients differs from that of healthy volunteers can help to explain why the disease develops in some and not others. For some streptococcal bacteria such as Streptococcus pneumoniae this approach is already proving successful; for others such as the "Group A" strain (Streptococcus pyogenes) it has yet to be explored but carries excellent potential. The investigators have secured the support of the Lee Spark Necrotising Fasciitis Foundation to recruit from their membership survivors of streptococcal infections and some of their family members. The investigators will also ask infection specialists from NHS hospitals to invite patients they have looked after. The investigators also have a small existing collection. Taking part would involve registering information on a website, discussing the study on the telephone and then providing us with a sample of saliva from which the investigators can isolate DNA. The investigators would prepare the sample for analysis of the genome and compare the patients with both their family and an existing reference collection from healthy volunteers using technology that reads the DNA code. Our study will be a first key step in renewing efforts to understand the determinants of invasive streptococcal infection, which is important for developing better treatments and vaccines.
Objectives: MAIN: To evaluate the parameters of microbial translocation after treatment with probiotics (Saccharomyces boulardii) in HIV+ patients and its role on immune reconstitution and the changes in gut microbiota composition. SECONDARY OBJECTIVES: 1) To analyze the progress of immune activity markers after the administration of probiotics. 2) To determine the improvement of CD4+ lymphocytes and HIV viral load in patients after taking probiotics. Methods: Design: A prospective randomized open controlled double-blinded trial, to be performed at a tertiary care hospital in Barcelona. Subjects: Chronic HIV infected patients. Sample size: 44 cases. They´ll be divided in 2 groups: (1) Patients with CD4 +> 400 cells / ml and undetectable viral load for more than two years (22 cases) and (2) Patients with immunodiscordancy, defined as patients with CD4 + T cells lower than 350 cells / ml despite 4-7 years of effective antiretroviral therapy. (22 cases). Intervention: Patients were randomized in 2 subgroups: (A) they´ll receive daily oral supplementation with S. boulardii for 3 months and (B) they ´ll receive placebo. Variables: bacterial lipopolisaccharide levels measured by the Lipid-Binding protein (LBP), parameters of immune activation in plasma (soluble CD14, IFN-Υ, TNF-Alpha, IL (interleukine)-2, IL-5, IL-6, IL-12)and gut microbiota composition prior to the use of probiotics (baseline), at 3 and 6 months. Immunological and clinical data. Outcome measures: quantification of bacterial translocation levels, markers of activity and immune recovery. Analysis: Comparison of variables before and after the intervention. The analysis will be performed by biological and immunological effectiveness.
The purpose of this study is to determine of once identified to the subjects infected with human immunodeficiency virus (positive VIH), to diagnose latent Tuberculosis, and to treat her with isoniazid for six months, measuring the production of Interferon range pre and posttreatment, to evaluate this way the result of the treatment on the immune response
We plan to integrate WHO educational material using mobile phone text messaging, target on pregnant women in remote rural areas in China. We hypothsized that text messaging can have major impact on reducing maternal and infant deaths in rural China because text messaging is accessible, acceptable, and affordable.