Article
Dermatology
Margot Salse, Victor Mercier, Marie-Jose Carles, Catherine Lechiche, Milene Sasso
Summary: The study evaluated the performance of the RealStar(R) P jirovecii PCR kit for PCP diagnosis, showing excellent concordance with an in-house PCR. The kit performed well in samples from patients with proven and probable PCP, but had a lower percentage of positive samples in the possible PCP category.
Article
Microbiology
Yudy A. Aguilar, Zulma Vanessa Rueda, Maria Angelica Maya, Cristian Vera, Jenniffer Rodino, Carlos Muskus, Lazaro A. Velez
Summary: The study validated a new Pj real-time PCR assay for diagnosing PjP and differentiating between disease and colonization in BAL of immunocompromised patients. The qPCR was effective in detecting PjP cases and had a high colonization rate in immunocompromised and cancer patients. However, it was found to be ineffective in diagnosing PjP in OW samples.
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
M. T. Abdulwhhab, C. W. Holmes, J. Mutuyimana, S. S. F. Koo, A. Wisniewska, J. Auty, N. Perera, M. R. Barer
Summary: Uninfected patients suspected of having PJP can excrete P. jirovecii during normal respiration, indicating the need for further understanding of PJP transmission.
JOURNAL OF HOSPITAL INFECTION
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Patsharaporn T. Sarasombath, Jerapas Thongpiya, Monrat Chulanetra, Sirirat Wijit, Pisith Chinabut, Jeerawan Ongrotchanakun, Anupop Jitmuang, Darawan Wanachiwanawin
Summary: This study aimed to differentiate between PCP and Pneumocystis jirovecii colonization using qPCR to determine DNA copies in respiratory specimens of HIV and non-HIV patients. The study identified upper and lower cut-off values for PCP diagnosis in both groups, which showed high sensitivity and specificity in distinguishing PCP patients.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Xiaoxiao Lu, Jianhui Zhang, Wentao Ma, Lihua Xing, Hanbing Ning, Mengying Yao
Summary: The incidence of non-HIV-infected Pneumocystis Jirovecii Pneumonia (PJP) is increasing. This study found that metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) can diagnose PJP quickly and accurately, and has advantages over traditional detection methods. However, PJP can easily be ignored due to atypical symptoms and ambiguous imaging features.
FRONTIERS IN MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Angel Moreno, David Epstein, Indre Budvytiene, Niaz Banaei
Summary: Pneumocystis jirovecii plasma cell-free DNA PCR can noninvasively detect Pneumocystis pneumonia, especially suitable for patients who cannot tolerate bronchoscopy.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Corrie R. Belanger, Kerstin Locher, Billie Velapatino, Philippe J. Dufresne, Eric Eckbo, Marthe Charles
Summary: This study compared two commercial real-time PCR assays for the detection of Pneumocystis jirovecii. The results showed good concordance between the two methods for positive and negative samples, but discordant results occurred mainly in samples with low fungal loads.
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2023)
Review
Microbiology
Francesca Gioia, Hanan Albasata, Seyed M. Hosseini-Moghaddam
Summary: This systematic review evaluated studies on concurrent COVID-19 and Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP). The study found that patients with both infections were severely ill, with a high mortality rate. Three patterns of concurrent infection were identified, with PJP superinfection and coinfection associated with poor outcomes.
Article
Immunology
Li Liu, Mingjuan Yuan, Yi Shi, Xin Su
Summary: The study evaluated the performance of BAL mNGS and serum BDG in differentiating P. jirovecii colonisation and infection, finding that they are useful adjunct tests for this purpose.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Anthony Lieu, Todd C. Lee, Alexander Lawandi, Raymond Tellier, Matthew P. Cheng, Philippe J. Dufresne
Summary: Bronchoalveolar lavage is commonly used for molecular diagnosis of Pneumocystis jirovecii, but it requires a specialized procedure. In this retrospective study comparing nasopharyngeal and bronchoscopy specimens, nasopharyngeal specimens had a high negative percent agreement but a lower positive percent agreement.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Qin Lang, Lijuan Li, Yue Zhang, Xing He, Yafeng Liu, Zhen Liu, Haiying Yan
Summary: The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a nomogram for the diagnosis of pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP) in non-HIV-infected pneumonia patients receiving oral glucocorticoid treatment. The nomogram showed good diagnostic power and could help reduce the mortality rate by promoting timely treatment of PJP.
INFECTION AND DRUG RESISTANCE
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Dongsheng Wang, Shihua Fang, Xiaowen Hu, Qixia Xu, Xinmin Chu, Xiaodong Mei, Wang Xie
Summary: mNGS is highly efficient in diagnosing PJP and identifying pathogens in mixed infections, guiding antimicrobial therapy.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Romain Lecuyer, Nahema Issa, Benoit Tessoulin, Rose-Anne Lavergne, Florent Morio, Frederic Gabriel, Emmanuel Canet, Celine Bressollette-Bodin, Aurelie Guillouzouic, David Boutoille, Francois Raffi, Raphael Lecomte, Paul Le Turnier, Colin Deschanvres, Fabrice Camou, Benjamin Jean Gaborit
Summary: Respiratory cytomegalovirus (CMV) coinfection at diagnosis of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PcP) is independently associated with increased 90-day mortality, specifically in HIV-negative patients. This suggests that CMV coinfection may have an adverse impact on the prognosis of PcP patients.
JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Critical Care Medicine
Daniele Roberto Giacobbe, Silvia Dettori, Vincenzo Di Pilato, Erika Asperges, Lorenzo Ball, Enora Berti, Ola Blennow, Bianca Bruzzone, Laure Calvet, Federico Capra Marzani, Antonio Casabella, Sofia Choudaly, Anais Dartevel, Gennaro De Pascale, Gabriele Di Meco, Melissa Fallon, Louis-Marie Galerneau, Miguel Gallego, Mauro Giacomini, Adolfo Gonzalez Saez, Luise Haensel, Giancarlo Icardi, Philipp Koehler, Katrien Lagrou, Tobias Lahmer, P. Lewis White, Laura Magnasco, Anna Marchese, Cristina Marelli, Mercedes Marin-Arriaza, Ignacio Martin-Loeches, Armand Mekontso-Dessap, Malgorzata Mikulska, Alessandra Mularoni, Anna Nordlander, Julien Poissy, Giovanna Russelli, Alessio Signori, Carlo Tascini, Louis-Maxime Vaconsin, Joel Vargas, Antonio Vena, Joost Wauters, Paolo Pelosi, Jean-Francois Timsit, Matteo Bassetti
Summary: This study describes the characteristics of ICU patients undergoing diagnostic workup for PJP, and finds that PJP is most common in non-HIV patients. The results also suggest that combining serum BDG with respiratory Pneumocystis PCR can improve the accuracy of PJP diagnosis.
Review
Infectious Diseases
Julien Senecal, Elizabeth Smyth, Olivier Del Corpo, Jimmy M. Hsu, Alexandre Amar-Zifkin, Amy Bergeron, Matthew P. Cheng, Guillaume Butler-Laporte, Emily G. McDonald, Todd C. Lee
Summary: The study systematically reviewed and meta-analyzed the performance of minimally invasive PCP detection tests, highlighting induced sputum as highly sensitive and specific. Other testing modalities also showed diagnostic promise. Promising minimally invasive PCP diagnostic tests are available, potentially reducing the need for invasive respiratory sampling and improving clinical diagnosis of PCP.
CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY AND INFECTION
(2022)
Article
Oncology
E. Le Reun, A. Casutt, A. Durham, H. Bouchaabe, E. Romano, A. Lovis, T. Krueger, C. Von Garniercg, E. M. Oezsahin, R. Kinj
Summary: This study compared three different radiotherapy devices for pulmonary stereotactic radiotherapy: CyberKnife, Helical Tomotherapy, and volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT). The results showed that CyberKnife treatments had comparable tumor volume, smaller planning treatment volume, and lower V5 values compared to other techniques. The incidence of toxicity was lower when V5 values were reduced. CyberKnife is particularly attractive for multiple courses of lung SBRT or lung reirradiation. Rating: 8/10
CANCER RADIOTHERAPIE
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Eveline Hofmann, Bernard Surial, Noemie Boillat-Blanco, Huldrych F. Guenthard, Marcel Stoeckle, Enos Bernasconi, Patrick Schmid, Alexandra Calmy, Franziska Suter-Riniker, Andri Rauch, Gilles Wandeler, Charles Beguelin
Summary: In the Swiss HIV Cohort Study, researchers found that 27% of HIV-suppressed individuals with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection had HBV replication after two years on tenofovir. However, 77% of them were able to achieve suppression thereafter. Self-reported adherence to therapy and HBV viral load at tenofovir initiation were identified as predictors of persistent replication.
CLINICAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Bernard Surial, Adria Ramirez Mena, Marie Roumet, Andreas Limacher, Colette Smit, Olivier Leleux, Amanda Mocroft, Marc van der Valk, Fabrice Bonnet, Lars Peters, Juergen K. Rockstroh, Huldrych F. Guenthard, Annalisa Berzigotti, Andri Rauch, Gilles Wandeler
Summary: HBV coinfection is the most important cause of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) among people living with HIV (PLWH). While risk prediction tools for HCC have been validated in patients with HBV monoinfection, they have not been evaluated in PLWH. This study performed an external validation of PAGE-B in PLWH with HBV coinfection, and found that PAGE-B is a valid tool to determine the need for HCC screening.
JOURNAL OF HEPATOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Marco Labarile, Tom Loosli, Marius Zeeb, Katharina Kusejko, Michael Huber, Hans H. Hirsch, Matthieu Perreau, Alban Ramette, Sabine Yerly, Matthias Cavassini, Manuel Battegay, Andri Rauch, Alexandra Calmy, Julia Notter, Enos Bernasconi, Christoph Fux, Huldrych F. Gunthard, Chloe Pasin, Roger D. Kouyos
Summary: This study investigated and predicted the dynamics of HIV transmission in Switzerland using a network-based clustering method and statistical learning approaches. The study found that network characteristics can capture major heterogeneities in transmission and that cluster structure has the potential for real-time prediction of ongoing transmission.
JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Kalongo Hamusonde, Dunja Nicca, Huldrych F. Gunthard, Marcel Stoeckle, Katharine E. A. Darling, Alexandra Calmy, Enos Bernasconi, David Haerry, Patrick Schmid, Roger D. Kouyos, Andri Rauch, Luisa Salazar-Vizcaya
Summary: We examined the changes in sexual behavior of HIV-positive individuals over a span of 20 years. Since the Swiss U = U statement, the use of condoms with stable partners has consistently decreased from over 90% to 29%, with similar trends observed among men who have sex with men (MSM) and heterosexuals. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing measures, MSM have maintained a higher frequency of occasional partnerships compared to heterosexual individuals.
JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Charles Beguelin, Andrew Atkinson, Anders Boyd, Karolin Falconer, Nikolai Kirkby, Franziska Suter-Riniker, Huldrych F. Guenthard, Juergen K. Rockstroh, Amanda Mocroft, Andri Rauch, Lars Peters, Gilles Wandeler
Summary: A study found a high prevalence of hepatitis delta virus (HDV) infection among persons living with HIV (PLWH) in Europe, which is the most severe form of viral hepatitis. This study analyzed data from a large HIV cohort collaboration to characterize the epidemiological trends of HDV in Europe and its impact on clinical outcomes.
LIVER INTERNATIONAL
(2023)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Dina Bigler, Bernard Surial, Christoph Victor Hauser, Torsten Konrad, Hansjakob Furrer, Andri Rauch, Karoline Aebi-Popp
Summary: Access to affordable STI testing for asymptomatic individuals is important to reduce STI transmission. Our study examines the prevalence of STIs and the factors motivating people to attend our easily accessible and affordable testing site.
SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS
(2023)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Daniela K. van Santen, Rachel Sacks-Davis, Ashleigh Stewart, Anders Boyd, Jim Young, Marc van der Valk, Colette Smit, Andri Rauch, Dominique L. Braun, Inmaculada Jarrin, Juan Berenguer, Jeffrey V. Lazarus, Karine Lacombe, Maria-Bernarda Requena, Linda Wittkop, Olivier Leleux, Dominique Salmon, Fabrice Bonnet, Gail Matthews, Joseph S. Doyle, Tim Spelman, Marina B. Klein, Maria Prins, Jason Asselin, Mark A. Stoove, Margaret Hellard
Summary: We assessed the impact of broad direct-acting antiviral (DAA) access on hepatitis C virus (HCV) incidence among people living with HIV (PLHIV) and found that it can significantly reduce HCV incidence, indicating a treatment as prevention effect.
Article
Oncology
E. Jamshidi, A. Asgary, S. Setareh, A. Casutt, M. Gonzalez, M. P. Bianchi, A. Lovis, M. De Palma, C. von Garnier, N. Mansouri
Summary: Using machine learning techniques, this study investigated the correlations between medical and personal characteristics of cancer patients and the risk of lung metastasis, leading to potential improvements in clinical management and outcomes. The study identified obesity, advanced age, and underlying lung disease as strong predictors for lung metastasis. The predictive model developed in this study can assist physicians in preventive risk factor control and treatment strategies.
Article
Immunology
Marc-Olivier Boldi, Justin Denis-Lessard, Rina Neziri, Rene Brouillet, Christophe von-Garnier, Valerie Chavez, Jesica Mazza-Stalder, Katia Jaton, Gilbert Greub, Onya Opota
Summary: Polymerase chain reactions (PCRs) have a significant impact on the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB), with higher sensitivity and specificity than microscopy. Bronchial aspirate has a higher diagnostic yield than bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and sputum in respiratory specimens. Therefore, PCR should be performed on bronchial aspirates when available.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Kamila Caraballo Cortes, Sylwia Osuch, Karol Perlejewski, Marek Radkowski, Maciej Janiak, Hanna Berak, Andri Rauch, Jan S. Fehr, Matthias Hoffmann, Huldrych F. Guenthard, Karin J. Metzner, Swiss HIV Cohort Study
Summary: This study assessed inhibitory receptors and interleukin 10 levels in chronic HIV-1/hepatitis C virus (HCV) coinfection and investigated the effects of HCV treatment on these markers. The results demonstrated increased levels of soluble PD-1 and IL-10 in coinfection, which were reduced following successful HCV treatment. The study also suggested a potential association between inhibitory receptor levels and epitope sequence.
OPEN FORUM INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Catrina Mugglin, Kalongo Hamusonde, Luisa Salazar-Vizcaya, Katharina Kusejko, Dunja Nicca, David Haerry, Dominique L. Braun, Marcel Stoeckle, Roger Kouyos, Alexandra Calmy, Matthias Cavassini, Michela Cipriani, Enos Bernasconi, Andri Rauch, Anna Hachfeld, Swiss HIV Cohort Study SHCS
Summary: Despite a decrease in sexual partners, the COVID-19 pandemic had minimal impact on participation in private sex parties, traveling for sex within Switzerland, and chemsex in men with HIV who have sex with men. COVID-19 risk perception was low, and the incidence rates of STI diagnosis remained stable over time.
OPEN FORUM INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Jelle Koopsen, Gail Matthews, Juergen Rockstroh, Tanya L. Applegate, Sanjay Bhagani, Andri Rauch, Jason Grebely, Rachel Sacks-Davis, Patrick Ingiliz, Christoph Boesecke, Sjoerd Rebers, Jordan Feld, Julie Bruneau, Marianne Martinello, Margaret Hellard, Gregory J. Dore, Janke Schinkel, REACT Study Grp
Summary: This study investigates the international transmission and prevalence of resistance-associated substitutions (RAS) in men who have sex with men (MSM) with recent hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. The results show that international transmission is common among MSM, but transmission of highly resistant viruses is infrequent.
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Cas J. Isfordink, Anders Boyd, Rachel Sacks-Davis, Daniela K. van Santen, Colette Smit, Marianne Martinello, Mark Stoove, Juan Berenguer, Linda Wittkop, Marina B. Klein, Andri Rauch, Dominique Salmon, Karine Lacombe, Ashleigh Stewart, Janke Schinkel, Joseph S. Doyle, Margaret Hellard, Marc van der Valk, Gail Matthews
Summary: This study compared the rates of direct-acting antiviral treatment uptake in high-income countries for individuals with HIV-HCV, and investigated the reasons for remaining untreated. The results showed that despite unrestricted access, approximately one-third of HIV-HCV individuals did not receive treatment with direct-acting antivirals. Several factors associated with the commencement rate of treatment were identified. Increased efforts are needed to achieve micro-elimination of HIV-HCV by reaching the remaining untreated individuals.
LANCET PUBLIC HEALTH
(2023)
Review
Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
Chiara Pozzessere, Christophe von Garnier, Catherine Beigelman-Aubry
Summary: Lung cancer screening programs using low-dose Computed Tomography (LDCT) are being implemented globally, but concerns over radiation exposure and potential risks may impact participation. This review aims to assess the radiation risk from LDCT in the screening program, providing estimates of cumulative dose and risk to improve awareness and attendance. International trials and factors influencing the radiation risk will be summarized, and future directions for personalized screening programs and dose reduction will be discussed.