Papers by Antonino Di Caro
Person and institution involved in the organization and management of the patient.
Clinical course timeline.
Blood transfusion = Trasfusione del sangue, 2008
Centro Nazionale Sangue, Istituto Superiore di Sanita, Roma; U.O. Immunoematologia e Trasfusional... more Centro Nazionale Sangue, Istituto Superiore di Sanita, Roma; U.O. Immunoematologia e Trasfusionale, Ospedale "San Giovanni Calibita" Fatebenefratelli, Roma; Centro Regionale Sangue della Regione Emilia Romagna, Azienda USL Citta di Bologna, Bologna; Istituto Nazionale Malattie Infettive "L. Spallanzani", Roma; Centro Regionale di riferimento per le emergenze microbiologiche della Regione Emilia Romagna, Azienda Ospedaliera-Universitaria S. Orsola, Bologna, Italy.
A new SARS-CoV-2 clade (GV) characterized by S substitution A222V, first reported from Spain in M... more A new SARS-CoV-2 clade (GV) characterized by S substitution A222V, first reported from Spain in March, is rapidly spreading across Europe. To establish the A222V variant involvement in the infection rise in Italy, all GISAID sequences from Italy and those from our Laboratory (Lazio) in the period June-October were analysed. A222V, first recognized in August, represents 11.2% of sequences in this period, reaching 100% of autochthonous sequences in October, supporting increased GV circulation in Italy.
Journal of Global Antimicrobial Resistance, 2020
Antibiotics, 2020
Tuberculosis (TB) in the elderly (>65 years old) has increasingly become a global health probl... more Tuberculosis (TB) in the elderly (>65 years old) has increasingly become a global health problem. It has long been recognized that older people are vulnerable to developing tuberculosis. We retrospectively evaluated data from patients older than 65 years diagnosed with pulmonary TB admitted to the National Institute for Infectious Diseases L. Spallanzani, Rome, Italy, from 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2019. One hundred and six consecutive patients were diagnosed with pulmonary TB and 68% reported at least one comorbidity and 44% at least one of the TB risk-factors. Out of the 26 elderly patients who reported an adverse event, having risk factors for TB (O.R. (Odds Ratios) = 1.45; 95% CI 1.12–3.65) and the presence of cavities on Chest X-rays (O.R. = 1.42; 95% CI 1.08–2.73) resulted in being more likely to be associated with adverse events in elderly patients. Having weight loss (O.R. = 1.31; 95% CI 1.08–1.55) and dyspnea (O.R. = 1.23; 95% CI 1.13–1.41) resulted in being signific...
Eurosurveillance, 2020
We show the distribution of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) genetic ... more We show the distribution of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) genetic clades over time and between countries and outline potential genomic surveillance objectives. We applied three genomic nomenclature systems to all sequence data from the World Health Organization European Region available until 10 July 2020. We highlight the importance of real-time sequencing and data dissemination in a pandemic situation, compare the nomenclatures and lay a foundation for future European genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2.
Emerging Infectious Diseases, 2020
Infectious Disease Clinics of North America, 2019
• Viral hemorrhagic fevers represent a group of diseases caused by enveloped RNA viruses belongin... more • Viral hemorrhagic fevers represent a group of diseases caused by enveloped RNA viruses belonging to four taxonomic families: filoviruses, arenaviruses, bunyaviruses, and flaviviruses. • Viral hemorrhagic fevers are severe febrile illnesses characterized by vascular abnormalities with plasma leakage and widespread bleeding in tissues and organs. • Rapid identification of the viruses causing hemorrhagic fevers is fundamental for patient management, outcome improvement and limitation of disease propagation, particularly in healthcare settings. • Treatment of viral hemorrhagic fevers is essentially supportive. Viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHFs) represent a group of diseases caused by enveloped RNA viruses belonging to four taxonomic families: filoviruses, arenaviruses, bunyaviruses and flaviviruse. The epidemiology of VHFs is broadly variable, ranging from geographically localized infections causing sporadic outbreaks, such as Omsk hemorrhagic fever and Kyasanur Forest disease, to more diffuse infections, such as Lassa fever in West Africa, that cause not only sporadic outbreaks but also endemic diseases. VHF viruses are considered as possible biological weapons, and are classified as category A bioweapon agents by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The main characteristic of VHF is represented by severe febrile illnesses with hemorrhagic phenomena. Laboratory diagnosis of VHF take place in highly specialized reference laboratories. Mobile laboratories are under implementation to improve field diagnosis and contact tracing. Treatment of VHF is essentially supportive. In this paper we focus the attention on yellow fever and VHFs other than Ebola and Lassa virus diseases that have been described elsewhere in this publication. Yellow fever and other Flaviviruses causing VHFs (dengue, Omsk hemorrhagic fever, Kyasanur Forest disease and Alkhumra viruses
Infection and Drug Resistance, 2019
The Ralstonia spp. genus is a group of non-fermentative, Gram-negative bacteria often resistant t... more The Ralstonia spp. genus is a group of non-fermentative, Gram-negative bacteria often resistant to many antibiotics, which are emerging as opportunistic pathogens frequently associated with infections in hospital settings. We present herein a case of combined R. pickettii and R. mannitolilytica persisting and relapsing bacteraemia, possibly caused by a septic arterial thrombosis secondary to the rupture of an internal carotid artery aneurysm. Microbiology studies showed that both Ralstonia isolates produced biofilm and carried class D oxacillinase genes. When confronted with infections caused by members of the Ralstonia genus, identification to the species level is crucial for correct clinical management, as the two species show different antibiotic susceptibility patterns.
Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy, Aug 30, 2017
Colonisations due to carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) are a source of antimicrobial ... more Colonisations due to carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) are a source of antimicrobial resistance transmission in healthcare settings. Eleven Citrobacter freundii strains producing KPC-3 carbapenemase were isolated from rectal swabs during a three-year surveillance programme. In 9/11 strains, blaKPC-3-carrying plasmids were found to belong to the IncX3 group and complete nucleotide sequences were obtained for two of them. Our results highlight the possible role of C. freundii as reservoir of resistance genes.
Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, 2016
BMC infectious diseases, Jan 16, 2015
In the current Ebola epidemic in Western Africa, many healthcare workers have become infected. So... more In the current Ebola epidemic in Western Africa, many healthcare workers have become infected. Some of these have been medically evacuated to hospitals in Europe and the USA. These clinical experiences provide unique insights into the course of Ebola virus disease under optimized condition within high level isolation units. A 50-year-old Caucasian male physician contracted Ebola virus diseases in Sierra Leone and was medically evacuated to Italy. Few days after the admission the course of the illness was characterized by severe gastro-intestinal symptoms followed by respiratory failure, accompanied by pulmonary infiltration and high Ebola viral load in the bronchial aspirate and Plasmodium vivax co-infection. The patient received experimental antiviral therapy with favipiravir, convalescent plasma and ZMAb. Ebola viral load started to steadily decrease in the blood after ZMAb administration and became undetectable by day 19 after admission, while it persisted longer in urine samples...
Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 2015
In the case of a release of highly pathogenic bacteria (HPB), there is an urgent need for rapid, ... more In the case of a release of highly pathogenic bacteria (HPB), there is an urgent need for rapid, accurate, and reliable diagnostics. MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry is a rapid, accurate, and relatively inexpensive technique that is becoming increasingly important in microbiological diagnostics to complement classical microbiology, PCR, and genotyping of HPB. In the present study, the results of a joint exercise with 11 partner institutions from nine European countries are presented. In this exercise, 10 distinct microbial samples, among them five HPB, Bacillus anthracis , Brucella canis , Burkholderia mallei , Burkholderia pseudomallei , and Yersinia pestis , were characterized under blinded conditions. Microbial strains were inactivated by high-dose gamma irradiation before shipment. Preparatory investigations ensured that this type of inactivation induced only subtle spectral changes with negligible influence on the quality of the diagnosis. Furthermore, pilot tests on nonpathogenic s...
European Journal of Internal Medicine, 2015
Microbiologia Medica, 2012
Journal of Virological Methods, 2005
Orthopoxviruses tend to have non-specific early symptoms that cannot be differentiated readily fr... more Orthopoxviruses tend to have non-specific early symptoms that cannot be differentiated readily from other infectious exanthemas, such as varicella-zoster virus (VZV) or disseminated herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections. A rapid assay was developed for the differential diagnosis of orthopoxviruses and herpesviruses based upon the melting temperatures of real-time PCR amplicons. A mean melting temperature difference of 8.7 degrees C was observed between the products amplified from the two virus families. Further identification of individual pathogens was made using restriction enzyme analysis. The assay was able to identify correctly viruses from quality control panels of herpes and orthopoxviruses.
Journal of Travel Medicine, 2007
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Papers by Antonino Di Caro