Infectious Diseases

Fever is common in inpatient hospice palliative care and strongly associated with medical devices.

In a prospective cohort of 145 adults in inpatient hospice palliative care, fever occurred in 40% of patients. Median fever onset was 5.5 days after admission and infections explained about 39.7% of fevers. Catheter-associated urinary tract infection was a leading infectious cause and bladder catheters were present in 89.7% of device-related fevers. Presence of medical devices, especially bladder catheters, strongly predicted fever (adjusted OR 12.42). 1

Chronic opioid use in IBD associates with increased infections and mortality.

Nationwide cohort of adults with Crohn disease (n=18,897) and ulcerative colitis (n=32,947) assessed time-varying chronic opioid use. Chronic opioid use was associated with higher hazards of hospital-diagnosed infections (aHR ~1.9) and prescribed antibiotics (aHR ~1.5) in both CD and UC. Chronic opioid use also associated with higher mortality (aHR ~1.75) across opioid strengths. These associations persisted after adjustment for surgeries, IBD therapies, and psychotropic medications. 2

Substantial Toxoplasma gondii seroprevalence among Turkish patients with neuropsychiatric disorders.

Systematic review and meta-analysis estimated overall T. gondii seroprevalence of 34% (95% CI 28%–39%) in patients with psychiatric and/or neurological disorders in Türkiye. Subgroup of patients with both neurological and psychiatric conditions had the same pooled estimate of 34%. The analysis highlights geographic and socioeconomic variability and suggests the need for further research on clinical relevance. Findings are descriptive; they do not establish causation or mandate routine screening. 3