INTRODUCTION Antibiotic prophylaxis (AP) in surgery is an efficient method for preventing and reducing the risk of surgical site infection. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), surgical site infections are considered an important global problem [1]. They are...

INTRODUCTION Bacterial infections (BI) in immunosuppressed patients, which includes patients in the allogenic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation program (allo-HSCT), represent frequent and potentially life-threatening treatment complications. Infections are generally the most common cause...

INTRODUCTION BK polyomavirus is a double-stranded DNA virus from the Polyomaviridae family. Based on the DNA sequences, the virus can be classified into six genotypes. The most frequent genotype is type I (80%), followed by type IV (15%) [1]. The virus is ubiquitous, and it is believed that, in...

INTRODUCTION COVID-19 is primarily a respiratory infection caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, but with multiple extrapulmonary manifestations that can significantly affect further patient treatment and prognosis, which makes it a multisystemic disease with an unpredictable course and potentially...

INTRODUCTION The cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a ubiquitous herpes virus, whose name stems from the enlargement of the infected cells, i.e., they are cytomegalic. The prevalence of CMV seropositivity varies in the world from 60% do 100%. Primary infection usually occurs in early childhood, and in...

INTRODUCTION Sepsis and septic shock are major health problems affecting millions of people worldwide, each year [1]. Namely, around 20 million people around the world fall ill with sepsis, annually. Sepsis has a high mortality rate (roughly 26%), making it potentially responsible for almost...

INTRODUCTION Erysipelas Erysipelas is a type of superficial cellulitis with systemic manifestations, caused by group A β-hemolytic streptococcus, less frequently by group C and G β-hemolytic streptococci, and by group B β-hemolytic streptococcus, only in newborns. The disease is sporadic in...

INTRODUCTION This year, the Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to the three scientists who, 31 years ago, identified a new, blood-borne, primarily hepatotropic virus (BBV). This was the hepatitis C virus (HCV) that causes the infection with the same name, which is a global health problem linked...

INTRODUCTION At the end of 2019, a new virus called SARS-CoV-2 was identified as the cause of pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, China, and in March 2020 the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a pandemic and named the disease coronavirus disease 2019 [1]. According to WHO criteria from...

INTRODUCTION The first patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) were described in 1981, and two years later, the cause of the disease was identified - human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) [1]. At the end of 2020, around 37.7 million people were infected with HIV worldwide, of whom...

INTRODUCTION Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT) represents the standard approach to the treatment of hematological malignancies. The main indications for AHSCT are multiple myeloma and lymphoma. As of late, this approach has shown a growing potential in the treatment of...

INTRODUCTION With the emergence of improved chemotherapeutic regimens, and the possibility of allogenic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT), as well as with new biologic targeted therapies, the outcome for many serious hematological diseases is constantly improving [1]. However, invasive fungal...

Dear Editors, Infectious diseases have spread primarily in the form of epidemics throughout the history of mankind and pathogenic microorganisms have long been held responsible for their occurrence. However, pathogenic microorganisms make up only a small portion of the microbiome of humans,...

INTRODUCTION The global pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus has long been considered an unprecedented crisis. On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared an international state of emergency in public health, due to the increase in infections caused by the...

INTRODUCTION Fever of unknown origin denotes the presence of body temperature >38.3°C recorded on multiple occasions lasting longer than 3 weeks, with no diagnosis established despite adequate investigation including basic biochemical tests, chest radiographs, abdominal ultrasound...

INTRODUCTION Infection with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) remains one of the leading public health challenges in all of the countries in the world. Also, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) constitutes a great problem as the last and most severe stage of HIV infection, which...