Background: Tocilizumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody, targets IL-6 receptors blocking downstream proinflammatory effects of IL-6. In preliminary reports it was suggested to be beneficial in patients with severe In this open-label prospective study we describe clinical characteristics and outcome of 51 patients hospitalized with confirmed and severe COVID-19 pneumonia treated with tocilizumab intravenously. All patients had elevated IL-6 plasma level (>40 pg/mL) and oxygen saturation <93% in ambient air. Clinical outcomes, oxygen support, laboratory data and adverse events were collected over a follow-up of 30 days. Results: Forty-five patients (88%) were on high-flow oxygen supplementation, six of whom with invasive ventilation. From baseline to day 7 after tocilizumab we observed a dramatic drop of body temperature and CRP value with a significant increase in lymphocyte count (p<0.001). Over a median follow-up time of 34 days from tocilizumab, 34 patients (67%) showed an improvement in their clinical severity class; 31 were discharged; 17 (33%) showed a worsening of their clinical status, of these 14 died (27%). The mortality rate was significantly associated with mechanical ventilation at baseline (83.3% vs 20% of patients on non-invasive oxygen support; p=0.0001). The most frequent side effects were an increase of hepatic enzymes (29%), thrombocytopenia (14%), and serious bacterial and fungal infections (27%). Conclusion: Tocilizumab exerts a rapidly beneficial effect on fever and inflammatory markers, although no significant impact on the clinical outcome can be inferred by our results. Critically ill patients seem to have a high risk of serious infections with this drug.

PCR assay is a highly sensitive and specific tool for the diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis in both immunocompetent and immunocompromised patients and can be reliably used for rapid parasite identification at the species level.

Post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL) is a complication of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) observed mainly in Sudan and India where it follows treated VL in 50% and 10% of cases, respectively. We report a 46-year-old patient with acquired immune deficiency syndrome who, 7 months after diagnosis of VL, developed PKDL and uveal leishmaniasis following HAART-induced immune recovery. In southern Europe PKDL seems to be an emerging clinical presentation among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients experiencing HAART-induced immune recovery after a previous diagnosis of VL. The best treatment among HIV-infected patients remains to be determined.

Human parvovirus 4 (PARV4) is a recently discovered member of the Parvoviridae. We investigated the presence of this virus in bone-marrow aspirates of 35 Italian patients with AIDS. Viral DNA was detected by polymerase chain reaction in over 40% of patients (16/35). The infection was most prevalent in injection drug users (IDU; 12/18; 66.7%) as opposed to non-IDU (4/17; 23.5%). PARV4 infection is widespread in Italian patients with AIDS.

In our experience, despite the high prevalence of 25(OH)D insufficiency, HIV and HCV-infection did not seem to influence vitamin D status. The role of HIV, HCV and cART on hypovitaminosis D needs further validation in larger cohorts that account for the vitamin levels in general populations and for seasonal and regional variability.