Amphotericin B and flucytosine were active in vitro against all strains. A total of 24 isolates (6.8%) showed decreased susceptibility to fluconazole (MIC > or = 16 mg/L) and 43 (12.3%) showed decreased susceptibility to itraconazole (MIC > or = 0.25 mg/L). Voriconazole and caspofungin were active in vitro against the majority of isolates, even those that were resistant to fluconazole.

Background & aims: Across the globe, the prevalence of hospital malnutrition varies greatly depending on the population served and on local socioeconomic conditions. While malnutrition is widely recognized to worsen patient outcomes and add financial burdens to healthcare systems, recent data on hospital malnutrition in Latin America are limited. Our study objectives were: (1) to quantify the prevalence of malnutrition risk in Latin American hospital wards, and (2) to explore associations between nutritional risk status, in-hospital food intake, and health outcomes. Methods: On nutritionDay (nDay), a specific day every year, hospital wards worldwide can participate in a one-day, cross-sectional audit. We analyzed nDay data collected in ten Latin American countries from 2009 to 2015, including demographic and nutrition-related findings for adult patients (18 years) from 582 hospital wards/units. Based on patient-reported responses to questions related to the Malnutrition Screening Tool, we determined the prevalence of malnutrition risk (MST score 2). We also summarized patient-reported food intake on nDay, and we analyzed staff-collected outcome data at 30 days post-nDay. Results: The prevalence of malnutrition risk in the Latin American nDay study population (N ¼ 14,515) was 39.6%. More than 50% of studied patients ate one-half or less of their hospital meal, ate less than normal in the week before nDay, or experienced weight loss in the prior three months. The hospitalmortality hazard ratio was 3.63 (95% CI [2.71, 4.88]; P < 0.001) for patients eating one-quarter of their meal (compared with those who ate the full meal), increasing to 6.6 (95% CI [5.02, 8.7]; P < 0.0001) for patients who ate none of the food offered. Conclusions: Based on compilation of nDay surveys throughout Latin America, 2 of every 5 hospitalized patients were at risk for malnutrition. The associated risk for hospital mortality was up to 6-fold higher among patients who ate little or none of their meal on nDay. This high prevalence showed scant improvement over rates two decades agoda compelling rationale for new focus on nutrition education and training of professionals in acute care settings.

Background: Lymphopenia commonly occurs in cancer patients and predicts poor prognosis. It is caused by radioand chemotherapy, with malnutrition and treatment-related oxidative stress playing key roles in its pathogenesis. Tumour-related morbidity is reported to be associated with reduced plasma ascorbate, which is a key physiological antioxidant and essential factor in immune function. Method: A prospective observational study was conducted on 48 cancer patients with lymphopenia (<1500/μL) to investigate the total lymphocyte count (TLC) during four weeks of elective adjuvant treatment with intravenous (iv) vitamin C 7.5 g (Pascorbin®7.5 g) once a week. TLC values at baseline (just prior to start of treatment) and after 4 weeks treatment were compared using descriptive statistics. Results: After 4 weeks iv vitamin C 7.5 g, TLC increased by a mean of 211/μL (p = 0.0018). Subgroup analyses showed that, in patients with severe lymphopenia (n = 25) (TLC <1000/μL), the increase in TLC was greater with a mean rise of 368/μL (p = 0.0004), than in patients (n = 23) with an initial TLC of 1000-1500 (mean rise of 40/μL) (p = 0.6105). TLC increased by at least 240/μL in half of the patients with severe lymphopenia and by more than 610/μL in 25% of patients. Conclusion: Our data indicate that iv high-dose vitamin C treatment increases TLC, which strongly implies improvement of immune function, especially in patients with severe lymphopenia. Appropriately-powered, randomized, placebo-controlled trials of iv high-dose vitamin C are now needed to define more precisely its role in the treatment of cancer-related lymphopenia and how this impacts on the patients' clinical prognosis.