Shani Zilberman-Itskovich

Assaf Harofeh Medical Center · Internal A

Background: Higher body mass index (BMI) has been shown to be a protective factor from mortality in sepsis patients. Yet, whether this effect is different in the very elderly is currently unknown. Objectives: To investigate the relationship between BMI and sepsis outcomes in patients older and younger than 80 years of age. Methods: A retrospec...

Background Older adults frequently experience deconditioning following acute illnesses and require discharge from acute-care facilities to post-acute care facilities, which are limited. Our study aimed to explore predictors and outcomes associated with elongated length of stay (LOS) among older adults awaiting discharge to skilled nursing facility...

Introduction: Post-COVID-19 condition refers to a range of persisting physical, neurocognitive, and neuropsychological symptoms after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Abnormalities in brain connectivity were found in recovered patients compared to non-infected controls. This study aims to evaluate the effect of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) on brain conne...

Sepsis is one of the leading causes of hospitalization and death among hemodialysis patients. Infections due to multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) are common among these patients, but empiric broad-spectrum coverage for every septic patient is associated with unfavorable outcomes. A retrospective case–control study was conducted at Shamir Medica...

Post-COVID-19 condition refers to a range of persisting physical, neurocognitive, and neuropsychological symptoms after SARS-CoV-2 infection. The mechanism can be related to brain tissue pathology caused by virus invasion or indirectly by neuroinflammation and hypercoagulability. This randomized, sham-control, double blind trial evaluated the effec...

Hospital-acquired urinary tract infection (HAUTI) is one of the most common hospital-acquired infections, and over 80% of HAUTI are catheter-associated (CAUTI). Pseudomonas aeruginosa, as well as other non-glucose fermenting Gram negative organisms (NGFGN, e.g., Acinetobacter baumannii), are frequently covered empirically with “anti-Pseudomonals” b...

Hospital-acquired urinary tract infections (HAUTI) are common and most cases are related to catheters (CAUTI). HAUTI and CAUTI surveillance is mandatory in many countries as a measure to reduce the incidence of infections and appropriately direct the allocation of preventable resources. The surveillance criteria issued by the Israeli Ministry of He...

Objective In the era of widespread resistance, there are 2 time points at which most empiric prescription errors occur among hospitalized adults: (1) upon admission (UA) when treating patients at risk of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) and (2) during hospitalization, when treating patients at risk of extensively drug-resistant organisms (XDRO...

The independent association of diabetes and hyperglycemia on the outcomes of sepsis remains unclear. We conducted retrospective cohort analyses of outcomes among patients with community-onset sepsis admitted to Shamir Medical Center, Israel (08-12/2016). Statistical associations were queried by Cox and logistic regressions, controlled for by matche...

Objective Administration of antimicrobials to patients with asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) is a common error that can lead to worse outcomes. However, controlled analyses quantifying the commonality and impact of this practice are lacking. We analyzed the independent predictors for antimicrobials misuse in ASB and quantified the impact of this prac...

There is growing evidence concerning the potential use of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) for different tissue injuries. Initially, the intended physiological use of MSCs was due to their ability to differentiate and replace damaged cells. However, MSCs have multiple effects, including being able to significantly modulate immunological responses....

Aim: Recent guidelines recommended removing metronidazole as a therapeutic option for Clostridioides difficile infections (CDI). However, superiority of vancomycin over metronidazole in mild CDI is not established and use of vancomycin might lead to emergence of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE). Patients & methods: A retrospective cohort stud...

Background: Many septic patients are receiving empiric anti-Pseudomonal (or Gram-negative non-glucose fermenting, i.e., GNNGF) coverage, upon admission to acute care hospitals, despite the fact that the indications are not scientifically established. Overuse of anti-Pseudomonals might contribute to the burden of resistance. Materials/methods: Re...

Aim: The complement system is activated in acute kidney injury (AKI). Anti-C5 antibody targets the common terminal portion of the complement cascade that generate the terminal complex C5b-9 and has a renal-protective effect in paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria. However, the anti-C5 antibody’s role in ischemia/reperfusion (I/R)-induced AKI has not...

Background In the era of widespread resistance, there are two events in the course of a hospitalized septic patient where the majority of empiric prescription errors occur: (1) infections upon admission (UA) due to multi-drug-resistant organisms (MDRO) and (2) nosocomial infections due to extensively drug-resistant organisms (XDRO). These errors se...

Introduction: The primary rational for using mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) to rejuvenate damaged tissue is mostly based on their capacity to trans-differentiate and repair injured organs. However, previous studies have demonstrated that MSCs are beneficial even at very early stages, before differentiation and proliferation can be expected. The...

Objectives: COPD is the fourth-leading cause of mortality worldwide. Prolonged QTc has been found to be a long-term negative prognostic factor in ambulatory COPD patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the extent of prolonged-QTc syndrome in COPD patients upon admission to an internal medicine department, its relationship to hypomagnesemia,...

Background Multi-drug-resistant organisms (MDRO) pose a growing burden, including in non-hospital settings. Delay in initiation of appropriate antimicrobial therapy (DAAT) upon admission to an acute care hospital is common and is associated with worse outcomes. The aim of this study was to develop a prediction score for MDRO infection upon admissio...

Background Multi-drug-resistant organisms (MDRO) pose a growing burden, including in the community. Delay in initiation of appropriate antimicrobial therapy (DAAT) is common among patients with MDRO infection. In addition, DAAT is the strongest modifiable predictor of mortality in severe sepsis. The aim of this study was to develop a prediction sco...

Background: Concerns about metformin-associated lactic acidosis (MALA) prohibit the use of metformin in a large subset of diabetic patients, mostly in patients with chronic kidney disease. Increasing evidence suggests that the current safety regulations may be overly restrictive. Objectives: To examine the association between chronic metformin t...