Bone infections, including osteomyelitis, prosthetic joint infections, and fracture-related infections, represent a persistent and growing clinical problem associated with substantial morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs. Their management is complicated by limited bone vascularization, biofilm formation, intracellular bacterial persistence, dysregulated host immune responses and reduced antibiotic delivery to the infection site, which promote chronic infection and recurrence. The limitations of conventional treatment strategies based on surgical debridement and prolonged systemic antibiotic therapy, together with their association with antimicrobial resistance and systemic toxicity, have led to growing interest in alternative and adjunctive therapeutic approaches. Local antibiotic delivery systems, such as polymethyl methacrylate, calcium sulfate, hydroxyapatite-based composites, hydrogels, antibiotic-impregnated bone grafts, and nanoparticle carriers, enable high local antimicrobial concentrations while minimizing systemic exposure. From a different therapeutic perspective, immunomodulatory strategies, including mesenchymal stem cell-based therapies, cytokine-targeted interventions, bacteriophages, quorum-sensing inhibitors, and non-antibiotic antimicrobials, represent emerging approaches aimed at improving infection control and supporting bone regeneration. Advances in biomarker profiling, molecular diagnostics, and artificial intelligence-assisted analyses further support personalized approaches to diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment. Despite encouraging early results, clinical translation remains limited by methodological and regulatory challenges, underscoring the need for integrated, innovative treatment strategies.

Infective endocarditis (IE) during pregnancy, while uncommon, is associated with substantial maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality due to the complex physiological adaptations of pregnancy. Hemodynamic alterations, including increased cardiac output and changes in vascular resistance, combined with immunological modulation, predispose pregnant individuals to increased risk of infection and associated complications. Predominant pathogens implicated in pregnancy-associated IE are Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus viridans, and Enterococcus faecalis, with S. aureus infections frequently leading to poorer clinical outcomes. Diagnosis remains challenging due to commonly atypical presentation and relies on microbiological identification via blood cultures in conjunction with imaging modalities such as transthoracic echocardiography. IE in pregnancy is associated with increased maternal mortality rates (5–17%) and adverse fetal outcomes, including preterm birth, intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), and fetal loss. Management necessitates careful selection of antimicrobial therapy to ensure efficacy while minimizing fetal toxicity, especially in settings of increased antimicrobial resistance. Anticoagulation and surgical interventions must be judiciously considered, with surgical timing individualized based on the severity of heart failure and coordinated multidisciplinary care. In conclusion, IE during pregnancy constitutes a significant clinical challenge, underscoring the need for enhanced diagnostic strategies, optimized therapeutic protocols, and the development of pregnancy-specific management guidelines to improve maternal and fetal outcomes.

Respiratory tract infections are frequently encountered in clinical practice. The growing incidence of antimicrobial resistance among the causative pathogens exerts sustained pressure on the existing therapeutic options. The emergence of antimicrobial resistance limits the treatment options and often leads to unfavorable patient outcomes. However, in the past few years, newly developed antibiotics have become available, providing viable choices for antibiotic-resistant infections. New β-lactam/β-lactamase combinations, such as ceftazidime/avibactam, meropenem/vaborbactam, and imipenem/relebactam, are effective against carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales. Several new drugs including ceftolozane/tazobactam are active against multi-drug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, while sulbactam/durlobactam and cefiderocol have potent activity against Acinetobacter baumannii. A number of new options, such as lefamulin, omadacycline, and delafloxacin, have also emerged for pathogens commonly associated with community acquired pneumonia. This article aims to review the characteristics of newly approved antibiotics for the treatment of respiratory tract infections, as well as to discuss some investigational agents that are currently under development.

Background: Altered lipid metabolism has been reported in several malignancies, but its clinical relevance in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains uncertain. This study aimed to compare serum lipid parameters between NSCLC patients and healthy controls and to explore their association with histological subtype and selected driver mutations. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed serum total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and triglycerides (TG) in patients diagnosed with adenocarcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma from 2021 to 2024, alongside a control group of 100 healthy individuals. Statistical comparisons were performed using appropriate parametric or nonparametric tests after normality assessment (Shapiro–Wilk), and p-values were adjusted using the Benjamini–Hochberg false discovery rate (FDR). Results: A total of 160 NSCLC patients were included. Most were male (75.5%) and current or former smokers (96.1%), with a mean age of 70.4 ± 10.3 years. Squamous cell carcinoma was the predominant subtype (64.4%). Hypocholesterolemia was observed in 59.9% of patients, while hypercholesterolemia was less frequent (40.1%). Compared with controls, patients had significantly lower HDL levels (p = 0.007, FDR-adjusted p = 0.024), while other lipid markers showed no statistically significant differences after correction for multiple testing. Differences between adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma were not statistically significant. Squamous cell carcinoma patients had higher TG but lower TC, LDL, and HDL levels compared with adenocarcinoma. A negative correlation between TG and ROS1 expression remained significant (r = −0.223, FDR-adjusted p = 0.004). Conclusions: In this retrospective, real-world cohort, only HDL levels demonstrated a robust difference between NSCLC patients and controls. Observed associations should be interpreted cautiously due to potential confounding factors and incomplete clinical data inherent to retrospective analyses. Prospective studies are needed to clarify whether lipid alterations play a biological or prognostic role in NSCLC.