Introduction: Arbovirus diseases remain a public health threat in Sri Lanka. Dengue is endemic and two outbreaks of chikungunya infections have been reported. There is limited data on Zika virus (ZIKV) infections in Sri Lanka, and this could be due to a lack of comprehensive ZIKV surveillance. Our aim was to determine the presence of antibodies to dengue, chikungunya, and Zika infections in adults from a suburban population in Sri Lanka.
Methods: A total of 149 healthy adult volunteers over 18 years of age (mean age: 43±14 years, males - 43%), with no prior diagnosed arboviral infections and no history of overseas travel, participated in the study. ELISA and neutralization assays were carried out to detect past dengue, chikungunya, or Zika infections.
Results: A total of 94.6% (141/149) of the participants demonstrated dengue IgG antibodies, 37.5% (56/149) were positive for chikungunya IgG, and 5.3% (8/149) were positive for anti-ZIKV IgG antibodies. Neutralization assays confirmed ZIKV-specific antibodies in 6.7% (10/149), when 40/149 of the participating population were tested.
Conclusion: This clearly demonstrated past ZIKV infections in this population. In addition, this study indicates that >90% of individuals had asymptomatic dengue but no serious symptoms. These results provide a cross-sectional view on the DENV, ZIKV, and CHIKV epidemic status and demonstrate a need for the implementation of enhanced surveillance and more effective measures against the spread of these arbovirus diseases.
Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis is usually considered a rapidly progressive fatal illness with poor outcomes. It is of two types: primary or familial and secondary. In patients with HIV, opportunistic infections are the secondary triggers of HLH. First line of management of infection associated HLH is treatment of the underlying infection. Here, we present a case of HLH in HIV infection due to disseminated histoplasmosis managed with liposomal amphotericin B, who required immunosuppressive therapy with intravenous immunoglobulin and dexamethasone due to nonresponse to primary therapy.
With a global burden of 10 million new cases per year, tuberculosis (TB) is a major health problem in developing countries like India, with an incidence of 2.69 million. With its varied presentations and huge infected numbers, TB continues to remain a dilemma to physicians. The incidence of peripheral gangrene in TB has been rarely reported. Presentation is mostly in the form of symmetrical peripheral gangrene related to sepsis and disseminated intravascular coagulation. Here, we present a case of 26-year-old male who presented as tubercular pyopneumothorax with peripheral gangrene involving a single limb.
Extra pulmonary tuberculosis is on the rise worldwide, and younger patients, are females. And people from Asia and Africa are at high risk. Sternoclavicular TB is extremely rare, even in countries that have a high prevalence of TB. It can be in the absence of pulmonary TB. It has a varied clinical presentation. Painless chest wall swelling can be the presenting symptom of sternoclavicular diagnosis. Ultrasonography and high-resolution computed tomography can identify the nature of the lesion and the extent of bone involvement. Aspiration from the swelling or histopathology examination is mandatory for diagnosis. Caseous necrosis is diagnostic of TB. Detection of acid-fast bacilli in smears or tissue or molecular methods is required for definitive diagnosis. A high degree of clinical suspicion is required for early diagnosis. The treatment of thoracic TB is the subject of controversy. Anti-tubercular drugs are the mainstay of treatment. Surgical intervention is basically for flattening cold abscesses and removing infected tissue, including affected bones and cartilage.
Introduction: Multidrug-resistant bacterial infections limit available therapeutic options. Doxycycline is an old antibiotic from the tetracycline class that exhibits a wide antibacterial action, including Gram-negative bacteria (GNB), and could be an alternative for the treatment of multidrug-resistant (MDR) Enterobacteriaceae. The study aimed to systematically identify, evaluate, and summarize the results of studies related to outcomes of treatments for MDR-GNB infections in patients treated with doxycycline.
Methods: This review was conducted in four databases during weeks 41-52 of 2022: PubMed, Medline, Scopus, and Web of Science, from the earliest year available on each database to December 2022. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis guidelines were followed in conducting this study, and PICO was used for the research question of this review.
Results: This scoping review found 8 retrospective studies that included 59 patients. Of these, 69% were treated for ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), 27% for urinary tract infections, 2% for bloodstream infections, and 2% for wound infections, both of which were associated with VAP. The usual dosage of doxycycline was 100 mg intravenously or orally. Clinical and microbiologic improvements were achieved in 81.3% and 87% of all patients, respectively. The mortality rate was 17.3% and was exclusively due to VAP.
Conclusions: Doxycycline showed promising results in this review; however, randomized clinical trials or prospective cohorts are recommended to demonstrate the efficacy of doxycycline in the treatment of MDR infections with GNB.
Introduction: Peritonitis caused by peritoneal dialysis (PD) remains a common complication of continuous ambulatory PD (CAPD). The purpose of this study is to determine the microbial profile in CAPD-related peritonitis, the optimal cutoff of white blood cell (WBC) count, and the percentage of polymorphonuclear (PMN) in CAPD fluid in the prediction of CAPD-related peritonitis, together with the outcome of CAPD-related peritonitis at an Indonesian tertiary hospital. This is a retrospective cohort study of CAPD-related peritonitis patients at Indonesian tertiary hospitals from November 2020 to October 2022.
Methods: Patients with suspected CAPD-related peritonitis who were tested for CAPD fluid culture and WBC count in CAPD fluid were eligible for this study. Patient's diagnosis and outcome obtained from medical records. Differences in clinical outcomes by category of microorganisms were analyzed with Fisher exact test. The Mann-Whitney test and receiver operating characteristic curve were used to determine optimal WBC and PMN cutoff.
Results: This study included 58 patients and 102 episodes of CAPD-related peritonitis. CAPD-related peritonitis was caused by 29.4% Gram-negative bacteria, 21.5% Gram-positive bacteria, 7.8% fungi, and 6.9% polymicrobial bacteria. CAPD fluid WBC count >79 cells/μL and PMN percentage >50% had a sensitivity of 76.4% and a specificity of 92.9% in predicting CAPD-related peritonitis. There was a significant difference in outcome between Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacterial peritonitis.
Conclusions: It is critical to understand the microbial profile in CAPD-related peritonitis. Lower WBC count cutoff points in CAPD fluids may improve sensitivity in predicting CAPD-related peritonitis.