Rana U. Ahmad, Muhammad A. Bilal, Muhammad F. Ashraf, Kanchan Kumari
{"title":"The misdiagnosis continues: an allegory of COVID-19, enteric fever, and a couple of outdated tests","authors":"Rana U. Ahmad, Muhammad A. Bilal, Muhammad F. Ashraf, Kanchan Kumari","doi":"10.1097/JS9.0000000000000000","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1097/JS9.0000000000000000","url":null,"abstract":"Dear Editor, The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic started in late 2019 as the first case was reported in China, and being the neighboring country, it reached Pakistan in early 2020 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/ PMC7240311/). Since the start of the pandemic, multiple waves of COVID-19 have affected Pakistan severely, with the death toll reaching around 30 000 (https://www.google. com/search?q=coid + 19 +Death + in + pakistan&oq=coid + 19 +Death + in + pakistan&aqs=chrome.69i57j0i22i30l6j69i60. 30843j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8). The death toll was higher than our expectations, as a rapid increase in COVID-19 cases wreaked havoc on an already overburdened country’s health system. As a South Asian country, Pakistan was already suffering from an epidemic of typhoid fever with increasing antibiotic resistance. Emergence of COVID-19 in Pakistan diverted the attention of the government and the general population, leading to the negligence towards typhoid fever resulting in shifting of all the available resources towards COVID-19. The first case of extensive drug-resistant typhoid was reported in 2016, and there were 5274 cases till 2018 (https://www. who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/27-december2018-typhoid-pakistan-en). This number has increased tremendously, reaching up to 14 360 in 2021. The bacterium Salmonella typhi causes extensive drug-resistant typhoid fever. It is resistant to at least five antibiotic classes used for treating typhoid. Multiple reasons contribute to the endemic, including lack of proper water sanitation, a poor hygienic environment, irrational use of antimicrobials leading to resistance, and the carelessness of the government as well as the general population (https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2021/02/cdcissues-health-advisory-extensively-drug-resistant-typhoid). Typhoid manifests in the form of high-grade fever, headache, malaise, abdominal pain, and rash. Typhidot and Widal tests are the most commonly used tests for the diagnosis of typhoid in Pakistan, but they are considered obsolete in the rest of the world. This leads to the misdiagnosis of typhoid. The typhidot test has only 26.7% sensitivity, 61.5% specificity, 7.4% positive predictive value, and 87.9% negative predictive value (https://www.ncbi.nlm. nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4476358/#ref4). The Widal test has a sensitivity of 81.5%, a specificity of 18.3%, a positive predictive value of 10.1%, and a negative predictive value of 89.7%. The stool antigen test has a sensitivity of 31.3, a specificity of 91.5, a positive predictive value of 29%, and a negative predictive value of 91.5% (https://www.ncbi.nlm. nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6551910/#:~:text=Widal%20test% 20recorded%2081.5%25%20sensitivity,and%2091.5%25% 20negative%20predictive%20value). On the contrary, developed countries use blood and bone marrow cultures to test for and make an effective diagnosis of typhoid fever. Comparisons of these tests are shown in Figure 1. ","PeriodicalId":297147,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Surgery (London, England)","volume":"36 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129326247","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A Commentary on \"Prevalence and outcomes of transurethral resection versus radical cystectomy for muscle-infiltrating bladder cancer in the United States: A population-based cohort study\" [Int. J. Surg. (2022) 103 106693].","authors":"Wei Tang","doi":"10.1016/j.ijsu.2022.106802","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsu.2022.106802","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":297147,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Surgery (London, England)","volume":" ","pages":"106802"},"PeriodicalIF":15.3,"publicationDate":"2022-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40609781","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A commentary on \"Risk factors for postoperative delirium: An umbrella review of systematic reviews\" (Int J Surg 2021;93:106063).","authors":"Lujia Pan, Hailong Ding","doi":"10.1016/j.ijsu.2022.106796","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsu.2022.106796","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":297147,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Surgery (London, England)","volume":" ","pages":"106796"},"PeriodicalIF":15.3,"publicationDate":"2022-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40609748","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A commentary on \"Kinesio tape reduces pain in patients with lateral epicondylitis: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials\" (Int J Surg 2020;76:190-199).","authors":"Xiaofei Zhu, Hang Li","doi":"10.1016/j.ijsu.2022.106746","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsu.2022.106746","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":297147,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Surgery (London, England)","volume":" ","pages":"106746"},"PeriodicalIF":15.3,"publicationDate":"2022-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40495723","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A commentary on \"Intraoperative pathologically-calibrated diagnosis of lymph nodes involved by breast cancer cells based on electrical impedance spectroscopy; a prospective diagnostic human model study\" (Int J Surg 2021;96:106166).","authors":"Wei Wang, Huaying Dong","doi":"10.1016/j.ijsu.2022.106771","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsu.2022.106771","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":297147,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Surgery (London, England)","volume":" ","pages":"106771"},"PeriodicalIF":15.3,"publicationDate":"2022-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40527840","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Corrigendum to \"Tumor volume predicts local recurrence in early rectal cancer treated with radical resection: A retrospective observational study of 270 patients\". [Int. J. Surg. 49 January 2018 Pages 68-73].","authors":"Yanhui Jiang, Kaiyun You, Xingsheng Qiu, Zhuofei Bi, Huaqian Mo, Liting Li, Yimin Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.ijsu.2022.106822","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsu.2022.106822","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":297147,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Surgery (London, England)","volume":" ","pages":"106822"},"PeriodicalIF":15.3,"publicationDate":"2022-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40623225","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Commentary on \"The Ukrainian refugee crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe\" (Int J Surg 2022;102:106671).","authors":"Won Sriwitalai, Viroj Wiwanitkit","doi":"10.1016/j.ijsu.2022.106714","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsu.2022.106714","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":297147,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Surgery (London, England)","volume":" ","pages":"106714"},"PeriodicalIF":15.3,"publicationDate":"2022-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9212920/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40333343","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A commentary on \"Comparing intramedullary nailing and plate fixation for treating distal tibial fractures: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials\" [Int. J. Surg. 53 (2018) 5-11].","authors":"Yiting Lou, Jun Wu, Chengwei Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.ijsu.2022.106757","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsu.2022.106757","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":297147,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Surgery (London, England)","volume":" ","pages":"106757"},"PeriodicalIF":15.3,"publicationDate":"2022-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40505165","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A commentary on \"prognostic impact of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with synchronous colorectal liver metastasis: A propensity score matching comparative study\" (Int. J. Surg. 2021;94:106106).","authors":"Jian-An Tan","doi":"10.1016/j.ijsu.2022.106760","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsu.2022.106760","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":297147,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Surgery (London, England)","volume":" ","pages":"106760"},"PeriodicalIF":15.3,"publicationDate":"2022-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40608605","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A commentary on \"Evolution of associating liver partition and portal vein ligation for staged hepatectomy from 2012 to 2021: A bibliometric analysis. Review\" (Int. J. Surg. 2022;103:106648).","authors":"Tao Yang, Xiaona Li","doi":"10.1016/j.ijsu.2022.106803","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsu.2022.106803","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":297147,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Surgery (London, England)","volume":" ","pages":"106803"},"PeriodicalIF":15.3,"publicationDate":"2022-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40609782","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}