The Canadian journal of infectious diseases & medical microbiology = Journal canadien des maladies infectieuses et de la microbiologie medicale最新文献

{"title":"Evaluation of Human Respiratory Syncytial Virus and Human Parainfluenza Virus Type 3 among Hospitalized Children in Northwest of Iran.","authors":"Zahra Ramezannia,&nbsp;Javid Sadeghi,&nbsp;Shahram Abdoli Oskouie,&nbsp;Mohammad Ahangarzadeh Rezaee,&nbsp;Hossein Bannazadeh Baghi,&nbsp;Arezou Azadi,&nbsp;Mahin Ahangar Oskouee","doi":"10.1155/2021/2270307","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/2270307","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs) are the leading cause of illnesses in children. Human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) and human parainfluenza viruses (HPIVs) are among the most common etiologic agents associated with viral respiratory tract infections in children worldwide. Nevertheless, limited information is available on the spread of infections of these two viruses in northwest Iran.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>The purpose of the current study is to evaluate the frequency of RSV and HPIV-3 and clinical features among Iranian children with confirmed respiratory infections between April 2019 and March 2020.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>100 nasopharyngeal swabs were collected from hospitalized patients (under 5 years old) with ARTI from Tabriz Children's Hospital. Detection of respiratory viruses was performed using the nested RT-PCR method.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Respiratory syncytial virus and HPIV-3 were recognized in 18% (18/100) and 2% (2/100) of children, respectively. Ten (55.6%) of the RSV-positive samples were male, while 8 (44.4%) were female. HPIV-3 was found only among 2 male patients (100%). Most patients (61.1%) with RSV infection were less than 12 months old. Additionally, samples that were positive for HPIV-3 were less than 12 months old. RSV infections had occurred mainly during the winter season.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study confirms that RSV can be one of the important respiratory pathogens in children in northwestern Iran. However, according to this study, HPIV-3 has a lower prevalence among children in this area than RSV. Therefore, implementing a routine diagnosis for respiratory pathogens can improve the management of respiratory infections in children.</p>","PeriodicalId":520793,"journal":{"name":"The Canadian journal of infectious diseases & medical microbiology = Journal canadien des maladies infectieuses et de la microbiologie medicale","volume":" ","pages":"2270307"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2021-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8481064/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39482652","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":"The Intestinal Dysbiosis of Mothers with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) and Its Impact on the Gut Microbiota of Their Newborns.","authors":"Xinke Li,&nbsp;Da Yu,&nbsp;Yushuang Wang,&nbsp;Huimin Yuan,&nbsp;Xixi Ning,&nbsp;Binqi Rui,&nbsp;Zengjie Lei,&nbsp;Jieli Yuan,&nbsp;Jingyu Yan,&nbsp;Ming Li","doi":"10.1155/2021/3044534","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/3044534","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is defined as \"diagnosed as impaired glucose tolerance for the first time during pregnancy,\" which can lead to adverse pregnancy outcomes and produces divergent effects on mothers and newborns. In recent years, with the continuous expansion of obese people, GDM shows an upward trend. The abundant and diverse members of the human gut microbiota exert critical roles in the maintenance of human health. Studies have shown that GDM may be associated with disordered gut microbiota in both mothers and newborns. Taking into account the potential effects on maternal and consequently neonatal health, in this review, we analyzed the available data and discussed the current knowledge about the potential relationship between GDM and intestinal dysbiosis in mothers and newborns. In addition, we also discussed the influencing factors derived from GDM mothers on the gut microbiome of their newborns, including the vertical transmission of microbiota from mothers, the alteration of milk components of GDM mothers, and using of probiotics. Hoping that new insights into the role of the gut microbiota in GDM could lead to the development of integrated strategies to prevent and treat these metabolic disorders.</p>","PeriodicalId":520793,"journal":{"name":"The Canadian journal of infectious diseases & medical microbiology = Journal canadien des maladies infectieuses et de la microbiologie medicale","volume":" ","pages":"3044534"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2021-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8481071/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39482653","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":"Risk versus Benefit of Using Hydroxychloroquine to Treat Patients with COVID-19.","authors":"George G Zhanel,&nbsp;Michael A Zhanel,&nbsp;Kevin F Boreskie,&nbsp;Joseph P Lynch,&nbsp;James A Karlowsky","doi":"10.1155/2021/5942366","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/5942366","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), also known by its trade name Plaquenil®, has been used for over 50 years as a treatment for malaria, systemic lupus erythematosus, and rheumatoid arthritis. As the COVID-19 pandemic emerged in the United States and globally in early 2020, HCQ began to garner attention as a potential treatment and as prophylaxis against COVID-19. Preliminary data indicated that HCQ as well as chloroquine (CQ) possessed in vitro antiviral activity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Early clinical data from China and France reported that HCQ and CQ were associated with viral load reduction and clinical improvement in patients with COVID-19 compared to control groups; however, an overwhelming number of randomized controlled trials, meta-analyses, and systematic reviews have since concluded that HCQ used alone, or in combination with azithromycin (AZ), provides no mortality or time-to-recovery benefit in hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Additionally, these same trials reported adverse events including cardiac, neuropsychiatric, hematologic, and hepatobiliary manifestations in patients with COVID-19 whom had been treated with HCQ. This review article summarizes the available data pertaining to the adverse events associated with HCQ use, alone or in combination with azithromycin, in patients with COVID-19 in order to fully assess the risk versus benefit of treating COVID-19 patients with these agents. The results of this review lead us to conclude that the risks of adverse events associated with HCQ use (with or without AZ) outweigh the potential clinical benefits and thus recommend against its use in the treatment or prevention of COVID-19.</p>","PeriodicalId":520793,"journal":{"name":"The Canadian journal of infectious diseases & medical microbiology = Journal canadien des maladies infectieuses et de la microbiologie medicale","volume":" ","pages":"5942366"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2021-09-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8455223/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39466324","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":"Survival Status and Predictors of Mortality among Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis Patients in Saint Peter's Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.","authors":"Mikyas Arega Muluneh,&nbsp;Abayneh Birlie Zeru,&nbsp;Behailu Tariku Derseh,&nbsp;Abebaw Molla Kebede","doi":"10.1155/2021/6696199","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/6696199","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is tuberculosis that is resistant to at least both rifampicin and isoniazid. The World Health Organization as reported in 2019 revealed that Ethiopia is among the 20 countries with the highest estimated numbers of incident MDR-TB cases. However, supporting evidence is limited in the study area after the Ethiopian national strategic plan for tuberculosis prevention and control is started.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>To determine survival status and predictors of mortality among multidrug-resistant tuberculosis patients treated in Saint Peter's Specialized Hospital at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2020.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>An institutional retrospective cohort study was conducted using all MDR-TB patients who were enrolled in Saint. Peter's Specialized Hospital from January 01, 2015, to December 31, 2017. A pretested data extraction form that had 5 items for sociodemographic and 15 items for the measurement of clinical characteristics of 484 MDR-TB patients was used. STATA software version 14.2 was used for data cleaning and analysis. A variable that fitted in the bivariable Cox proportional hazard model at <i>p</i> value <0.25 was used in the final multivariable Cox proportional hazard model, and independent predictors of time to event were determined at a <i>p</i> value of 0.05.</p><p><strong>Result: </strong>A total of 484 patients were followed up for 5,078 person-months. Among the total patients, nearly half, 238 (48.8%), were males. The median age of patients was 30 years (interquartile range (IQR), 24-39), and 56 (11.6%) were aged between 1 and 19 years. During the follow-up period, 315 (65.1%) patients were cured, 125 (25.8%) completed treatment, 24 (5%) died, and 20 (4.1%) were lost to follow-up. The overall cumulative probability survival of the patients at the end of treatment was 94.85% (95% confidence interval (CI): 92.38%-96.53%). The independent predictors of time to death were being anemic (AHR = 3.65; 95% CI: 1.36, 9.79), having clinical complication (AHR = 3; 95% CI: 1.2, 7.5), and being HIV infected (AHR = 5.8; 95% CI: 2.2, 15.7).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>MDR-TB patients' survival rate was high in St Peter's Specialized Hospital. MDR-TB patients with anemia, HIV coinfection, and clinical complications had higher risk of mortality. So, prevention and controlling of anemia, HIV/AIDS, and clinical complications will reduce the mortality of MDR-TB patients.</p>","PeriodicalId":520793,"journal":{"name":"The Canadian journal of infectious diseases & medical microbiology = Journal canadien des maladies infectieuses et de la microbiologie medicale","volume":" ","pages":"6696199"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2021-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8437643/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39419870","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":"Evaluation of Intraventricular/Intrathecal Antimicrobial Therapy in the Treatment of Nosocomial Meningitis Caused by Multidrug-Resistant Gram-Negative Bacteria after Central Nervous System Surgery.","authors":"Nagehan Didem Sari,&nbsp;Sevim Baltali,&nbsp;Istemi Serin,&nbsp;Veysel Antar","doi":"10.1155/2021/9923015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/9923015","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Postoperative meningitis (POM) is an infection with high mortality and morbidity following central nervous system surgery due to trauma or tumor. Intrathecal/intraventricular (IT/IVT) antibiotic administrations have been considered as the last treatment options for multidrug-resistance (MDR) Gram-negative bacteria that do not respond to intravenous (IV) regimens. IT/IVT can bypass the blood-brain barrier, obtain a more effective antibiotic concentration in CSF, and reduce systemic side effects. We aimed to determine the characteristics of postoperative patients who were diagnosed with MDR POM during follow-up in our intensive care unit (ICU). <i>Material and Methods</i>. In this study, POM patients who were followed up in ICU after the central nervous system intervention between January 2016 and December 2019 and whose MDR Gram-negative bacteria were isolated from CSF were evaluated. As soon as the patients were diagnosed with POM, a catheter was inserted and treatment was started.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Microbiological eradication was achieved in 3 ± 0.8 days with 30 mg/day amikacin treatment in POM due to <i>K. pneumoniae</i> and 3.7 ± 1.95 days with colistin sodium 10 mg/day treatment in POM due to <i>A. baumannii</i> via IT/IVT catheter. IT/IVT treatment was utilized for a median of 10 days and continued until the defined cure criteria were achieved. While cure was achieved in 6 of 14 POM cases, 8 of them were exitus. <i>Discussion and Conclusion</i>. To avoid the severe consequences of postoperative meningitis, acting fast and adding IT/IVT methods to parenteral administration routes by considering the distribution of MDR microorganisms within the hospital while planning effective treatment will increase the clinical success.</p>","PeriodicalId":520793,"journal":{"name":"The Canadian journal of infectious diseases & medical microbiology = Journal canadien des maladies infectieuses et de la microbiologie medicale","volume":" ","pages":"9923015"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2021-08-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8419485/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39396507","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":"Analysis of the Complete Genomes of Enterovirus 71 Subtypes in China.","authors":"Lei Wang,&nbsp;Yuzhu Dai,&nbsp;Jun Cheng,&nbsp;Changgui Sun,&nbsp;Yu Chen,&nbsp;Dawei Cui","doi":"10.1155/2021/5564099","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/5564099","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Enterovirus 71 (EV-A71) is one of the most pathogens to hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) as well as neurological complications in young children. Molecular characteristic of EV-A71 is important to prevent the virus outbreak. Here, the complete genomes of EV-A71 from China between 1998 and 2019 were downloaded from GenBank. The phylogenetic trees were developed by MEGA7.0 software, and the complete genetic epidemiological characteristics and amino acid mutations of EV-A71 from China were also analysed. The results showed that major epidemic EV-A71 subtype was C4b before 2004, while it turned to C4a after 2004 in mainland China, and C4 and B5 were major subtypes in Taiwan. VP1, VP4, 2C, 3C, 3D, and complete genome sequence can be used for virus genotyping, and VP1, VP4, and complete genomes have obvious advantages over other segments. There were many significant mutations in the viral complete genome sequence. This study indicated that the major C4 and B5 subtypes will contribute to the development of vaccines and drugs of EV-A71 for prevention and monitoring of EV-A71-associated HFMD in China.</p>","PeriodicalId":520793,"journal":{"name":"The Canadian journal of infectious diseases & medical microbiology = Journal canadien des maladies infectieuses et de la microbiologie medicale","volume":" ","pages":"5564099"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2021-08-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8416384/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39385594","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":"Noninvasive Evaluation of Liver Fibrosis in a Sample of Putative Inactive HBV Carriers in Rome, Italy.","authors":"Marco Delle Monache,&nbsp;Alessio Petrelli,&nbsp;Alessandra Rossi,&nbsp;Roberto Cecere,&nbsp;Concetta Mirisola,&nbsp;Gianfranco Costanzo,&nbsp;Chiara Francia,&nbsp;Federica Cerini,&nbsp;Andrea Cavani,&nbsp;Lorenzo Nosotti","doi":"10.1155/2021/3068690","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/3068690","url":null,"abstract":"Background Noninvasive methods are useful for investigating patients with chronic HBV infection. The severity of liver disease in inactive HBsAg carriers can be noninvasively assessed by transient elastography (TE) alone or in association with biochemical markers of fibrosis. Objectives The study evaluates the effectiveness of the TE compared to common fibrosis scores (FSs), APRI, Forns Index, and FIB4, for identifying significant fibrosis in Italian and foreigner HBsAg carriers. To investigate the risk of progression of the liver disease, liver stiffness (LS) and HBV-DNA were monitored over time. Methods Viral load, biochemical parameters, and LS have been retrospectively evaluated in 125 putative inactive HBV carriers, who visited two outpatient departments (Colleferro Hospital and INMP) from 01/03/2014 to 31/12/2019. Differences in clinical, biochemical, and demographic variables between Italians and foreigners were analyzed. 66 of 125 patients were followed up for 24 months by monitoring liver stiffness and HBV-DNA. Results Mean overall LS was 5.55 ± 1.92 kPa; 18 (14.4%) patients had a LS ≥7.5 kPa. Mean of APRI, Forns, and FIB4 was 0.29 ± 0.11, 4.15 ± 1.63, and 1.16 ± 0.59, respectively. FS did not differ between the patients with LS <7.5 kPa and those with LS ≥7.5 kPa. Italians displayed a significant lower ALT (0.53 ± 0.18 vs. 0.67 ± 0.33, p < 0.05) and AST (0.59 ± 0.16 vs. 0.70 ± 0.21, p < 0.01) value than foreigners. No differences in LS and HBV-DNA levels were observed. In 66 patients followed up for 24 months, HBV-DNA increased by ≥2000 UI/ml after 12 months in 15 individuals and remained ≥2000 UI/ml after 24 months in 10/15 individuals. 7/10 patients showed LS ≥ 7.5 kPa after 24 months, and 4 of them underwent antiviral therapy for HBV. Patients with HBV-DNA <2000 IU/ml had a significantly lower LS than those with HBV-DNA ≥2000 IU/ml (5.30 ± 1.43 vs. 7.69 ± 1.07, p < 0.0001). Conclusions Analysis shows lower effectiveness of FS vs. TE in the assessment of putative inactive HBV carriers. Furthermore, using FibroScan® and HBV-DNA can identify “false” inactive carriers.","PeriodicalId":520793,"journal":{"name":"The Canadian journal of infectious diseases & medical microbiology = Journal canadien des maladies infectieuses et de la microbiologie medicale","volume":" ","pages":"3068690"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2021-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8380153/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39338182","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":"Relationship between the Incidence of Dengue Virus Transmission in Traditional Market and Climatic Conditions in Kaohsiung City.","authors":"Chung-Hao Huang,&nbsp;Chun-Yu Lin,&nbsp;Chun-Yuh Yang,&nbsp;Ta-Chien Chan,&nbsp;Po-Huang Chiang,&nbsp;Yen-Hsu Chen","doi":"10.1155/2021/9916642","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/9916642","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In 2014 and 2015, Southern Taiwan experienced two unprecedented outbreaks, with more than 10,000 laboratory-confirmed dengue cases in each outbreak. The present study was aimed to investigate the influence of meteorological and spatial factors on dengue outbreaks in Southern Taiwan and was conducted in Kaohsiung City, which is the most affected area in Taiwan. The distributed lag nonlinear model was used to investigate the role of climatic factors in the 2014 and 2015 dengue outbreaks. Spatial statistics in the Geographic Information System was applied to study the relationship between the dengue spreading pattern and locations of traditional markets (human motility) in the 2015 dengue outbreak. Meteorological analysis results suggested that the relative risk of dengue fever increased when the weekly average temperature was more than 15°C at lagged weeks 5 to 18. Elevated relative risk of dengue was observed when the weekly average rainfall was more than 150 mm at lagged weeks 12 to 20. The spatial analysis revealed that approximately 83% of dengue cases were located in the 1000 m buffer zone of traditional market, with statistical significance. These findings support the influence of climatic factors and human motility on dengue outbreaks. Furthermore, the study analysis may help authorities to identify hotspots and decide the timing for implementation of dengue control programs.</p>","PeriodicalId":520793,"journal":{"name":"The Canadian journal of infectious diseases & medical microbiology = Journal canadien des maladies infectieuses et de la microbiologie medicale","volume":" ","pages":"9916642"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2021-08-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8371670/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39334665","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 Cross-Sectional Comparative Study of the Performance of the Widal Test and the Typhidot Immunoassay for Typhoid Fever Diagnosis in the West Region of Cameroon.","authors":"Karimo Ousenu,&nbsp;Innocent Mbulli Ali,&nbsp;Leonard Fonkeng Sama,&nbsp;Marcel Nsangou Ndam,&nbsp;Thibau Florant Tchouangueu,&nbsp;Christopher Bonglavnyuy Tume","doi":"10.1155/2021/8279122","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/8279122","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The diagnosis of typhoid fever based on the Widal slide agglutination test remains a major hurdle in developing countries due to varied perceptions of the value of the Widal test in determining clinical decision-making. We undertook a study to evaluate the diagnostic performance of the Widal test and the Typhidot immunoassay in patients suspected of having typhoid fever in the Menoua division, West Region of Cameroon.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Blood and stool samples were collected from 558 consenting febrile patients on the basis of suspicion of typhoid fever. These patients attended three district health services of the Menoua division between April 2018 and September 2019. These patients had clinical symptoms suggestive of typhoid fever as determined by their consultant. Serum was used for the Widal slide agglutination test and for the Typhidot rapid immunoassay test based on manufacturer's guidelines. A composite reference of fever plus positive coproculture for <i>Salmonella typhi</i> and <i>Salmonella paratyphi</i> was used as the reference. The sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values of the positive and negative tests were calculated as well as Cohen's kappa for agreement between the two tests.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Of 558 patients, 12.90% tested positive for the reference method, 57.17% tested positive for the Widal slide agglutination test, while 15.59% were positive for Typhidot-IgM. The overall sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values of the positive and negative tests were 80.56%, 94.03%, 66.6%, and 97.03% for Typhidot-IgM and 94.44%, 48.35%, 21.32%, and 98.33% for the Widal slide agglutination test, respectively. Cohen's kappa estimates were 0.1660 (0.121-0.211) and 0.386 (0.312-0.460) for the Widal test and Typhidot immunoassay for 53.6% and 76.16% agreements of all observations, respectively.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The Widal test was found to have a lower predictive value for the diagnosis of typhoid fever in our setting. However, the Typhidot test, although better, was not ideal. Diagnosis of typhoid fever should therefore rely on adequate clinical suspicion and a positive Typhidot test to improve the clinical management of typhoid fever in our setting.</p>","PeriodicalId":520793,"journal":{"name":"The Canadian journal of infectious diseases & medical microbiology = Journal canadien des maladies infectieuses et de la microbiologie medicale","volume":" ","pages":"8279122"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2021-08-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8367591/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39324360","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":"The Relationship between Pre-Pandemic Interferon Gamma Release Assay Test Results and COVID-19 Infection: Potential Prognostic Value of Indeterminate IFN-<i>γ</i> Release Assay Results.","authors":"Sermin Borekci,&nbsp;Fatma Gulsum Karakas,&nbsp;Serhat Sirekbasan,&nbsp;Bahar Kubat,&nbsp;Rıdvan Karaali,&nbsp;Gunay Can,&nbsp;Bekir Sami Kocazeybek,&nbsp;Bilun Gemicioglu","doi":"10.1155/2021/1989277","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/1989277","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>To reveal the relationship between interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA) test (Standard ETB-Feron ELISA (TBF)) results performed within 12 months before the COVID-19 pandemic and the frequency of COVID-19 infections and the severity of COVID-19.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The retrospective TBF test results and contact information of 684 patients aged over 18 years who underwent TBF testing between March 11th, 2019, and March 10th, 2020, were obtained. Of the 684 patients contacted by phone, 365 agreed to participate in the study and were enrolled. The patients were divided into three groups (TBF test positive, negative, and indeterminate). The data obtained from the questionnaire were compared statistically.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>According to the TBF test results, positive (<i>n</i> = 51, 14%), negative (<i>n</i> = 286, 78.3%), and indeterminate (<i>n</i> = 28, 7.7%) groups were compared. The frequency of COVID-19 infections in the indeterminate group was found significantly higher than that in the positive and negative groups (<i>p</i>=0.005). When the group with COVID-19 (<i>n</i> = 46, 12.6%) was compared with the group without (<i>n</i> = 319, 87.4%), no difference was found in terms of age, sex, body mass index, smoking history and number of cigarettes smoked, TB history, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, coronary artery disease, and biologic and corticosteroid therapy use. Only the frequency of obstructive pulmonary disease was significantly higher in the group without COVID-19 (<i>p</i>=0.033).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The frequency of COVID-19 infection was increased in patients with indeterminate TBF test results. Indeterminate TBF test results may be a guide in terms of risk stratification in groups at risk for COVID-19.</p>","PeriodicalId":520793,"journal":{"name":"The Canadian journal of infectious diseases & medical microbiology = Journal canadien des maladies infectieuses et de la microbiologie medicale","volume":" ","pages":"1989277"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2021-07-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8342180/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39291905","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}