Systematic assessment of COVID-19 host genetics using whole genome sequencing data.

Courses of SARS-CoV-2 infections are highly variable, ranging from asymptomatic to lethal COVID-19. Though research has shown that host genetic factors contribute to this variability, cohort-based joint analyses of variants from the entire allelic spectrum in individuals with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections are still lacking. Here, we present the results of whole genome sequencing in 1,220 mainly vaccine-naïve individuals with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, including 827 hospitalized COVID-19 cases.

Trajectories and predictive significance of inflammatory parameters for clinical outcome in COVID-19 patients treated with tocilizumab.

Purpose: The IL-6 receptor inhibitor tocilizumab reduces mortality and morbidity in severe cases of COVID-19 through its effects on hyperinflammation and was approved as adjuvant therapy. Since tocilizumab changes the levels of inflammatory markers, we aimed to describe these changes in patients treated with tocilizumab, analyse their value in predicting death and bacterial superinfection and determine their influence on mortality rates.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of 76 patients who were treated with tocilizumab for severe COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021 was conducted.

The Role of High-Level Isolation Units in Response to High-Consequence and Emerging Infectious Diseases: Experience of the German STAKOB Network.

This case study describes the experience of the German Permanent Working Group of Competence and Treatment Centers for High Consequence Infectious Diseases, known as STAKOB (). STAKOB brings together public health authorities (competence centers) and high-level isolation units (treatment centers) to collaborate on the clinical management of high-consequence infectious diseases (HCIDs) and emerging infectious diseases. The network is coordinated by the Robert Koch Institute, Germany's federal public health institute.

Relationship between reasons for intermittent missing patient-reported outcomes data and missing data mechanisms.

Purpose: Non-response (NR) to patient-reported outcome (PRO) questionnaires may cause bias if not handled appropriately. Collecting reasons for NR is recommended, but how reasons for NR are related to missing data mechanisms remains unexplored. We aimed to explore this relationship for intermittent NRs.

Dynamics of virological and immunological markers of HIV persistence after allogeneic haematopoietic stem-cell transplantation in the IciStem cohort: a prospective observational cohort study.

Background: Allogeneic haematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) markedly reduces HIV reservoirs, but the mechanisms by which this occurs are only partly understood. In this study, we aimed to describe the dynamics of virological and immunological markers of HIV persistence after allo-HSCT.

Methods: In this prospective observational cohort study, we analysed the viral reservoir and serological dynamics in IciStem cohort participants with HIV who had undergone allo-HSCT and were receiving antiretroviral therapy, ten of whom had received cells from donors with the CCR5Δ32 mutation.

Definition of the Post-COVID syndrome using a symptom-based Post-COVID score in a prospective, multi-center, cross-sectoral cohort of the German National Pandemic Cohort Network (NAPKON).

Purpose: The objective examination of the Post-COVID syndrome (PCS) remains difficult due to heterogeneous definitions and clinical phenotypes. The aim of the study was to verify the functionality and correlates of a recently developed PCS score.

Methods: The PCS score was applied to the prospective, multi-center cross-sectoral cohort (in- and outpatients with SARS-CoV-2 infection) of the "National Pandemic Cohort Network (NAPKON, Germany)".

AIDS-defining events among people living with HIV who have been under continuous antiretroviral therapy for more than one year, a German cohort study 1999-2018.

Purpose: This study examined the characteristics, incidence and prognostic factors of the first AIDS-defining condition developed after more than one year of continuous antiretroviral therapy (ART) among people living with HIV (PLHIV).

Methods: We used data from two multicentre observational cohorts of PLHIV in Germany between 1999 and 2018. Our outcome was the first AIDS-defining event that occurred during follow-up after more than one year of continuous ART.

[Presentations for HIV post-exposure prophylaxis in emergency departments: guideline and recommendations].

Patients often present to emergency departments after potential or confirmed exposure to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) asking for recommendations concerning the initiation of post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP). These presentations may occur after occupational as well as non-occupational exposure. PEP entails taking a triple antiretroviral therapy for 28-30 days.

Torque Teno Virus Load Is Associated With Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Stage and CD4+ Cell Count in People Living With Human Immunodeficiency Virus but Seems Unrelated to AIDS-Defining Events and Human Pegivirus Load.

Background: Torque teno virus (TTV) is part of the human virome. TTV load was related to the immune status in patients after organ transplantation. We hypothesize that TTV load could be an additional marker for immune function in people living with HIV (PLWH).

Acetaminophen treatment in children and adults with spinal muscular atrophy: a lower tolerance and higher risk of hepatotoxicity.

Acute liver failure has been reported sporadically in patients with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and other neuromuscular disorders with low skeletal muscle mass receiving recommended dosages of acetaminophen. It is suggested that low skeletal muscle mass may add to the risk of toxicity. We aimed to describe the pharmacokinetics and safety of acetaminophen in patients with SMA.

Early combination therapy of COVID-19 in high-risk patients.

Purpose: Prolonged shedding of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been observed in immunocompromised hosts. Early monotherapy with direct-acting antivirals or monoclonal antibodies, as recommended by the international guidelines, does not prevent this with certainty. Dual therapies may therefore have a synergistic effect.

Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis-how common and how severe is it as a complication of malaria? Retrospective case series and review of the literature.

Background: Infection-associated secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (sHLH) is a potentially life-threatening hyperinflammatory condition caused by various infectious diseases. Malaria has rarely been described as trigger. The aim of this study is to collect data on frequency, clinical spectrum, and outcome of sHLH induced by malaria.

EuCARE-hospitalised study protocol: a cohort study of patients hospitalised with COVID-19 in the EuCARE project.

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS CoV-2), the virus responsible for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), can lead to hospitalisation, particularly in elderly, immunocompromised, and non-vaccinated or partially vaccinated individuals. Although vaccination provides protection, the duration of this protection wanes over time. Additional doses can restore immunity, but the influence of viral variants, specific sequences, and vaccine-induced immune responses on disease severity remains unclear.

Rickettsiosis in Denmark: A nation-wide survey.

Rickettsia helvetica has been reported at varying prevalences in Danish and other European Ixodes ricinus populations. Though apparently widespread and with reported cases of human infection, the significance of the bacteria as a threat to public health remains unclear. We present a nation-wide survey of rickettsia in ticks, roe deer and humans in Denmark.

Disseminated Cryptococcosis Is a Common Finding among Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Patients with Suspected Sepsis and Is Associated with Higher Mortality Rates.

Cryptococcosis is the leading cause of death among people with HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa. The lack of optimum diagnoses and medications significantly impair the management of the disease. We investigated the burden of cryptococcosis and related mortality among people with HIV and suspected sepsis in Ethiopia.

The Danish Trauma Database for Refugees (DTD): A Multicenter Database Collaboration-Overcoming the Challenges and Enhancing Mental Health Treatment and Research for Refugees.

Mental health of trauma-affected refugees is an understudied area, resulting in inadequate and poorer treatment outcomes. To address this, more high-quality treatment studies that include predictive analyses, long-term evaluations, cultural adaptations, and take account for comorbidities, are needed. Moreover, given the complex intertwining of refugees' health with post-migration stressors and other social factors, it is crucial to examine the social determinants of refugee mental health.

Tecovirimat for the treatment of severe Mpox in Germany.

Background: In May 2022, a multi-national mpox outbreak was reported in several non-endemic countries. The only licensed treatment for mpox in the European Union is the orally available small molecule tecovirimat, which in Orthopox viruses inhibits the function of a major envelope protein required for the production of extracellular virus.

Methods: We identified presumably all patients with mpox that were treated with tecovirimat in Germany between the onset of the outbreak in May 2022 and March 2023 and obtained demographic and clinical characteristics by standardized case report forms.

Specialized palliative care for hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection: an analysis of the LEOSS registry.

Purpose: Symptom control for patients who were severely ill or dying from COVID-19 was paramount while resources were strained and infection control measures were in place. We aimed to describe the characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 infected patients who received specialized palliative care (SPC) and the type of SPC provided in a larger cohort.

Methods: From the multi-centre cohort study Lean European Open Survey on SARS-CoV-2 infected patients (LEOSS), data of patients hospitalized with SARS-CoV-2 infection documented between July 2020 and October 2021 were analysed.

AIDS in the era of antiretroviral therapy: Changes in incidence rates and predictors of AIDS among people living with HIV under clinical care in Germany, a cohort study 1999-2018.

Objectives: This study examined the incidence rates and predictive utility of established prognostic factors for the progression to AIDS among people living with HIV under clinical care.

Methods: We used data from two observational cohorts of people living with HIV in Germany between 1999 and 2018. The outcome measure was the first AIDS-defining event that occurred during follow-up.

In-depth virological and immunological characterization of HIV-1 cure after CCR5Δ32/Δ32 allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Despite scientific evidence originating from two patients published to date that CCR5Δ32/Δ32 hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) can cure human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), the knowledge of immunological and virological correlates of cure is limited. Here we characterize a case of long-term HIV-1 remission of a 53-year-old male who was carefully monitored for more than 9 years after allogeneic CCR5Δ32/Δ32 HSCT performed for acute myeloid leukemia. Despite sporadic traces of HIV-1 DNA detected by droplet digital PCR and in situ hybridization assays in peripheral T cell subsets and tissue-derived samples, repeated ex vivo quantitative and in vivo outgrowth assays in humanized mice did not reveal replication-competent virus.