Human Neural Larva Migrans Caused by Ophidascaris robertsi Ascarid.

We describe a case in Australia of human neural larva migrans caused by the ascarid Ophidascaris robertsi, for which Australian carpet pythons are definitive hosts. We made the diagnosis after a live nematode was removed from the brain of a 64-year-old woman who was immunosuppressed for a hypereosinophilic syndrome diagnosed 12 months earlier.

Clinician perspectives on rapid transition to telehealth during COVID-19 in Australia - a qualitative study.

Objective The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic precipitated a major shift in the use of telehealth in Australia. The changes highlighted gaps in our knowledge regarding the efficacy of, and clinician attitudes to, the use of telehealth. The current study expands and deepens the available evidence as a result of being collected in unique circumstances that removed one of the major barriers (lack of Medicare rebates) and also one major enablers (willingness) of telehealth uptake.

The significance of ANCA positivity in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

Traditionally anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) are used to subtype patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and to predict primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). The clinical utility of this testing in the Australian context is not known. Our retrospective, cross-sectional study looked at the results of ANCA testing performed during routine clinical review and aimed to retrospectively review (1) the distribution of different ANCA subtypes for IBD patients, (2) the temporal change of ANCA status, and (3) the predictive value of ANCA for PSC.

Comparison of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and rapid chemiluminescent analyser in the detection of myeloperoxidase and proteinase 3 autoantibodies.

Antibodies to myeloperoxidase (MPO) and proteinase 3 (PR3) are vital in the diagnosis and management of ANCA-associated vasculitis. A chemiluminescent immunoassay (CLIA; Quanta Flash) provides MPO and PR3 antibody results in 30 minutes, which is much faster than enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). We compared the performance of ELISA (Orgentec) and CLIA (Quanta Flash) for MPO and PR3 antibody quantitation on 303 samples, comprising 196 consecutive samples received in a single diagnostic laboratory over a 3 month period, and 107 samples collected from 42 known vasculitis patients over a 40 month period.

Application of hypersensitivity skin testing in chemotherapy-induced pneumonitis.

Skin testing has been utilised to determine the culprit allergenic agent in drug reactions. Its application in the setting of hypersensitivity reaction relating to combination chemotherapeutic regimens may help identify the causative drug, allowing drug that is safe to be continued and avoiding limiting treatment options for patients. We report what we believe to be the first published case of hypersensitivity skin testing for gemcitabine-induced pneumonitis in a patient with metastatic leiomyosarcoma and another case of docetaxel-induced pneumonitis in a patient with metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer.