Favipiravir in early symptomatic COVID-19, a randomised placebo-controlled trial.

Background: Well tolerated antivirals administered early in the course of COVID-19 infection when the viremia is highest could prevent progression to severe disease. Favipiravir inhibits SARS-CoV-2 viral replication with evidence of clinical benefit in open label trials. Placebo controlled studies of people with early symptomatic COVID-19 with regular assessments of SARS-CoV-2 viral load can determine if it has an antiviral effect and improves clinical outcomes.

Assisted hatching of vitrified-warmed blastocysts prior to embryo transfer does not improve pregnancy outcomes.

Objective: This study aims to determine the impact of assisted hatching (AH) on pregnancy outcomes in vitrified-warmed blastocyst transfers, and evaluate if embryo expansion or morphology influences outcomes.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was performed including vitrified-warmed blastocyst transfers at our clinic between 2013 and 2017. Of the 2165 embryo transfers, 1986 underwent laser AH and 179 were non-assisted hatched (NAH).

The diagnosis of chlamydia, gonorrhoea, and trichomonas infections by self obtained low vaginal swabs, in remote northern Australian clinical practice.

Objective: To examine the diagnostic performance of self obtained low vaginal swabs (SOLVS) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques in the diagnosis of Chlamydia trachomatis (CT), Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG), and Trichomonas vaginalis (TV) infection in a variety of clinical practice settings in remote north western Australia.

Design: A cross sectional field study of microbiological collection techniques in women undergoing gynaecological investigation in remote settings performed by a variety of practitioner types over 10 months.

Participants And Setting: 349 women from remote towns and communities in the Kimberley region of north west Western Australia having gynaecological examinations for clinical reasons, well women screening, antenatal screening, and sexual health examinations.

Parasite elimination programs: at home and away.

A more coordinated, national approach to parasite control would have substantial benefits.

Detection of methicillin resistance in primary blood culture isolates of coagulase-negative staphylococci by PCR, slide agglutination, disk diffusion, and a commercial method.

The methicillin resistance of 363 coagulase-negative staphylococci isolated from blood cultures was determined by a slide latex agglutination (LA) test for penicillin-binding protein 2a (PBP 2a), the presence of the mecA gene by PCR, disk diffusion, and Vitek. LA was performed on primary cultures, and PBP 2a expression was induced by placing an oxacillin disk in the primary inoculum. Compared to the PCR results, LA was the most sensitive and specific in the detection of methicillin resistance.

Towards the eradication of hookworm in an isolated Australian community.

Hookworm (Ancylostoma duodenale) and other enteric parasites such as Giardia and Hymenolepis are common in Aboriginal communities in northem Australia, and their presence is associated with iron deficiency, anaemia, and failure to thrive. We report the outcome of a sustained, community-based control programme that used regular albendazole in one isolated community. Whereas hookworm has been effectively controlled by the programme, no sustained effect on the prevalence of Giardia and Hymenolepis was seen; the control of these parasites will depend on improvements in health education.

Rapid detection of mecA-positive and mecA-negative coagulase-negative staphylococci by an anti-penicillin binding protein 2a slide latex agglutination test.

A rapid slide latex agglutination (LA) test, MRSA-Screen (Denka Seiken Co., Niigata, Japan), which detects PBP 2a, was tested for its ability to differentiate between mecA-positive and -negative coagulase-negative staphylococci. A total of 463 isolates from 13 species were included in the study.

Acute melioidosis outbreak in Western Australia.

A cluster of acute melioidosis cases occurred in a remote, coastal community in tropical Western Australia. Molecular typing of Burkholderia pseudomallei isolates from culture-confirmed cases and suspected environmental sources by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) of XbaI chromosomal DNA digests showed that a single PFGE type was responsible for five cases of acute infection in a community of around 300 during a 5 week period. This temporal and geographical clustering of acute melioidosis cases provided a unique opportunity to investigate the environmental factors contributing to this disease.

Burkholderia pseudomallei traced to water treatment plant in Australia.

Burkholderia pseudomallei was isolated from environmental specimens 1 year after an outbreak of acute melioidosis in a remote coastal community in northwestern Australia. B. pseudomallei was isolated from a water storage tank and from spray formed in a pH-raising aerator unit.

Vehicle crash mortality in the Kimberley region, 1990 to 1994: the role of open-load-space passengers in utility trucks.

Coroner's reports, police records and the state crash database provided information on 65 crash fatalities in the Kimberley region of Western Australia from 1990 to 1994. Passengers travelling in the open load space of utility trucks comprised 18 per cent of fatalities. Open-load-space passenger fatalities were associated with open highway or community access road travel.

A comparison of end-to-end versus "V" arthrodesis procedures for the correction of digital deformities.

For years, podiatric surgeons have been confronted by the challenges in correcting digital deformities. When arthrodesis is indicated, two procedures usually are done: end-to-end or peg-in-hole. This article will compare end-to-end to "V" arthrodesis, discuss the indications and history of digital arthrodesis, and present the biomechanical causes for hammer digit syndrome.

Selective isolation and characteristics of Bacteriodes succinogenes from the rumen of a cow.

Eleven isolates of Bacteriodes succinogenes were obtained from the rumen of a cow by an enrichment method with dewaxed cotton fibers as the selective substrate. All of the isolates degraded cotton fibers, but none formed clear zones in cellulose agar, having only a limited ability to degrade the type of cellulose powder used. One isolate, BL2, was studied in greater detail and was found to accumulate a glycogen-like polysaccharide when excess (0.