Lethal Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome caused by Capnocytophaga canimorsus in an asplenic patient.

Background: Capnocytophaga canimorsus, a Gram-negative rod, belongs to the Flavobacteriaceae family and colonizes the oropharynx of dogs and cats. Infections with C. canimorsus are rare and can induce a systemic infection with a severe course of the disease.

Incidence and predictors of cardiac arrhythmias in patients with COVID-19 induced ARDS.

Introduction: Recent studies suggest cardiac involvement with an increased incidence of arrhythmias in the setting of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The aim of this study was to evaluate the risk of potentially lethal arrhythmias and atrial fibrillation in patients with COVID-19-induced acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and to elicit possible predictors of arrhythmia occurrence.

Methods And Results: A total of 107 patients (82 male, mean age 60 ± 12 years, median body mass index 28 kg/m) treated for COVID-19-induced ARDS in a large tertiary university hospital intensive care unit between March 2020 and February 2021 were retrospectively analyzed.

Dysphagia in Patients With Severe Coronavirus Disease 2019-Potential Neurologic Etiologies.

Importance: Dysphagia is a common complication of critical illness, and many known risk factors are also present in critically ill coronavirus disease 2019 victims.

Objectives: To investigate dysphagia in patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019.

Design Setting And Participants: In this case series, we report results of dedicated evaluation of swallowing function in six consecutive, tracheotomized coronavirus disease 2019 patients after they had survived acute respiratory distress syndrome and were weaned from the respirator.

Mitogen-activated protein kinase 2 regulates physiological and pathological bone turnover.

The objective of this study was to investigate the role of the serine-threonine kinase mitogen-activated protein kinase 2 (MK2) in bone homeostasis. Primary bone cell cultures from MK2(+/+) and MK2(-/-) mice were assessed for osteoclast and osteoblast differentiation, bone resorption, and gene expression. Bone architecture of MK2(+/+) and MK2(-/-) mice was investigated by micro-computed tomography and histomorphometry.