Pseudomonas otitidis bacteremia in an immunocompromised patient with cellulitis: case report and literature review.

Background: Pseudomonas otitidis belongs to the genus Pseudomonas and causes various infections, including ear, skin, and soft tissue infections. P. otitidis has a unique susceptibility profile, being susceptible to penicillins and cephalosporins but resistant to carbapenems, due to the production of the metallo-β-lactamase called POM-1.

Combination of a SARS-CoV-2 IgG Assay and RT-PCR for Improved COVID-19 Diagnosis.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is generally diagnosed by reverse transcription (RT)-PCR or serological assays. The SARS-CoV-2 viral load decreases a few days after symptom onset. Thus, the RT-PCR sensitivity peaks at three days after symptom onset (approximately 80%).

Early Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Immunoglobulin G Response May Be Associated with Disease Severity in Patients with COVID-19.

Most coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases are mild or asymptomatic, and a substantial minority of patients have severe or critical diseases. There are several reports on the potential risk factors of severe disease, but few reports have reported a relationship between antibody titer and severity in Japan. Antibody-dependent enhancement affects disease progression.

Clinical validation of quantitative SARS-CoV-2 antigen assays to estimate SARS-CoV-2 viral loads in nasopharyngeal swabs.

Background: Expansion of the testing capacity for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is an important issue to mitigate the pandemic of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) caused by this virus. Recently, a sensitive quantitative antigen test (SQT), Lumipulse® SARS-CoV-2 Ag, was developed. It is a fully automated chemiluminescent enzyme immunoassay system for SARS-CoV-2.

Immunochromatographic test for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in saliva.

We evaluated the rapid immunochromatographic test for severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antigen detection using 16 saliva specimens collected from 6 COVID-19 hospitalized patients, and detected N-antigen in 4 of 7 RT-PCR positive specimens. This POCT detected SARS-CoV-2 antigen in saliva and would be useful for COVID-19 diagnosis.

Evaluation of clinical utility of novel coronavirus antigen detection reagent, Espline® SARS-CoV-2.

Background: To prevent the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), it is necessary to perform early identification and isolation of people shedding the infectious virus in biological materials with high viral loads several days prior to symptom onset. Rapid antigen tests for infectious diseases are useful to prevent the pandemic spread in clinical settings.

Methods: We evaluated a SARS-CoV-2 antigen test, Espline® SARS-CoV-2 reagent, with reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) as reference test, using 129 nasopharyngeal swab specimens collected from COVID-19 hospitalized patients or from patients suspected having COVID-19-like symptoms.

IgG Antibodies, SARS-CoV-2 Load, and Prognostic Indicators in Patients with Severe and Mild COVID-19 in Japan.

We assessed the association of severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) with acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) load, IgG antibody level, and prognostic indicators.Twenty-one patients hospitalized with COVID-19 were classified as having severe or mild disease on the basis of average respiratory rate during hospitalization (severe: ≥22 breaths/min; mild: <22 breaths/min). Viral load in nasopharyngeal samples, blood levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), lymphocytes, and D-dimer on admission and plasma immunoglobulin G (IgG) index on Day 7±2 after symptom onset were compared in relation to disease severity.

Sex difference in clinical presentation of patients with infectious mononucleosis caused by Epstein-Barr virus.

Introduction: There are few studies on sex difference in patients with infectious mononucleosis caused by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV-IM). We performed a retrospective study to evaluate the sex difference in clinical presentation of patients with EBV-IM.

Methods: We performed a single-center retrospective study evaluating >14-year-old patients with serologically confirmed EBV-IM during 2006-2017.