Evaluation of the Performance of Portable Hemoglobinometers at Measuring Hemoglobin and Detecting Anemia in a Periurban Pediatric Population in Lima, Peru.

As many as one in three people worldwide have anemia, with young children at increased risk of both disease and complications. In settings without clinical laboratories, portable hemoglobinometers serve important roles in diagnosing anemia and estimating prevalence. Here, we assess the validity of two such point-of-care devices-the HemoCue Hb201 and the HemoCue Hb301-relative to the international reference standard, the cyanmethemoglobin method.

Quality and Perceived Usefulness of Patient-Submitted Store-and-Forward Teledermatology Images.

Importance: Patient-submitted images vary considerably in quality and usefulness. Studies that characterize patient-submitted images in a real-life setting are lacking.

Objective: To evaluate the quality and perceived usefulness of patient-submitted images as determined by dermatologists and characterize agreement of their responses.

SARS-CoV-2 infections in patients with autoimmune blistering disorders: A case series and retrospective analysis.

Background: Autoimmune blistering disorders (AIBDs) are rare, potentially life-threatening conditions often requiring immunosuppression. Throughout the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, infection risk and mortality in patients with AIBDs are unknown.

Objective: We report the outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infections in patients with AIBDs and determined if patients on rituximab have an increased risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Clinical and Immunologic Predictors of Mycobacterium avium Complex Immune Reconstitution Inflammatory Syndrome in a Contemporary Cohort of Patients With Human Immunodeficiency Virus.

Background: People with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) can present with new or worsening symptoms associated with Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) infection shortly after antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation as MAC immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (MAC-IRIS). In this study, we assessed the utility of several laboratory tests as predictors of MAC-IRIS.

Methods: People with HIV with clinical and histologic and/or microbiologic evidence of MAC-IRIS were identified and followed up to 96 weeks post-ART initiation within a prospective study of 206 ART-naive patients with CD4 <100 cells/µL.

Artemisinin resistance phenotypes and K13 inheritance in a cross and model.

Concerns about malaria parasite resistance to treatment with artemisinin drugs (ARTs) have grown with findings of prolonged parasite clearance s (>5 h) and their association with mutations in Kelch-propeller protein K13. Here, we describe a laboratory cross of K13 C580Y mutant with C580 wild-type parasites to investigate ART response phenotypes in vitro and in vivo. After genotyping >400 isolated progeny, we evaluated 20 recombinants in vitro: IC measurements of dihydroartemisinin were at similar low nanomolar levels for C580Y- and C580-type progeny (mean ratio, 1.

A single nucleotide polymorphism in the Plasmodium falciparum atg18 gene associates with artemisinin resistance and confers enhanced parasite survival under nutrient deprivation.

Background: Artemisinin-resistant Plasmodium falciparum has been reported throughout the Greater Mekong subregion and threatens to disrupt current malaria control efforts worldwide. Polymorphisms in kelch13 have been associated with clinical and in vitro resistance phenotypes; however, several studies suggest that the genetic determinants of resistance may involve multiple genes. Current proposed mechanisms of resistance conferred by polymorphisms in kelch13 hint at a connection to an autophagy-like pathway in P.

Emergence of Polyfunctional Cytotoxic CD4+ T Cells in Mycobacterium avium Immune Reconstitution Inflammatory Syndrome in Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Patients.

Background: Immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) is an aberrant inflammatory response in individuals with advanced human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, after antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation. The pathogenesis of Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC)-associated IRIS has not been fully elucidated.

Methods: We investigated monocyte and CD4+ T-cell responses in vitro, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) expression in tissues, and plasma cytokines and inflammatory markers, in 13 HIV-infected patients with MAC-IRIS and 14 HIV-uninfected patients with pulmonary MAC infection.

Kelch Mutations in Plasmodium falciparum Protein K13 Do Not Modulate Dormancy after Artemisinin Exposure and Sorbitol Selection .

Some Kelch mutations of the K13 protein confer increased survival to dihydroartemisinin (DHA)-treated ring-stage parasites. Here, we asked if K13 mutations affect a dormancy phenotype allowing parasites to survive DHA exposure and then sorbitol selection. Although recrudescence from dormancy differed between two distinct parasite lines, it was similar for isogenic lines carrying single-site substitutions in K13.