Multiplatform Metabolomics: Enhancing the Severity Risk Prognosis of SARS-CoV-2 Infection.

Concerns about the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak (COVID-19) continue to persist even years later, with the emergence of new variants and the risk of disease severity. Common clinical symptoms, like cough, fever, and respiratory symptoms, characterize the noncritical patients, classifying them from mild to moderate. In a more severe and complex scenario, the virus infection can affect vital organs, resulting, for instance, in pneumonia and impaired kidney and heart function.

Economic impact of extending reflexed cryptococcal antigenaemia CD4 threshold in South Africa.

Background: Reflexed cryptococcal antigenaemia (CrAg) testing has been offered since 2016 in South Africa, on remnant CD4 specimens, for people with a count < 100 cells/μL. Local guidelines recommended extending testing to 200 cells/μL.

Objectives: This study assessed the cost per result and annual equivalent costs (AEC) for CD4 counts < 100 cells/μL and 100 to 200 cells/μL, as well as determining the cost to find one CrAg-positive case.

Toscana Virus in Wild-Caught Sand Flies in Portugal, Findings from the National Vector Surveillance Network, 2023.

Phlebotomine sand flies play a crucial role in both human and veterinary medicine, acting as vectors for parasites and most known phleboviruses. In Portugal, the REVIVE program, a comprehensive national surveillance network under the Ministry of Health, has included sand fly surveys since 2016. REVIVE aims to identify existing sand fly species in the country, determine which pathogens are circulating among them, and provide actionable insights for prevention and control measures when necessary.

Pulsed Radiofrequency in the Management of Postsurgical Abdominal Wall Chronic Pain: A Report From a Single Oncological Center.

Chronic postsurgical pain (CPSP) is defined as pain that develops or increases in intensity after a surgical procedure or tissue injury and persists beyond the healing process, lasting at least three months after the precipitating event. Often neuropathic in nature, CPSP can be challenging to manage. CPSP is a common complication, with data suggesting an incidence ranging from 5% to 85%, depending on the type of procedure.

The spread of the invasive mosquito Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) in Portugal: a first genetic analysis.

Background: Aedes albopictus, commonly known as the Asian tiger mosquito, has become one of the most invasive mosquito species. Over the last 5 decades, it has been introduced and established in various tropical and temperate regions worldwide. First reported in Europe in 1979 in Albania and later in Italy in 1990, the species is now established in 13 European Union (EU)/European Economic Area (EEA) countries and 337 regions (2023).

Laparoscopic-assisted Resection of a Retroperitoneal Lumbar Nerve Root Neurofibroma: A Case Report.

We present a case of a 59-year-old patient with chronic low back pain, caused by a retroperitoneal intraneural tumour. Laparoscopic excision was performed and histology revealed a spinal nerve root neurofibroma. Post-operatively, the patient developed partial motor and sensitive deficits due to tumoral nerve entrapment, with progressive recovery with rehabilitation.

Knee landmarks detection via deep learning for automatic imaging evaluation of trochlear dysplasia and patellar height.

Objectives: To develop and validate a deep learning-based approach to automatically measure the patellofemoral instability (PFI) indices related to patellar height and trochlear dysplasia in knee magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans.

Methods: A total of 763 knee MRI slices from 95 patients were included in the study, and 3393 anatomical landmarks were annotated for measuring sulcus angle (SA), trochlear facet asymmetry (TFA), trochlear groove depth (TGD) and lateral trochlear inclination (LTI) to assess trochlear dysplasia, and Insall-Salvati index (ISI), modified Insall-Salvati index (MISI), Caton Deschamps index (CDI) and patellotrochlear index (PTI) to assess patellar height. A U-Net based network was implemented to predict the landmarks' locations.

Assessing very advanced HIV disease in adolescent girls and young women.

Background: South Africa has the largest HIV epidemic globally, with ~7.5 million people living with HIV in 2021. Adolescent girls (AG) and young women (YW), aged 15-19 years and 20-24 years, are twice as likely to be living with HIV as their male counterparts.

More Than a Decade of GeneXpert/Rifampicin (Ultra) Testing in South Africa: Laboratory Insights from Twenty-Three Million Tests.

This study seeks to describe the rollout and current state of South Africa's GeneXpert molecular diagnostic program for tuberculosis (TB). Xpert MTB/RIF was introduced in 2011 with a subsequent expansion to include extra-pulmonary and paediatric testing, followed by Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra in 2017. Through a centralised laboratory information system and the use of a standardised platform for more than a decade, over 23 million tests were analysed, describing the numbers tested, complex detection, rifampin resistance, and the unsuccessful test rates.

Integrating Molecular Diagnostics and GIS Mapping: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Understanding Tuberculosis Disease Dynamics in South Africa Using Xpert MTB/RIF.

An investigation was carried out to examine the use of national Xpert MTB/RIF data (2013-2017) and GIS technology for MTB/RIF surveillance in South Africa. The aim was to exhibit the potential of using molecular diagnostics for TB surveillance across the country. The variables analysed include () positivity, the mycobacterial proportion of rifampicin-resistant (RIF), and probe frequency.

Biocultural correlates of gross motor coordination in prepubescent children: A cross-sectional study.

Aim: This study aimed to explore the association of gross motor coordination (GMC) with a matrix of biocultural factors in prepubescent children, taking into account weight status, somatic maturation, sociodemographic variables, and type of school.

Methods: One hundred twenty-nine prepubescent children, of both sexes, aged between 8.00 and 8.

Using laboratory data to assess the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) on reflex cryptococcal antigenaemia (CrAg) testing in South Africa.

Background: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was first reported in Wuhan, China. Due to the rapid spread globally, it was declared a pandemic in March 2020. Social distancing and lockdown measures were introduced to limit transmission.

How South Africa Used National Cycle Threshold (Ct) Values to Continuously Monitor SARS-CoV-2 Laboratory Test Quality.

The high demand for SARS-CoV-2 tests but limited supply to South African laboratories early in the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a heterogenous diagnostic footprint of open and closed molecular testing platforms being implemented. Ongoing monitoring of the performance of these multiple and varied systems required novel approaches, especially during the circulation of variants. The National Health Laboratory Service centrally collected cycle threshold (Ct) values from 1,497,669 test results reported from 6 commonly used PCR assays in 36 months, and visually monitored changes in their median Ct within a 28-day centered moving average for each assays' gene targets.

Paradoxical embolism: a rare cause of acute upper limb ischemia.

Paradoxical embolism is a rare cause of arterial embolism, even more those resulting in acute ischemia of the upper limb. A case of a 45-year-old patient with acute paradoxical upper limb embolization and acute limb ischemia is presented. A review of the most recent evidence on the diagnosis and management of paradoxical embolism were explored.

Management of median arcuate ligament syndrome: a case-based review.

Dunbar syndrome or median arcuate ligament syndrome is a rare pathology that has a great impact on the quality of life of patients. This brief report aims to present a case report of a successful treatment of Dunbar syndrome and to review the current management of this entity. We present the case of a 37 year-old patient, who was treated by median arcuate ligament laparoscopic resection.

Assessing the cost and utilization of SMS printers by primary health care facilities: lessons learned from South Africa.

Background: Historically, paper-based laboratory reports were delivered by couriers to health facilities resulting in post-analytical delays. As a result, short message service (SMS) printers were deployed to fill this gap, with the global data service platform (GDSP) being primarily used to facilitate deployment. In addition, these printers generate binary and quantitative information that can be used to assess utilization.

Imaging evaluation of patellofemoral joint instability: a review.

The multifactorial origin of anterior knee pain in patellofemoral joint disorders leads to a demanding diagnostic process. Patellofemoral misalignment is pointed out as one of the main causes of anterior knee pain. The main anatomical risk factors of patellofemoral instability addressed in the literature are trochlear dysplasia, abnormal patellar height, and excessive tibial tubercle-trochlear groove distance.

AIMSurv: First pan-European harmonized surveillance of invasive mosquito species of relevance for human vector-borne diseases.

Human and animal vector-borne diseases, particularly mosquito-borne diseases, are emerging or re-emerging worldwide. Six invasive mosquito (AIM) species were introduced to Europe since the 1970s: , , , , and . Here, we report the results of AIMSurv2020, the first pan-European surveillance effort for AIMs.

SARS-CoV-2 air and surface contamination in residential settings.

SARS-CoV-2 transmission occurs mainly indoors, through virus-laden airborne particles. Although the presence and infectivity of SARS-CoV-2 in aerosol are now acknowledged, the underlying circumstances for its occurrence are still under investigation. The contamination of domiciliary environments during the isolation of SARS-CoV-2-infected patients in their respective rooms in individual houses and in a nursing home was investigated by collecting surface and air samples in these environments.