Genomic Epidemiology of Clinical Isolates from Southern Israel.

Brucellosis, a zoonosis mainly transmitted by consumption of unpasteurized dairy products, is endemic in Southern Israel, mainly among the Bedouin Arab population. However, the genomic epidemiology of in this region has not yet been elucidated. A cohort of brucellosis cases ( = 118) diagnosed between 2017-2019 was studied using whole-genome sequencing (WGS).

Early rituximab treatment is associated with increased and sustained remission in pemphigus patients: A retrospective cohort of 99 patients.

Rituximab is the front-line therapy for pemphigus disease. Although very effective, relapse rates are high. We assessed factors associated with disease remission and early relapse following the first rituximab cycle.

The diagnostic accuracy of dermoscopy for basal cell carcinoma: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Dermoscopy is a noninvasive technique for the diagnosis of skin lesions. Its accuracy for basal cell carcinoma (BCC) has not been systematically studied.

Objective: We sought to systematically investigate the accuracy of dermoscopy for the diagnosis of BCC compared with examination with the naked eye.

Mass media effect on vaccines uptake during silent polio outbreak.

Background: During 2013, isolation of a wild type 1 poliovirus from routine sewage sample in Israel, led to a national OPV campaign. During this period, there was a constant cover of the outbreak by the mass media.

Aims: To investigate the association of media exposure and OPV and non-OPV vaccines uptake during the 2013 silent polio outbreak in Israel.

Quantifying the effects of postcesarean adhesions on incision to delivery time.

Objective: To quantify the effects of postcesarean section adhesions severity on the incision to delivery time.

Methods: Secondary analysis of data of a prospective randomized controlled trial of women undergoing first repeat cesarean section. The presence and severity of adhesions were reported by surgeons postoperatively and accrued into an adhesion severity score.

Control of a Outbreak in an Institutional Setting Using Azithromycin Prophylaxis.

Background: is a major cause of respiratory infection of varying severity. Outbreaks of infection commonly occur in closed or semi-closed communities and settings. The control of such outbreaks is challenging, owing to delayed detection, long incubation period, and paucity of infection control guidelines.

Association of bullous pemphigoid with malignancy: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Studies evaluating whether malignancy rate is increased in patients with bullous pemphigoid (BP) have reached conflicting results.

Objective: We sought to determine whether BP is associated with malignancy.

Method: Medline, EMBASE, the Cochrane library, and reference lists of included studies were searched for comparative studies that evaluated the relationship between BP and malignancy.

Treatments for Cutaneous Lichen Planus: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Cutaneous lichen planus (CLP) is an inflammatory dermatosis. Its chronic relapsing course and frequently spontaneous regression hamper the assessment of treatment effectiveness.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of available treatment modalities for CLP.

Are Ultrasonographic Findings Suggestive of Ovarian Stromal Edema Associated with Ischemic Adnexal Torsion?

Objective: To study whether sonographic findings suggestive of ovarian stromal edema are associated with tissue ischemia in patients with adnexal torsion.

Methods: A study of 79 patients with adnexal torsion was performed. Patients were divided into an ischemic group, in which the twisted adnexa were seen as blue or black, and a non-ischemic group, in which the adnexa retained normal color and appeared viable.

The Israeli public health response to wild poliovirus importation.

In 2013, a silent wild poliovirus type 1 importation and sustained transmission event occurred in southern Israel. With the aim of preventing clinical poliomyelitis and ensuring virus re-elimination, the public health response to the importation event included intensification of clinical and environmental surveillance activities, enhancement of vaccine coverage, and supplemental immunisation with a bivalent oral polio vaccine against wild poliovirus types 1 and 3. A national campaign launched in August, 2013, resulted in vaccination of 943,587 children younger than 10 years (79% of the eligible target population).

The role of adjuvant therapy in pemphigus: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: The assumption that adjuvant modalities have added value to oral glucocorticoids in the treatment of pemphigus is intuitively sound but has not been conclusively proven.

Objective: We sought to compare the efficacy and safety of oral glucocorticoid treatment with or without adjuvants for pemphigus vulgaris and pemphigus foliaceus.

Methods: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Field study of fecal excretion as a decision support tool in response to silent reintroduction of wild-type poliovirus 1 into Israel.

Background: Israel has used an inactivated polio vaccine (IPV)-only schedule since 2005 (95% coverage). Silent reintroduction of wild type poliovirus 1 (WPV1) into Israel in early 2013 was detected in Southern Israel via routine environmental surveillance without clinical cases.

Objectives: To estimate the rate of WPV1 excretion by age and residence and inform decision-making regarding supplemental immunization with OPV.

Treatment of pemphigus vulgaris and pemphigus foliaceus: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: No optimal therapeutic approach has been established for pemphigus.

Objective: Our objective was to evaluate the efficacy, steroid-sparing effect, and safety of available treatment modalities.

Methods: PubMed, LILACS (up to July 2014), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL, issue 5 of 12, May 2014), and the ClinicalTrials.

Laboratory challenges in response to silent introduction and sustained transmission of wild poliovirus type 1 in Israel during 2013.

Wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) introduction into southern Israel in early 2013 was detected by routine environmental surveillance. The virus was identified genetically as related to the South Asian (SOAS) R3A lineage endemic to Pakistan in 2012. Intensified, high-throughput environmental surveillance using advanced molecular methods played a critical role in documenting and locating sustained transmission throughout 2013 and early 2014 in the absence of any acute flaccid paralysis.

Integration of PET/CT into the preoperative evaluation of patients with early cervical cancer does not decrease the proportion of patients with positive lymph nodes found after surgery.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate whether preoperative positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) in patients with early-stage cervical carcinoma reduced the proportion of patients with metastatic lymph nodes identified after surgery.

Patients And Methods: This is a multicenter case-control study of 599 patients with early cervical cancer who underwent radical hysterectomy and pelvic lymphadenectomy at 1 of 10 gynecological oncology units in Israel. The patients were divided into 2 groups according to whether or not they underwent a preoperative PET/CT.

Opportunistic infections in patients with pemphigus.

Background: Opportunistic infections (OIs) can be defined as infections in immunosuppressed patients that are more frequent or severe because of immunosuppression. The literature on OIs in pemphigus is sparse.

Objective: We assessed the incidence, risk factors, and characteristics of OIs in patients with pemphigus.

Use of vaccination in a large outbreak of primary varicella in a detention setting for African immigrants.

Background: Primary varicella (PV) presents a public health risk for adults in closed residential settings, especially for immigrants from tropical areas where infection during childhood is less likely.

Methods: In this study, an outbreak of PV at a detention facility for illegal immigrants from Eritrea and Sudan in southern Israel is described. Basic demographic information and clinical course for all cases were obtained.

Misoprostol treatment for early pregnancy failure does not impair future fertility.

Aims: To examine whether misoprostol treatment for first trimester missed abortion affects future fertility.

Patients And Methods: In a historical prospective approach, we analyzed our database for patients treated with misoprostol. All eligible patients underwent an interview according to a questionnaire, which includes their demographic characteristics, obstetric, gynecologic and infertility history.

Evaluation of Clinical and Pathologic Risk Factors May Reduce the Rate of Multimodality Treatment of Early Cervical Cancer.

Objective: To assess the rate of postoperative adjuvant treatment in patients who underwent radical hysterectomy for early cervical cancer and to suggest criteria for the triage of patients who have a high probability of multimodality treatment.

Methods: This was a multicenter retrospective study of 514 patients with FIGO stages IA2-IIA cervical cancer who underwent radical hysterectomy between 1999 and 2010. The patients were divided into 2 groups according to whether or not postoperative radiation was administered.

Pretreatment CA 15-3 levels do not predict disease-free survival in patients with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer.

Aims: To evaluate the role of pretreatment CA 15-3 levels as a predictor of disease-free survival in patients with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer.

Methods: A cohort of 65 patients with FIGO stage III or IV epithelial ovarian cancer was evaluated. Patients were treated either with primary cytoreductive surgery followed by adjuvant platinum-based chemotherapy or with neoadjuvant chemotherapy with interval debulking surgery.

The influence of early diagnosis of endometrioid endometrial cancer on disease stage and survival.

Objective: To evaluate whether the presence or duration of uterine bleeding is associated with disease stage, and survival of patients with endometrioid endometrial carcinoma (EEC).

Methods: The records of 220 patients with EEC who underwent surgery were reviewed. The patients were divided into three groups according to the presence and duration of vaginal bleeding at the time of surgery.