A Prediction Model to Prioritize Individuals for a SARS-CoV-2 Test Built from National Symptom Surveys.

Background: The gold standard for COVID-19 diagnosis is detection of viral RNA through PCR. Due to global limitations in testing capacity, effective prioritization of individuals for testing is essential.

Methods: We devised a model estimating the probability of an individual to test positive for COVID-19 based on answers to 9 simple questions that have been associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection.

[Thalidomide in the treatment of cutaneous and systemic sarcoidosis].

The clinical courses of two patients suffering from generalized or disseminated cutaneous sarcoidosis are described. Both were treated with thalidomide 2 x 100 mg/day, later 100 mg/day. After 8 to 12 months of treatment the skin and systemic lesions had resolved almost completely.

Autocrine growth effect of IL-8 and GROalpha on a human pancreatic cancer cell line, Capan-1.

A human pancreatic cancer cell line, Capan-1, secretes the chemokines interleukin-8 (IL-8) and growth-related oncogene alpha (GROalpha). Capan-1 cells also express the chemokine receptor 2 (CXCR2), which is a Gialpha-protein coupled receptor. Growth of Capan-1 cells was inhibited when anti-IL-8 or anti-GROalpha monoclonal antibody was added into the culture medium.

Guttate psoriasis triggered by perianal streptococcal dermatitis in a four-year-old boy.

Perianal streptococcal dermatitis (PSD) is a superficial bacterial infection usually with group A beta-hemolytic streptococci. PSD is often misdiagnosed for long periods and patients are subjected to treatments for a variety of differential diagnoses without success. We report a 4-year-old boy with PSD who presented to our clinic with guttate psoriasis for 2 reasons: first, to make dermatologists aware of PSD and second, to emphasize the necessity to examine patients, particularly pediatric patients, with guttate psoriasis very thoroughly and swab both the pharynx and perianal and/or perigenital areas even when they are, or seem to be, asymptomatic for bacterial infections.