HemoClear: A Practical and Cost-Effective Alternative to Conventional Convalescent Plasma Retrieval Methods.

Convalescent plasma has increasingly been used to treat various viral infections and confer post-exposure prophylactic protection during the last decade and has demonstrated favorable clinical outcomes in patients infected with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) during the recent COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has highlighted the need for cost-effective, accessible, and easy-to-use alternatives to conventional blood plasmapheresis techniques, allowing hospitals to become more self-sufficient in harvesting and transfusing donor plasma into recipients in a single setting. To this end, the use of a membrane-based bedside plasmapheresis device (HemoClear) was evaluated in an open-label, non-randomized prospective trial in Suriname in 2021, demonstrating its practicality and efficacy in a low-to middle-income country.

Establishing priorities to strengthen National Immunization Technical Advisory Groups in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the Americas faced a significant decline in vaccination coverage as well as increased vaccine hesitancy. The objective of this paper is to summarize the challenges and opportunities outlined by the National Immunization Technical Advisory Groups (NITAGs) in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and prioritize targeted interventions. The exploratory survey included open-ended questions on two primary components: challenges, and opportunities.

Case report: "an unexpected origin of coma in a young adult".

We report a peculiar case of acute non-traumatic coma due to neuromuscular hypoventilation syndrome caused by a non-traumatic spinal cord injury (NTSCI). A 21-year-old patient presented to the emergency room complaining of sudden onset weakness in his lower limbs and shortness of breath. While in the ER, he briefly became comatose and labs revealed an acute respiratory acidosis.

Assessment of immediate and non-immediate hypersensitivity contrast reactions by skin tests and provocation tests: A review.

Introduction: Allergic and nonallergic hypersensitivity reactions to iodinated contrast media (ICM) and gadolinium-based contrast media are classified as immediate or non-immediate hypersensitivity reactions (IHR and NIHR), respectively. Skin tests and provocation tests are recommended for the evaluation of hypersensitivity reactions to contrast agents; however provocations are not common in clinical practice.

Methods: A MEDLINE search was conducted to investigate studies comprising both skin tests and provocation tests that evaluated hypersensitivity reactions to ICM.

Snakebites in Suriname: Evaluation of the Protocolled Administration of Anti-Snake Venom in a Tertiary Care Setting.

Venomous snakebites regularly occur in Suriname, a middle-income country located on the north coast of South America. Officially reported data on incidence and mortality are lacking. The aim of this retrospective study was to assess whether the use of our national snakebite protocol with selective administration of anti-snake venom (ASV) in patients with signs of snakebite envenoming improved clinical outcome as measured by mortality and length of stay (LOS) in the hospital.

A rare infection in the tropics that is not uncommon in cases of chronic granulomatous disease.

is a rare cause of infection in immunocompromised patients in the tropics with a spectrum of disease manifestations, including severe disease. Early identification of this micro-organism is essential for appropriate management. We present a case of septicaemia in a patient with chronic granulomatous disease.

Assessing parasite clearance during uncomplicated infection treated with artesunate monotherapy in Suriname.

Background: Artemisinin resistance in is suspected when the day 3 parasitemia is >10% when treated with artemisinin-based combination therapy or if >10% of patients treated with artemisinin-based combination therapy or artesunate monotherapy harbored parasites with half-lives ≥5 hours. Hence, a single-arm prospective efficacy trial was conducted in Suriname for uncomplicated infection treated with artesunate-based monotherapy for 3 days assessing day 3 parasitemia, treatment outcome after 28 days, and parasite half-life.

Methods: The study was conducted in Paramaribo, the capital of Suriname, from July 2013 until July 2014.

Biologic Therapy for HLA-B27-associated Ocular Disorders.

The treatment of articular and extra-articular manifestations associated with HLA-B27 has undergone dramatic changes over the past two decades, mainly as a consequence of the introduction of biologic agents and in particular anti-tumor necrosis factor α (anti-TNFα) agents. Uveitis is known to be the most frequent extra-articular feature in HLA-B27-associated spondyloarthritides. Topical corticosteroids and cycloplegic agents remain the cornerstones of treatment.

Evidence of an increased incidence of day 3 parasitaemia in Suriname: an indicator of the emerging resistance of Plasmodium falciparum to artemether.

The emerging resistance to artemisinin derivatives that has been reported in South-East Asia led us to assess the efficacy of artemether-lumefantrine as the first line therapy for uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum infections in Suriname. This drug assessment was performed according to the recommendations of the World Health Organization in 2011. The decreasing number of malaria cases in Suriname, which are currently limited to migrating populations and gold miners, precludes any conclusions on artemether efficacy because adequate numbers of patients with 28-day follow-up data are difficult to obtain.