Patient experience and healthcare utilization for a COVID-19 telemedicine home monitoring program offered in English and Spanish.

Background: Telemedicine is a vital component of the healthcare system's response to COVID-19. In March of 2020, Providence health system rapidly implemented a telemedicine home monitoring program (HMP) for COVID-19 patients that included use of at-home pulse oximeters and thermometers and text-based surveys to monitor symptoms. By June 2020, Providence updated the HMP to be offered in Spanish.

MRI profile and response to endovascular reperfusion after stroke (DEFUSE 2): a prospective cohort study.

Background: Whether endovascular stroke treatment improves clinical outcomes is unclear because of the paucity of data from randomised placebo-controlled trials. We aimed to establish whether MRI can be used to identify patients who are most likely to benefit from endovascular reperfusion.

Methods: In this prospective cohort study we consecutively enrolled patients scheduled to have endovascular treatment within 12 h of onset of stroke at eight centres in the USA and one in Austria.

Fulminant, acyclovir-resistant, herpes simplex virus type 2 hepatitis in an immunocompetent woman.

We report an immunocompetent woman with multisystem organ failure following herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) hepatitis. After she initially responded to intravenous acyclovir, she was switched to oral valacyclovir. She developed respiratory failure and opportunistic infections and died.

Central nervous system infections in transplantation.

Central nervous system (CNS) infections are a rare but serious complication of transplantation. An appropriate diagnostic workup should be streamlined with stratification of infection risk by length and degree of immune suppression, lesion localization, and timing. Polymerase chain reaction has high sensitivity and specificity for rapid identification of viral infections and should be used when available.

Acyclovir responsive brain stem disease after the Ramsay Hunt syndrome.

We report an immunocompetent patient with the Ramsay Hunt syndrome (RHS) followed days later by brainstem disease. Extensive virological studies proved that varicella zoster virus (VZV) was the causative agent. Treatment with intravenous acyclovir resulted in prompt resolution of all neurological deficits except peripheral facial palsy.