Pediatric invasive pneumococcal disease in Bolívar, Colombia: a descriptive cross-sectional study.

Introduction: Invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) remains a pediatric health challenge despite national vaccination efforts in Colombia. We described the socio-demographic, epidemiological, and clinical characteristics of children (<18 years of age) with IPD at a pediatric reference center in Bolívar, Colombia.

Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional study of all pediatric patients (under 18 years of age) diagnosed with IPD between 2016 and 2023.

Cost Analysis of Thromboprophylaxis in Patients at High Thromboembolic Risk with Enoxaparin, Dalteparin and Nadroparin in Colombia: A Systematic Literature Review-Based Study.

Purpose: To analyze the costs of high thromboembolic risk patients who require low molecular weight heparins (LMWHs) as a thromboprophylaxis strategy.

Methods: Cost analysis was conducted to assess LMWHs (enoxaparin versus comparators: nadroparin and dalteparin) as thromboprophylaxis for hospitalized patients with high thromboembolic risk in Oncology, General or Orthopedic Surgery, and Internal Medicine services from the healthcare provider's perspective in Colombia. A decision tree was developed, and the health outcomes considered in the analysis were deep vein thrombosis, major bleeding, pulmonary thromboembolism, and chronic pulmonary hypertension.

Clinical and Sociodemographic Features of Alopecia Areata in Five Colombian Cities: An Analysis of the RENAAC Registry.

Background: Alopecia areata (AA) is an autoimmune disease characterized by non-scaring hair loss and preservation of hair follicles. The information available on disease course, and clinical features of AA is scarce worldwide, and almost nonexistent in Colombia.

Objective: To determine the clinical and sociodemographic characteristics of patients diagnosed with AA who presented to a dermatology consultation in five Colombian cities.

Economic burden due to COVID-19 in a Colombian Caribbean state, 2020 and 2021.

Objective: To estimate the economic burden associated with COVID-19 in Córdoba, Colombia, 2020 and 2021.

Methods: Economic burden study. Direct costs were analyzed from the third-party payer perspective using healthcare administrative databases and interviews from a cohort of confirmed COVID-19 cases from Córdoba.

IgE-Mediated Sensitization to Blo t 21 and Blo t 5 Is Associated With Asthma in the Tropics: A Case-Control Study.

Background And Objective: Sensitization to Blomia tropicalis is associated with asthma in various tropical and subtropical countries; however, information about the specific molecular components associated with this disease is scarce. Using molecular diagnosis, we sought to identify B tropicalis allergens associated with asthma in Colombia.

Methods: Specific IgE (sIgE) to 8 B tropicalis recombinant allergens (Blo t 2, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12, 13, and 21) was determined using an in-house ELISA system in asthma patients (n=272) and controls (n=298) recruited in a national prevalence study performed in several Colombian cities (Barranquilla, Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, and San Andrés).

[Cytokine measurement using a multiplex technique with spectral flow cytometry: application in the study of the immunobiology of ascariasis].

Objective: To quantify the production of Th1/Th2/Th17 cytokines induced by Ascaris lumbricoides antigens in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) using a multiplex technique.

Methods: PBMCs were cultured from individuals with mild A. lumbricoides infection (n = 20) and uninfected individuals (n = 21) and stimulated with A.

Cystatin from the helminth upregulates mevalonate and cholesterol biosynthesis pathways and immunomodulatory genes in human monocyte-derived dendritic cells.

Background: cystatin (Al-CPI) prevents the development of allergic airway inflammation and dextran-induced colitis in mice models. It has been suggested that helminth-derived cystatins inhibit cathepsins in dendritic cells (DC), but their immunomodulatory mechanisms are unclear. We aimed to analyze the transcriptional profile of human monocyte-derived DC (moDC) upon stimulation with Al-CPI to elucidate target genes and pathways of parasite immunomodulation.

Clinical and Sociodemographic Features of Alopecia Areata in Five Colombian Cities: An Analysis of the RENAAC Registry.

Background: Alopecia areata (AA) is an autoimmune disease characterized by non-scaring hair loss and preservation of hair follicles. The information available on disease course, and clinical features of AA is scarce worldwide, and almost nonexistent in Colombia.

Objective: To determine the clinical and sociodemographic characteristics of patients diagnosed with AA who presented to a dermatology consultation in five Colombian cities.

Risk calculator of the clinical response to antihistamines in chronic urticaria: Development and internal validation.

Early detection of CSU patients with low probability of a clinical response with antihistamines could undergo prompt initiation of therapeutic alternatives. The aim of the study was to develop and internally validate a model for predicting the clinical response to antihistamines in adult patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU), who consult allergology and dermatology care centers. A cohort of CSU patients, recruited from four participating centers, were followed up for 12 months.

Frequent IgE recognition of allergen molecules in asthmatic children and young adults in equatorial Africa.

Background: Asthma is not well investigated in equatorial Africa and little is known about the disease-associated allergen molecules recognized by IgE from patients in this area. The aim was to study the molecular IgE sensitization profile of asthmatic children and young adults in a semi-rural area (Lambaréné) of an equatorial African country (Gabon), to identify the most important allergen molecules associated with allergic asthma in equatorial Africa.

Methods: Fifty-nine asthmatic patients, mainly children and few young adults, were studied by skin prick testing to (Der p), (Der f), cat, dog, cockroach, grass, Alternaria and peanut.

EAACI Molecular Allergology User's Guide 2.0.

Since the discovery of immunoglobulin E (IgE) as a mediator of allergic diseases in 1967, our knowledge about the immunological mechanisms of IgE-mediated allergies has remarkably increased. In addition to understanding the immune response and clinical symptoms, allergy diagnosis and management depend strongly on the precise identification of the elicitors of the IgE-mediated allergic reaction. In the past four decades, innovations in bioscience and technology have facilitated the identification and production of well-defined, highly pure molecules for component-resolved diagnosis (CRD), allowing a personalized diagnosis and management of the allergic disease for individual patients.

Burden of COVID-19 in Córdoba, A Department of Colombia: Results of Disability-Adjusted Life-Years: Carga de COVID-19 en Córdoba, un Departamento de Colombia: Resultados de los Años de Vida Ajustados por Discapacidad.

Objectives: This study aimed to estimate the burden of acute COVID-19 in Córdoba, one of the most affected departments (states) in Colombia, through the estimation of disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs).

Methods: DALYs were estimated based on the number of cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection cases reported by official Colombian sources. A transition probability matrix among severity states was calculated using data obtained from a retrospective cohort that included 1736 COVID-19 confirmed subjects living in Córdoba.

Impact of helminthiasis on gestational anemia in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis of more than 19,000 women.

Intestinal helminthiasis are a common public health problem in developed and developing countries. It is thought that they can influence pregnancy by causing gestational anemia. The aim of this study was to determine if there is a relationship between helminth infection and gestational anemia.

The hybrid protein BTH2 suppresses allergic airway inflammation in a murine model of HDM-specific immunotherapy.

Background: Allergen-specific immunotherapy (AIT) is the only disease-modifying treatment approach to change disease-causing allergens. Hypoallergenic derivatives show promise as potential therapeutics, amongst which BTH2 was designed to induce tolerance against Blomia tropicalis allergy. Our aim was to investigate the hypoallergenicity and immunoregulatory activity of BTH2 in vitro and its therapeutic potential in a mouse model of AIT.

Allergological Importance of Invertebrate Glutathione Transferases in Tropical Environments.

Glutathione-S transferases (GSTs) are part of a ubiquitous family of dimeric proteins that participate in detoxification reactions. It has been demonstrated that various GSTs induce allergic reactions in humans: those originating from house dust mites (HDM), cockroaches, and helminths being the best characterized. Evaluation of their allergenic activity suggests that they have a clinical impact.

Structural and allergenic properties of the fatty acid binding protein from shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei.

Background: The shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei is an important source of food allergens but its allergenic repertoire is poorly characterized. Cross-reactivity between crustacean and mites has been reported, with tropomyosin, the most relevant allergen involved. The aim of this study was to investigate the structural and immunological properties of a recombinant Fatty Acid Binding Protein (FABP) family from L.

Iron status in late pregnancy is inversely associated with birth weight in Colombia.

Objective: Gestational anaemia (GA) is common in developing countries. This study assessed the relationship of late GA and negative perinatal outcomes in participants recruited in a reference maternity unit of the Caribbean region of Colombia.

Design: Prospective analytical birth cohort study.