The prevalence of side-effects: ciprofloxacin 500 mg single dose prophylaxis against Neisseria meningitidis outbreak in Potchefstroom during July 2003: research

Potchefstroom experienced an outbreak of Neisseria meningitidis (N. meningitidis) during May-July 2003. An opportunity for obtaining valuable data arose when mass prophylactic treatment to approximately 28% of the Potchefstroom community was provided by the Department of Health, North-West Province. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of side-effects experienced by staff and students of the Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education (PU for CHE) who received a single prophylactic dose of oral ciprofloxacin 500 mg between 23 and 29 July 2003. Information gained from the Potchefstroom outbreak may be valuable for the future management of similar outbreaks in other communities. Various stakeholders have published related reports, protocols, recommendations and guidelines, which mostly focused on the prevention, management and control of meningococcal disease. Very little has been reported about the side-effects experienced, especially in cases where ciprofloxacin 500 mg single dose had been dispensed. One or more side-effects were reported by 24.2% of the participants, while 5.4% had to consult with a health care worker due to the severity of side-effects resulting from a single dose. Practical significance could not be demonstrated for any of the side-effects reported after single versus multiple doses nor when the effects of gender or requirement for medical consultation were tested. Key Words: Neisseria meningitidis; Ciprofloxacin; Single dose; Side effects; Prophylactic OPSOMMING ‘n Uitbraak van Neisseria meningitidis (N. meningitidis) gedurende Mei-Julie 2003 en die daaropvolgende verskaffing van massa-profilakse deur die Departement van Gesondheid, Noordwesprovinsie aan ongeveer 28% van die plaaslike gemeenskap het ‘n geleentheid geskep om waardevolle inligting in te win. Die doel van die studie was om die voorkoms van newe-effekte te ondersoek wat deur die personeel en studente van die Potchefstroomse Universiteit vir Christelike Hoër Onderwys ervaar is na toediening van ‘n enkel profilaktiese dosis van siprofloksasien 500 mg tussen 23-29 Julie 2003. Inligting wat hieruit voortspruit mag waardevol wees tydens toekomstige bestuur van uitbrake in ander gemeenskappe. Verskillende belanghebbendes het verslae, protokolle, aanbevelings en riglyne gepubliseer, wat meestal op die voorkoming, bestuur en beheer van meningokokkale siekte gefokus het. Daar is egter min gerapporteer oor die newe-effekte wat ondervind is veral waar siprofloksasien 500mg enkeldosis toegedien is. Een of meer newe-effekte is deur 24.2% van die deelnemers ervaar en 5.4% het dit nodig geag om ‘n gesondheidswerker te konsulteer in verband met die newe-effekte wat ervaar is. Geen prakties betekenisvolle verskille is aangedui indien die effeksgrootte bereken is vir die newe-effekte getoets tussen die enkeldosis versus die meervoudige dosis nie, selfs ook nie nadat die effek van geslag of konsultasie getoets is nie. Health SA Gesondheid Vol.9(3) 2004: 42-5

Efficacy of Multi-Component Exercise-Based Injury Prevention Programs on Injury Risk Among Footballers of All Age Groups: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Background Playing football is associated with a high risk of injury. Injury prevention is a priority as injuries not only negatively impact health but also potentially performance. Various multi-component exercise-based injury prevention programs for football players have been examined in studies. Objective We aimed to investigate the efcacy of multi-component exercise-based injury prevention programs among footballers of all age groups in comparison to a control group. Methods We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized and cluster-randomized controlled trials. CINAHL, Cochrane, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were searched from inception to June 2022. The following inclusion criteria were used for studies to determine their eligibility: they (1) include football (soccer) players; (2) investigate the preventive efect of multi-component exercise-based injury prevention programs in football; (3) contain original data from a randomized or cluster-randomized trial; and (4) investigate football injuries as the outcome. The risk of bias and quality of evidence were assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool and the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE), respectively. The outcome measures were the risk ratio (RR) between the intervention and the control group for the overall number of injuries and body region-specifc, contact, and non-contact injuries sustained during the study period in training and match play. Results Fifteen randomized and cluster-randomized controlled trials with 22,177 players, 5080 injuries, and 1,587,327 exposure hours fulflled the inclusion criteria and reported the required outcome measures. The point estimate (RR) for the overall number of injuries was 0.71 (95% confdence interval [CI] 0.59–0.85; 95% prediction interval [PI] 0.38–1.32) with very low-quality evidence. The point estimate (RR) for lower limb injuries was 0.82 (95% CI 0.71–0.94; 95% PI 0.58–1.15) with moderate-quality evidence; for hip/groin injuries, the RR was 0.56 (95% CI 0.30–1.05; 95% PI 0.00–102.92) with lowquality evidence; for knee injuries, the RR was 0.69 (95% CI 0.52–0.90; 95% PI 0.31–1.50) with low-quality evidence; for ankle injuries, the RR was 0.73 (95% CI 0.55–0.96; 95% PI 0.36–1.46) with moderate-quality evidence; and for hamstring injuries, the RR was 0.83 (95% CI 0.50–1.37) with low-quality evidence. The point estimate (RR) for contact injuries was 0.70 (95% CI 0.56–0.88; 95% PI 0.40–1.24) with moderate-quality evidence, while for non-contact injuries, the RR was 0.78 (95% CI 0.55–1.10; 95% PI 0.25–2.47) with low-quality evidence. Conclusions This systematic review and meta-analysis indicated that the treatment efect associated with the use of multicomponent exercise-based injury prevention programs in football is uncertain and inconclusive. In addition, the majority of the results are based on low-quality evidence. Therefore, future high-quality trials are needed to provide more reliable evidence. Clinical Trial Registration PROSPERO CRD42020221772

Potential alternative treatment approach for pediatric patient with diffusely infiltrative primary rhabdomyosarcoma of the liver

Primary hepatic rhabdomyosarcoma is rare, making decisions regarding locoregional management with resection and/or conventional radiation difficult. We present a novel treatment approach for a pediatric patient diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma diffusely involving the liver. This patient underwent treatment with yttrium-90 (Y-90) microspheres followed by external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) to residual disease, interdigitated with systemic chemotherapy. Initial post-radiation imaging showed significant response to treatment, and she experienced minimal acute toxicities and no long-term toxicities. She developed recurrent PET-avid disease 23 months after Y-90 treatment, necessitating further local and continued systemic therapies. We report on the tumor control following Y-90 and EBRT treatment

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Pediatric Hospitalizations Associated with 2009 Pandemic Influenza A (H1N1) in Argentina

Fil: Libster, Romina. Fundación Infant, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires; Argentina.Fil: Bugna, Jimena. Fundación Infant, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires; Argentina.Fil: Coviello, Silvina. Fundación Infant, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires; Argentina.Fil: Hijano, Diego R. Hospital De Niños Sor María Ludovica, La Plata; Argentina.Fil: Dunaiewsky, Mariana. Hospital General de Niños Pedro de Elizalde, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires; Argentina.Fil: Reynoso, Natalia. Hospital Municipal Materno Infantil de San Isidro; Argentina.Fil: Cavalieri, Maria L. Hospital Eva Perón, Benito Juárez, Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Guglielmo, Maria C. Hospital General de Niños Pedro de Elizalde, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires; Argentina.Fil: Areso, M. Soledad. Hospital Eva Perón, Benito Juárez, Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Gilligan, Tomas. Hospital General de Agudos Carlos G. Durand, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires; Argentina.Fil: Santucho, Fernanda. Hospital General de Agudos Carlos G. Durand, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires; Argentina.Fil: Cabral, Graciela. Hospital Nacional Profesor Alejandro Posadas, El Palomar, Buenos Aires; Argentina.Fil: Gregorio, Gabriela L. Hospital Nacional Profesor Alejandro Posadas, El Palomar, Buenos Aires; Argentina.Fil: Moreno, Rina. Hospital Nacional Profesor Alejandro Posadas, El Palomar, Buenos Aires; Argentina.Fil: Lutz, Maria I. Hospital Nacional Profesor Alejandro Posadas, El Palomar, Buenos Aires; Argentina.Fil: Panigasi, Alicia L. Hospital Nacional Profesor Alejandro Posadas, El Palomar, Buenos Aires; Argentina.Fil: Saligari, Liliana. Hospital Nacional Profesor Alejandro Posadas, El Palomar, Buenos Aires; Argentina.Fil: Caballero, Mauricio T. Hospital De Niños Sor María Ludovica, La Plata; Argentina.Fil: Egües Almeida, Rodrigo M. Hospital De Niños Sor María Ludovica, La Plata; Argentina.Fil: Gutierrez Meyer, Maria E. Hospital De Niños Sor María Ludovica, La Plata; Argentina.Fil: Neder, Maria D. Hospital General de Niños Pedro de Elizalde, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires; Argentina.Fil: Davenport, Maria C. Hospital General de Niños Pedro de Elizalde, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires; Argentina.Fil: Del Valle, Maria P. Hospital General de Niños Pedro de Elizalde, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires; Argentina.Fil: Santidrian, Valeria S. Hospital General de Niños Pedro de Elizalde, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires; Argentina.Fil: Mosca, Guillermina. Ministerio de Ciencia, Técnica e Innovación. Fundación Infant, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires; Argentina.Fil: Alvarez, Liliana. Hospital General de Agudos Carlos G. Durand, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires; Argentina.Fil: Landa, Patricia. Hospital General de Agudos Carlos G. Durand, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires; Argentina.Fil: Pota, Ana. Hospital General de Agudos Carlos G. Durand, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires; Argentina.Fil: Boloñati, Norma. Hospital General de Agudos Carlos G. Durand, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires; Argentina.Fil: Dalamon, Ricardo. Hospital General de Agudos Carlos G. Durand, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires; Argentina.Fil: Sanchez Mercol, Victoria I. Hospital Eva Perón, Benito Juárez, Buenos Aires; Argentina.Fil: Espinoza, Marco. Fundación Infant, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires; Argentina.Fil: Peuchot, Juan Carlos. Hospital Eva Perón, Benito Juárez, Buenos Aires; Argentina.Fil: Karolinski, Ariel. Hospital General de Agudos Carlos G. Durand, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires; Argentina.Fil: Bruno, Miriam. Hospital General de Agudos Carlos G. Durand, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires; Argentina.Fil: Borsa, Ana. Hospital General de Niños Pedro de Elizalde, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires; Argentina.Fil: Ferrero, Fernando. Hospital General de Niños Pedro de Elizalde, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires; Argentina.Fil: Bonina, Angel. Hospital De Niños Sor María Ludovica, La Plata; Argentina.Fil: Ramonet, Margarita. Hospital Nacional Profesor Alejandro Posadas, El Palomar, Buenos Aires; Argentina.Fil: Albano, Lidia C. Hospital Nacional Profesor Alejandro Posadas, El Palomar, Buenos Aires; Argentina.Fil: Luedicke, Nora. Ministerio de Ciencia, Técnica e Innovación. Fundación Infant, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires; Argentina.Fil: Alterman, Elias. Fundación Infant, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires; Argentina.Fil: Savy, Vilma L. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto de Enfermedades Infecciosas; Argentina.Fil: Baumeister, Elsa. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas. Departamento de Virología. Servicio de Virosis Respiratoria; Argentina.Fil: Chappell, James D. Vanderbilt University. Pathology, Nashville, Tennessee; Estados Unidos.Fil: Edwards, Kathryn M. Vanderbilt University. Departments of Pediatrics, Nashville, Tennessee; Estados Unidos.Fil: Melendi, Guillermina A. Vanderbilt University. Departments of Pediatrics, Nashville, Tennessee; Estados Unidos.Fil: Polack, Fernando P. Vanderbilt University. Departments of Pediatrics, Nashville, Tennessee; Estados Unidos.Background: While the Northern Hemisphere experiences the effects of the 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) virus, data from the recent influenza season in the Southern Hemisphere can provide important information on the burden of disease in children. Methods: We conducted a retrospective case series involving children with acute infection of the lower respiratory tract or fever in whom 2009 H1N1 influenza was diagnosed on reverse-transcriptase polymerase-chain-reaction assay and who were admitted to one of six pediatric hospitals serving a catchment area of 1.2 million children. We compared rates of admission and death with those among age-matched children who had been infected with seasonal influenza strains in previous years. Results: Between May and July 2009, a total of 251 children were hospitalized with 2009 H1N1 influenza. Rates of hospitalization were double those for seasonal influenza in 2008. Of the children who were hospitalized, 47 (19%) were admitted to an intensive care unit, 42 (17%) required mechanical ventilation, and 13 (5%) died. The overall rate of death was 1.1 per 100,000 children, as compared with 0.1 per 100,000 children for seasonal influenza in 2007. (No pediatric deaths associated with seasonal influenza were reported in 2008.) Most deaths were caused by refractory hypoxemia in infants under 1 year of age (death rate, 7.6 per 100,000). Conclusions: Pandemic 2009 H1N1 influenza was associated with pediatric death rates that were 10 times the rates for seasonal influenza in previous years

The prevalence of side-effects: Ciprofloxacin 500 mg single dose prophylaxis against Neisseria Meningitidis outbreak in Potchefstroom during July 2003

Potchefstroom experienced an outbreak of Neisseria meningitidis (N. meningitidis) during May-July 2003. An opportunity for obtaining valuable data arose when mass prophylactic treatment to approximately 28% of the Potchefstroom community was provided by the Department of Health, North-West Province. Opsomming ‘n Uitbraak van Neisseria meningitidis (N. meningitidis) gedurende Mei-Julie 2003 en die daaropvolgende verskaffing van massa-profilakse deur die Departement van Gesondheid, Noordwesprovinsie aan ongeveer 28% van die plaaslike gemeenskap het ‘n geleentheid geskep om waardevolle inligting in te win. *Please note: This is a reduced version of the abstract. Please refer to PDF for full text

Efficacy of a new injury prevention programme (FUNBALL) in young male football (soccer) players: a cluster-randomised controlled trial

Objectives To evaluate the efficacy of a new multicomponent, exercise-based injury prevention programme in football players 13–19 years old. Methods Two-arm cluster-randomised controlled trial with clubs as the unit of randomisation. 55 football teams from Kosovo of the under 15, under 17 and under 19 age groups were randomly assigned to the intervention (INT; 28 teams) or the control group (CON; 27 teams) and were followed for one football season (August 2021–May 2022). The INT group performed the ’FUNBALL’ programme after their usual warm-up at least twice per week, while the CON group followed their usual training routine. The primary outcome measure was the overall number of football-related injuries. Secondary outcomes were region-specific injuries of the lower limbs (hip/groin, thigh, knee, lower leg, ankle and foot) and injury severity. Results 319 injuries occurred, 132 in the INT and 187 in the CON group. The INT group used the ’FUNBALL’ programme in 72.2% of all training sessions, on average 2.2 times per week. There was a significantly lower incidence in the INT group regarding the overall number of injuries (incidence rate ratio (IRR) 0.69, 95%CI 0.55 to 0.87), the number of thigh injuries (IRR 0.62, 95%CI 0.39 to 0.98), of moderate (time loss between 7 and 28 days) (IRR 0.65, 95%CI 0.44 to 0.97) and of severe injuries (time loss >28 days) (IRR 0.51, 95%CI 0.28 to 0.91). Conclusion The ’FUNBALL’ programme reduced the incidence of football-related injuries among male adolescent football players, and its regular use for injury prevention in this population is recommended. Trial registration number NCT05137015