Validation of the STANDARD Q COVID-19 antigen test in Vojvodina, Serbia.

BackgroundSince COVID-19 pandemic is a global crisis, tests with high sensitivity and specificity are crucial for the identification and management of COVID-19 patients. There is an urgent need for low-cost rapid antigen COVID-19 test with a good diagnostic performance. Although various antigen rapid detection tests are widely available, strong evidence of their usefulness in clinical practice are still limited. Therefore, our aim was to evaluate clinical performance of STANDARD Q COVID-19 Ag Test (SD Biosensor, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea).MethodsThe performance of the STANDARD Q COVID-19 Ag Test for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 antigen was evaluated in comparison to RT-qPCR results in 120 symptomatic patients (median age 49, IQR 36-70) who presented to health care facility in Novi Sad, Vojvodina, Serbia.ResultsTwenty five out of 120 samples have been tested positive using STANDARD Q COVID-19 Ag Test, and all of them were also positive on RT-qPCR. Overall, the STANDARD Q COVID-19 Ag Test showed sensitivity of 58.1% (95% CI 42.1-73.0) but it was higher in the early days of disease, when the highest viral loads were detected. During the first five days after the symptom onset, the sensitivity ranged from 66.7% to 100% and the pooled accuracy and Kappa values were high (0.92 and 0.852).ConclusionsA strong agreement between performance of STANDARD Q COVID-19 Ag Test and RT-qPCR was observed during the first five days of illness, suggesting that this rapid antigenic test can be very useful for COVID-19 diagnosis in the early phase of disease

Fever of unknown origin in elderly patients

Introduction. Causes of fever of unknown origin are different. It is considered that it can be caused with over 200 different clinical entities. Aetiological causes differ according to different categories of age. Febricity in the elderly is at most the result of autoimmune processes, malignancies, bacterial infections and vasculitis. Objective. The aim of this study was to determine the most common characteristics of fever, the most common laboratory, bacterial and viral tests and to analyze applied therapy in patients with unknown febrile state, and to affirm final diagnosis in elderly patients, as well as younger than 65 years old, and to define outcome of disease in both groups of patients. Methods. Research comprised 100 patients who had been treated at the Infectious Disease Clinic of the Clinical Centre of Vojvodina in Novi Sad, during a three-year period, and in whom fever of unknown origin had been diagnosed. Patients were divided into two homogenous groups of 50 people. The first one (S) consisted of patients older than 65 years, and the second, control group (K) was constituted of patients younger than the age of 65. All of them were chosen by random sample method. Results. Average results of standard laboratory parameters of infection were obtained, such as erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), fibrinogen, CRP, and especially leukocyte, and those were significantly higher in the group of elderly patients. The cause had not been found in 10% of elderly patient group, and in the younger group, not even in the third of patients. Among known causative agents dominant were infections, usually of respiratory and urinary tract, in both tested groups. Even 28% of the elderly had sepsis, and 10% endocarditis. Malignant diseases were more frequent in group of the elderly patients, and immune i.e. systematic disorders were evenly noticed in both groups of patients. Conclusion. Despite advanced studies in medicine, and existence of modern diagnostic procedures, fever of unknown origin is still today differential diagnostic problem

Epidemics of the central nervous system infections caused by West Nile virus in the territory of the South Bačka District, Vojvodina, Serbia

Background/Aim. West Nile virus (WNV) is a neurotropic RNA virus particle which belongs to the Flaviviridae family, genus Flavivirus. It is sustained in arthropods within the transmission cycle between the mosquitoes and birds. Most commonly (80% of cases) WNV infections are asymptomatic among people. Less than 1% of patients develop neuroinvasive forms of the disease - meningitis, encephalitis, or acute flaccid paralysis. The aim of the research is to determine most common clinical and laboratory manifestations, to emphazise the presence of comorbidities and outcomes of treatment among patients with WNV infection. Methods. This retrospective study, which was conducted in the period from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2013, evaluated 32 patients who were diagnosed with WNV infection based on clinical findings, laboratory, and serological tests. To assess statistical significance we used χ2, and t-test. Results. The study involved 22 (69%) males and 10 (31%) females aged from 31 to 65 years. On admission, there were 16 (50%) febrile individuals, 27 (84.4%) with positive meningeal signs, 17 (53.2%) with pathological neurological signs, and 10 (31.3%) with consciousness disorders. WNV infection was confirmed by the method enzyme linked immuno sorbent assay (ELISA) in all the patients, while Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test was positive in 3 (30%) of the tested patients. Cardiovascular comorbidities dominated in 7 (21.9%) of the cases. Full recovery was accomplished in 87.5 % of the cases. Conclusion. The results of our study show that the absence of meningeal signs and fever on the day 7 of hospital treatment are indicators of good course and prognosis of neuroinvasive forms of WNV infection. Comorbidities do not increase the risk of disease. ELISA test is a sovereign diagnostic method. In most cases, after the administered symptomatic therapy, the complete recovery of patients was achieved. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. TR31084

Autoimmune thyroid diseases in patients with chronic hepatitis C treated by pegylated interferon-alpha and ribavirin: A prospective study

Introduction/Objective. Despite sufficiently explained pathogenesis, today autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITD) are recognized as one of extra-hepatic manifestations of systemic hepatitis C virus infection. The aim of the present study was to determine clinical characteristics and to estimate the success of pegylated interferon-α2a plus ribavirin (pegIFN-α2a + RBV) therapy in patients with AITD as an extrahepatic manifestation of chronic hepatitis C infection (CHC). Methods. This prospective study included 91 CHC patients treated with pegIFN-α2a + RBV from 2010 to 2012 (39 women and 52 men, mean age 41.6 Ѓ} 11.9). The study group (group A) consisted of 31 patients with CHC and AITD. Control group (group B) consisted of 60 patients with CHC without AITD. We analyzed clinical, biochemical, virological, and histopathological markers of CHC, as well as response and side effects of pegIFN-α2a + RBV therapy. Results. There was a statistically significant difference in sex (p = 0.011), age (p = 0.001), AST level (p = 0.013), level of gamma globulins (p < 0.001), level of IgM (p = 0.007), IgG (p < 0.001), in the success of therapy of CHC with pegIFN-α2a + RBV between the groups. Odds ratio (OR) for unfavorable outcome in group A was 4.200 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.545–11.417]. In final multivariate logistic regression analysis in group A, the only factor predicting sustained virological response was patients’ age (OR = 0.781; 95% CI: 0.603–0.959). The main side effects in group A were interferon induced thyroiditis (IIT) (41.9% vs. 3.3%; p < 0.001) and anemia, which was the only reason for dose reduction of ribavirin (29% vs. 6.7%; p = 0.027). Conclusion. Patients with AITD as an extra-hepatic manifestation of CHC achieve poorer virological response and their antiviral therapy is inevitably followed by a manifestation of adverse effects, predominantly solvable IITs and anemia

Prediction of brain atrophy using three drug scores in neuroasymptomatic HIV-infected patients with controlled viremia

Background: Despite potent antiretroviral therapy, HIV still causes brain damage. Better penetration into the CNS and efficient elimination of monocyte/macrophages reservoirs are two main characteristics of an antiretroviral drug that could prevent brain damage. The aim of our study was to assess efficacy of three antiretroviral drug scores to predict brain atrophy in HIV-infected patients. Methods: A cross sectional study consisting of 56 HIV-infected patients with controlled viremia, who had no clinically evident neurocognitive impairment. All patients had MRI of the head. A typical T2 transversal slice was analyzed and ventricles–brain ratio (VBr) as an overall brain atrophy index was calculated. Three antiretroviral drug scores were used and correlated with VBr: 2008 and 2010 CNS penetration effectiveness scores (ΣCPE2008 and ΣCPE2010) and the recently established monocyte efficacy (ΣME) score. A p-value <0.05 was considered significant. Results: ΣCPE2010 was significantly associated with VBr in both univariate (r = −0.285, p = 0.033) and multivariate (β = −0.299, p = 0.016) regression models, while ΣCPE2008 was not (r = −0.141, p = 0.300 and β = −0.156, p = 0.214). ΣME was associated with VBr in multivariate model only (r = −0.297, p = 0.111 and β = −0.406, p = 0.029). Age and reported duration of HIV infection were also significant predictors of overall brain atrophy in multivariate regression models. Conclusions: Although based on similar type of research, ΣCPE2010 is a superior drug score compared to ΣCPE2008. ΣME is an efficient drug score in determining brain damage. Both ΣCPE2010 and ΣME scores should be taken into account in preventive strategies of brain atrophy and neurocognitive impairment in HIV-infected patients. Keywords: CPE, Monocyte efficacy score, Brain atrophy, HAART, HI

COVID-19 Breakthrough Infections among Patients Aged &ge;65 Years in Serbia: Morbidity and Mortality Overview

BACKGROUND: Vaccines against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 have shown effectiveness in the prevention of COVID-19. Breakthrough infections occur, and age has been shown to be one of the dominant risk factors for poorer outcome. This research focuses on characteristics of breakthrough infections in older adults. METHODS: This retrospective study was conducted for four months (March&ndash;June 2021) in the autonomous province of Vojvodina in Serbia on 11,372 patients using reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction or antigen-detection rapid diagnostic tests verifying COVID-19 in those aged &ge;65 years. Demographics, comorbidities, disease severity, and final outcomes were evaluated in fully vaccinated compared to unvaccinated individuals. Individuals were divided into younger-old (65&ndash;74 years) and older-old (&ge;75 years) age groups and differences between those groups were further evaluated. Binary logistic regression was performed to identify independent predictors of poor outcome. RESULTS: By the end of the research, 51.3% of the population of APV 65&ndash;74 years, as well as 46.2% of those older than 74 years, were vaccinated. From the acquired sample, 17.4% had breakthrough infection. Asymptomatic forms were higher in both age groups of vaccinated vs. unvaccinated (3.9%&mdash;younger-old, 6.3%&mdash;older-old vs. 2.9%&mdash;younger-old, 3.9%&mdash;older-old). The same results were registered with mild symptoms (82.1%&mdash;younger-old, 68.1%&mdash;older-old vs. 76.3%&mdash;younger-old, 57.5%&mdash;older-old) (p &lt; 0.001). The case fatality ratio of the vaccinated population was smaller than the unvaccinated population in both groups (3.1% vs. 7.9%&mdash;younger-old; 11.4% vs. 22.5%&mdash;older-old) (p &lt; 0.001). The odds ratio for poor outcome in unvaccinated individuals was 2.3 (95% confidence interval, p &lt; 0.001) for the total sample. CONCLUSIONS: An increase in asymptomatic and mild forms, as well as decrease in severe or critical forms and poor outcomes, were noted in the vaccinated population. Choosing to avoid vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 may increase the chance of poor outcome in older individuals

A prominent lactate peak as a potential key magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) feature of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML): Spectrum pattern observed in three patients

Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) is a rare, often fatal, opportunistic infection, associated with demyelinating process. PML is caused by John Cunningham (JC) polyomavirus, and predominantly affects patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection or other immunocompromised patients. The purpose of this study was to determine the role of magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) in establishing the diagnosis of PML. MRS with long and short echo time was performed in two patients with PML associated with HIV infection and in one PML patient associated with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. The most prominent peak on the obtained spectra was for lactate; it showed 2-3 times higher concentration of lactate compared to choline, almost 4-6 times higher lactate concentration compared to creatine, and 4-11 times higher lactate in comparison to N-acetylaspartate concentration. Similar spectrum pattern was observed in all patients. To the best of our knowledge, this is a new finding that might be useful in early diagnosis of PML. Nevertheless, further confirmation of our results is needed, since we analyzed the spectrum pattern only in three patients. Overall, our results could help in early detection of PML, especially in non-HIV patients, and thus prevent the fatal outcome of the disease. MRS could also be useful in detecting “tumefactive” demyelinating lesions in PML patients, associated with immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome, to avoid misdiagnosis of neoplasm