ABSTRACT
Intro: Kodamaea ohmeri, previously known as Pichia ohmeri, is an ascomycetous yeast that has emerged as an important cause of fungemia in immunocompromised patients. During the anamorphic stage this organism is also known as Candida guillermondii var. membranaefaciens. Method(s): We report five cases of Kodamaea ohmeri encountered from multicenter in Malaysia. Antifungal agent of choice will be discussed based on literature review. Finding(s): The cases were: (1) a contaminated peritoneal fluid in an adult patient on peritoneal dialysis;(2) a 60-year-old man with infected diabetic foot isolated K. ohmeri from a bone sample. Both cases discharged well without active antifungal fungal therapy. We observed fatality cases involving (3) an old man with underlying gastric adenocarcinoma who complicated with catheter- related bloodstream infection caused by K. ohmeri;(4) a patient with ventilator- associated pneumonia and septicaemic shock secondary to perforated terminal ileum;(5) and a severely ill COVID-19 stage 5b patient who passed away due to systemic fungaemia caused by K. ohmeri. Discussion(s): All three fatal cases received either amphotericin B or caspofungin as active antifungal agent. Literature evidence has shown that 40% of patient met demise despite on active antifungal agent, suggesting that currently no definitive antifungal agent proven to be a superior treatment option for K. ohmeri infection. Removal of indwelling medical device combined with antifungal therapy has favorable clinical outcome. Conclusion(s): Therefore, K. ohmeri infection in severely ill patients should be considered as a critical condition. Potential of alternative antifungal combinations need to be explored for an effective treatment option.Copyright © 2023
ABSTRACT
Background: The field of teledermatology has expanded tremendously and has been used for conditions including hidradenitis suppurativa (HS). However, due to the sensitive location of lesions, HS may be considered less suitable for teledermatology. Objective: We sought to assess dermatologists' experiences and perceptions toward using teledermatology for HS relative to atopic dermatitis (AD) as a comparison. Methods: A survey was disseminated electronically to practicing dermatologists in the Asia-Pacific region between February and June 2022. Differences in attitudes and perceptions between HS and AD were compared using random-effects ordered logistic regression, controlling for demographics. Results: A total of 100 responses were obtained comprising of 76 (81.7%) dermatologists and 17 (18.3%) dermatology trainees;62.6% (62/98) of physicians were uncomfortable with using teledermatology for HS. Multivariable regression confirmed increased perceived challenges with managing HS using teledermatology compared to AD. These challenges include the need for photography of hard-to-reach or sensitive areas (odds ratio [OR] 4.71, 95% CI 2.44-9.07;P<.001), difficulties in accurate assessment of severity (OR 2.66, 95%CI 1.48-4.79;P=.001), and inability to palpate lesions (OR 2.27, 95% CI 1.23-4.18;P=.009). Conclusions: This study confirms the relative reluctance of dermatologists to use teledermatology for HS and complements existing data showing mixed levels of willingness from patients. The use of teledermatology for HS may need to be optimized to overcome these challenges, including increasing security features, selection of patients with milder or limited diseases, and selecting patients with an established and strong doctor-patient relationship. ©Valencia Long, Ellie Ci-En Choi, Zhaojin Chen, Moonyza Akmal Ahmad Kamil, Murlidhar Rajagopalan, Erin McMeniman, Nisha Suyien Chandran.
ABSTRACT
COVID-19 is an infectious disease that mostly affects the lungs and can be fatal. Early detection and isolation are critical for an infected person's survival and preventing the disease from spreading further. To this end, RT-PCR (reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction) and RDT (Rapid Diagnostic Test) are standard diagnoses. But RT-PCR tests have a time-consuming process, and results can take anywhere from 6 hours to 1 day. However, RDT is fast but has a high false diagnosis rate. To tackle this problem, deep learning-based CT imaging can be used as a complement to the present tests. This study proposes an effective deep learning-based approach for identifying Common Pneumonia and COVID-19 from chest CT imaging. COVID-19, Normal, and Common Pneumonia samples received F1-scores of 0.9, 0.9, and 0.8. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
ABSTRACT
With the development of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen a rise in digitalisation that includes receiving and/or reading information online. There is a wealth of citizen journalism such as letters to editors that are garnering wider readability based on availability of news offered online as well as netizens' independence to search for more credible sources on the web. The present study aims to examine a corpus of Malaysian online letters to editors that reflect public expressions of the second community-wide containment, also known as the Movement Control Order (MCO2.0) in the country. Following the corpus linguistics approach, frequency word lists are firstly extracted from public online letters in a popular national newspaper, which are further investigated in terms of collocational analysis and close inspection of words and phrases that are used in context via concordancing. This analysis is comparable to highlighting any similarities or differences expressed among Malaysians in a previous study conducted during the first MCO. Findings showed that letters during MCO2.0 were more about COVID-19 vaccines compared to the crisis and restricted movements in the first MCO. In-depth speech acts analysis, according to Searle (1979), revealed that discussions related to vaccination are mostly in favour of the government's plan in making vaccines free and accessible regardless of citizenship.