The prevalence of Pfk13 polymorphism in malaria patients treated with artemisinin-based therapy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Artemisinin (ART) combination therapy is the main treatment for malaria. Pfk13 mutations (or K13 mutations, Kelch 13) are associated with ART resistance. This study aims to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of the prevalence of K13 mutations with ART resistance in malaria-endemic countries. An electronic search of studies in 2018 and a manual search in 2020 were performed to identify relevant studies. The risk of bias was assessed using the National Institutes of Health (NIH) quality assessment tool for observational cohort and cross-sectional studies. Data analysis was performed using R 4.1.0. Heterogeneity was estimated using the statistic I2 and Cochran Q test. A total of 170 studies were included in our review. Of these, 55 studies investigated the prevalence of K13 mutations in Southeast Asia. The meta-analysis showed that Southeast Asia had the highest prevalence of K13 mutations, whereas Africa, South America, Oceania, and other Asian countries outside Southeast Asia had a low prevalence of K13 mutations. The C580Y mutation was the most common in Southeast Asia with 35.5% (95%CI: 25.4-46.4%), whereas the dominant mutation in Africa was K189T (22.8%, 95%CI: 7.6-43.2%). This study revealed the emergence of ART resistance associated with K13 mutations in Southeast Asia. The diversity of each type of K13 mutation in other regions was also reported.

Assessing serum C-reactive protein as a predictor of COVID-19 outcomes: a retrospective cross-sectional study.

Despite being very infectious and fatal, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lacks a reliable and practical biomarker to assess how serious it will be. Aim: The current study aims to conclude the possibility of C-reactive protein (CRP) level serving as a biomarker for early prediction of COVID-19 infections. Methods: In this retrospective cross-sectional study, 88 people participated who were infected with COVID-19, aged from 25 to 79 years old. Compare the CRP test range of all samples from patients who visited the hospital between January and April 2022. Results: All participants were confirmed to have COVID-19 through nasopharyngeal swab analysis and real-time polymerase chain reaction real-time polymerase chain reaction testing. Results showed that the majority of infected individuals had elevated CRP levels. A P-value of less than 0.05 indicated a significant difference in CRP levels between alive and dead patients. No significant difference in CRP levels was found between male and female patients. The average CRP level of deceased patients was 137.79 mg/l, while the average CRP level of survivors was 14.37 mg/l. The median interquartile range of deceased patients was also found to be significantly higher compared to survivors. Conclusion: In conclusion, serum CRP levels potentially predict the severity and development of sickness in patients with COVID-19 infections.

Abdominal pain from ingested bone misdiagnosed as appendicitis: Report of a rare case and literature review.

Bones are potential foreign bodies that could be accidentally ingested, leading to several symptoms varying from asymptomatic to perforation of the gastrointestinal tract. However, these cases are rare but may be misdiagnosed with other common diseases such as appendicitis. We present in this case a 25-year-old male who presented with appendicitis symptoms, after appendectomy the patient had the same complaint, But the colonoscopy demonstrated a meat bone in the terminal ileum and was removed with the same device. Finally, he was discharged from the hospital without complications and after decreasing abdominal pain. According to the literature review, this is one of the rare cases of using colonoscopy to treat bone impaction non-operatively.