Efficacy and Safety of Azithromycin for the Treatment of COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The lack of effective medications for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has led to a trend of drug repurposing such as the case of azithromycin which shows immunomodulatory and anti-viral effect. Several clinical trials have shown conflicting results. It is currently unclear whether the available evidence is in favor or against the use of azithromycin in COVID-19 patients. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of azithromycin in COVID-19 patients. METHODS: Four independent reviewers selected relevant studies from PubMed, ScienceDirect, EBSCO, and ProQuest published prior to March 2021. The protocol used in this study has been registered in PROSPERO (CRD42020224967). RESULTS: We included 17 studies and found that the mortality rate (odds ratio [OR], 0.95; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.76-1.19), need of respiratory support (OR, 1.30; 95% CI, 0.98-1.73), hospitalization rate (standardized mean difference, 0.12; 95% CI, -0.02 to 0.27), and intensive care unit transfer (OR, 1.21; 95% CI, 0.79-1.86) of azithromycin-treated group did not differ significantly (p>0.05) from those of the control group. Azithromycin treatment did not significantly increase the risk of getting secondary infection (OR, 1.23; 95% CI, 0.83-1.82), hypoglycemia (OR, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.38-1.40), gastrointestinal problems (OR, 1.03; 95% CI, 0.73-1.45) or electrocardiogram abnormalities (OR, 1.16; 95% CI, 0.94-1.42). The overall quality of evidence ranged from low to very low. CONCLUSION: Azithromycin did not result in a superior clinical improvement in COVID-19 patients, although it was well-tolerated and safe to use.

Late Diagnosis of Congenital Hypothyroidism in Young Adult.

Congenital hypothyroidism is the most treatable cause of mental retardation. It is also the most prevalent congenital endocrine disorder in childhood. A dramatic improvement can be made by early detection, diagnosis, and adequate treatment of levothyroxine in patients with congenital hypothyroidism. Severe cognitive impairment is associated with persistent disease in patients who have delayed or no treatment at all. In a modern era with complete healthcare facilities in a big city like Jakarta, the prevalence late-diagnosed congenital hypothyroidism is supposed to be very low. Since many districts have their own public healthcare facilities to screen and diagnose congenital hypothyroidism in children at very young age, a delayed diagnosis in adulthood is actually a rare case.In this medical illustration, we report a case of 21 year-old woman who came to our hospital with abdominal pain. She had mental retardation with no capability to communicate well with other person. She had a short stature (her height was less than 1 meter). She also had mongoloid face with big lips and a very big tongue. There was no goiter or lump on her neck. Her motoric performance was very weak and frail. During abdominal examination, we could see an umbilical bulging on her abdominal wall and on palpation, we could feel an umbilical hernia. By abdominal ultrasound, we could see the umbilical hernia. Unfortunately, no diagnosis of congenital hypothyroidism had been made when she was a newborn, there was also no past or known history of thyroid disease of her and her family. She had a diagnosis of mental retardation with no specific etiology since she was 5-years old. Based on the results of her laboratory examination, we had a confirmed diagnosis of primary hypothyroidism with T4 10.56 nmol/L (normal 60-120 nmol/L) and TSH > 100 mIU/mL. We provided her treatment using levothyroxine based on her body weight (25 mg daily). We arranged her to have abdominal CT Scan and digestive surgery as further management for her umbilical herniation.Some defects are correlated with congenital hypothyroidism when the disease is not treated properly and adequately. Neurocognitive, neuromotoric, growth, and development are some areas which can be disrupted by long-term hypothyroidism condition for patients who had the disease since their early years of life. Congenital hypothyroidism appears to be associated with an increased risk of congenital malformations. Several congenital malformations associated with congenital hypothyrodism are umbilical hernia, congenital heart disease, neurologic abnormalities, genitourinary malformations, cleft palate, and Down's syndrome.Studies concluded that severity of the congenital hypothyroidism has more important role than timing of treatment initiation on long-term cognitive and motor outcomes. Detrimental effects on developmental outcomes in congenital hypothyroidism patients may persist over time; however, early treatment for patients at  very early ages may bring the best cognitive outcomes and neuromotoric development.Regardless of the treatment options, we can say that it is a loss case and a very late diagnosis and treatment of congenital hypothyroidism. The unusual age of detection, delayed diagnosis and treatment are some reminders for primary care physicians in our society to pay greater attention to screening programs.6 Early detection and prompt treatment is an essential part of measures to reduce burden of mental retardation in our society. Delayed diagnosis of congenital hypothyroidism case, which is diagnosed at adulthood, indicates failure in screening program. Early diagnosis and treatment are necessary to prevent long-term catastrophic effects. This a wake-up call of attention and awareness for general public and primary care physicians in our country.

Parathyroid Adenoma in a Young Female Presenting Multiple Fractures and Postoperative Hungry Bone Syndrome.

A young 18-year-old female patient with general bone pain and history of multiple fractures brought her to our medical attention. Laboratory work showed hypercalcemia and high parathyroid hormone levels in the blood. Radiograph imaging revealed severe scoliosis with multiple vertebrae fractures with decreased bone mineral density. Sestamibi showed parathyroid adenoma. This case emphasizes the importance of maintaining a primary hyperparathyroidism as a differential diagnosis when a young patient presents with a multiple pathologic fractures history.

Improvement of Metabolic Parameters Resulted from Levothyroxine Therapy in Hypothyroid Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patient.

This is a case of 51 year-old woman with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes mellitus which was diagnosed 1.5 year earlier, obesity with body mass index 32.2 kg/m2, waist circumference of 113 cm, diffuse goiter with neck circumference 40 cm, and hypertension with blood pressure >140/90 mmHg. Since 6 months ago, she often seemed like having less concentration or daydreaming, chronic fatigue, depression, and low food intake. Her body weight had been increasing over time. Her hypothyroidism clinical scoring Billewicz and Zulewski criterias were 17 and 8 respectively, showing that she tended to experience hypothyroidism. From laboratory examination, fasting blood glucose was 216 mg/dL and 2-hour postprandial blood glucose was 320 mg/dL with level of HbA1c was 9.9%, triglyceride level was 486 mg/dL, HDL cholesterol 46 mg/dL, LDL cholesterol 157 mg/dL, and total cholesterol was 269 mg/dL. Thyroid ultrasound showed a diffuse goiter in both lobes of her thyroid gland.

Managing Hypertriglyceridemia in Daily Practice.

Hypertriglyceridemia is a form of dyslipidemia, which usually occurs in combination with hypercholesterolemia, high-LDL or low-HDL cholesterol level. Most studies suggest that hypertriglyceridemia is associated with many metabolic disorders such as metabolic syndrome, diabetes, obesity, and also cardio-cerebrovascular diseases. Treatment of hypertriglyceridemia is often not comprehensively addressed by many physicians, who usually only include prescribing drugs without encouraging patients to perform physical activity, to take a true healthy diet for dyslipidemia and to stop smoking. This review article discusses evaluation, diagnosis and a comprehensive, yet simple management of hypertriglyceridemia, which can be easily applied in daily clinical practice.

Recurrent Bilateral Staghorn Stones as a Manifestation of Primary Hyperparathyroidism due to Parathyroid Adenoma.

Primary hyperparathyroidism is a medical condition caused by overactive of parathyroid gland. It is most commonly caused by solitary adenoma of the parathyroid gland. Other causes of this condition are hyperplasia, multiple adenomas, and parathyroid cancer. Primary hyperparathyroidism has some metabolic consequences in the calcium metabolism. Hypercalcemia in patient with primary hyperparathyroidism will resulted to the most important comorbidity that is chronic deposition of calcium in the kidney forming nephrolithiasis or other urolithiasis. It is not uncommon, patient with parathyroid adenoma come to health care professionals with the chief complain of recurrence nephrolithiasis.

Science and the art of case reporting in medicine.

The case report is one type of article published in medical journals. Not all case reports can be published. Case reports worth publishing are case reports that have good teaching points and good clinical messages. Writing case reports need academic and clinical skills, along with a taste of art to interest readers to read and study about the case we report. Case reports are expected to be a good tool to all clinicians to build their clinical reasoning and sharpen their clinical instincts.

Prevalence and predictors of undiagnosed diabetes mellitus in Indonesia.

AIM: To find the prevalence and prediction factors of undiagnosed diabetes mellitus in an Indonesian adult population. By recognizing the prediction factors, we can make epidemiological modeling and scoring system of undiagnosed diabetes mellitus in Indonesia which can be used as a screening tool in primary health care and health care with minimal diagnostic facility. METHODS: Cross-sectional design was conducted on subjects from National Health Survey, Ministry of Health Republic of Indonesia 2007. Research population was upper than 18th years old. Diabetes mellitus was diagnosed by oral glucose tolerance test based on WHO 1999 standard which has been adapted by Indonesian Society for Endocrinologist. Subjects were categorized undiagnosed if they were newly diagnosed from the survey. RESULTS: From 24417 subjects who undergo oral glucose tolerance test, we choose 20249 subjects who have complete data on important variables. After eliminating subjects bellow 18 years old, we have 18956 subjects included in the study. Prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes mellitus is 4.1% from total 5.6% of diabetic population in Indonesia. Subjects are included in the analysis is undiagnosed diabetes mellitus subjects (778 subjects) and subjects with normal blood glucose or non-diabetes (16011 subjects). From bivariate analysis, variables age, sex, social economic status, education level, obesity, central obesity, hypertension, physical inactivity, and smoking habit have significant association with undiagnosed diabetes mellitus (p < 0.05). From multivariate analysis, we found prediction factors of undiagnosed diabetes mellitus are age, obesity, central obesity, hypertension, and smoking habit. CONCLUSION: Prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes mellitus is 4.1%. Prediction factors of undiagnosed diabetes mellitus in Indonesia are age, obesity, central obesity, hypertension, and smoking habit.