Cutaneous Lagenidium deciduum infection in a patient with relapsed acute myeloid leukemia.

BACKGROUND: Lagenidium deciduum is an oomycete that can cause infections in mammals that present similarly to pythiosis and mucormycosis. Most of the existing case reports have occurred in canines and have been fatal. In animals, medical therapy has not been successful, so surgical excision is the mainstay of treatment. Lagenidium sp. infections in humans are rare. There is only one case of a human Lagenidium sp. infection in the literature, and it presented as an ocular infection. The human ocular infection was resistant to medical therapy and required a penetrating keratoplasty for cure. Additional reports of effective therapy are needed to guide management of this emerging pathogen. We present the first case of a cutaneous Lagenidium deciduum infection in a human patient, which is also the first documented case of a Lagenidium deciduum infection in an immunocompromised host of any species. CASE PRESENTATION: An 18-year-old female with relapsed acute myeloid leukemia, awaiting a haploidentical stem cell transplant, presented with erythematous cutaneous lesions on her left hip and bilateral buttocks that enlarged and blackened over several days. About 1 week later, boil-like lesions appeared on her bilateral buttocks. The skin lesions were initially presumed to be bacterial in origin, so the patient was treated with clindamycin and cefepime with little improvement. Upon further investigation, fungal cultures and skin biopsies revealed aseptate hyphae, so the patient was switched to isavuconazole and amphotericin B due to concern for mucormycosis. Phenotypic characterization and DNA sequencing were performed by the Fungus Testing Laboratory, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, which identified the causal fungal organism as Lagenidium deciduum. All of her cutaneous lesions were surgically excised, and the patient was treated with micafungin, terbinafine, doxycycline, and azithromycin. Micafungin and terbinafine were continued until she achieved engraftment post-transplant. CONCLUSIONS: We report the first successful treatment of a human Lagenidium infection in an immunocompromised host through a combination of aggressive surgical excision and prolonged antifungal therapy during the prolonged neutropenia associated with allogeneic stem cell transplant. Prompt diagnosis and management may prevent disseminated oomycosis.

Mycobacterium interjectum causing submandibular lymphadenitis in a child.

Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) commonly manifest as cervical lymphadenitis in immunocompetent children. Only a few species, such as Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC), cause infection in children. With recent advances in gene sequencing, Mycobacterium interjectum has been identified as a rare cause of adenitis in children, with at least ten cases reported since 1993. Curative treatment for NTM lymphadenitis, particularly when caused by MAC, usually involves complete surgical excision of the affected lymph nodes. This case report highlights successful treatment of submandibular lymphadenitis caused by M. interjectum in a paediatric patient, despite multi-drug resistance in vitro.

Impact of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Variants on Short- and Mid-term Cardiac Outcomes in Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children.

Cardiac outcomes of 131 children with multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C) were examined. The majority of the cohort was male (66.4%) and half were Black (49.6%). Cardiac involvement was evident in 25% of the cohort at diagnosis. Favorable short- and mid-term outcomes were documented on follow-up, irrespective of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 variants causing the infection.

SARS-CoV-2 infection in hospitalized children with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

CONTEXT: While diabetes is a risk factor for severe illness from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in adults, there is conflicting data surrounding the relationship between the virus and diabetic disease process in children. OBJECTIVE: This case series aims to illustrate an increase in the incidence of types 1 and 2 diabetes mellitus (T1DM, T2DM) between April - November 2020 at a large tertiary care children's hospital and examine the characteristics and adverse outcomes in these children. In addition, two children with significant complications from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and diabetes are highlighted. METHODS: Hospitalized children with T1DM or T2DM and SARS-CoV-2 infection were identified, and electronic medical records were reviewed. RESULTS: We observed a 16.3% increased rate of new-onset T1DM and 205.3% increased rate of new-onset insulin-dependent T2DM between April and November 2020 when compared to the same observational time frame in 2019. Among children with new-onset T1DM, 56.9% presented with DKA in 2019 and 47.1% in 2018 compared to 64.3% in 2020, which was higher than the national average. Twenty-eight children were diagnosed with COVID-19 and diabetes during this time. The 2 described cases with significant complications from COVID-19 and DKA required large doses of intravenous insulin over a prolonged duration. CONCLUSION: This study highlights that the COVID-19 pandemic might have led to an increased rate of new-onset T1DM, T2DM, and DKA in children and adolescents compared to a similar time frame in the prior 2 years. The clinical phenotypes and outcomes in children with diabetes to COVID-19 infection may be distinct and therefore, future pediatric specific studies are needed to define the role of SARS-CoV-2.

Comparing Nasopharyngeal and Midturbinate Nasal Swab Testing for the Identification of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2.

Testing of paired midturbinate (MT) nasal and nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs, collected by trained personnel from 40 patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), showed that more NP (76/95 [80%]) than MT swabs tested positive (61/95 [64%]) (P = .02). Among samples collected a week after study enrollment, fewer MT than NP samples were positive (45% vs 76%; P = .001).

Severe Neonatal Coronavirus Disease 2019 Presenting as Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome.

Since initial identification of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in 2019, the virus has proved to be highly transmissible, resulting in a global pandemic with emerging reports of infected neonates. This report highlights a severe case of neonatal coronavirus disease 2019 with acute respiratory distress syndrome.