COVID-19 monoclonal antibody treatment impact on symptoms and post-COVID conditions among high-risk patients at a Federally Qualified Health Center.

BACKGROUND: Monoclonal antibody (mAb) treatment for COVID-19 is associated with improved clinical outcomes. However, there is limited information regarding the impact of treatment on symptoms and the prevalence of post-COVID Conditions (PCC). Understanding of the association between time to mAb infusion and the development of PCC is also limited. METHODS: This longitudinal study was conducted among patients with COVID-19 who received mAb infusions at a Federally Qualified Health Center in San Diego, CA. A series of telephone interviews were conducted at baseline and follow-up (14 days and 28+ days). A comprehensive symptom inventory was completed and physical and mental health status were measured using PROMIS-29 and PHQ-2. Pearson's Chi-squared tests and independent two-sample t-tests were performed to test for association between time to mAb infusion and outcomes at follow-up. A Poisson regression model was used to analyze whether time to mAb infusion predicts risk of developing PCC. RESULTS: Participants (N = 411) were 53% female, ranged in age from 16 to 92 years (mean 50), and a majority (56%) were Latino/Hispanic. Cross-sectional findings revealed a high symptom burden at baseline (70% of patients had cough, 50% had fever, and 44% had headache). The prevalence of many symptoms decreased substantially by the final follow-up survey (29% of patients had cough, 3% had fever, and 28% had headache). Longitudinal findings indicated that 10 symptoms decreased in prevalence from baseline to final follow-up, 2 remained the same, and 14 increased. The severity of symptoms and most patient-reported physical and mental health measure scores decreased over time. The prevalence of PCC was 69% when PCC was defined as ≥ 1 symptom at final follow-up. Time to mAb infusion was not significantly associated with any outcome at follow-up. Time to infusion was not associated with PCC status at final follow-up in the crude or adjusted Poisson regression models. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of PCC was high among this patient population following COVID-19 mAb treatment. Time to mAb infusion did not predict the development of PCC. Further research in these areas is essential to answer urgent clinical questions about effective treatments of COVID-19.

Utility of liquid biopsy in diagnosing isolated cerebral phaeohyphomycosis: illustrative case.

BACKGROUND: Cladophialophora bantiana is a dematiaceous, saprophytic fungus and a rare but reported cause of intracranial abscesses due to its strong neurotropism. Although it predominantly affects immunocompetent individuals with environmental exposure, more recently, its significance as a highly lethal opportunistic infection in transplant recipients has been recognized. Successful treatment requires timely but often challenging diagnosis, followed by complete surgical excision. Next-generation sequencing of microbial cell-free DNA (cfDNA) from plasma is a novel diagnostic method with the potential to identify invasive fungal infections more rapidly and less invasively than conventional microbiological testing, including brain biopsy. OBSERVATIONS: The authors described the case of a recipient of a liver transplant who presented with seizures and was found to have innumerable ring-enhancing intracranial lesions. The Karius Test, a commercially available method of next-generation sequencing of cfDNA, was used to determine the causative organism. Samples from the patient's plasma identified C. bantiana 6 days before culture results of the surgical specimen, allowing optimization of the empirical antifungal regimen, which led to a reduction in the size of the abscesses. LESSONS: The authors' findings suggest that microbial cfDNA sequencing may be particularly impactful in improving the management of brain abscesses in which the differential diagnosis is wide because of immunosuppression.

Postpartum Fusobacterium gonidiaformans bacteremia.

We present a case of a healthy 29 year-old female with an uneventful vaginal delivery who had transient, sudden onset of rigors and fever 36 hours postpartum. She was found to have Fusobacterium gonidiaformans bacteremia due to retained placental tissue. We report this organism as it is not well-described and rarely reported. It does bear some similarities to other Fusobacterium species that have been reported to cause septicemia in young otherwise healthy patients.

A case of purulent gonococcal arthritis.

We present a case of a generally healthy, immunocompetent, 57 year old male on HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) who developed the sudden onset of right wrist pain and swelling with associated left second finger tenosynovitis, due to a disseminated gonococcal infection (DGI) with purulent arthritis. This case's aim is to demonstrate a well-documented but infrequently seen manifestation of Neisseria gonorrhoeae infection and to highlight the need for awareness of extragenital manifestations of gonococcal infection in the era of HIV PrEP. DGI accounts for less than 3 % of N. gonorrhoeae infections, with purulent arthritis being one presentation. The incidence of N. gonorrhoeae infections has increased in recent years and is high among those taking PrEP. Providers should be aware of the possibility of DGI and N. gonorrhoeae as a potential etiologic agent in septic bacterial arthritis.