Corticosteroids for COVID-19 symptoms and quality of life at 1 year from admission.

The long-term evolution of COVID-19 is unknown, making it necessary to study the persistence of symptoms over time and their impact on quality of life in people who have had the disease. We analyzed these aspects 1 year after admission for COVID-19 and explored the influence of treatment with systemic corticosteroids during the acute phase of the illness. This observational cohort study took place in a tertiary hospital in March and April 2021 and included people admitted due to infection with SARS-CoV-2 in March, April, or May 2020. We excluded patients who had died, were unreachable or had substantial cognitive impairment. A telephone survey was undertaken to assess the presence of symptoms related to COVID-19 and to administer the SF-36 quality of life questionnaire. Other variables collected were demographic and clinical data along with the treatment received and the evolution over time. We analyzed 76 patients, including 44 who did not receive corticosteroids and 32 who did. Most symptoms were less frequent in the group that received corticosteroids, with statistically significant differences for headache, dysphagia, chest pain, and depression. These patients also showed significantly better outcomes in the SF-36 domains for "bodily pain" and "mental health." Corticosteroids administered in the acute phase of COVID-19 could attenuate the presence of long-term symptoms and improve patients' quality of life.

Tinea nigra palmaris: a clinical case in a rural Ethiopian hospital.

Tinea nigra is an infrequent, superficial fungal infection, mainly caused by Hortaea werneckii, which is still underreported in Ethiopia. An asymptomatic 62-year-old male patient sought a rural hospital of Ethiopia, showing dark plaques on the palms of both hands. A superficial mycosis was suspected and a direct light microscopic mycological examination from skin scrapings revealed short brownish hyphae. To our knowledge, this is the first case of tinea nigra from the Ethiopian highlands. This may be due to the actual rarity of the condition or to underreporting.

Quality of malaria diagnosis and molecular confirmation of Plasmodium ovale curtisi in a rural area of the southeastern region of Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Approximately 50 million people (60 %) live in malaria risk areas in Ethiopia, at altitudes below 2000 m. According to official data, 60-70 % of malaria cases are due to Plasmodium falciparum, and 40-30 % by Plasmodium vivax. The species Plasmodium ovale was detected in 2013 in the northwest of the country, being the first report of the presence of this species in Ethiopia since the 60 s. The aim of this study was to assess the diagnosis by microscopy and PCR, and demonstrate the presence of other Plasmodium species in the country. METHODS: The survey was conducted in Bulbula, situated in the Rift Valley (West Arsi Province, Oromia Region). From December 2010 to October 2011, 3060 samples were collected from patients with symptoms of malaria; the diagnosis of malaria was done by microscopy and confirmation by PCR. RESULTS: 736 samples were positive for malaria by microscopy. After removing the 260 samples (109 positives and 151 negatives) for which it was not possible to do PCR, there were a total of 2800 samples, 1209 are used for its confirmation by PCR and quality control (627 are positives and 582 negatives by microscopy). From the 627 positive samples, 604 were confirmed as positive by PCR, 23 false positives were detected, and the group of 582 negative samples, 184 were positive by PCR (false negatives), which added to the previous positive samples is a total of 788, positive samples for some species of Plasmodium sp. 13.3 % more positives were detected with the PCR than the microscopy. Importantly, 23 samples were detected by PCR as P. ovale, after the sequencing of these samples was determined as P. ovale curtisi. CONCLUSIONS: The PCR detected more positive samples than the microscopy; in addition, P. ovale and P. ovale/P. vivax were detected that had not been detected by microscopy, which can affect in the infection control.

The use of steroids to prevent cutaneous reactions to benznidazole in patients with Chagas disease.

The treatment of Chagas disease is limited by the frequent cutaneous side effects of benznidazole. We tested the use of steroids plus escalating doses of benznidazole to prevent this complication in 17 adult patients with chronic Trypanosoma cruzi infection and found extremely good tolerance. A randomized trial is warranted.