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Journal of the American Heart... Mar 2024Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is a devastating yet preventable condition that disproportionately affects low-middle-income countries and indigenous populations in some...
BACKGROUND
Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is a devastating yet preventable condition that disproportionately affects low-middle-income countries and indigenous populations in some high-income countries. Various preventive interventions have been implemented across the globe, but evidence for the effectiveness of these measures in reducing the incidence or prevalence of acute rheumatic fever and RHD is scattered. This systematic review aims to assess the effectiveness of preventive interventions and identify the strategies used to reduce the burden of RHD.
METHODS AND RESULTS
A comprehensive search was conducted to identify relevant studies on RHD prevention interventions including interventions for primordial, primary, and secondary prevention. Effectiveness measures for the interventions were gathered when available. The findings indicate that school-based primary prevention services targeting the early detection and treatment of Group A pharyngitis infection with penicillin have the potential to reduce the incidence of Group A pharyngitis and acute rheumatic fever. Community-based programs using various prevention strategies also reduced the burden of RHD. However, there is limited evidence from low-middle-income countries and a lack of rigorous evaluations reporting the true impact of the interventions. Narrative synthesis was performed, and the methodological quality appraisal was done using the Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tools.
CONCLUSIONS
This systematic review underscores the importance of various preventive interventions in reducing the incidence and burden of Group A pharyngitis, acute rheumatic fever, and RHD. Rigorous evaluations and comprehensive analyses of interventions are necessary for guiding effective strategies and informing public health policies to prevent and reduce the burden of these diseases in diverse populations.
REGISTRATION
URL: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/; Unique identifier: CRD42020170503.
Topics: Humans; Rheumatic Heart Disease; Rheumatic Fever; Streptococcal Infections; Pharyngitis; Risk Factors
PubMed: 38390809
DOI: 10.1161/JAHA.123.032442 -
Anales de Pediatria Mar 2024
Topics: Humans; Streptococcus pyogenes; Streptococcal Infections; Pharyngitis
PubMed: 38388249
DOI: 10.1016/j.anpede.2024.02.006 -
Indian Journal of Dermatology 2023The human monkeypox (mpox) virus is an orthopox virus that can be transmitted to humans. Though the disease has been endemic in Africa, the recent mpox outbreak since... (Review)
Review
The human monkeypox (mpox) virus is an orthopox virus that can be transmitted to humans. Though the disease has been endemic in Africa, the recent mpox outbreak since May 2022. We attempted to examine differences between the endemic form of mpox and the current outbreak. Review of electronic medical database with relevant keywords. The current outbreak of mpox has disproportionately impacted the gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (MSM) community. This is also the first time that widespread semen testing has turned up evidence of mpox viral deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Cases in the present outbreak are more likely to affect adults, involve the genitalia, and have no prodrome. Close diagnostic differentials include varicella and hand-foot-mouth disease. The disease is usually self-limiting; though secondary infections, anorectal pain, pharyngitis, ocular lesions and rarely, renal injury and myocarditis may occur. This review focuses primarily on the novel clinical characteristics and emerging sexual transmission route of the mpox virus, which, although unconfirmed, appears extremely likely as the route of spread. Dermatologists have an important role in this health emergency, as early diagnosis can cause a significant reduction in disease transmission.
PubMed: 38371541
DOI: 10.4103/ijd.ijd_335_23 -
BMJ Case Reports Feb 2024A man in his 40s presented with pharyngeal pain and right cervical lymphadenopathy that persisted for 1 month. His right tonsil was swollen and covered with exudate;...
A man in his 40s presented with pharyngeal pain and right cervical lymphadenopathy that persisted for 1 month. His right tonsil was swollen and covered with exudate; however, a rapid streptococcal antigen test was negative. Rapid plasma reagin and antibody were positive. Gram staining of the pus confirmed the presence of gram-negative corkscrew-like spirochaetes. The patient had unprotected oral intercourse. He did not have any skin lesions. He was diagnosed with primary syphilis and treated with benzathine penicillin G. In adults, the differential diagnosis of tonsillitis should include sexually transmitted diseases. A rapid streptococcal antigen test is not sufficient for such a case; a syphilis test is necessary, and Gram staining, which is rapid and does not need any special equipment, can support the diagnosis.
Topics: Male; Adult; Humans; Treponema pallidum; Syphilis; Penicillin G Benzathine; Tonsillitis; Syphilis Serodiagnosis; Staining and Labeling; Suppuration
PubMed: 38367986
DOI: 10.1136/bcr-2023-258549 -
Medicine Feb 2024Traditional observational and in vivo studies have suggested an etiological link between gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and the development of extraesophageal...
Traditional observational and in vivo studies have suggested an etiological link between gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and the development of extraesophageal diseases (EEDs), such as noncardiac chest pain. However, evidence demonstrating potential causal relationships is lacking. This study evaluated the potential causal relationship between GERD and EEDs, including throat and chest pain, asthma, bronchitis, chronic rhinitis, nasopharyngitis and pharyngitis, gingivitis and periodontal disease, cough, using multiple Mendelian randomization (MR) methods, and sensitivity analysis was performed. The Mendelian randomization Pleiotropy RESidual Sum and Outlier and PhenoScanner tools were used to further check for heterogeneous results and remove outliers. MR with inverse-variance weighted (IVW) showed a significant causal relationship between GERD and EEDs after Bonferroni correction. IVW results indicated that GERD increased the risk of chronic rhinitis, nasopharyngitis and pharyngitis (odds ratio [OR] = 1.482, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.267-1.734, P < .001], gingivitis and periodontal disease (OR = 1.166, 95% CI = 1.046-1.190, P = .001), throat and chest pain (OR = 1.585, 95% CI = 1.455-1.726, P < .001), asthma (OR = 1.539, 95% CI = 1.379-1.717, P < .001), and bronchitis (OR = 1.249, 95% CI = 1.168-1.335, P < .001). Sensitivity analysis did not detect pleiotropy. Leave-one-out analysis shows that MR results were not affected by individual single nucleotide polymorphisms. The funnel plot considers the genetic instrumental variables to be almost symmetrically distributed. This MR supports a causal relationship among GERD and EEDs. Precise moderation based on causality and active promotion of collaboration among multidisciplinary physicians ensure high-quality diagnostic and treatment recommendations and maximize patient benefit.
Topics: Humans; Nasopharyngitis; Mendelian Randomization Analysis; Gastroesophageal Reflux; Pharyngitis; Asthma; Bronchitis; Chest Pain; Gingivitis; Periodontal Diseases; Rhinitis; Genome-Wide Association Study
PubMed: 38363933
DOI: 10.1097/MD.0000000000037054 -
Healthcare Informatics Research Jan 2024Telemedicine is firmly established in the healthcare landscape of many countries. Acute respiratory infections are the most common reason for telemedicine consultations....
OBJECTIVES
Telemedicine is firmly established in the healthcare landscape of many countries. Acute respiratory infections are the most common reason for telemedicine consultations. A throat examination is important for diagnosing bacterial pharyngitis, but this is challenging for doctors during a telemedicine consultation. A solution could be for patients to upload images of their throat to a web application. This study aimed to develop a deep learning model for the automated diagnosis of exudative pharyngitis. Thereafter, the model will be deployed online.
METHODS
We used 343 throat images (139 with exudative pharyngitis and 204 without pharyngitis) in the study. ImageDataGenerator was used to augment the training data. The convolutional neural network models of MobileNetV3, ResNet50, and EfficientNetB0 were implemented to train the dataset, with hyperparameter tuning.
RESULTS
All three models were trained successfully; with successive epochs, the loss and training loss decreased, and accuracy and training accuracy increased. The EfficientNetB0 model achieved the highest accuracy (95.5%), compared to MobileNetV3 (82.1%) and ResNet50 (88.1%). The EfficientNetB0 model also achieved high precision (1.00), recall (0.89) and F1-score (0.94).
CONCLUSIONS
We trained a deep learning model based on EfficientNetB0 that can diagnose exudative pharyngitis. Our model was able to achieve the highest accuracy, at 95.5%, out of all previous studies that used machine learning for the diagnosis of exudative pharyngitis. We have deployed the model on a web application that can be used to augment the doctor's diagnosis of exudative pharyngitis.
PubMed: 38359848
DOI: 10.4258/hir.2024.30.1.42 -
Annals of African Medicine 2024Background The I-LMA ventilates while providing a port for blind insertion of an endotracheal tube. The ILMA Fastrach is used especially for intubating in a difficult...
Ease of endotracheal intubation with the conventional polyvinyl chloride endotracheal tube versus wire-reinforced flexometallic tube through the intubating laryngeal mask airway: A comparative study.
UNLABELLED
Background The I-LMA ventilates while providing a port for blind insertion of an endotracheal tube. The ILMA Fastrach is used especially for intubating in a difficult airway scenario. Its accompanying endotracheal tube is not economical nor readily available. In comparison, two alternative endotracheal tubes - polyvinyl chloride and wire-reinforced tubes were used for tracheal intubation through the ILMA.
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
The aim of our study was to compare the ease of intubation when using conventional PVC tubes versus the wire-reinforced flexometallic tubes with the ILMA-FastrachTM. The number of attempts, time taken and additional maneuvers were noted. Intra-operative hemodynamic changes, post-operative sore throat, bleeding and hoarseness of voice was recorded over a period of 24 hours.
METHODOLOGY
After informed consent, 60 ASA I-II patients undergoing elective surgeries under general anesthesia were allocated to undergo blind intubation with the PVC tube or the wire-reinforced flexometallic tube.
RESULTS
More attempts were required for successful intubation using the wire-reinforced tube than the PVC tube with 76.7% passing in the first attempt in the PVC, and 53.3% passing in the first attempt in the flexometallic group. (P = 0.4). Average time for intubation in the PVC group: 28.24 ± 7.22 seconds. Average time for intubation in the flexometallic tube: 45.8 ± 15.78 sec. Occurrence of post-operative sore throat was 13.3% in the PVC group and 26.6% in the flexometallic group, with minimal hoarseness of voice 3.3% in the PVC group and 10% in the flexometallic group. There was also a slightly higher hemodynamic response in those who were intubated with the flexometallic tube than a PVC tube.
CONCLUSION
Intubating via the ILMA-Fastrach with the PVC tube offered better intubating conditions with regards to lesser time taken, lesser attempts, less manipulation, and less hemodynamic variations as compared to the patients who were intubated using the wire-reinforced tube.
Topics: Humans; Laryngeal Masks; Polyvinyl Chloride; Hoarseness; Intubation, Intratracheal; Pharyngitis
PubMed: 38358174
DOI: 10.4103/aam.aam_79_23 -
Italian Journal of Pediatrics Feb 2024Notifications of invasive group A streptococcal (iGAS) infections have significantly increased in many European Countries compared to the previous season. In Italy,...
Record of strep throat infections in Italy: what is needed to know about penicillin allergy? The point of view from the Italian Society of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology (SIAIP).
Notifications of invasive group A streptococcal (iGAS) infections have significantly increased in many European Countries compared to the previous season. In Italy, there has been an increase in streptococcal pharyngitis and scarlet fever cases since January 2023, which sparked concerns about a GAS epidemic in the pediatric population. This rise may be ascribed to the GAS infection season that began earlier than usual (off-season outbreak) and the increase in the spread of respiratory viruses and viral coinfections that raised the risk of iGAS disease. Moreover, this phenomenon was also facilitated by increased travel after reduced GAS circulation during the COVID-19 pandemic.The increase in cases of GAS disease has raised some critical issues regarding the potential reactions to administering amoxicillin, the first-line antibiotic therapy, many of which have been erroneously labeled as "allergy."For these reasons, the Italian Society of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology (SIAIP) intends to provide simple clinical indications to help pediatricians manage GAS pharyngitis, discerning the allergic from non-allergic drug hypersensitivity.
Topics: Child; Humans; Scarlet Fever; Pharynx; Pandemics; Pharyngitis; Penicillins; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Streptococcal Infections; Drug Hypersensitivity; Hypersensitivity
PubMed: 38355651
DOI: 10.1186/s13052-023-01561-1 -
BMC Microbiology Feb 2024S. pyogenes, is a primary pathogen that leads to pharyngitis and can also trigger severe conditions like necrotizing fasciitis and streptococcal toxic shock syndrome...
BACKGROUND
S. pyogenes, is a primary pathogen that leads to pharyngitis and can also trigger severe conditions like necrotizing fasciitis and streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS), often resulting in high mortality rates. Therefore, prompt identification and appropriate treatment of S. pyogenes infections are crucial in preventing the worsening of symptoms and alleviating the disease's impact.
RESULTS
In this study, a newly developed technique called multiple cross displacement amplification (MCDA) was employed to detect S. pyogenes,specifically targeting the speB gene, at a temperature of 63°C within 30 min. Then, an easily portable and user-friendly nanoparticles-based lateral flow biosensor (LFB) assay was introduced for the rapid analysis of MCDA products in just 2 min. The results indicated that the LFB offers greater objectivity compared to Malachite Green and is simpler than electrophoresis. The MCDA-LFB assay boasts a low detection limit of 200 fg and exhibits no cross-reaction with non-S. pyogenes strains. Among 230 clinical swab throat samples, the MCDA-LFB method identified 27 specimens as positive, demonstrating higher sensitivity compared to 23 samples detected positive by qPCR assay and 18 samples by culture. The only equipment needed for this assay is a portable dry block heater. Moreover, each MCDA-LFB test is cost-effective, priced at approximately $US 5.5.
CONCLUSION
The MCDA-LFB assay emerges as a straightforward, specific, sensitive, portable, and user-friendly method for the rapid diagnosis of S. pyogenes in clinical samples.
Topics: Streptococcus pyogenes; Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques; Nanoparticles; Biosensing Techniques; Temperature; Sensitivity and Specificity
PubMed: 38326759
DOI: 10.1186/s12866-024-03189-5 -
Cureus Jan 2024Herpes zoster pharyngitis (HZP) is a rare condition that should be considered as a differential diagnosis of acute dysphagia secondary to unilateral glossopharyngeal...
Herpes zoster pharyngitis (HZP) is a rare condition that should be considered as a differential diagnosis of acute dysphagia secondary to unilateral glossopharyngeal and/or vagal nerve palsy. Although early treatment is important to avoid adverse sequelae, serological diagnosis of varicella zoster virus (VZV) takes over a few days. Therefore, it is important to actively suspect VZV infection based on physical findings. Mucocutaneous lesions, curtain signs, and laryngeal palsy are well-known characteristic physical findings. In addition to these findings, the video laryngeal endoscopic finding that the pharyngeal constrictor muscles contract on only one side during swallowing, showing an appearance of "pharyngeal rotation", is one of the characteristic findings of glossopharyngeal/vagal nerve palsy and can support the diagnosis. We report the case of an 82-year-old Asian female who presented with acute dysphagia, sore throat, left ear pain, and fever that persisted for several days. Initial video laryngeal endoscopy revealed a markedly decreased pharyngeal reflex and significant salivary retention without mucosal vesicular lesions. Repeat videoendoscopic evaluation of swallowing revealed characteristic pharyngeal rotation, which was helpful in diagnosing unilateral pharyngeal constrictor muscle paresis, thus suggesting unilateral glossopharyngeal/vagal nerve palsy. An increase in serum antibody titers (IgG and IgM) against VZV was observed. Bilateral differences and rotation of the pharynx during pharyngeal contraction can be detected endoscopically in pharyngeal constrictor muscle paresis caused by glossopharyngeal/vagal nerve palsy and should be evaluated during video laryngeal endoscopy in patients with dysphagia.
PubMed: 38322054
DOI: 10.7759/cureus.51781