Infections Caused by Spirochetes: Syphilis, Lyme Disease, Leptospirosis

10.2310/obg.19049 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Patrick Duff

Keyword(s):

Lyme Disease ◽

Latent Infection ◽

Congenital Syphilis ◽

Ixodes Scapularis ◽

Severe Disease ◽

Erythema Migrans ◽

Treponema Pallidum ◽

Mild Disease ◽

Drug Of Choice ◽

In Pregnancy

Syphilis is caused by the spirochete Treponema pallidum. It is classified as primary, secondary, tertiary, and latent infection. If left untreated, syphilis can cause devastating injury to the fetus. The drug of choice for treatment of syphilis in pregnancy is penicillin. Lyme disease is caused by Borrelia burgdorferi and is transmitted by the Ixodes scapularis tick. The principal clinical manifestation of Lyme disease is erythema migrans, but patients may also develop arthritis and cardiac and neurologic abnormalities. Congenital Lyme disease has not been reported. The drug of choice for treatment of Lyme disease in pregnancy is amoxicillin. Leptospirosis is usually acquired from direct contact with urine of infected animals or through contaminated water, soil, or vegetation. Pregnant women with mild disease should be treated with oral amoxicillin. Patients with severe disease should be hospitalized and treated with intravenous penicillin or ampicillin. This review contains 5 figures, 5 tables, and 19 references. Key Words: clinical infection, congenital syphilis, latent infection, leptospirosis, Lyme disease, syphilis

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Syphilis and pregnancy: Review

Journal of Clinical Images and Medical Case Reports ◽

10.52768/2766-7820/1151 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2 (3) ◽

Author(s):

Samaniego Haro VJ ◽

Keyword(s):

Pregnant Woman ◽

Congenital Syphilis ◽

Neonatal Morbidity ◽

Sexual Partners ◽

Cure Rate ◽

Chronic Complications ◽

Drug Of Choice ◽

Recurrent Abortions ◽

Penicillin Treatment ◽

In Pregnancy

Syphilis is a disease that has not been eradicated in part due to inadequate management of antibiotic therapy which is selected according to the stage of the disease and to the misuse of the type of penicillin. Treatment of this disease should be done to prevent it´s chronic complications, to avoid infecting sexual partners and the fetus in a pregnant woman. Syphilis in pregnancy causes increase in the rate of recurrent abortions and neonatal morbidity and mortality, that´s the main reason why early detection and treatment without delay is extremely important. Pregnancy alters immunity, so the serological diagnosis can provide false positives, with the use of inverse algorithms these results may decrease, by increasing the sensitivity of the tests. Today, after 69 years since the advent of penicillin, it has become the drug of choice for any stage of syphilis and in pregnant women; if the patient has allergy, desensitization is indicated either orally or intravenously and other antibiotic shouldn´t be used because of the security offered by penicillin in the cure rate and in the reduction of congenital syphilis. Keywords: Syphilis; Pregnancy; Inverse algorithms.

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Temporal Relation between Ixodes scapularis Abundance and Risk for Lyme Disease Associated with Erythema Migrans

American Journal of Epidemiology ◽

10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a009886 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 149 (8) ◽

pp. 771-776 ◽

Cited By ~ 95

Author(s):

R. C. Falco ◽

D. F. McKenna ◽

T. J. Daniels ◽

R. B. Nadelman ◽

J. Nowakowski ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Lyme Disease ◽

Ixodes Scapularis ◽

Erythema Migrans ◽

Temporal Relation

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A Case of Lyme Disease with Erythema Migrans

Nishi Nihon Hifuka ◽

10.2336/nishinihonhifu.67.599 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 67 (6) ◽

pp. 599-603

Author(s):

Sanae KAWAI ◽

Shinya YAMANAKA ◽

Tomomi FUJISAWA ◽

Mariko SEISHIMA ◽

Hiroki KAWABATA

Keyword(s):

Lyme Disease ◽

Erythema Migrans

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Epidemiological Characterization of the Infection by Treponema Pallidum in Pregnant Women in Beira City, Sofala, Mozambique

Annals of Immunology & Immunotherapy ◽

10.23880/aii-16000123 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Nchowela Guido

Keyword(s):

Pregnant Women ◽

Congenital Syphilis ◽

Health Centre ◽

Treponema Pallidum ◽

Timely Manner ◽

Pregnancy And Childbirth ◽

Epidemiological Characterization ◽

Active Syphilis ◽

Structured Questionnaire

Introduction: Syphilis is one of several diseases that can be transmitted during pregnancy and childbirth, which can lead to complications during pregnancy and in the newborn. This is especially so when the pregnant woman is not diagnosed or treated properly and in a timely manner. Methodology: Data from 262 pregnant women prospectively included, aged 18-41years, attended at the Ponta Gêa Health Centre for antenatal clinics has been analyzed from January to September of 2016. In the prospective study, a rapid treponemal and a non-treponemal test were performed. A structured questionnaire was used to collect socio demographic and clinical variables, which was developed from the literature review. Results: The prevalence of active syphilis was 11.8%; the majority of reactive pregnant women were aged 18-25years (55.4%), (61.3%) of pregnant women were treated with doses below those recommended; only a small number of the partners were treated successfully. The highest seroprevalence of syphilis was found in housewives (77%), in those who attended primary education (71.6%) in those who had a monthly income of 1000- 3000 MZN (70.3%), in those with two or more pregnancies (55.7%) and living with someone has husband and wife (63.5%). The syphilis/HIV co-infection rate was high. Conclusion: According to the results obtained in this study, urgent measures are needed to assess the problems encountered and to improve the screening approach, treatment and monitoring of syphilis during pregnancy in order to prevent the cases of congenital syphilis.

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SAT0541 THE SEVERITY OF FMF MAY BE ASSOCIATED WITH CO-MORBIDITIES

Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases ◽

10.1136/annrheumdis-2020-eular.801 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 79 (Suppl 1) ◽

pp. 1227.3-1228

Author(s):

M. E. Tezcan ◽

N. Şen ◽

M. Yilmaz ◽

Ö. Volkan ◽

E. Tükel ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Familial Mediterranean Fever ◽

Scoring System ◽

Disease Duration ◽

Severe Disease ◽

Smoking History ◽

Disease Group ◽

Severity Scoring ◽

Mild Disease ◽

Co Morbidity ◽

Mediterranean Fever

Background:Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is an auto inflammatory disease with recurrent attacks of serositis. Frequent attacks and disease related sequels may be associated with co-morbidities in FMF patients.Objectives:One of the tools for evaluating the FMF severity is the international severity scoring system for FMF (ISSF)1. This score includes disease related sequels, acute phase measurements, attack features and exertional leg pain. Therefore, more severe disease may be link with subclinical inflammation, amyloidosis and frequent, prolonged and widespread attacks. All these components may augment the frequency of non-disease related co-morbidities.Methods:We enrolled 158 FMF patients who fulfilled modifiedTel-HashomerDiagnosisCriteria2. The patients dichotomized based upon disease severity (mild disease or severe disease). Patients with ISSF scores lower or equal to 2 were accepted to have mild disease. Then, we compared frequency of non-disease related co-morbidities between the groups. These co-morbidities arehypertension, hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism cardiovascular diseases, coronary artery diseases, cerebrovascular diseases, chronic renal disease (non-FMF related), chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, and diabetes mellitus. This study was approved by the Local Research Ethics Committee and carried out in compliance with the Helsinki Declaration. All the patients gave written informed consent. P-value lower than 0.05 was considered as statistically significant.Results:Demographic features, disease duration, smoking history and body mass index (BMI) were similar between the groups. Frequency of co-morbidity in severe disease group was statistically higher than mild disease group (p=0.02). Most frequent co-morbidity was hypertension in both groups.Table.Features of mild and severe FMF groupsMild (n=135)Severe (n=23)pGender (M/F)47/8811/120.23Age36.4±11.336.5±14.30.68Smoking (%)38 (28.1)5 (21.7)0.52BMI (kg/m2)24.3±9.224.0±8.90.34Disease duration (year)7.7±11.38.6±14.30.09Amyloidosis (%)2 (1.4)3 (13.0)0.02Exon 10 homozygote (%)35 (25.9)9 (39.1)0.19Colchicine dosage (mg/day)1.2±0.41.4±0.50.02ISSF scores0.7 ±0.73.4±0.5<0.001Co-morbidity (%)25 (18.5)9 (39.1)0.02Conclusion:In our FMF patient cohort, we found that severity of the disease may be associated with higher frequency of co-morbidities. Therefore, clinicians should be aware of the high possibility of co-morbidities in patients with more severe FMF and addressed these co-morbidities timely and properly.References:[1]Demirkaya E, et al. Development and initial validation of international severity scoring system for familial Mediterranean fever (ISSF). Ann Rheum Dis 2016;75:1051-6.[2]Berkun Y, et al. Diagnostic criteria of familial Mediterranean fever. Autoimmun Rev 2014;13:388-90.Acknowledgments:NoneDisclosure of Interests:None declared

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A Case Series of SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR-Positive Hospitalized Infants 60 Days of Age or Younger From 2 New York City Pediatric Emergency Departments

Clinical Pediatrics ◽

10.1177/00099228211006688 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 60 (4-5) ◽

pp. 247-251

Author(s):

Ameer Hassoun ◽

Nessy Dahan ◽

Christopher Kelly

Keyword(s):

New York ◽

Case Reports ◽

Severe Disease ◽

Case Series ◽

Pediatric Emergency ◽

Rt Pcr ◽

Vulnerable Group ◽

Mild Disease ◽

Young Infants ◽

Novel Coronavirus

The emergence of novel coronavirus disease-2019 poses an unprecedented challenge to pediatricians. While the majority of children experience mild disease, initial case reports on young infants are conflicting. We present a case series of 8 hospitalized infants 60 days of age or younger with coronavirus disease-2019. A quarter of these patients had coinfections (viral or bacterial). None of these infants had severe disease. Continued vigilance in testing this vulnerable group of infants is warranted.

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SARS-CoV-2-Laden Respiratory Aerosol Deposition in the Lung Alveolar-Interstitial Region Is a Potential Risk Factor for Severe Disease: A Modeling Study

Journal of Personalized Medicine ◽

10.3390/jpm11050431 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (5) ◽

pp. 431

Author(s):

Sabine Hofer ◽

Norbert Hofstätter ◽

Albert Duschl ◽

Martin Himly

Keyword(s):

Risk Factor ◽

Particle Deposition ◽

Early Stage ◽

Severe Disease ◽

Ambient Air ◽

Aerosol Deposition ◽

Pulmonary Involvement ◽

Mild Disease ◽

Disease Initiation

COVID-19, predominantly a mild disease, is associated with more severe clinical manifestation upon pulmonary involvement. Virion-laden aerosols and droplets target different anatomical sites for deposition. Compared to droplets, aerosols more readily advance into the peripheral lung. We performed in silico modeling to confirm the secondary pulmonary lobules as the primary site of disease initiation. By taking different anatomical aerosol origins into consideration and reflecting aerosols from exhalation maneuvers breathing and vocalization, the physicochemical properties of generated respiratory aerosol particles were defined upon conversion to droplet nuclei by evaporation at ambient air. To provide detailed, spatially-resolved information on particle deposition in the thoracic region of the lung, a top-down refinement approach was employed. Our study presents evidence for hot spots of aerosol deposition in lung generations beyond the terminal bronchiole, with a maximum in the secondary pulmonary lobules and a high preference to the lower lobes of both lungs. In vivo, initial chest CT anomalies, the ground glass opacities, resulting from partial alveolar filling and interstitial thickening in the secondary pulmonary lobules, are likewise localized in these lung generations, with the highest frequency in both lower lobes and in the early stage of disease. Hence, our results suggest a disease initiation right there upon inhalation of virion-laden respiratory aerosols, linking the aerosol transmission route to pathogenesis associated with higher disease burden and identifying aerosol transmission as a new independent risk factor for developing a pulmonary phase with a severe outcome.

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Outpatient Management of COVID-19 Disease: A Holistic Patient-Centered Proposal Based on the Greek Experience

Journal of Personalized Medicine ◽

10.3390/jpm11080709 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (8) ◽

pp. 709

Author(s):

Adamantia Liapikou ◽

Eleni Tzortzaki ◽

Georgios Hillas ◽

Miltiadis Markatos ◽

Ilias C. Papanikolaou ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Preventive Measures ◽

Severe Disease ◽

Hospital Setting ◽

Guidance Document ◽

Outpatient Management ◽

Patient Centered ◽

Mild Disease ◽

Novel Coronavirus ◽

Second Wave ◽

Close Contacts

Novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has become a worldwide pandemic and affected more than 227 countries or territories, resulting in more than 179 million cases with over 3.890.00 deaths, as of June 25, 2021. The Hellenic Thoracic Society (HTS) during the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic released a guidance document for the management of patients with COVID-19 in the community and in hospital setting. In this review, with guidance the HTS document, we are discussing the outpatient management of COVID-19 patients, including the preventive measures, the patients’ isolation and quarantine criteria of close contacts, the severity and risk stratification, including the decisions for advanced hospitalization, and the disease management at home in patients with mild disease and after hospital discharge for those with more severe disease.

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