Sotopaulsen1554

The effects of COVID-19 on the thyroid axis remain uncertain. Recent evidence has been conflicting, with both thyrotoxicosis and suppression of thyroid function reported.

We aimed to detail the acute effects of COVID-19 on thyroid function and determine if these effects persisted on recovery from COVID-19.

A cohort observational study was conducted.

Adult patients admitted to Imperial College Healthcare National Health Service Trust, London, UK, with suspected COVID-19 between March 9 to April 22, 2020, were included, excluding those with preexisting thyroid disease and those missing either free thyroxine (FT4) or thyrotropin (TSH) measurements. Of 456 patients, 334 had COVID-19 and 122 did not.

TSH and FT4 measurements were recorded at admission, and where available, in 2019 and at COVID-19 follow-up.

Most patients (86.6%) presenting with COVID-19 were euthyroid, with none presenting with overt thyrotoxicosis. Patients with COVID-19 had a lower admission TSH and FT4 compared to those without COVID-19. In the COVID-19 patients with matching baseline thyroid function tests from 2019 (n = 185 for TSH and 104 for FT4), TSH and FT4 both were reduced at admission compared to baseline. In a complete case analysis of COVID-19 patients with TSH measurements at follow-up, admission, and baseline (n = 55), TSH was seen to recover to baseline at follow-up.

Most patients with COVID-19 present with euthyroidism. We observed mild reductions in TSH and FT4 in keeping with a nonthyroidal illness syndrome. Furthermore, in survivors of COVID-19, thyroid function tests at follow-up returned to baseline.

Most patients with COVID-19 present with euthyroidism. We observed mild reductions in TSH and FT4 in keeping with a nonthyroidal illness syndrome. Furthermore, in survivors of COVID-19, thyroid function tests at follow-up returned to baseline.

To determine impact of mild fasting hyperglycemia in early pregnancy (fasting plasma glucose [FPG] 5.1-5.5 mmol/L) on pregnancy outcomes.

We measured FPG at 11.9 ± 1.8 weeks in 2006 women from a prospective cohort study. Women with FPG ≥5.6 mmol/L (19) received treatment and were excluded from further analyses. A total of 1838 women with FPG <5.6 mmol/L received a 75 g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) between 24 and 28 weeks of pregnancy.

Of all participants, 78 (4.2%) had FPG 5.1 to 5.5 mmol/L in early pregnancy, of which 49 had a normal OGTT later in pregnancy (high fasting normal glucose tolerance [NGT] group). Compared with the NGT group with FPG <5.1 mmol/L in early pregnancy (low fasting NGT group, n = 1560), the high fasting NGT group had a higher body mass index (BMI), higher insulin resistance with more impaired insulin secretion and higher FPG and 30 minute glucose levels on the OGTT. The admission rate to neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) was significantly higher in the high fasting NGT group than in the low fasting NGT group (20.4% [10] vs 9.3% [143], P = .009), with no difference in duration (7.0 ± 8.6 vs 8.4 ± 14.3 days, P = .849) or indication for NICU admission between both groups. The admission rate to NICU remained significantly higher (odds ratio 2.47; 95% confidence interval 1.18-5.19, P = .017) after adjustment for age, BMI, and glucose levels at the OGTT.

When provision of an OGTT is limited such as in the Covid-19 pandemic, using FPG in early pregnancy could be an easy alternative to determine who is at increased risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes.

When provision of an OGTT is limited such as in the Covid-19 pandemic, using FPG in early pregnancy could be an easy alternative to determine who is at increased risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes.Typhoid Vi vaccines have been shown to be efficacious in children living in endemic regions; however, a widely accepted correlate of protection remains to be established. We applied a systems serology approach to identify Vi-specific serological correlates of protection using samples obtained from participants enrolled in an experimental controlled human infection study. Participants were vaccinated with Vi-tetanus toxoid conjugate (Vi-TT) or unconjugated Vi-polysaccharide (Vi-PS) vaccines and were subsequently challenged with Salmonella Typhi bacteria. Multivariate analyses identified distinct protective signatures for Vi-TT and Vi-PS vaccines in addition to shared features that predicted protection across both groups. Vi IgA quantity and avidity correlated with protection from S. Typhi infection, whereas higher fold increases in Vi IgG responses were associated with reduced disease severity. Targeted antibody-mediated functional responses, particularly neutrophil phagocytosis, were also identified as important components of the protective signature. These humoral markers could be used to evaluate and develop efficacious Vi-conjugate vaccines and assist with accelerating vaccine availability to typhoid-endemic regions.Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is an autosomal dominant condition affecting 1 in 3,500 people resulting from an NF1 gene mutation that encodes the nonfunctional protein neurofibromin mutant. Neurofibromin is a negative regulator of RAS signaling involved in cell survival and proliferation. NF1 typically presents at birth or in early childhood with multiple light brown (café au lait) spots and axillary freckling. With age, patients may develop scattered neurofibromas as well as additional neurological and malignant abnormalities. Additionally, the nonfunctional protein neurofibromin mutant may be involved in the pathogenesis of peripheral malignant nerve sheath tumors, which is a rare and life-threatening complication of NF1. PF-8380 nmr While a disqualifying condition for military duty, it may not initially be clinically apparent until complications develop. Here, we present a case of malignant peripheral sheath in an U.S. Army African American reservist with NF1 in whom cutaneous manifestations of NF1 such as café au lait spots and axillary freckling were not identified on the initial military entrance processing examination.

Campylobacteriosis is the most frequently reported foodborne illness in Europe and many other parts of the world. Campylobacter can colonize the intestines of broilers, mostly in large amounts. Broilers are usually slaughtered in a high-speed automated system that could cause rupture of the intestines during evisceration, resulting in contamination of carcasses with intestinal bacteria like Campylobacter. This study evaluated the combined effects of ultrasound and steam (SonoSteam) on naturally contaminated chicken carcasses at a large-scale abattoir in Sweden. Ultrasound at 30 to 40 kHz and steam at 84 to 85°C or 87 to 88°C were used at slaughter, with a line speed of 18,000 birds per hour. The amounts of Campylobacter spp., Enterobacteriaceae, Escherichia coli, and total aerobic bacteria on neck skins from 103 chicken carcasses, sampled before and after treatment by ultrasound-steam, were analyzed. Campylobacter spp. were quantified in 58 (56%) of the neck skins, from birds belonging to four of the seven flocks represented.