Search

A 40‐year‐old man was admitted with a diagnosis of COVID‐19 pneumonia. Although most of multiple ground‐glass opacities and consolidations on computed tomography improved, a round ground‐glass opacity with consolidation remained unchanged and was suspected to be a part‐solid nodule of lung adenocarcinoma. Pathologic diagnosis of resected tumor was papillary adenocarcinoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) viral load dynamics in respiratory samples have been studied, but knowledge about changes in serial serum samples of infected patients in relation to their immunological response is lacking. We investigated the dynamics of SARS‐CoV‐2 viral load and antibody response in sequential serum of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) patients and attempted to culture the virus in the serum. A total of 81 sequential serum samples from 10 confirmed COVID‐19 patients (5 with mild and 5 with moderate symptoms) were analyzed. Samples were collected during hospitalization and after discharge (median follow‐up of 35 days). SARS‐CoV‐2 ribonucleic acid in the serum was detected by real‐time polymerase chain reaction. Total antibody and IgG to SARS‐CoV‐2 Spike protein were analyzed by Chemiluminescent Immunoassays, and neutralizing antibodies were detected using a Surrogate Virus Neutralization Test. Viremia was observed in all cases at admission, and viral copy gradually dropped to undetectable levels in patients with mild symptoms but fluctuated and remained persistent in moderate cases. The viral culture of samples with the highest viral load for each patient did not show any cytopathic change. The antibody response was faster and higher in moderate cases. This study provides a basic clue for infectious severity‐dependent immune response, viremia, and antibody acquisition pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) has rapidly spread worldwide since December 2021. In daily medical practice, pneumonia does not often appear as a complication of the Omicron variant. We present a case of COVID‐19 pneumonia by the Omicron variant in young patients without obvious risk factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Primary pyomyositis is a bacterial infection of the skeletal muscle commonly affecting children with Staphylococcus aureus most often isolated as a pathogen. However, pyomyositis caused by anaerobic bacteria is rare in adults. Here, we report a case of solitary Pyomyositis of the left rhomboideus muscle in an immunocompetent person. A 70-year-old Japanese male presented with high fever and left shoulder pain. His muscle below the lower edge of the left scapula was tender and swollen. His laboratory examinations revealed severe inflammation. Computed tomography showed a solitary low-density area around a contrast enhancement in the left rhomboideus muscle. He was diagnosed as having solitary pyomyositis. Although his symptoms did not improve despite empiric intravenous administration of antibiotics, an incision was performed. Streptococcus anginosus and Streptococcus intermedius were isolated from the culture of drainage fluid. His symptoms gradually disappeared after the incisional drainage and continuous administration of antibiotics. Pyomyositis did not recur after his discharge. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on anaerobic pyomyositis of the shoulder muscle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direct sequencing is a popular method to discover mutations in candidate genes responsible for hereditary diseases. A certain type of mutation, however, can be missed by the method. Here, we report a comprehensive genomic quantitative polymerase chain reaction ( qPCR) to complement the weakness of direct sequencing. Upshaw- Schulman syndrome ( USS) is a recessively inherited disease associated with severe deficiency of plasma ADAMTS13 activity. We previously analyzed ADAMTS13 in 47 USS patients using direct sequencing, and 44 of them had either homozygous or compound heterozygous mutations. Then, we sought to reveal more extensive defects of ADAMTS13 in the remaining three patients. We quantified copy numbers of each ADAMTS13 exon in the patients by using genomic qPCR. Each primer pair was designed to contain at least one of the two primers used in direct sequencing, to avoid missing any exonic deletions. The qPCR demonstrated heterozygous loss of exons 7 and 8 in one patient and exon 27 in the other, and further analysis revealed c.746_987+373del1782 and c.3751_3892+587del729, respectively. Genomic qPCR provides an effective method for identifying extensive defects of the target genes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]