Cytokine storm in Chikungunya: Can we call it multisystem inflammatory syndrome associated with Chikungunya?

Paraguay is currently facing a new outbreak of Chikungunya virus. This report summarizes two severe cases of Chikungunya (CHIKV) infection, confirmed by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. We present the cases of patients with acute CHIKV infection and multisystem involvement, with fever, rash, abdominal pain, vomiting, myocarditis, and coronary artery anomalies, very similar to the cases described in MIS-C related to SARS-CoV-2 during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Both patients received IVIG and methylprednisolone, with good clinical response. In this setting of cytokine storm in Chikungunya, can we call it "Multisystem inflammatory syndrome associated with Chikungunya"?.

Deficiencias de cobre, hierro y zinc en niños menores de 5 años

Introducción: La determinación de niveles séricos de micronutrientes de los niños menores de 5 años, es un requerimiento básico para establecer la prevalencia de deficiencias nutricionales de la población infantil y es una estrategia útil para incentivar a Salud Pública para que tome medidas en cuanto a aplicación y/o modificación de las Políticas Alimentarias Nacionales. Objetivo: Determinar los niveles séricos de cobre, hierro y zinc en niños paraguayos menores de 5 años. Materiales y Métodos: Estudio observacional, descriptivo y de corte transversal. Se procesaron las muestras de sangre de 1.441 niños menores de 5 años de edad que provenían de los Departamentos de Alto Paraná, Caaguazú, Central y de la capital de Paraguay. Se realizaron hemogramas y se determinaron las concentraciones séricas de albúmina, cobre, ferritina y zinc, de todas las muestras. Resultados: Los niños tuvieron una edad promedio de 3 años y 3 meses, fueron 52,74% de sexo masculino y 47,26% de sexo femenino. La prevalencia de anemia fue de 45,25% y la prevalencia de hipoalbuminemia fue de 20,65%. Se detectaron deficiencias de cobre en 14,03%, de ferritina en 6,98% y de zinc en 43,62%, de los niños. Conclusión: Los resultados de este estudio avalan la necesidad de ampliar la cobertura del Programa Alimentario Nutricional Integral (PANI), de plantearse si se deben ajustar las cantidades de minerales y vitaminas de la fórmula nutricional del Programa y de mejorar el seguimiento de los controles prenatales de las madres.

Impacto socio – económico de casos de dengue con signos de alarma y severo, neumonía y meningitis bacteriana aguda, en pacientes pediátricos hospitalizados en un centro de referencia

Introducción: El dengue, la neumonía y la Meningitis Bacteriana Aguda (MBA), producen un elevado impacto socioeconómico, una elevada carga económica y social en los sistemas de salud y la sociedad. Objetivo: comparar el costo económico y la carga por dengue, neumonía y MBA en ≤15 años hospitalizados, entre enero/07 y mayo/19. Materiales y Métodos: Estudio observacional, descriptivo. Los datos fueron obtenidos de expedientes de pacientes hospitalizados con diagnósticos de Dengue, neumonía y MBA. Los costos médicos directos se obtuvieron de la base de datos del IMT. Para los costos directos no médicos y los indirectos se utilizó literatura internacional estimados para Paraguay. Los DALYs fueron calculados a partir de la suma de los AVPP y los DVSP. Resultados: Se identificaron 784, 1419 y 125 pacientes con Dengue, neumonía y MBA, respectivamente. La edad media fue de 118,1±53,6; 34,0±38,9 y 52,1±64,3 meses, respectivamente (p<0.05). La media de días de hospitalización: 4,8±2,8; 9,4±8,7 y 13,8±14,0 días, respectivamente. El 8,9%(70/784) de los casos con dengue, el 29,6%(420/1419) de las neumonías y el 70,4%(88/125) de las MBA requirieron UCI. El 0,6%(5/784), el 5,3%(78/1419) y el 31,2%(39/125) pacientes fallecieron. El costo por hospitalización por dengue, neumonía y meningitis fue de 465496, 3094721 y 127063 US$, respectivamente; los AVPP fueron de 328.1, 5373.4 y 1846.7 años, respectivamente; los DVSP fueron 1459.8, 8595.2 y 996.1, respectivamente y los DALYs de 1641.66; 13968.6 y 2842.8, respectivamente. Conclusiones: Los costos de atención de estas patologías, inmunoprevenibles, son considerables, producen un impacto social importante, en el sector salud y la economía en general del país.

Clinical manifestations of primary and secondary dengue in Paraguay and its relation to virus serotype

INTRODUCTION

Dengue virus (DENV) infection is currently a major cause of morbidity in the world, and its incidence has mainly increased during the last years in Latin America, including Paraguay. The objective of this study was to compare the clinical and laboratory findings of dengue and assess whether the serotype is a risk factor for severity.

METHODOLOGY

We included patients ≤ 15 years old hospitalized with dengue at the Institute of Tropical Medicine, from Paraguay, from 2007 to 2018. Patients were classified according to the 2009 WHO dengue classification guidelines and were stratified by serotype into three groups according to the hospitalization period: the 2007 epidemic (DENV-3), the 2012-2013 epidemic (DENV-2) and the 2016-2018 epidemic (DENV-1).

RESULTS

Of 784 children hospitalized for dengue, 50 cases (6.3%) were caused by DENV-3, 471 (60%) by DENV-2, and 263 (33.5%) by DENV-1. Myalgias and headache were associated with DENV-3 cases and abdominal pain was associated with DENV-2 cases. Bleeding was observed mainly in DENV-1 and 2 cases. Patients with DENV-2 infections experienced more severe disease, required fluid expansion more frequently, and exhibited more often shock and admission in the ICU. Secondary cases of dengue were more severe that primary cases. Patients with infection by DENV-2 had longer hospital stays (5.1 ± 2.8 days) when compared to DENV-3 o DENV-1 infection cases (2.9 ± 1.6 days and 4.36 ± 2.7 days, respectively) (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

The DENV serotype has a profound impact on the clinical manifestations and severity of dengue. DENV-2 infections were associated more frequently to requirement of fluid expansion, shock, and longer hospital stay.

Prognostic factors of severity of invasive community acquired Staphylococcus aureus infections in children

OBJECTIVE

To describe the clinical characteristics of invasive Staphylococcus aureus infections in children and identify the prognostic factors of severity and mortality.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Observational study in patients < 16 years old hospitalized between 2010 and 2015 due to invasive S. aureus infections at the Instituto de Medicina Tropical, in Asunción, Paraguay. Patients were distributed based on whether or not they required admission to the intensive care unit, and clinical, laboratory, and evolutionary outcome measures were compared.

RESULTS

Out of the 107 included patients, 50 (47 %) developed bacteremia; 50 (47 %), pneumonia; and 21 (19 %), multifocal disease. Among the patients who were admitted to the intensive care unit (41 %), prior antibiotic use (p < 0.05), the presence of bacteremia (p = 0.01), the presence of comorbidities (p < 0.05), and multifocal disease (p < 0.01) were more frequent. The overall mortality rate was 15 %. The mortality-associated risk factors were the presence, at the time of admission, of hypotension (p < 0.01), multifocal disease (p < 0.01), bacteremia (p < 0.01), leukopenia (p < 0.01), severe anemia (p < 0.01), and metabolic acidosis (p < 0.01), among others.

CONCLUSIONS

The prognostic factors of severity included prior antibiotic use, bacteremia, the presence of comorbidities, and presentation with multifocal disease. Mortality was significant; associated risk factors included the presence, at the time of admission, of hypotension, multifocal disease, leukopenia, severe anemia, and metabolic acidosis.

Mortality Rate and Predictors in Children Under 15 Years Old Who Acquired HIV from Mother to Child Transmission in Paraguay

We estimated mortality rate and predictors of death in children and adolescents who acquired HIV through mother-to-child transmission in Paraguay. In 2000-2014, we conducted a cohort study among children and adolescents aged < 15 years. We abstracted data from medical records and death certificates. We used the Cox proportional hazards model for the multivariable analysis of mortality predictors. A total of 302 subjects were included in the survey; 216 (71.5%) were younger than 5 years, 148 (51.0%) were male, and 214 (70.9%) resided in the Asunción metropolitan area. There were 52 (17.2%) deaths, resulting in an overall mortality rate of 2.06 deaths per 100 person-years. The children and adolescents with hemoglobin levels ≤ 9 g/dL at baseline had a 2-times higher hazard of death compared with those who had levels > 9 g/dL (HR 2.27, 95% CI 1.01-5.10). The mortality of HIV-infected children and adolescents in Paraguay is high, and anemia is associated with mortality. Improving prenatal screening to find cases earlier and improving pediatric follow-up are needed.

Feline poxvirus infection. A case report

Poxvirus infection of a domestic cat is reported. The clinical signs consisted of skin lesions only, which healed within two and a half months. Histopathology revealed cytoplasmatic inclusion bodies typical of pox virus infection. Virus particles morphologically related to the genus orthopoxvirus were detectable in the embedded skin tissue and in skin scraping by electron microscopy. No specific lesions were observed in the chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane inoculated with an extraction from skin scabs of the cat.