Med Virol Research Articles

Retraction: "Safety and immunogenicity of a recombinant receptor-binding domain-based protein subunit vaccine (Noora vaccine™) against COVID-19 in adults: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, Phase 1 trial".

Retraction: "Safety and immunogenicity of a recombinant receptor-binding domain-based protein subunit vaccine (Noora vaccine™) against COVID-19 in adults: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, Phase 1 trial," by Salimian J, Ahmadi A, Amani J, et al. J Med Virol. 2022;95:e28097. The above article, published online on August 27, 2022 in Wiley Online Library (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jmv.28097) has been retracted by agreement between the journal's Editor in Chief, Shou-Jiang (SJ) Gao, and Wiley Periodicals LLC. The retraction has been agreed due to concerns raised by third parties regarding issues with the data presented in the article.1 Several inconsistencies concerning the information provided about the analyzed subjects were additionally identified. Furthermore, the authors failed to disclose the presence of potential conflicts of interest that may have affected the interpretation of the results presented. Accordingly, the editors consider the conclusions of this manuscript to be invalid. The authors have been informed of the decision to retract but did not agree with it. REFERENCE 1. Forthal DN. Comment on the immunogenicity of the Noora vaccine against SARS-CoV-2. J Med Virol. 2023;95:e28731. doi:10.1002/jmv.28731.

Retraction: Zhang, N, Qi, X, Chang, H, et al. Combined effects of inflammation and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on the risks of anxiety and depression: a cross-sectional study based on UK Biobank. J Med Virol. 2023; 95:e28726. doi:10.1002/jmv.28726.

Retraction: Zhang, N, Qi, X, Chang, H, et al. Combined effects of inflammation and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on the risks of anxiety and depression: a cross-sectional study based on UK Biobank. J Med Virol. 2023; 95:e28726. doi:10.1002/jmv.28726.

Comment on Huang PS et al. Clinical efficacy and safety of molnupiravir for nonhospitalized and hospitalized patients with COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized control trials. Med Virol. 2023; 95: e28621.

Comment on Huang PS et al. Clinical efficacy and safety of molnupiravir for nonhospitalized and hospitalized patients with COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized control trials. Med Virol. 2023; 95: e28621.

Change in urgent psychiatric consultations during the first lockdown in Venezia: a multicenter, retrospective study

IntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic has affected the mental health of the global population (Dragioti et al. J Med Virol 2022;94(5):1935-49). The first lockdown brought the hardest and most sudden impact on work, educational, social, and recreational activities. Moreover, the fruition of mental health services was restricted, and non-urgent appointments were delayed or converted into telepsychiatry. Thus, it was reasonable to hypothesize different trends of urgent consultations regarding mental health.ObjectivesTo detect quantitative and qualitative changes in patients presenting to our Emergency Departments (ED) during the early phase of the pandemic compared to the previous year.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective, multicenter study in Venezia (historical center, mainland) through systematically reviewing the psychiatric consultations in our ED, during the first 16 weeks since 8-Mar-2020 and the same period of 2019. The protocol was approved by the local Ethics Committee as UPSI-19 (Urgent PSychiatric consultations In COVID-19). The statistical analysis was conducted with the software R; Interval Risk Ratio (IRR) with 95% CI was calculated for absolute frequency, primary diagnosis, leading symptoms, and outcomes of these consultations.ResultsIn the early phase of the pandemic, in our ED we assisted to a significant decrease in psychiatric consultations: 372 vs 441, IRR=0.84(0.73-0.96). Data revealed a reduction of referral for suicidal behavior (IRR=0.52(0.33-0.80)) and anxiety symptoms (IRR=0.60(0.42-0.87)). Primary diagnoses of patients were not different between the two periods explored. There was a slight increase in admissions (150 vs 121), and a significant decrease in less severe clinical pictures.ConclusionsIn the timeframe considered, we assisted to a significant decrease in referrals from the ED, possibly related both to fewer non-locals and to less frequent non-severe presentations. Despite the type of patients (for underlying diagnoses) remained unmodified, an interesting reduction of anxiety symptoms and suicidal behavior was noticed. Literature from ED studies during the first wave are consistent with our finding regarding the number of visits; suicide attempts seemed unmodified or decreased elsewhere (Giner et al. Curr Psychiatry Rep 2022;24(1):1-10). Limitations of our study include peculiarities of the Venetian territory, limited sample and time of observation. Future directions encompass the integration with data from the community setting and later developments.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared

Real-world effectiveness of nirmatrelvir–ritonavir against BA.4 and BA.5 omicron SARS-CoV-2 variants

Real-world effectiveness of nirmatrelvir–ritonavir against BA.4 and BA.5 omicron SARS-CoV-2 variants

Mpox: What Practicing Gastroenterologists Need to Know

Mpox: What Practicing Gastroenterologists Need to Know

Monkeypox virus infection in women and non-binary people: uncommon or neglected?

Monkeypox virus infection in women and non-binary people: uncommon or neglected?

SYSTEMIC EPSTEIN-BARR VIRUS-RELATED T-CELL LYMPHOPROLIFERATIVE DISORDER: A RARE CAUSE OF DYSPNEA AND PULMONARY INFILTRATES IN AN IMMUNOCOMPETENT ADULT

SYSTEMIC EPSTEIN-BARR VIRUS-RELATED T-CELL LYMPHOPROLIFERATIVE DISORDER: A RARE CAUSE OF DYSPNEA AND PULMONARY INFILTRATES IN AN IMMUNOCOMPETENT ADULT

Sexual behaviours and clinical course of human monkeypox in Spain

Sexual behaviours and clinical course of human monkeypox in Spain

Updated International Society of Geriatric Oncology COVID-19 working group recommendations on COVID-19 vaccination among older adults with cancer

Updated International Society of Geriatric Oncology COVID-19 working group recommendations on COVID-19 vaccination among older adults with cancer

Corrigendum

The article1 to which this corrigendum refers was published in the Journal of Medical Virology 94(8):3876-3889 (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jmv.27775) This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Vitamin C and its therapeutic potential in the management of COVID19.

COVID19 has emerged as one of the worst pandemics in the history of mankind. Several vaccines have been approved by different government agencies worldwide, but data on their efficacy and safety are limited, and distribution remains a massive challenge. As per WHO, personal immunity is vital for protection against COVID19. Earlier, Vitamin C-mediated pathways have been shown to play critical role in boosting immunity attributed to its antioxidant properties. Recently, the involvement of such pathways in protection against COVID19 has been suggested. The controlled doses of Vitamin C administered through intravenous (IV) injections are being studied for determining its role in the prognosis of COVID19. In this article, we have discussed the potential role of Vitamin C in the management in COVID19 patients and presented recent clinical trials data. Additionally, we have elaborated the possibility of administering Vitamin C through inhalers in order to achieve local high concentration and the challenges of such approach.

Clinical, Paraclinical Characteristics and Relative Risk Factors of Severe Degree in Children with COVID-19: Systematic Review

Aim: systematic review of studies in the medical literature of children with COVID – 19 in order to provide evidence of clinical, paraclinical characteristics and relative risk factors of severe degree in children with COVID-19. Research subjects: A systematic review of studies on COVID-19 in children published in the international medical literature. Research methods: the information of research reports was selected from information posted on the COVID-19 update reporting portal of the Ministry of Health, PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, WHO COVID-19 Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) Database, WanFang Database through system overview. Results: we collected 115 studies related to COVID-19 in children, published from January 2020 to August 2021, and by screening, we selected 21 studies related to clinical, paraclinical characteristics and relative risk factors of severe degree in children with COVID-19.
 Keywords:
 Variant Delta, COVID-19 in children, Clinical, Paraclinical Characteristics and risk factors of severe degree.
 References
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Decreased severity of the Omicron variant of concern: further evidence from Italy

Decreased severity of the Omicron variant of concern: further evidence from Italy

Movement dynamics: reduced dengue cases during the COVID-19 pandemic

Movement dynamics: reduced dengue cases during the COVID-19 pandemic

Adding Fuel to the Fire? A Role of Intraepithelial Lymphocytes in Enteric Immune Responses to SARS-CoV-2 Infection

Adding Fuel to the Fire? A Role of Intraepithelial Lymphocytes in Enteric Immune Responses to SARS-CoV-2 Infection

Association between Insufficient Interleukin-6 (IL-6) Inhibition and Worsening Outcomes in COVID-19 and Idiopathic Multicentric Castleman Disease (iMCD), and a Mathematical Model to Predict Optimal Dosing to Completely Block IL-6 Activity

Association between Insufficient Interleukin-6 (IL-6) Inhibition and Worsening Outcomes in COVID-19 and Idiopathic Multicentric Castleman Disease (iMCD), and a Mathematical Model to Predict Optimal Dosing to Completely Block IL-6 Activity

Potential Long Coronavirus Disease 2019 Gastrointestinal Symptoms 6 Months After Coronavirus Infection Are Associated With Mental Health Symptoms

Potential Long Coronavirus Disease 2019 Gastrointestinal Symptoms 6 Months After Coronavirus Infection Are Associated With Mental Health Symptoms

CONSPIRATORS: AN OLD RESPIRATORY PATHOGEN UNLEASHED BY A NEW ONE

TOPIC: Chest Infections TYPE: Medical Student/Resident Case Reports INTRODUCTION: There is emerging, albeit still limited data, on the interaction between COVID-19 and tuberculosis (TB). Both infections can cause dysregulation of the immune system, suggesting a biological plausibility for one disease but also for COVID-19 infection leading to TB progression. A meta-analysis recently found an increased risk of severe COVID-19 disease in the setting of tuberculosis, although this wasn't statistically significant. The second suggested biological plausibility for tuberculosis worsening or predisposing to COVID-19 infection but concluded that not enough evidence exists to understand the relationship between tuberculosis and COVID-19. Since the relationship remains uncertain, special attention should be paid to how infections from COVID-19 and tuberculosis interact, especially in endemic areas. CASE PRESENTATION: We present a 21 year-old female who presented to the emergency department (ED) with a chief complaint of shortness of breath. She had no medical history besides recent diagnosis of COVID-19 four months prior to admission, which did not require hospitalization. Since then, she reported persistent cough, and suddenly presented with shortness of breath one day prior to admission and eventually prompted ED presentation. She had no other significant symptoms nor sick contacts. In the ED, she presented with a fever of 39.3 C, tachycardia, hypoxia and tachypnea. Computed Tomography of the chest revealed bilateral pulmonary consolidation and no evidence of pulmonary embolism. An extensive autoimmune and infectious workup was unrevealing. Despite broad-spectrum antibiotics, she progressed rapidly to multi-organ failure requiring mechanical ventilation, vasopressor support, and continuous renal replacement therapy, culminating in death. Autopsy revealed alveolar hyalinization with necrotizing granulomatous infection of bilateral lungs, pleura, and pericardium, positive for acid fast bacilli. Cause of death was acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) secondary to pulmonary tuberculosis. DISCUSSION: In this report, we highlight a case of a young, immunocompetent patient with no underlying risk factors who died from multi-organ failure and ARDS secondary to pulmonary and possibly disseminated tuberculosis. We suspect that her recent COVID-19 infection may have allowed latent tuberculosis to reactivate and rapidly progress to severe disease, which ultimately led to multi-organ failure and death. CONCLUSIONS: This case highlights the need for further studies to be completed on the deleterious effects of even mild COVID-19 infections, and its ability to exacerbate other types of pulmonary infections. The significance between COVID-19 and tuberculosis should be evaluated further. REFERENCE #1: Gao Y, Liu M, Chen Y, Shi S, Geng J, Tian J. Association between tuberculosis and COVID-19 severity and mortality: A rapid systematic review and meta-analysis. J Med Virol. 2021;93(1):194-196. doi:10.1002/jmv.26311 REFERENCE #2: Visca D, Ong CWM, Tiberi S, et al. Tuberculosis and COVID-19 interaction: A review of biological, clinical and public health effects. Pulmonology. 2021;27(2):151-165. doi:10.1016/j.pulmoe.2020.12.012 DISCLOSURES: No relevant relationships by Stephanie Guo, source=Web Response No relevant relationships by Florence Kan, source=Web Response No relevant relationships by Stephanie Pyskir, source=Web Response No relevant relationships by Brent Tatsuno, source=Web Response

SEVERE/REFRACTORY IMMUNE THROMBOCYTOPENIA IN MILD COVID-19 DISEASE

TOPIC: Chest Infections TYPE: Medical Student/Resident Case Reports INTRODUCTION: Severe thrombocytopenia has been shown to be associated with poor prognosis in COVID-19 disease (1). Thrombocytopenia seen in COVID-19 is most likely due to autoimmune destruction or thrombotic consumption and cytokine release (1). Limited literature is available on the management of COVID-induced thrombocytopenia (1). CASE PRESENTATION: A 40 year old male, smoker, with past medical history (PMH) significant for gastroesophageal disease (GERD) presented to the emergency department with a one day history of new onset petechial rash and epistaxis. His rash appeared distally on his legs and progressed proximally up to his torso and head. He had minor upper respiratory tract (URI) symptoms for three days prior to the onset of rash and epistaxis. He received Mucinex for his URI. He had no history of bleeding disorder. He had a family history of factor V Leiden deficiency in his maternal grandfather and aunt. He had no fever, chest pain, shortness of breath and cough. He was found to be COVID positive with a platelet count of 4000. His vital signs were stable. He had clear lungs on presentation and throughout his hospital stay. His hepatitis panel was negative. He had no findings of disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). His vitamin B12 and folate levels, ANA screen and rheumatoid screen were within normal limits. His CT Scan of Abdomen with IV contrast was negative for splenomegaly. His Chest X ray was normal. His flow cytometry analysis showed no evidence of lymphoproliferative disorder. He received one unit of platelets and a four day empiric treatment with steroids. His platelet count improved to 70,000 on the day of discharge (day 4). Nine days after discharge, he was found to have recurrent thrombocytopenia with a platelet count of 17,000. He received intravenous IV immune globulin (IVIG) along with a 35 day taper of prednisone started at a dose of 50mg once daily. His platelet count continued to remain near 35,000 suggestive of steroid-refractory thrombocytopenia. He was started on a weekly regimen of Rituxan. His platelet count continued to remain below 100,000. His treatment is monitored and ongoing. DISCUSSION: COVID-19 associated thrombocytopenia is proposed to have various mechanisms in different phases of disease in diverse patients (1). The causal relationship between COVID-19 and immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), although well studied, has not been established (2). The majority of patients with COVID-19 and ITP have responded to high dose IVIG (1). CONCLUSIONS: Our patient had severe ITP due to COVID-19 despite having mild disease. He had steroid and IVIG-refractory thrombocytopenia. Further research in areas such as the effect of anti-TPO antibodies and splenectomy on these patients is warranted. REFERENCE #1: Murt A, Eskazan AE, et.al. COVID-19 presenting with immune thrombocytopenia: a case report and review of the literature. J Med Virol. 2021;93(1):43-45. REFERENCE #2: Zong X, Gu Y, Yu H, Li Z, Wang Y. Thrombocytopenia Is Associated with COVID-19 Severity and Outcome: An Updated Meta-Analysis of 5637 Patients with Multiple Outcomes. Lab Med. 2021;52(1):10-15. DISCLOSURES: No relevant relationships by Sathyanarayana Machani, source=Web Response No relevant relationships by Edward Marks, source=Web Response No relevant relationships by Trishala Menon, source=Web Response No relevant relationships by Irvin Richard, source=Web Response No relevant relationships by Bradley Schmitt, source=Web Response