Rare Presentation of Primary Pleural Ewing Sarcoma With a Mass Extending Into the Right Ventricle: A Case Report.

Primary pleural Ewing sarcoma is a rare type of Ewing sarcoma with only a few case reports identified in the literature. The condition is challenging to diagnose with deceiving symptoms and wide differential diagnosis. Diagnosis is confirmed with a combination of radiological and pathological assessment. Treatment is similar to other types of Ewing sarcoma with chemotherapy and surgery being the mainstay of treatment. We identify an unusual presentation of pleural Ewing sarcoma in a 31-year-old male with a mass extending into the right ventricular outlet causing rapid deterioration of the patient.

The prevalence of asymptomatic and symptomatic COVID-19 in a cohort of quarantined subjects.

BACKGROUND: The frequency of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection with viral spread is unclear. Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection development and progression was investigated in subjects undergoing mandatory quarantine on airport arrival. METHODS: 2714 subjects were tested for SARS-CoV-2 and all were quarantined for 2 weeks. Viral retesting was undertaken on symptom development and routinely at 14 days if asymptomatic. Asymptomatic, positive patients underwent viral testing every 2 days to determine viral clearance. RESULTS: 188/2714 (6.9%) patients became SARS-CoV-2 positive. On arrival, 136/188 tested positive, with 44/188 (23.4%) symptomatic and 92/188 (48.9%) asymptomatic. All 92 patients remained asymptomatic and were retested every 2 days until viral clearance. 2526 quarantined subjects remained virus free at 14 days. Viral clearance did not differ between symptomatic and asymptomatic patients (12.6 ± 1.0 days and 12.1 ± 0.4 days, respectively). Of the 52/188 (27.7%) testing negative on arrival, 27/52 subsequently became positive and developed symptoms 2-13 days after arrival. 25/188 (13.3%) remained asymptomatic and tested positive at day 14, with viral testing undertaken every 2 days in these subjects; of these, 24 remained asymptomatic, with viral clearance at 9.4 ± 0.7 days - less than for those who were asymptomatic on arrival (p < 0.002). CONCLUSION: Asymptomatic patients with COVID-19 were more prevalent than those exhibiting symptoms, and are an infection reservoir.

Time Till Viral Clearance of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Is Similar for Asymptomatic and Non-critically Symptomatic Individuals.

Despite the modeled estimations of the burden of asymptomatic spread, the duration of viral positivity and infectiousness of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) remains understudied. The objective of the present study was to estimate and compare the time till viral clearance of SARS-CoV-2 in asymptomatic and non-critical symptomatic individuals. We studied 184 SARS-CoV-2-positive participants, of whom 145 were asymptomatic. Our analysis uncovered that time till viral negativity is similar for subclinical [median time till viral clearance: 11 days, interquartile range (IQR): 8, 14] and overt infections (median: 11 days, IQR: 9, 14) after controlling for age and sex. This has implications in understanding the period of infectivity for SARS-CoV-2 in order to plan adequate public health measures to control the community spread.

Randomized controlled trial of convalescent plasma therapy against standard therapy in patients with severe COVID-19 disease.

Convalescent plasma (CP) therapy in COVID-19 disease may improve clinical outcome in severe disease. This pilot study was undertaken to inform feasibility and safety of further definitive studies. This was a prospective, interventional and randomized open label pilot trial in patients with severe COVID-19. Twenty COVID-19 patients received two 200 ml transfusions of convalescent patient CP over 24-h compared with 20 who received standard of care. The primary outcome was the requirement for ventilation (non-invasive or mechanical ventilation). The secondary outcomes were biochemical parameters and mortality at 28 days. The CP group were a higher risk group with higher ferritin levels (p < 0.05) though respiratory indices did not differ. The primary outcome measure was required in 6 controls and 4 patients on CP (risk ratio 0.67, 95% CI 0.22-2.0, p = 0.72); mean time on ventilation (NIV or MV) did not differ. There were no differences in secondary measures at the end of the study. Two patients died in the control and one patient in the CP arm. There were no significant differences in the primary or secondary outcome measures between CP and standard therapy, although a larger definitive study is needed for confirmation. However, the study did show that CP therapy appears to be safe in hospitalized COVID-19 patients with hypoxia.Clinical trials registration NCT04356534: 22/04/2020.

COVID-19 and sickle cell disease in Bahrain.

INTRODUCTION: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by a newly identified strain of the coronavirus family that has been shown to affect the hemoglobin beta chain, the same chain that has sickle cell disease (SCD) mutation. This study was undertaken to see if COVID-19 infection increased disease severity in patients with SCD. METHODS: Mass screening of the Bahraini population was undertaken between February and April 2020. RESULTS: A total of 38,092 Bahraini people were tested for COVID-19 during this period; 378 (1%) were SCD patients. Six patients with SCD had COVID-19 (1.6%): three remained asymptomatic, two had mild symptoms and one required oxygen therapy. The SCD patients had a similar average length of stay when compared with non-SCD COVID-19 patients (10.7 days). CONCLUSION: The infection rate, clinical course and viral clearance seen for the SCD patients with COVID-19 were no different to those without SCD.

Presepsin Level Correlates with the Development of Moderate Coronary Artery Calcifications in Hemodialysis Patients: A Preliminary Cross-Section Design Study.

PURPOSE: End-stage renal disease patients have a high mortality rate linked to cardiovascular complications, and one of these complications is vascular calcification. This study was performed to test if presepsin, an inflammatory marker, is a predictor of coronary artery calcification (CAC) in hemodialysis (HD) patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This study was a cross-sectional design involving 48 HD patients and 13 control subjects. Coronary artery calcification score (CACs) was evaluated by a high resolution, ECG synchronized computed tomography of the heart using a CT calcium scoring. Presepsin and other laboratory analyses were performed on blood samples drawn before HD. RESULTS: Presepsin levels in HD patients were 14 times higher than healthy controls (P<0.01). Also, all laboratory tests except for vitamin D were significantly different than controls. Presepsin, phosphorus levels, and calcium-phosphate product were positively correlated with increasing CACs within groups of zero to moderate calcifications (p<0.05, R=0.459 and <0.01, R=0.591, respectively). These correlations were not seen with eGFR, PTH, calcium, vitamin D, CRP, or ESR levels. Furthermore, the log-transformed data of presepsin correlated with 1-15 months of HD vintage (p<0.05, R=0.482), whereas CACs data correlated with 1-20 months of HD vintage (p<0.05, R=0.425). CONCLUSION: Although this study is preliminary and has a limited number of patients, it shows that presepsin, as an inflammatory marker, correlates with the development of moderate CAC in HD patients and may predict CAC development. Therefore, measuring presepsin and managing inflammation before and during the early phases of HD may lower coronary calcification development. However, more clinical studies in this direction are essential.