Intestinal anisakiasis: CT imaging findings-a 10-year descriptive study in a single center.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to retrospectively review cases of intestinal anisakiasis diagnosed by CT over a 10-year period and to evaluate imaging findings associated with the disease. METHODS: This retrospective study included 71 patients with clinical suspicion of intestinal anisakiasis in whom an abdominopelvic computed tomography (CT) was performed at a single institution between June 2011 and December 2021. To identify the cases, we used medical term search engines and the hospital's radiology case database. Clinical information was gathered from the medical records. A radiologist with five years of experience reviewed and analyzed the CT images to determine the characteristic findings of intestinal anisakiasis. RESULTS: The study included 47 confirmed cases of intestinal anisakiasis. The mean age of the patients was 52 years (range 18-87 years), being more frequent in men than women (26:21). All patients reported ingestion of raw fish, most commonly anchovies in vinegar (30/47, 63,8%). Abdominal pain was the predominant symptom, accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and occasionally fever. The most common clinical suspicions were intestinal obstruction (14/47, 29,8%) and appendicitis (10/47, 21,3%), whereas intestinal anisakiasis was suspected in only 2 cases prior to imaging. CT showed thickening of the bowel wall with submucosal edema in all patients, predominantly involving the ileum (43/47, 91,5%), usually in a relatively long segment (mean of 17,5 cm, range 10-30 cm). Simultaneous involvement of multiple bowel segments was observed in 16 cases (34%). Intestinal obstruction with dilatation of proximal loops (33/47, 70,2%), ascites (45/47, 95,7%), and mesenteric fat striation (32/47, 68,1%) were also common findings. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates the value of computed tomography in suggesting the diagnosis of intestinal anisakiasis, which often presents with nonspecific clinical manifestations. The characteristic CT findings that provide diagnostic clues are bowel wall thickening with submucosal edema, typically involving a long segment of the ileum, with signs of intestinal obstruction, ascites, and mesenteric fat striation. Simultaneous involvement of several intestinal segments (typically the gastric antrum and right colon) is an additional finding to be considered and may provide a diagnostic clue.

[Arcobacter: a foodborne emerging pathogen]. / Arcobacter: un patógeno emergente de origen alimentario.

In the last three decades, several emergent diseases affecting human beings have been identified, most of them from infectious origin including bacterial, viral, parasitic and even difficult to classify as spongiform encephalopathy. Most of these are zoonotic as it is the case of Arcobacter, currently considered as an emerging and food borne pathogen, of growing importance for public health. The increase in the prevalence and incidence of cases associated to this bacteria as well as in the number of actual researches and reports, suggest that the infection in human beings and animals has been underestimated due to a lack in knowledge about this bacteria and of a standardized isolation protocols, as well as the use of correct identification methods and techniques. Increasing trends in the isolation of Arcobacter from animal derivates used as food and from samples taken during production processes, cause an augment in public health awareness, since there is little knowledge about the pathogenic potential of Arcobacter species and the few focused in this bacterial group, show many different transmission routes and host species. Given this, the objective of the present review is to actualize the reader in the most important characteristics of this bacterium, including its morphology, distribution, classification, transmission, association with water, food, pets and animals, as well as the laboratory isolation techniques, virulence factors and their antibiotic susceptibility patterns.

In vitro Characterization of Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Intravenous Immunoglobulins (IVIg) Produced From Plasma of Donors Immunized With the BNT162b2 Vaccine and Its Comparison With a Similar Formulation Produced From Plasma of COVID-19 Convalescent Donors.

Despite vaccines are the main strategy to control the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic, their effectiveness could not be enough for individuals with immunosuppression. In these cases, as well as in patients with moderate/severe COVID-19, passive immunization with anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulins could be a therapeutic alternative. We used caprylic acid precipitation to prepare a pilot-scale batch of anti-SARS-CoV-2 intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIg) from plasma of donors immunized with the BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) anti-COVID-19 vaccine (VP-IVIg) and compared their in vitro efficacy and safety with those of a similar formulation produced from plasma of COVID-19 convalescent donors (CP-IVIg). Both formulations showed immunological, physicochemical, biochemical, and microbiological characteristics that meet the specifications of IVIg formulations. Moreover, the concentration of anti-RBD and ACE2-RBD neutralizing antibodies was higher in VP-IVIg than in CP-IVIg. In concordance, plaque reduction neutralization tests showed inhibitory concentrations of 0.03-0.09 g/L in VP-IVIg and of 0.06-0.13 in CP-IVIg. Thus, VP-IVIg has in vitro efficacy and safety profiles that justify their evaluation as therapeutic alternative for clinical cases of COVID-19. Precipitation with caprylic acid could be a simple, feasible, and affordable alternative to produce formulations of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IVIg to be used therapeutically or prophylactically to confront the COVID-19 pandemic in middle and low-income countries.

Arcobacter: un patógeno emergente de origen alimentario / Arcobacter: a foodborne emerging pathogen

En las últimas tres décadas, se han identificado gran número de enfermedades emergentes que afectan al ser humano, la mayoría de las cuales son de origen infeccioso e incluyen enfermedades bacterianas, virales, parasitarias, entre otras. Muchas de éstas son de origen zoonótico, tal es el caso de algunas especies de Arcobacter, actualmente consideradas bacterias emergentes y, también, asociadas a transmisión alimentaria y de creciente importancia en salud pública. El incremento en los datos de prevalencia e incidencia de casos asociados a esta sugiere que la infección en humanos y animales ha sido subestimada, debido a la carencia de conocimientos al respecto y de un protocolo estándar, universalmente aceptado, para el aislamiento primario de este organismo y al uso de correctos métodos y técnicas de identificación. El incremento en el hallazgo de Arcobacter en alimentos derivados de animales y en muestras tomadas durante el proceso de producción de alimentos, hace que aumente la preocupación en materia de salud pública, ya que aún se conoce muy poco del potencial patogénico de las especies Arcobacter y los pocos estudios que se han llevado a cabo, muestran una gran cantidad de especies hospederas y rutas de transmisión. Dado lo anterior, el objetivo de la presente revisión es el actualizar al lector en las características más destacadas de esta bacteria en cuanto a su morfología, distribución, clasificación, transmisión, asociación con aguas, alimentos, mascotas y animales de crianza, como también sobre su aislamiento en laboratorio, factores de virulencia y patrones de sensibilidad a antibióticos.

In the last three decades, several emergent diseases affecting human beings have been identified, most of them from infectious origin including bacterial, viral, parasitic and even difficult to classify as spongiform encephalopathy. Most of these are zoonotic as it is the case of Arcobacter, currently considered as an emerging and food borne pathogen, of growing importance for public health. The increase in the prevalence and incidence of cases associated to this bacteria as well as in the number of actual researches and reports, suggest that the infection in human beings and animals has been underestimated due to a lack in knowledge about this bacteria and of a standardized isolation protocols, as well as the use of correct identification methods and techniques. Increasing trends in the isolation of Arcobacter from animal derivates used as food and from samples taken during production processes, cause an augment in public health awareness, since there is little knowledge about the pathogenic potential of Arcobacter species and the few focused in this bacterial group, show many different transmission routes and host species. Given this, the objective of the present review is to actualize the reader in the most important characteristics of this bacterium, including its morphology, distribution, classification, transmission, association with water, food, pets and animals, as well as the laboratory isolation techniques, virulence factors and their antibiotic susceptibility patterns.