First Report of Chagas Disease Vector Species Triatoma sanguisuga (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) Infected with Trypanosoma cruzi in Delaware.

In July and October 2023, two live triatomine bugs were found inside a home in New Castle County, Delaware. The bugs were identified as Triatoma sanguisuga, the most widespread triatomine bug species in the United States. Triatoma sanguisuga is a competent vector of Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease. The two specimens were tested via real-time PCR (qPCR) for infection with T. cruzi, and one of the specimens was positive. Despite T. sanguisuga being endemic to the area, attainment of accurate species identification and T. cruzi testing of the bugs required multiple calls to federal, state, private, and academic institutions over several months. This constitutes the first report of T. sanguisuga infected with T. cruzi in Delaware. In addition, this is the first published report of T. sanguisuga in New Castle County, the northernmost and most densely populated county in Delaware. New Castle County still conforms to the described geographic range of T. sanguisuga, which spans from Texas to the East Coast of the United States. The T. cruzi infection prevalence of the species has not been studied in the northeastern United States, but collections in southern states have found prevalences as high as 60%. The Delaware homeowner's lengthy pursuit of accurate information about the vector highlights the need for more research on this important disease vector in Delaware.

Quality Assessment of Systematic Reviews Performed As An Undergraduate thesis in A Peruvian University: A Systematic Review.

Objective: To determine the quality of systematic reviews submitted as a thesis in the Medical School of Ricardo Palma University. Methods: We conducted a systematic review. We included systematic reviews submitted as theses from Ricardo Palma University, and we excluded narrative reviews, editorials, clinical experiments, and those with incomplete data. We performed a structured search on EMBASE, PubMed, Scopus, and Institutional Repository from the Ricardo Palma University and RENATI. The risk of bias assessment was performed through the AMSTAR-2 and the modified AMSTAR-2 tools. The primary outcome was review quality. A qualitative synthesis of the information was performed. Results: One thousand four hundred eighty-seven theses were identified, and exclusion criteria were applied, whereby 11 theses were selected for review and thorough consultation. Of the 11 selected theses, and through the AMSTAR-2 and modified AMSTAR-2 tools, the findings reached were that 90.9% of the included theses presented critically low quality that was not modified even when the quality was reevaluated after its publication as a scientific article. Conclusion: The systematic reviews presented as undergraduate thesis in the Medical School of Ricardo Palma University showed low and critically low quality. Improvement in systematic review training is required for both students and institutional advisors.

Símdrome de Silver-Russell (hemihipertrofia) y cor triatriatum en un neonato / Silver-Russell syndrome (hemihypertrophy) and cor triatriatum in a newborn

Tanto el síndrome de hemihipertrofia como el cor triatriatum son patologías sumamente infrecuentes. La hemihipertrofia se define como el sobrecrecimiento completo o parcial de uno de los hemicuerpos. El cor triatriatum es una cardiopatía congénita caracterizada por una membrana que divide la aurícula izquierda en dos cámaras; si esta membrana tiene un orificio restrictivo, provoca obstrucción al pasaje sanguíneo desde las venas pulmonares hacia el ventrículo izquierdo, lo que genera hipertensión y edema pulmonar. En este contexto, el ductus arterioso permeable puede actuar como vía de descompresión del circuito pulmonar al permitir el pasaje sanguíneo desde la arteria pulmonar hacia la aorta. Presentamos a un paciente con diagnóstico de síndrome de Silver-Rusell (hemihipertrofia), cor triatriatum y ductus arterioso con flujo invertido. Hasta donde conocemos, esta asociación de patologías infrecuentes y forma de presentación no se han descrito anteriormente.

Hemihypertrophy syndrome and cor triatriatum are extremely rare pathologies. Hemihypertrophy is defined as complete or partial overgrowth of one of the hemibodies. Cor triatriatum is a congenital heart disease characterized by a membrane which separates the left atrium into two chambers; if that membrane has a restrictive hole, it causes obstruction to blood passage from the pulmonary veins into the left ventricle causing hypertension and pulmonary edema. In this context, the patent ductus arteriosus can act as a means of decompression of the pulmonary circuit, because it allows the blood passage from the pulmonary artery to the aorta. We report a patient with Silver-Rusell syndrome (hemihypertrophy), cor triatriatum and ductus arteriosus with reverse flow. To our knowledge, this association of rare pathologies and this clinical presentation have not been described previously.