Clinical characterization of patients with inflammatory myopathy in 2 tertiary care hospitals in Colombia: A descriptive survey / Caracterización clínica de pacientes con miopatía inflamatoria en 2 instituciones de alta complejidad en Colombia: estudio descriptivo

ABSTRACT Background: There is little information on inflammatory myopathies in Colombia. The objective was to identify the demographic and clinical characteristics of these patients in two tertiary care hospitals between 2010 and 2015. Materials and methods: A descriptive, retrospective survey was carried out, by reviewing medical records and obtaining information on demographic and clinical variables. The qualitative variables were expressed using absolute and relative frequencies, and the quantitative with mean and standard deviation (SD), or median with interquartile ranges (IQR), depending on data distribution. The IBM SPSS 22 statistical package was used. Results: A total of 105 patients with a mean age of 50.4 years (SD: 15.1) were included, with 76 (72.4%) women. In total, 50 subjects (48.5%) had a definitive diagnosis. The most common inflammatory myopathy was dermatomyositis (n = 66; 62.9%). The skin was the most commonly affected organ (n=66; 62.9%). Muscle weakness was present in 60 individuals (57.1%). The most frequent alarm sign was swallowing disorder (n = 28; 26.7%). Creatine phosphokinase was higher in polymyositis, with a median of 1800IU/L (IQR: 365-6157). The most widely used drugs were glucocorticoids (n = 83; 79%). Some patients were refractory to immunosuppressive treatment, mainly in antisynthetase syndrome (n = 5; 35.7%). Five patients (4.8%) died of infections (pneumonia and bacteraemia). Conclusions: In this cohort, the most common entity was dermatomyositis, and the most affected organ was the skin. There was a significant presentation of warning signs, refractoriness to immunosuppressive treatment, and lower muscle enzyme values compared to other cohorts. Mortality was mainly due to infectious complications.

RESUMEN Introducción: Existe poca información sobre las miopatías inflamatorias en Colombia. El obje tivo fue identificar las características demográficas y clínicas de estos pacientes en dos instituciones de alta complejidad entre los arios 2010 y 2015. Materiales y métodos: Se realizó un estudio descriptivo y retrospectivo. Mediante revisión de registros médicos, se obtuvo información sobre variables demográficas y clínicas. Las variables cualitativas se expresaron mediante frecuencias absolutas y relativas, y las cuantitativas con media y desviación estándar (DE) o mediana con rangos intercuartílicos (RIQ), dependiendo de la distribución de los datos. Se utilizó el paquete estadístico IBM SPSS® v.22. Resultados: Se incluyeron 105 pacientes con edad promedio de 50,4 años (DE: 15,1); 76 mujeres (72,4%). En total, 50 sujetos (48,5%) tuvieron diagnóstico definitivo. La miopa tía inflamatoria más común fue dermatomiositis (n = 66; 62,9%). La piel fue el órgano más comúnmente afectado (n = 66; 62,9%). La debilidad muscular estuvo presente en 60 individuos (57,1%). El signo de alarma más frecuente fue el trastorno de la deglución (n = 28; 26,7%). La creatinfosfoquinasa tuvo mayor elevación en polimiositis con una mediana de 1.800 Ul/l (RIQ: 365-6.157). Los medicamentos más utilizados fueron los glucocorticoides (n = 83; 79%). Hubo refractariedad al tratamiento inmunosupresor, principalmente en síndrome antisintetasa (n = 5; 35,7%). Cinco pacientes (4,8%) murieron por infecciones (neumonía y bacteriemia). Conclusiones: En esta cohorte, la entidad más común fue la dermatomiositis y el órgano más afectado fue la piel. Hubo presentación relevante de signos de alarma, refractariedad al tratamiento inmunosupresor y valores de enzimas musculares menores comparados con otras cohortes. La mortalidad fue principalmente por complicaciones infecciosas.

Phage ΦPan70, a Putative Temperate Phage, Controls Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Planktonic, Biofilm and Burn Mouse Model Assays.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is one of the Multi-Drug-Resistant organisms most frequently isolated worldwide and, because of a shortage of new antibiotics, bacteriophages are considered an alternative for its treatment. Previously, P. aeruginosa phages were isolated and best candidates were chosen based on their ability to form clear plaques and their host range. This work aimed to characterize one of those phages, ΦPan70, preliminarily identified as a good candidate for phage-therapy. We performed infection curves, biofilm removal assays, transmission-electron-microscopy, pulsed-field-gel-electrophoresis, and studied the in vivo ΦPan70 biological activity in the burned mouse model. ΦPan70 was classified as a member of the Myoviridae family and, in both planktonic cells and biofilms, was responsible for a significant reduction in the bacterial population. The burned mouse model showed an animal survival between 80% and 100%, significantly different from the control animals (0%). However, analysis of the ΦPan70 genome revealed that it was 64% identical to F10, a temperate P. aeruginosa phage. Gene annotation indicated ΦPan70 as a new, but possible temperate phage, therefore not ideal for phage-therapy. Based on this, we recommend genome sequence analysis as an early step to select candidate phages for potential application in phage-therapy, before entering into a more intensive characterization.