Children hospitalized for juvenile arthritis in the United States.

Juvenile arthritis (JA) is an autoimmune condition affecting children. We used the 2017 National Inpatient Sample (NIS) to evaluate the impact of JA in the United States. The admission data were converted to weighted form and patients between the ages of 0 and 18 (inclusive) were used in our study. 560 weighted cases were found in 2017. It was more common in females than males (340 females, 220 males), Whites (235 cases), and Medicaid covered 61.6% of all patients with JA (345 cases). The total hospital charges were $25,147,389 while the mean length of stay (LOS) was 4.55 days. The highest number of cases was reported in April 2017.

Coronavirus Disease: A Review of a New Threat to Public Health.

In December 2019, several patients from Wuhan, China were admitted to hospitals with symptoms of pneumonia. As the number of patients presenting with similar symptoms started to rise, the causative agent was eventually isolated from samples. It was initially called the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) and has been recently relabelled as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2); the disease it causes has been named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Over the next few weeks, the virus spread from Wuhan to affect different provinces in China and, after a few months, it is now present in 109 countries. As of March 10, 2020, there have been 113,702 confirmed cases globally, and 4,012 deaths have been registered. The World Health Organization (WHO) called COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11, 2020. There are multiple drug trials going on with some positive results. However, since no vaccine is available, the best way to combat the virus is by preventive methods.

Kawasaki disease among children in the United States.

Kawasaki disease (KD) is a medium-sized-vessel vasculitis that affects mostly children. The 2016 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Kid's Inpatient Database (HCUP KID) was used in weighted form to investigate differences in gender, month of year, race, region, total charges, and household income in the United States. 5503 weighted cases were found. It was more common in males (3345, 60.8%) than females (2158, 39.2%) (p < 0.01). Most admitted KD patients were white (1913, 38.1%). A higher prevalence of Kawasaki disease was seen among patients of Asian or Pacific Islander background (0.2%). The southern regions of the United States reported the highest rate of admission with 2036 patients (37%). The median age on admission was 2 years (interquartile range [IQR] of 1-5, p < 0.01) and the median charge was $32,170 (IQR: $20,825-$50,502.05) (p < 0.01). Most admissions of Kawasaki disease were recorded in winter with a peak in March (623, 11.3%) (p < 0.01).

The Killer Virus Called Nipah: A Review.

Nipah virus (NiV) is a deadly virus with a high mortality rate that has affected many developing countries in the past. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), many economically deprived countries such as Madagascar, Cambodia, and Thailand are also at high risk for future outbreaks. The first case of NiV was reported in 1998 and almost two decades later, little scientific progress has been made in finding a proper treatment and prevention vaccine. As many developing countries are not properly equipped to fight the infection, it is vital to properly educate the health systems. The aim of this review is to provide an epidemiological background as well as to understand the transmission routes, presentation, and the diagnosis and prevention of this deadly virus.

A Review of Three New Anti-interleukin-5 Monoclonal Antibody Therapies for Severe Asthma.

Asthma is a chronic respiratory condition that is characterized by reversible airflow obstruction. Interleukin-5 (IL-5) is involved in the pathophysiology of the disease and drugs targeting IL-5 have been studied for years as a possible treatment option for severe asthma. In this review, the authors searched PubMed for major drug therapies and clinical trials against IL-5. A total of 29 articles met the criteria for selection and were shortlisted; of these, 10 papers were on benralizumab, 14 on mepolizumab, and five on reslizumab. The three drugs proved to be safe and efficacious for patients with severe asthma, leading to decreased rates of asthma exacerbations, lowered levels of eosinophils, and improved pulmonary functions in various studies. Patients also reported an improvement in the quality of life. The side effects of these three drugs were mild and no deaths directly linked to the drug were reported. However, longer duration studies are required to draw firm and strong conclusions on the safety of these therapeutic agents.

A Rare Case of Streptococcus dysgalactiae Subsp. Dysgalactiae Human Zoonotic Infection.

Streptococcus dysgalactiae has two main subspecies: Streptococcus dysgalactiae subsp. equisimilus (SDSE) and Streptococcus dysgalactiae subsp. dysgalactiae (SDSD). The vast majority of human infections belonging to Streptococcus dysgalactiae have been associated with SDSE. There are only three cases of SDSD found in humans in literature. We present a case of SDSD cellulitis and bacteremia in a 49-year-old female patient from Houston, Texas with no major exposure to animals or trauma.