Problem article
The heavy burden of meningococcal infection is associated not only with life-threatening complications in the acute period and high mortality in invasive forms of the disease, but also with severe consequences in survivors, who are not recorded in our country.
The aim of study: to analyze clinical manifestations, complications of the acute period and outcomes of invasive forms of meningococcal disease in children in various regions of the Russian Federation.
Materials and methods: an analysis of data from 1327 inpatient medical records of children with an invasive meningococcal infection from 14 regional centers of the Russian Federation for 2012-2021 was carried out (28.3% of cases of the disease in children in the represented federal districts).
Results: it was found that young children predominated among the patients – the median was 27.4 (10.7-70.4) months. Complications of the acute period, often combined, were observed in 47.6% of cases. The development of septic shock was noted in 30.4%, Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome in 6.6%, carditis in 2.9%, cerebral edema in 15.7%, arthritis in 1.4% of cases; the formation of hydrocephalus, subdural effusion, sensorineural hearing loss in 1.8%, 0.6%, 1% of children, respectively. The presence of soft tissue necrosis requiring surgical intervention was noted in 3.5% of cases. Mortality rate was 10.1%. At the time of discharge from the hospital, 30% of children had complications associated with meningococcal infection: organ dysfunction/ failure in 13.2% of patients (severe in 1.3%), cerebral insufficiency in 19.6%; severe psycho-neurological deficits, sensorineural hearing loss, problems associated with the need for orthopedic/surgical interventions accounted for 0.7%, 0.6% and 0.8%, respectively.
Conclusion. Considering the epidemiological features of meningococcal infection – the risk of a sharp increase in morbidity in short periods of time, the life-threatening nature of the disease itself, it is necessary to remain alert to these risks and take all possible measures to prevent the disease using all available means, the most effective of which is vaccine prevention.
Review
The review provides brief historical information on the highly pathogenic influenza A (H5) and presents data on massive outbreaks caused by this subtype. It includes historical background, data on outbreaks, and the formation of potentially pandemic viruses. The abstract also highlights the current state of the problem, such as the spread of H5 influenza in new territories and its ability to infect mammals and humans. The issues of vaccination for poultry and the challenges of implementing it globally are addressed. Furthermore, the risks of further spread of the virus and the emergence of pandemic strains are being discussed.
Premature newborns are most vulnerable to the severe infectious diseases. The timeliness of vaccination in this group of children is extremely important. Historically, however, vaccination coverage for premature newborns has been significantly reduced due to unjustified contraindications. This is due to the fear of developing post-vaccination complications and the opinion that the immune response to vaccines in preterm newborns is reduced. In addition, in our country, there are no approved federal clinical guidelines for the vaccination of premature newborns, which determines the lack of a unified approach among medical workers and raises doubts among parents.
The article presents a review of Russian and foreign literature data, highlighting the state of the problem of timeliness and completeness of vaccination coverage of premature newborns. Features of the immunity of a child born prematurely and the possibility of an adequate response to vaccine antigens in various degrees of prematurity. According to the list of the National Immunization Schedule, scientific and practical data on the safety and efficacy of vaccines registered in Russia, the benefits of complying with approved schedule and the positive non-specific effects of individual vaccines are given. Data on the specific prevention of RS-virus infection are presented. It has been shown that conditions that can develop after vaccination and are characteristic of prematurity are not directly related to the vaccine and that premature newborns is able to develop a sufficient immune response. Accordingly, children born prematurely should be immunized in accordance with the passport age with the stabilization of the child’s condition and adequate weight gain.
Clostridioides difficile is a leading cause of diarrhea and pseudomembranous colitis associated with antibiotic therapy. Hypervirulent strains of C. difficile, such as ribotype 027, have high mortality rates. Recurrent C. difficile infection is extremely difficult to treat. Symptoms of the disease are caused by two toxins, TcdA and TcdB. These toxins are targets for therapeutic antibodies. The TcdB-specific monoclonal antibody bezlotoxumab (Zinplava ©, Merck & Co. Inc., USA), approved for the prevention of recurrent C. difficile infection, has some effectiveness against a limited set of C. difficile strains. Having a lower cost compared to monoclonal antibodies, high affinity for the antigen, and unique structural and functional properties, nanoantibodies are a promising strategy for the immunotherapy of diseases associated with C. difficile.
The purpose of the article is a systematic review of studies conducted in recent decades in children and adults, with an emphasis on domestic works, on the use of inosine pranobex preparations, in the treatment of infectious diseases. The clinical and immunological effectiveness of inosine pranobex in the treatment and prevention of relapses in patients with recurrent respiratory viral infections against the background of persistent herpesviruses types 4-6 has been demonstrated. Using the example of multicenter comparative as well as placebo-controlled studies, not only the effectiveness, but also the safety of long-term courses of therapy is shown. A promising direction is the use of inosine pranobex in the treatment of COVID-19 and post-Covid conditions, taking into account its immunomodulatory effect without the risk of increasing the “cytokine storm”, as well as studies of the direct antiviral effect on the SARS-CoV-2 virus in vitro.
Original Research
The purpose of the study was to evaluate the clinical and laboratory features of infectious mononucleosis with liver damage in children hospitalized in an infectious diseases hospital.
Materials and methods. A comparative retrospective study was conducted from January 2018 to June 2021. 200 Medical records of an inpatient were selected by random sampling. Inclusion criteria: age from 1 to 17 years, clinical presentation of infectious mononucleosis, absence of severe concomitant pathology. All patients underwent a standard laboratory examination, additionally determined the DNA of herpes viruses in the blood by PCR. Depending on the presence of cytolysis syndrome (ALT level > 31 U/l), all patients were divided into 2 groups: children with hepatic manifestations of IMN – 80 patients (40%) and without them – 120 (60%). Statistical analysis of the obtained results was carried out using the statistical program Statistica 8 (USA).
Results. Epstein – Barr virus was the cause of the development of IMN clinic in 59% (118/200) of cases of monoinfection and in 14.5% (29/200) in combination with other herpesviruses. All participants in the study had moderate disease. An increase in the level of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) above 150 U/L was recorded in 9.5% (19/200) of the examined, no one had more than 1000 U/L, the median was 72.5 (MKR 48–138.5) U/L. Liver damage was more often recorded in children older than 3 years, girls predominated (53.8%, p = 0.017). In patients with liver damage, the following were recorded: moderately severe fever and lymphadenopathy (p < 0.05), hepatosplenomegaly (p < 0.001), lymphocytic leukocytosis (p < 0.05), thrombocytopenia (p < 0.001), atypical mononuclear cells were detected more often (p < 0.001), less often an increase in the level of CRP (p = 0.008).
Conclusions. Our study showed that liver damage in IMN is registered in 40% of hospitalized children. Obviously, children with moderate forms of IMN need laboratory and instrumental monitoring of the state of the hepatobiliary system and appropriate correction of therapy.
Study objective: to evaluate frequency of CMV, HHV-6, and EBV reactivation in children within 60 days after HSCT.
Materials and methods: The study was carried out in Raisa Gorbacheva Memorial Research Institute for Pediatric Oncology, Hematology, and Transplantation of the Pavlov First Saint Petersburg State Medical University We analyzed 95 medical records of pediatric patients who underwent HSCT in 2021. Pretransplant serostatus for CMV, EBV, HHV-6 was studied, as well as the frequency and timing of virus reactivation after transplantation. In the prospective part, 35 children aged from 1 to 17 years were enrolled. The pretransplant evaluation included detection of anti-CMV, anti-HHV-6, and anti-EBV IgM and IgG by ELISA, and blood PCR for viremia. DNA of herpes viruses was identified by quantitative blood PCR on the day of HSCT, and then 10, 20, 30 and 60 days after HSCT. The number of viral DNA copies was calculated per 105 cells. Statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS Statistics 22 software package.
Results: On pre-transplant evaluation, 47 of 95 pediatric patients were tested for CMV with positive result in 36 children, 27 patients were tested for EBV and 17 were positive. HHV-6 DNA was detected in 3 of 25 patients
Mostly, reactivation of herpes viruses occurred in the early period up to 60 days. HHV-6 reactivation was observed on average 25±4 days after transplantation, significantly earlier than for CMV and EBV.
In a prospective study, reactivation of CMV, HHV-6, and EBV was revealed in 28 (80%) patients within 60 days of transplantation, with a maximum number of patients in 20 days after HSCT.
A trend toward an increase in CMV and HHV-6 concentration in blood was observed on days 10 and 20 after HSCT, with a maximum viral load of HHV-6 and minimal EBV replicative activity. Clinically significant manifestations of herpesvirus infection were diagnosed in 19 (54.3%) patients.
Conclusion: High seropositivity for CMV and EBV was revealed in children before transplantation. Herpes viruses reactivation occurs early in post-transplant period, on the 20th day after HSCT, HHV-6 in forms of mono- and mixed infection predominates with a trend toward increasing viral load.
Objective: is to assess parameters of cytokine profile, and some biomarkers of hemogram, cytogenetic damage, and oxidative stress to determine their associations with clinical symptoms and identify early prognostic factors for tick-borne encephalitis febrile form compared with Lyme borreliosis non-erythemal form at the onset of the disease.
Materials and methods. In 25 patients with febrile tickborne encephalitis (mean age: 49.51 years), 24 patients with Lyme borreliosis non-erythemal form (mean age: 46.70 years) and 14 healthy donors (mean age: 47.20 years), the following parameters were analyzed: hemogram, blood leukocyte indices, cytokine profile, the levels of micronucleated T-lymphocytes, malondialdehyde and total immunoglobulin (Ig) G. For statistical analysis, the Mann–Whitney U-test, Pearson’s goodness-of-fit test, Spearman’s correlation coefficient, and ROC assay with AUC assessment were used.
Results. In the tick-borne encephalitis patient group compared to the controls, the following parameters were increased: neutrophil count, blood leukocyte indices, the levels of micronucleated T-lymphocytes, malondialdehyde and proinflammatory cytokines in the blood, which directly correlated with maximal pyrexia levels. Prognostic value for early preliminary diagnosis of tick-borne encephalitis compared with borreliosis showed the following blood parameters: increases in neutrophil count and the levels of micronucleated T-cells, neutrophils to monocytes ratio, neutrophils to lymphocytes ratio, concentrations of malondialdehyde, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukins (IL)-8, IL-6, IL-10, and TNF-α/IL-4 ratio as well as decreases in the levels of IL-4 and total serum IgG. The parameters showed from average to excellent predictive ability as well as high positive and negative predictive values.
Conclusion. In patients with tick-borne encephalitis, we detected correlations between the pyrexia levels and the biomarkers of inflammation, oxidative stress, and cytogenetic damage as well as it were found some differences in these parameters from the group of borreliosis patients, which probably had prognostic significance.
The aim of the study was to study the degree of neutrophil granulocyte myeloperoxidase activity in peripheral blood of patients with leprosy in order to predict the possible recurrence of the infectious process.
Materials and methods. Electron grams of biopsies of the affected skin and blood smears of 8 (5 women and 3 men) patients with borderline (BB), 9 (6 women and 3 men) patients with subpolar lepromatous (LLs) and 7 (4 women and 3 men) patients with polar lepromatous (LLr) were used as the object of the study forms of leprosy. At the ultramicroscopic level, the degree of MP activity detected by the electron-cytochemical method in the Mf of biopsies of the affected skin, both first registered before the start of therapy and with the activation of the process during treatment, was taken into account. The percentage of mitochondria with MP Mf activity relative to the MP of inactive cells was calculated. In peripheral blood smears, the activity of neutrophilic granulocytes (NG) MP was evaluated by the mean cytochemical coefficient (SCC).
Results. It was found that in patients with the highest percentage of peroxidase-active mitochondria (79-92%), the presence of MP activity on the membranes of phagosomes and in the electron-transparent zone (around M. leprae) correlated with rapid and persistent regression of the leprosy process and long periods of relapse-free period, which was determined by comparing the data of medical histories with the results obtained in during our research. It was found that in patients without relapse with forms of BB and LLs leprosy, the activity of MP in neutrophils was 1.3 times higher (p<0.05), and the percentage of peroxidase-active mitochondria was 3 times higher (p<0.01) compared with these indicators of patients with relapse of the disease. When comparing the studied markers of groups of patients without relapse with the form of leprosy LLp, the degree of MP NG activity increased by 1.4 times (p<0.05), the percentage of mitochondria with MP Mf activity increased by 3 times (p<0.01) relative to patients with relapses.
Conclusion. Thus, the determination of myeloperoxidase activity of neutrophil granulocytes of peripheral blood can act as a prognostic marker for determining the effectiveness of anti-leprosy therapy and the risk of relapses of the disease during and after treatment.
In triple co-infection with HIV/HCV/HBV, the prognosis is significantly poorer and life expectancy is lower because of the rapid progression of liver fibrosis or development of hepatocellular carcinoma. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that one of the risk factors for the unfavorable course of HIV/HCV/HBV co-infection is contagious order and the interval between coinfections. The study analyzed anamnestic data and the results of direct follow-up of 97 patients co-infected with HIV/HCV/HBV for 1-2 years. Patients were divided into three study groups: (1) HIV as the first pathogen, (2) HCV as the first pathogen, and (3) HBV as the first pathogen. For each patient, the period (in years) between the acquisition of the first and subsequent pathogens was considered. During the fol-low-up period, viral HIV, HCV, and HBV load was assessed by PCR, and annual transient liver fibro-elastometry was performed to determine the fibrosis stage using the METAVIR scoring system. The risk of progressive liver fibrosis in HIV/HCV/HBV co-infection is higher when HIV or HBV is the first pathogen, but the interval between the acquisition of HBV and other viruses is 10 years. Meanwhile, a stable course of liver fibrosis is associated with an HBV viral load of >7,200 copies/ml. In the risk group, the most effective antiretroviral therapy was a combination of reverse transcriptase inhibitors, HIV protease inhibitors, and direct antiviral (anti-HCV) drugs. Therefore, the order of infection and intervals between pathogen acquisition in triple co-infection with HIV/HCV/HBV have a significant effect on liver fibrosis progression, which requires specific approaches to the organization of diagnostic tests and the control of antiretroviral therapy.
The aim is to determine the dynamic changes in the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among various age groups of the conditionally healthy population of the Tyva Republic over the past 11 years.
Material and methods. 1163 serum samples collected in 2019 from the healthy volunteers living in the Tyva Republic of were tested for HCV markers. The study included people of 10 age cohorts: less than 1 year, 1-4, 5-9, 10-14, 15-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59 years, and 60 years or older. Anti-HCV antibodies were detected using commercially available enzyme immunoassay. HCV RNA was detected in anti-HCV positive samples by means of RT-PCR. The dynamic changes in HCV prevalence were assessed based on a comparison of the results with data of the seroservey of the same design conducted in this region in 2008 in similar age cohorts of healthy volunteers (n=910).
Results and discussion. The prevalence of anti-HCV antibodies among general population of the Tyva Republic in 2019 was 2.0%. This indicator slightly decreased by 1.7 times over 10 years (3.3% in 2008, p =0.1629). The prevalence of active HCV infection in the Tyva Republic also decreased not significantly (1.1% in 2019 vs. 1.3% in 2008, p = 0.6901). The proportion of people with active infection among anti-HCV positives in 2019 was 56.5%.
The decrease in the prevalence of HCV infection over 11 years was associated with a significant reduction in the detection rates of hepatitis C markers in age cohort 40-49 years (0.9% in 2019 vs. 3.6% in 2008 for HCV RNA, p<0.05, and 1.8% in 2019 vs. 9.1% in 2008 for anti-HCV, p<0.05, respectively). The highest rates of detection of anti-HCV and HCV RNA were observed among participants aged 60 years and over (8.0% and 7.0%, respectively, in 2019 and 11.0 and 6.3%, respectively, in 2008), which significantly exceeded detection rates in other age groups, both in 2008 and 2019 (<0.05).
Conclusion. A decrease in the prevalence of HCV infection in general population of the Tyva Republic was observed over last 11 years, primarily due to a decrease in the proportion of unidentified cases of infection among people aged 40-49 years. At the same time, the proportion of unidentified cases of HCV infection in persons aged 60 years and older remains consistently high, which is apparently due to insufficient screening coverage in this age cohort. This age-associated risk cohort should be benefited from the inclusion in HCV screening program.
Pharmacoeconomics
The human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is one of the risk factors for the development of a number of diseases in women and men. Vaccination of adolescents with the 4-valent HPV vaccine significantly reduces the prevalence of infection with vaccine strains of HPV.
The aim of this study was to assess the cost-effectiveness of gender neutral vaccination with the 4-valent HPV vaccine in 12-year-old adolescents in the Russian Federation.
Materials and methods. Markov modeling was used based on epidemiological data for the Russian Federation. In the base case, the analysis was carried out taking into account the social perspective. It was assumed that the effect of vaccination lasts throughout life. The analysis was carried out for the survival period of 12-year-old adolescents. Costs for the treatment of HPV-associated diseases corresponded to compulsory health insurance rates across St. Petersburg for 2023. Costs and life expectancy have been discounted for 3,5% a year.
Results. Taking into account the accepted assumptions, vaccination of 12-year-old girls in the Russian Federation with the 4-valent HPV vaccine will prevent, per 100 thousand vaccinated people, 1448 cases of anogenital warts, 4106 cases of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2+, 1194 cases of invasive cervical cancer and 257 cases of other oncological HPV-associated diseases, and gender-neutral vaccination (100 thousand girls and 100 thousand boys) – an additional 1021 cases of anogenital warts and 162 cases of oncological HPV-associated diseases. Vaccination of girls will reduce the budgetary costs associated with HPV infection by 28.515 thousand rubles per 1 vaccinated girl with vaccination cost equal to 24.606 thousand rubles. Vaccination of adolescents of both sexes increases costs by 10.074 thousand rubles per 1 vaccinated person. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) is equal to 232.5 thousand rubles/QALY (quality adjusted life year), i.e. vaccination is highly cost-effective. Sensitivity analysis shows the high reliability of the results obtained.
Conclusions. Gender neutral vaccination of adolescents before the onset of sexual activity with the 4-valent HPV vaccine can be considered as a highly effective health technology in the prevention of HPV associated diseases.
Sociological research
Objective. To assess the possible impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the attitudes of Belarusian doctors toward vaccination.
Materials and methods. A questionnaire survey has been conducted using the Google Forms service for doctors of different specialties in the Republic of Belarus.
Results. A total of 1815 doctors from 7 regions of the Republic of Belarus participated in the survey. A considerable part of the respondents (79,89%, or 1450 people) have a positive attitude to vaccination, 16,42% (298 people) – neutral, a part of the respondents (3,69%, or 67 people) have a negative attitude towards vaccination. The highest percentage of positive evaluations of the attitude towards vaccination was revealed among infectious disease doctors, pediatricians and doctors of prophylactic specialization. For a significant proportion of respondents (62.7%, or 1,138 people), the pandemic raised an interest in vaccination issues. The attitudes toward vaccination by the majority of surveyed physicians either remained unchanged (49.2%, or 893 people) or changed for the better (47.22%, or 857 people). The vast majority of respondents are vaccinated against COVID-19 and influenza. Willingness to be vaccinated against influenza was most noted among infectious disease specialists and prophylactic physicians.
Conclusion. The COVID-19 pandemic changed more than just practical medicine and science, it also transformed the information field, initiated educational reforms, and demonstrated the importance of human values. The COVID-19 pandemic influenced the physicians’ growing interest in vaccination.
Epidemiology
Aim: To identify regional epidemiological features of infectious diseases spread by fecal-oral transmission and the factors influencing them in four regions of Vietnam.
Materials and methods: Retrospective epidemiological analysis of data of 10 infectious diseases spread by fecal-oral transmission in Vietnam for the period 2017-2022. Maps of incidence by province was created using the QGIS 3.28 program. Correlation coefficients between the incidence of the studied diseases and socio-economic factors were established.
Results: It was revealed that the incidence of the 10 studied diseases was 443.1±113.5 0 /0000 and tends to decrease. The highest incidence was recorded in Tay Nguyen. Cases of diarrheal syndrome (330.1±73.8 0 /0000) and enteroviral vesicular stomatitis (HMFD) (93.6±33.4 0 /0000) accounted for 95.65% of all registered cases. Diarrhea is distributed mainly among children under 4 years of age (1090.3±384.8 0 /0000) and 5-9 years old (60.9±18.5 0 /0000). Regional epidemiological features of diarrhea and HMFD are shown. The highest incidence of the HMFD was recorded among children under 4 years of age in Dong Thap (4635.8 0 /0000) and Ho Chi Minh City (4210.5 0 /0000), and the highest incidence of diarrheal syndrome was in Kon Tum (2621.2 0 /0000), Thai Binh (2556.6 0 /0000) and Dien Bien (1461.9 0 /0000). Relationships were established between the incidence of diarrhea and levels of access to safe water (rSpearman = – 0.393; p = 0.001), to the sanitation system (rSpearman = – 0.267; p = 0.035), average monthly income (rSpearman = – 0.424; p = 0.001), poverty levels (rSpearman = 0.403; p = 0.001).
Conclusion: The high incidence of infectious diseases spread by fecal-oral transmission in Vietnam is due to the high incidence of diarrhea and HMFD. A high incidence of diarrhea is typical for provinces with low levels of access to safe water and sanitation systems, high levels of poverty and low average monthly income. Incidence of HMFD is high among children under 4 years old, especially in the southern provinces with high population density in the summer and autumn seasons.
Experience exchange
HIV/AIDS sufferers are required to take antiretrovirals (ARVs), on time and with discipline, but many sufferers will forget to take their medication. In overcoming this problem by providing the my therapy application. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of applying the my therapy application on adherence to taking ARV medication in HIV/ AIDS people at Kompeda Surabaya.
The research design used the Pre-Experiment, with the one group pre-test and post-test design approaches. The study population consisted of 74 people with a sample size of 62 respondents using probability sampling technique. The variables of this study are the application of digital my therapy and adherence to taking ARV medication. Data analysis used the Wilocoxon Signed Rank Test.
The results of this study were obtained after being given the application of the my therapy application to people with HIV/AIDS with the results of the statistical wilocoxon test obtained a p-value of 0.000, it can be concluded that H1 is accepted meaning that there is an effect of the application of my therapy on adherence to taking ARV medication in people with HIV/AIDS at Kompeda Surabaya.
The conclusion in this study was that before the intervention was given, most patients did not adhere to taking medication. Therefore, it is hoped that HIV/AIDS patients can maintain adherence to taking ARV medication, so that it can inhibit the growth of the HIV/AIDS virus. It is hoped that Komeda Surabaya will be able to overcome the importance of special treatment with education for adherence to taking ARV medication for people with HIV/AIDS at Kompeda Surabaya.
Clinical Case
Cytomegalovirus infection is the most common congenital infection, causing development disorders of the fetus’ nervous system. The article describes two clinical cases of congenital cytomegalovirus infection, which highlight the crucial importance of an early administration of direct antiviral drugs (ganciclovir, valgancyclovir) for the generalized manifest forms of infection. The first clinical case study (a girl, most likely infected at the beginning of the second trimester of pregnancy) deals with the development of the classic triad of severe congenital CMV infection (small weight for gestational age, direct hyperbilirubinemia and petechial rash). Given that the intrauterine developmental anomalies specific for CMV were detected in the fetus on the 32nd week of pregnancy during her mother’s comprehensive test examination, the treatment of the infant girl with ganciclovir could have started immediately after her birth. The second clinical case study describes a congenital generalized cytomegalovirus infection in a child with malformations of internal organs and the central nervous system. The described two clinical cases of congenital cytomegalovirus infection highlight the crucial importance of ganciclovir and point to the fact that the isolated use of hyperimmune immunoglobulin does not stop the progression of the disease. The chance of a favorable outcome of the disease is much higher if the clinical diagnosis is established as early as possible after the birth of the child and etiotropic therapy is fully administered.
The article presents two clinical cases with description of peculiarities of septic infection occurred after splenectomy and due to congenital splenic hypoplasia.
Decreased immune defense resulted from splenectomy leads to severe infections with a high risk of death. The most severe sequela is overwhelming postsplenectomy infection (OPSI-syndrome) which is characterized by high mortality rate (50-70%) within 12-24 hours from the onset of the first symptoms. The main risk factors of postsplenectomy sepsis are a condition which became an indication for splenectomy, the immune status of the patient, age and the time period after splenectomy
Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus infuenzae type b, Neisseria meningitidis are commonly identified etiological factors of OPSI-syndrome. The diagnosis could be delayed due to nonspecific flu-like prodromal symptoms of the OPSI-syndrome. Delay in the diagnosis and treatment of sepsis may increase the risk of death.
One of the syndromes associated with post-splenectomy sepsis is fulminant purpura (purpura fulminans), which requires differential diagnosis with meningococcal infection. However, half of the cases of fulminant pneumococcal purpura occur in patients with asplenia or hyposplenia. In the first clinical case, a preliminary diagnosis of generalized meningococcal infection was made on admission, but the diagnosis of pneumococcal infection could not be excluded in asplenic patient and was subsequently confirmed by laboratory tests.
Given the high risk of fulminant postsplenectomy sepsis, and the difficulties of timely diagnosis, the preventive strategy of infections after splenectomy falls into three major categories- vaccination, antibiotic prophylaxis, and patient (patient’s parents) education.
Improving healthcare workers’ knowledge is required to ensure prompt diagnosis of hyposplenism, adequate risk assessment of postplenectomy infection and prevention of OPSI-syndrome.
The results of research of variants of kidney damage caused by SARS-CoV-2 (Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus) in children are analyzed. Manifestations range from minor urinary syndrome to the development of acute kidney injury (AKI). А clinical case of debut of nephrotic syndrome against the background of manifest coronavirus infection in an 11-year-old girl has been demonstrated.