Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Medicine

381-382

Authors: Giao Huynh, Kimberly H. Nguyen, Han Thi Ngoc Nguyen, Tuan Diep Tran, Pham Le An

None.

385-386

Authors: Yusra Mashkoor, Faryal Rafique, Amraha Zubair

None.

400-409

Authors: Serap Argun Baris, Oya Baydar Toprak, Pelin Duru Cetinkaya, Fusun Fakili, Nurdan Kokturk, Seval Kul, Ozgecan Kayalar, Yildiz Tutuncu, Emel Azak, Mutlu Kuluozturk, Pinar Aysert Yildiz, Pelin Pinar Deniz, Oguz Kilinc, Ilknur Basyigit, Hasim Boyaci, Ismail Hanta, Neslihan Kose, Gulseren Sagcan, Caglar Cuhadaroglu, Hacer Kuzu Okur, Hasan Selcuk Ozger, Begum Ergan, Mehtap Hafizoglu, Abdullah Sayiner, Esra Nurlu Temel, Onder Ozturk, Tansu Ulukavak Ciftci, Ipek Kivilcim Oguzulgen, Vildan Avkan Oguz, Firat Bayraktar, Ozlem Ataoglu, Merve Ercelik, Pinar Yildiz Gulhan, Aysegul Tomruk Erdem, Muge Meltem Tor, Oya Itil, Hasan Bayram

Objective: To evaluate long-term effects of COVID-19, and to determine the risk factors in long-COVID in a cohort of the Turkish Thoracic Society (TTS)-TURCOVID multicenter registry. Methods: Thirteen centers participated with 831 patients; 504 patients were enrolled after exclusions. The study was designed in three-steps: (1) Phone questionnaire; (2) retrospective evaluation of the medical records; (3) face-to-face visit. Results: In the first step, 93.5% of the patients were hospitalized; 61.7% had a history of pneumonia at the time of diagnosis. A total of 27.1% reported clinical symptoms at the end of the first year. Dyspnea (17.00%), fatigue (6.30%), and weakness (5.00%) were the most prevalent long-term symptoms. The incidence of long-term symptoms was increased by 2.91 fold (95% CI 1.04-8.13, P=0.041) in the presence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and by 1.84 fold (95% CI 1.10-3.10, P=0.021) in the presence of pneumonia at initial diagnosis, 3.92 fold (95% CI 2.29-6.72, P=0.001) of dyspnea and 1.69 fold (95% CI 1.02-2.80, P=0.040) fatigue persists in the early-post-treatment period and 2.88 fold (95% CI 1.52- 5.46, P=0.001) in the presence of emergency service admission in the post COVID period. In step 2, retrospective analysis of 231 patients revealed that 1.4% of the chest X-rays had not significantly improved at the end of the first year, while computed tomography (CT) scan detected fibrosis in 3.4%. In step 3, 138 (27.4%) patients admitted to face-to-face visit at the end of first year; at least one symptom persisted in 49.27% patients. The most common symptoms were dyspnea (27.60%), psychiatric symptoms (18.10%), and fatigue (17.40%). Thorax CT revealed fibrosis in 2.4% patients. Conclusions: COVID-19 symptoms can last for extended lengths of time, and severity of the disease as well as the presence of comorbidities might contribute to increased risk. Long-term clinical issues should be regularly evaluated after COVID-19.

418-424

Authors: Tharaka Wijerathna, Nayana Gunathilaka, Saveen Semege, Nishantha Pathirana, Wasana Rodrigo, Deepika Fernando

Objective: To compare the DNA sequences of Leishmania (L.) donovani isolated from individuals in two districts of the Northern Province with other parts of Sri Lanka and neighboring countries. Methods: Samples were collected from military personnel at the Army Hospital, Narahenpita, Sri Lanka from November 2018 to March 2020. A portion of the samples was fixed, stained with Giemsa and observed under the light microscope. The genomic The DNA was extracted from the remaining portion of the samples using DNEasy blood tissue kit (Qiagen, Germany) and amplified using Leishmania genus-specific primers for molecular diagnosis initially. DNA was amplified using L. donovani species-specific primers by PCR and the amplified product was sequenced for comparison of nucleotide sequences. Results: Out of 76 suspected patients, at least one biological sample of 45 (59.2%) was positive for L. amastigotes upon microscopy. Overall, 33 (43.4%) were positive in Leishmania genus-specific PCR, but only 23 (30.3%) were positive in L. donovani specific PCR. The dendrogram indicates that the current sequences clustered together with those from Nepal and Gampaha districts (Western Province), Sri Lanka, while the Indian and Eastern African sequences clustered separately. Conclusions: The genetic diversity was low among the isolates, indicating a single and possibly a local point of origin. However, the similarity of Sri Lankan and Nepal strains indicate a possibility of a shared point of origin, which needs more extensive evidence to confirm.

427-428

Authors: Faheem Anwar, Abdullah, Shazma Wahab, Komal Aman, Ihteshamul Haq

None.