Dozens of in vitro diagnostics (IVDs) have received emergency use authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for the detection of SARS-CoV-2, but little has been studied to determine how well these assays perform using clinical specimens.…

Galloway-Mowat syndrome (GMS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by microcephaly, cerebellar hypoplasia, nephrosis, and profound intellectual disability. Jinks et al. extend the GMS spectrum by identifying a novel nephrocerebellar syndrome with selective striatal cholinergic interneuron loss and complete lateral geniculate nucleus delamination, caused by a frameshift mutation in WDR73.

A-IPC should be routinely analyzed for diagnosing and monitoring TTP patients.

By standardizing blood culture collection methods, optimizing blood volume, creating checklists, and reinforcing nurse education, we were able to develop a best practice for pediatric blood culture collection and reduce blood culture contamination to a sustainable low rate at our children's hospital.

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H uman populations in the state of Mississippi and the rest of the southeastern United States have historically been at risk for hookworm and other parasitic diseases (1,2). With improved sanitation and economic development, soil-transmitted helminths (STH), including the species Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura, were presumed to have been eliminated. However, a recent report of continued hookworm and strongyloidiasis transmission in a community without access to proper sanitation in Alabama, USA, has challenged this assumption (3).

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The viridans group streptococci comprise multiple species and have gained more recognition in recent years as common etiologic agents of bacterial endophthalmitis. The purpose of this study was to identify the species of human endophthalmitis isolates of viridans streptococci and to characterize their potential virulence attributes. The species of 22 endophthalmitis strains of viridans streptococci were identified by Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Time-of-Flight. Susceptibilities to 3 antibiotics commonly used for bacterial endophthalmitis were determined. The extracellular milieu of each strain was tested for cytotoxicity of retinal pigmented epithelial cells, hemolysis of sheep erythrocytes, and protease activity using gelatin zymography. Identified species were Streptococcus mitis/oralis, S. salivarius, S. vestibularis, S. parasanguinis, S. mutans, S. constellatus, and S. gordonii. One strain of S. pseudoporcinus was also identified. All strains were sensitive to vancomycin, 77% were resistant to amikacin, and 27% had intermediate resistance to ceftazidime. Extracellular milieu from all strains except one (S. pseudoporcinus) were largely devoid of toxicity to retinal pigmented epithelial cells and sheep erythrocytes. Twelve strains, 10 of which were S. mitis/oralis, produced protease activity. Interestingly, not all of the S. mitis/oralis strains were proteolytic. These findings highlight the diversity of virulence factor production in ocular strains of the viridans streptococci not only at the group level but also at the species level.