<b><i>Background:</i></b> There is still no clinical evidence available to support or to oppose corticosteroid treatment for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia. <b><i>Objective:</i></b> To investigate the efficacy and safety of corticosteroid given to the hospitalized patients with COVID-19 pneumonia. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> This was a prospective, multicenter, single-blind, randomized control trial. Adult patients with COVID-19 pneumonia who were admitted to the general ward were randomly assigned to either receive methylprednisolone or not for 7 days. The primary end point was the incidence of clinical deterioration 14 days after randomization. <b><i>Results:</i></b> We terminated this trial early because the number of patients with COVID-19 pneumonia in all the centers decreased in late March. Finally, a total of 86 COVID-19 patients underwent randomization. There was no difference of the incidence of clinical deterioration between the methylprednisolone group and control group (4.8 vs. 4.8%, <i>p</i> = 1.000). The duration of throat viral RNA detectability in the methylprednisolone group was 11 days (interquartile range, 6–16 days), which was significantly longer than that in the control group (8 days [2–12 days], <i>p</i> = 0.030). There were no significant differences between the 2 groups in other secondary outcomes. Mass cytometry discovered CD3⁺ T cells, CD8⁺ T cells, and NK cells in the methylprednisolone group which were significantly lower than those in the control group after randomization (<i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.05). <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> From this prematurely closed trial, we found that the short-term early use of corticosteroid could suppress the immune cells, which may prolong severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 shedding in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia. <b><i>Trial Registration:</i></b> ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04273321.

This study aimed to find novel information concerning pathogen detection and some probable coinfection factors in hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD). In this study, 1104 clinically diagnosed HFMD patients were included. Enterovirus 71 (EV71), coxsackievirus A16 (CA16), and 14 different respiratory pathogens were examined from nasopharyngeal swabs using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR). To evaluate the immune activation in HFMD patients, 8 cytokines and IgM antibodies to EV71 and CA16 from mild and severe patients were detected. Our results indicated that the severity of HFMD may affect the pathogen detection. The lower positive rates of enterovirus and respiratory viruses in severe HFMD cases by RT-PCR were probably related to stronger immune response. Therefore, immunological tests such as ELISA are essential supplements to PCR or RT-PCR in order to increase pathogen diagnosis in HFMD, especially in severe cases.

Facial soft tissue hypoplasia is a prominent feature of Parry-Romberg syndrome and hemifacial microsomia. Superficial temporal fascia has been used in the clinical application of the contour restoration, but it is too thin to reconstruct severe facial depression. To improve the thickness of the transplanted tissue flap, the pedicled superficial temporal fascia sandwich complex flap was designed for the reconstruction of severe facial depression and evaluation of its effect. There were 2 kinds of these complex flaps. The first kind was 2 free dermis-fat flaps fixed onto the superficial temporal fascia, which were applied in large and deep depression. The second was a piece of free dermis-fat flap sandwiched between the folded superficial temporal fascia, which were applied in small but deep upper-midface depression. Fifteen patients with facial depression deformities were involved in this study, in which 8 patients had Parry-Romberg syndrome, 4 patients had hemifacial microsomia, and 3 patients had traumatic facial depression. Postoperative follow-up for 2 to 24 months showed that the method had a good cosmetic result. Based on the results of our patients in this series, the surgical results were favorable, and it is a simple procedure and yields effective, safe, and satisfactory results.