Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a viral infection which can cause a variety of respiratory, gastrointestinal, and vascular symptoms. The acute illness phase generally lasts no more than 2–3 weeks. However, there is increasing evidence that a proportion of COVID-19 patients experience a prolonged convalescence and continue to have symptoms lasting several months after the initial infection. A variety of chronic symptoms have been reported including fatigue, dyspnea, myalgia, exercise intolerance, sleep disturbances, difficulty concentrating, anxiety, fever, headache, malaise, and vertigo. These symptoms are similar to those seen in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), a chronic multi-system illness characterized by profound fatigue, sleep disturbances, neurocognitive changes, orthostatic intolerance, and post-exertional malaise. ME/CFS symptoms are exacerbated by exercise or stress and occur in the absence of any significant clinical or laboratory findings. The pathology of ME/CFS is not known: it is thought to be multifactorial, resulting from the dysregulation of multiple systems in response to a particular trigger. Although not exclusively considered a post-infectious entity, ME/CFS has been associated with several infectious agents including Epstein–Barr Virus, Q fever, influenza, and other coronaviruses. There are important similarities between post-acute COVID-19 symptoms and ME/CFS. However, there is currently insufficient evidence to establish COVID-19 as an infectious trigger for ME/CFS. Further research is required to determine the natural history of this condition, as well as to define risk factors, prevalence, and possible interventional strategies.

We present a patient with new-onset erythema nodosum leprosum months after successful treatment of her mid-borderline leprosy, which was likely triggered by a combination of antecedent influenza vaccination and upper respiratory tract infection.

is an important pathogen that can cause severe illness and mortality in immunocompromised patients. We highlight here the case of a 53-year-old man presenting to hospital 4 years postliver transplant with fever, acute renal failure and a medial thigh lesion. Initially treated as bacterial sepsis, the patient failed to improve on broad-spectrum antibiotics. Further investigations revealed disseminated cryptococcemia complicated by patellar osteomyelitis and an intramuscular abscess. Unfortunately, although the patient initially showed signs of clinical improvement after starting standard antifungal agents, he deteriorated and died secondary to acute renal failure. Osteomyelitis is a rare manifestation of cryptococcal infection for which there is often a significant delay to diagnosis and treatment. This is the fourth reported case of cryptococcal osteomyelitis in a liver transplant patient and underlines the importance of considering fungal infections in the differential diagnosis of osseous lesions in solid organ transplant and other immunocompromised patients.

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Background Ischemic colitis (IC) is caused by inadequate blood flow to the colon. Most cases resolve with conservative management. Isolated right-sided colitis, peritonitis, shock, and vascular risk factors are predictors of severe disease which can be life-threatening and require surgery. Current guidelines recommend antibiotics for moderate/severe disease. This is based on results from animal models and concern for gut translocation of bacteria; there have been no comparative studies in humans. This study aims to evaluate whether there is benefit to antibiotic use in non-severe IC. Methods This is a single-center retrospective cohort study of adult patients hospitalized with IC from 2015-2018. Inclusion in the study required endoscopic, radiologic, operative, or histologic evidence of ischemic colitis. Patients were divided into mild/moderate and severe IC cohorts as per 2014 American College of Gastroenterology Guidelines. Primary outcomes were length of stay (LOS) and any adverse event, which is defined as a composite measure of pre-specified secondary outcomes including mortality, need for surgery, 1-year relapse, and bacteremia. Results Of 191 patients enrolled in the study, 130 had mild/moderate IC and 61 had severe IC. In mild/moderate IC groups there was no significant difference in total adverse events, although use of antibiotics was associated with a significant increase in LOS (Table 1). In the severe IC groups there was no significant difference in any primary outcomes, but mortality was lower at 3 and 6 months among patients who did not receive antibiotics. Table 1 Conclusion Antibiotics did not improve outcomes in mild/moderate IC, suggesting that conservative management may be sufficient in this group. Antibiotic use was associated with increased LOS in mild/moderate IC and with increased mortality in severe IC; it is not clear whether these associations are true antibiotic-mediated adverse effects or whether they simply reflect a tendency to use antibiotics more frequently in patients who are more unstable. Future prospective research is needed to establish clear guidelines for antibiotic indications, agent selection, and optimal treatment duration. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures

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