At the time of writing, FIND has listed four CE-marked SARSCoV-2 antigen tests. We evaluated the recently CE-approved rapid POCT SD-Biosensor for SARS-CoV-2 nucleoprotein detection in nasopharyngeal secretions from 330 patients admitted to the Emergency Room for a suspect of COVID-19 and travelers returning home from high risk countries. Sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, negative and predictive values were consistent with the use of the test to mass-screening for SARS-CoV-2 surveillance.

Large noncoding RNA HOTAIR, transcribed from the antisense strand of HOXC12, interacts with Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) in the regulation of gene activities. Recent work suggests that it may have effects on breast cancer progression and survival. We evaluated HOTAIR expression and the methylation status of its downstream intergenic CpG island in primary breast cancers, and examined associations of these factors with clinical and pathologic features and patient survival. HOTAIR expression and DNA methylation were analyzed in tissue from 348 primary breast cancers with quantitative RT-PCR and methylation-specific PCR, respectively. HOTAIR expression and methylation varied widely in the tissues. A positive correlation was found between DNA methylation and HOTAIR expression. Methylation was associated with unfavorable disease characteristics, whereas no significant associations were found between HOTAIR expression and clinical or pathologic features. In multivariate, but not in univariate, Cox proportional hazard regression models, patients with high HOTAIR expression had lower risks of relapse and mortality than those with low HOTAIR expression. These findings suggest that the intergenic DNA methylation may have important biologic relevance in regulating HOTAIR expression, and that HOTAIR expression may not be an independent prognostic marker in breast cancer, but needs further validation in independent studies.

Endometriosis is a common disorder in females of reproductive age. Surgical scar endometrioma after cesarean section develops in 1-2% of patients, and usually presents as a tender and painful abdominal wall mass. The diagnosis is suggested by pre or perimenstrual pelvic pain and is often established only by histology. In this retrospective observational cohort study, we reviewed the medical records of five patients with a histopathological diagnosis of scar endometriosis. A scar mass was found on a previous Pfannenstiel incision in four patients and in a median cesarean section in one patient. The mean age at diagnosis (38.6 years, median 38) was older than reported elsewhere. A histological examination of the surgical specimen confirmed the diagnosis of endometriosis in all cases. During the follow-up period (mean 34.6 months), local recurrence (n = 1) and pelvic recurrence (n = 1) were treated surgically. Surgery is the treatment of choice for surgical scar endometriosis. Excision with histologically proven free surgical margins of 1 cm is mandatory to prevent recurrence. As scar endometriosis may be associated with pelvic localization, explorative abdominal laparoscopy may be indicated to exclude the intraperitoneal spread of the disease in symptomatic patients.

HBeAg negative patients infected by HBV genotype D should be treated with more potent NAs such as entecavir or tenofovir to obtain a significant qHBsAg decrease, but the achievement of HBsAg loss seems to require almost two decades of therapy.