Highlights Nutrients play a vital role in the defense against infectious diseases and the regulation of inflammation; however, little is known with regards to COVID-19. We measured concentrations of vitamins B1, B6, B12, folate, vitamin D (25-hydroxyvitamin D), selenium, and zinc in 50 patients with COVID-19; vitamin D deficiency was shown in 76% of patients and 42% of selenium. It showed a significant difference with 43.3% vit D deficiency of the control groups (150 people). Among twelve patients with respiratory distress, eleven (91.7%) had one or more nutrient deficiency.
Linezolid showed an association with treatment-related lactic acidosis. A longer duration of linezolid use (>6 weeks) was one of the risk factors for metabolic acidosis. We suggest checking serum lactate concentrations regularly, especially in those on long-term use.
BackgroundAlthough severe malaria by Plasmodium vivax has been increasingly reported, there are marked variations in the type and rate of the complications by geographic area. This is possibly because of the presence of concurrent falciparum malaria or bacteraemia, and of differences in underlying immune status among the infected subjects. Furthermore, published studies on P. vivax in temperate regions are limited. The present study investigated severe vivax malaria in Korea, where only vivax malaria occurs. Hence, other compounding factors are rare. Additionally, most of the patients are possibly non-immune to this malarial disease.MethodsAdults with vivax malaria observed in one 860-bed university hospital from January 2006 to December 2012 were retrospectively evaluated. Seventeen patients who had travelled overseas within 6 months before the presentation of malaria were excluded. Severe vivax malaria was diagnosed according to World Health Organization criteria. Other complications were also investigated.ResultsTwo-hundred and ten patients were enrolled, of which 88 (41.9%) were treated as inpatients and the remainder as outpatients. Eleven patients were treated in an intensive care unit; among them, five patients received mechanical ventilation, and one needed extracorporeal membrane oxygenation therapy (ECMO) additionally. Severe vivax malaria was identified in 44 patients (21.0%), and the most common severe complication was pulmonary manifestation (40/188, 21.9%), which was followed by cerebral malaria (5/210, 2.4%), shock (4/210, 1.9%), spontaneous bleeding (3/210, 1.4%), metabolic acidosis (3/210, 3.5%) and acute kidney injury (2/210, 1.0%). Unusual complications, such as splenic infarction (ten patients) and retinal haemorrhage (two patients) were sometimes observed. There were no deaths, but the case involving ECMO was potentially fatal.Conclusions Plasmodium vivax infection can be severe to be fatal and is frequently associated with various complications in non-immune adults. The frequency of each complication seems to differ from other countries. Hence, further investigation is needed to elucidate the causes and mechanisms responsible for these differences.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12936-017-1684-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is rapidly spreading around the world, causing much morbidity and mortality everywhere. However, effective treatments or vaccines are still not available. Although convalescent plasma (CP) therapy can be useful in the treatment of COVID-19, it has not been widely used in Korea because of the concerns about adverse effects and the difficulty in matching patients to donors. The use of ABO-incompatible plasma is not contraindicated in treatment, but can be hesitated due to the lack of experience of physicians. Here, we describe a 68-year old man with COVID-19 who was treated ABO-incompatible plasma therapy; additionally, we comment on the acute side effects associated with ABO mismatch transfusion. To overcome the obstacles of donor-recipient connections (schedule and distance), we propose the storage of frozen plasma, modification of the current Blood Management Law, and the establishment of a CP bank. We suggest that experience gained in CP therapy will be useful for not only the treatment of COVID-19, but also for coping with new emerging infectious diseases.
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