Respiratory Viral Detection in Children Hospitalized With Pneumonia During Periods of Major Population Disruptions in Nepal, 2014-2018.

Background: Respiratory viruses commonly cause pneumonia in children. We aimed to identify respiratory viral nucleic acids in the nasopharynx of children admitted with pneumonia from 2014 to 2018, a period including a major earthquake (April 2015), pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV10) introduction (August 2015), and a fuel shortage (October 2015 to March 2016).

Methods: Children 2 months to 14 years admitted to Patan Hospital between March 2014 and February 2018 with a clinical diagnosis of pneumonia had nasopharyngeal swabs collected and tested with a multiplex panel for the presence of genetic material from 23 respiratory pathogens.

Reviewing the complexities of bacterial biocide susceptibility and in vitro biocide adaptation methodologies.

Decreased bacterial susceptibility to biocides raises concerns due to their influences on antibiotic resistance. The lack of standardized breakpoints, established methods, and consistent terminology complicates this research. This review summarizes techniques for studying biocide resistance mechanisms, susceptibility testing, and in-vitro adaptation methods, highlighting their benefits and limitations.

Inter-rater concordance in the classification of COVID-19 in chest X-ray images using the RANZCR template for COVID-19 infection.

Introduction: The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists (RANZCR) has developed a reporting template to assist in the categorization of COVID-19 in chest X-ray (CXR) images and the levels of COVID-19 infection. Whilst CXRs are reported by radiologists, radiographers are often the first to assess the CXRs, and have the potential to support immediate triaging of patients with COVID-19. However, inter-reader concordance in the use of this reporting template remains underexplored.

Assessing chest radiographic quality and the influence of COVID-19 pathology: the Australian experience.

Introduction: Quality assurance (QA) in medical imaging ensures consistently high-quality images at acceptable radiation doses. However, the applicability of the chest X-ray (CXR) QA tool in images with pathology, particularly infectious diseases like COVID-19, has not been explored. This study examines the utility of the European Guidelines for image quality in QA of CXRs with varying severity and types of infectious disease.

Use of reporting templates for chest radiographs in a coronavirus disease 2019 context: measuring concordance of radiologists with three international templates.

Purpose: Reporting templates for chest radiographs (CXRs) for patients presenting or being clinically managed for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 [coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)] has attracted advocacy from international radiology societies. We aim to explore the effectiveness and useability of three international templates through the concordance of, and between, radiologists reporting on the presence and severity of COVID-19 on CXRs.

Approach: Seventy CXRs were obtained from a referral hospital, 50 from patients with COVID-19 (30 rated "classic" COVID-19 appearance and 20 "indeterminate") and 10 "normal" and 10 "alternative pathology" CXRs.

Assessing the implementation of COVID-19 structured reporting templates for chest radiography: a scoping review.

Objective: One of the common modalities used in imaging COVID-19 positive patients is chest radiography (CXR), and serves as a valuable imaging method to diagnose and monitor a patients' condition. Structured reporting templates are regularly used for the assessment of COVID-19 CXRs and are supported by international radiological societies. This review has investigated the use of structured templates for reporting COVID-19 CXRs.

Effect of the of 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in Nepal 4 years after introduction: an observational cohort study.

Background: In Nepal, Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) is a common cause of bacterial pneumonia in children, and is a major health concern. There are few data on the effect of vaccination on the disease or colonisation with pneumococci in the nasopharynx of children in this setting. The 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV10) was introduced into the routine infant immunisation schedule in Nepal in 2015.

COVID-19 and its enduring influence on medical imaging.

Our article comments on the enduring impact of COVID-19 in medical imaging. The emotional impact on COVID-19 is well reported in articles published at JMRS. This editorial covers the qualitative and quantitative structured templates now used for the reporting of chest x-rays on COVID-19.

Efficacy of typhoid conjugate vaccine in Nepal: final results of a phase 3, randomised, controlled trial.

Background: Typhoid fever is a major public health problem in low-resource settings. Vaccination can help curb the disease and might reduce transmission. We have previously reported an interim analysis of the efficacy of typhoid conjugate vaccine (TCV) in Nepali children.

Protection by vaccination of children against typhoid fever with a Vi-tetanus toxoid conjugate vaccine in urban Bangladesh: a cluster-randomised trial.

Background: Typhoid fever remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in low-income and middle-income countries. Vi-tetanus toxoid conjugate vaccine (Vi-TT) is recommended by WHO for implementation in high-burden countries, but there is little evidence about its ability to protect against clinical typhoid in such settings.

Methods: We did a participant-masked and observer-masked cluster-randomised trial preceded by a safety pilot phase in an urban endemic setting in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Persistence of Immunity Following 2-Dose Priming with a 10-Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine at 6 and 10 Weeks or 6 and 14 Weeks of Age in Nepalese Toddlers.

Background: The pneumococcal conjugate vaccine has had a substantial impact on invasive pneumococcal disease. Previously, we compared immunity following vaccination with the 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV10) administered at 2 slightly different schedules: at 6 and 10 weeks of age, and at 6 and 14 weeks of age, both followed by a 9-month booster. In this study, we followed up those participants to evaluate the medium-term persistence of serotype-specific pneumococcal immunity at 2-3 years of age.

Safety and efficacy of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine (AZD1222) against SARS-CoV-2: an interim analysis of four randomised controlled trials in Brazil, South Africa, and the UK.

Background: A safe and efficacious vaccine against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), if deployed with high coverage, could contribute to the control of the COVID-19 pandemic. We evaluated the safety and efficacy of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine in a pooled interim analysis of four trials.

Methods: This analysis includes data from four ongoing blinded, randomised, controlled trials done across the UK, Brazil, and South Africa.

Progress in the overall understanding of typhoid fever: implications for vaccine development.

Introduction: Typhoid fever continues to have a substantial impact on human health, especially in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Access to safe water, and adequate sanitation and hygiene remain the cornerstone of prevention, but these are not widely available in many impoverished settings. The emergence of antibiotic resistance affects typhoid treatment and adds urgency to typhoid control efforts.

Do preterm bones still break? Incidence of rib fracture and osteopenia of prematurity in very low birth weight infants.

Aim: Extremely premature babies are at risk of osteopenia of prematurity (OOP) as bone mineralisation in utero increases exponentially after 24 weeks gestation. Our aim was to assess the bone health of very low birth weight (VLBW) infants. We wanted to establish the incidences of OOP and rib fracture.

Psychological morbidity among forcibly displaced children-a literature review.

In 2018, nearly 75 million people were displaced from their place of origin of which 20.4 million are considered as refugees. Children constitute over half of this population.

Profiling emergency department presentations of 14-15-year-olds in modern Ireland.

Background: Mid-adolescence, that twilight era when the human child transitions to adulthood, is an often overlooked developmental age yet harbours a subpopulation of patients with their own myriad of medical problems somewhat unique to their age group.

Aims: Our study is aimed at reviewing the typical presentations to a paediatric emergency department of modern Irish teenagers in mid-adolescence, the profile of which has changed significantly over the past 10 years.

Methods: Hospital electronic databases were used to conduct a retrospective review of the paediatric emergency department presentations of patients aged 14-15 years during the year of 2017.

Clinical, biochemical, and genetic features of four patients with short-chain enoyl-CoA hydratase (ECHS1) deficiency.

Short-chain enoyl-CoA hydratase (SCEH or ECHS1) deficiency is a rare inborn error of metabolism caused by biallelic mutations in the gene ECHS1 (OMIM 602292). Clinical presentation includes infantile-onset severe developmental delay, regression, seizures, elevated lactate, and brain MRI abnormalities consistent with Leigh syndrome (LS). Characteristic abnormal biochemical findings are secondary to dysfunction of valine metabolism.

The fracture toughness of eggshell.

Unlabelled: The shells of avian eggs are very brittle, but how brittle? Fracture toughness, Kc is a standard measure used widely to characterise engineering materials. We devised a novel way to measure Kc and applied it to commercial hens' eggs, obtaining a value of 0.3MPa√m.

Evaluation of New Bone Formation and Osseointegration Around Subperiosteal Titanium Implants with Histometry and Nanoindentation.

Purpose: To assess the quality and quantity of newly formed bone around rough-surfaced titanium subperiosteal implants stabilized with two different fixation techniques and to investigate nanoindentation as a method for measuring the elastic properties of the bone around these implants.

Materials And Methods: Ten 6-month-old white rabbits were used in this study. One femur received a subperiosteal implant fixed to the bone with screws.

Management of extensive subcutaneous emphysema with a subcutaneous drain.

We present a case of a gentleman in his 70s with extensive subcutaneous emphysema. Usually self-limiting, subcutaneous emphysema around the thoracic inlet can rarely lead to airway and cardiovascular compromise by compression of structures in the neck. This patient presented with a large pneumothorax on a background of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

High-resolution ultrasound findings in the symptomatic residual limbs of amputees.

Introduction: Amputations are increasingly prevalent because of medical complications associated with diabetes, meningitis, peripheral vascular disease, and neoplasms as well as road traffic accidents and war. The use of ultrasound (U/S) to diagnose the cause of pain in the residual limb of amputees is presented together with a review of the literature.

Patients And Methods: 133 civilian patients with one or more amputations were included in the study.