South African medical journal = Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir geneeskunde
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South Africa has experienced three deadly waves of the COVID-19 pandemic with devastating consequences, but little is known about the experiences in small-town hospitals in the country. Between May 2020 and June 2021, author GC treated ~100 confirmed COVID-19 cases. This retrospective case series report describes 10 of these cases, 7 with unusual complications and 3 with sudden death.
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Severe infections in the absence of secondary immunodeficiency can alert clinicians to single-gene inborn errors of immunity/primary immunodeficiency disorders (PIDDs). Mendelian susceptibility to mycobacterial disease (MSMD) is characterised by selective susceptibility to mycobacterial infections due to inborn errors in the interleukin 12-interferon gamma pathway. The South African (SA) burden of hyperendemic tuberculosis (TB) infection provides an interesting context for the study of MSMD. ⋯ In the SA paediatric population, SPUR TB infections, particularly BCG/NTM, in the absence of secondary immunodeficiency, can alert to possible MSMD. The molecular diagnosis is pivotal, guiding disease classification and influencing clinical approach and management. The diagnosis is complex and requires a multidisciplinary approach with close collaboration between clinical immunologists, bioinformaticians, immunologists, clinical geneticists and genetic counsellors.
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The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa (SA) created numerous supply challenges. Demand for diagnostic testing overwhelmed the capacity to deliver. We describe the utility and outcomes of a mobile laboratory staffed by non-laboratory healthcare workers and established to perform polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing for the rapid diagnosis of COVID-19 at a large hospital in SA. ⋯ The establishment of a mobile PCR laboratory staffed by non-laboratory healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic provided a rapid, accurate and clinically effective solution for emergency hospital admissions with non-COVID-19 presentations.