Background: Thromboembolism was a chief cause of mortality in 70% of patients with COVID-19. Our objective was to see if serum interleukins 1 beta (IL-1β) and soluble platelets selectin (sP-selectin) could serve as novel markers of thromboembolism in COVID-19 patients. Methods: This cross sectional study involved 89 COVID-19 patients who were recruited from 1st of February to 1st of May 2021. Clinical and laboratory data were collected, and chest imaging was performed. The levels of IL-1β and sP-selectin were assessed in all cases through ELISA kits. Comparisons between groups were done using an unpaired t-test in normally distributed quantitative variables. In contrast, a non-parametric Mann-Whitney test was used for non-normally distributed quantitative variables. Results: Severe COVID-19 infection was associated with higher serum levels of CRP, Ferritin, LDH, D dimer, IL-1β and sP-selectin (P < 0.001) with significant correlation between levels of IL-1β and sP-selectin (r 0.37, P <  0.001), D-dimer (r 0.29, P 0.006) and Ferritin (r 0.5, p <  0.001). Likewise, a positive correlation was also found between levels of sP-selectin, D-dimer and Ferritin (r 0.52, P <  0.001) (r 0.59, P <  0.001). Imaging studies revealed that 9 (10.1%) patients developed venous and 14 (15.7%) developed arterial thrombosis despite receiving anticoagulant therapy. Patients with thrombotic events had significantly higher levels of IL-1β, sP-selectin and LDH serum levels. Meanwhile, there was no statistical significance between CRP, D-dimer or Ferritin levels and the development of thrombotic events. Conclusion: IL-1β and sP-selectin levels can be promising predictors for severe COVID-19 infection and predictable thrombosis.

Background: One of the main causes of cancer-related deaths is breast cancer. Fascin-1(FSCN1) is an actin-binding protein that is present in the mesenchymal, neuronal, and endothelial cells of mammals. Patients with breast cancer have been found to have FSCN1 overexpression. CD44 is crucial for the development, invasion, and tumour spread. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the role of FSCN1&CD44 gene polymorphisms in breast cancer (BC) risk and prognosis. Materials & Methods: A total of 96 BC patients and 50 controls were included in the case-control study for risk prediction. We examined the association between The SNPs on FSCN1(rs3801004) and CD44(rs353639) and BC susceptibility and clinicopathological features using a real-time PCR in a cohort of the Egyptian population. Results: A significant association of both SNPs on FSCN1(rs3801004)C allele and CD44(rs353639)A allele and BC susceptibility(adjusted OR=4.38,95%CI:2.6–7.4,p<0.001, and adjusted OR=4.44,95%CI:2.65–7.44,p <0.001,respectively). Moreover, CC genotype in FSCN1(rs3801004) were likely to progress to developing G2&G3 and N2&N3 and stage II & stage IV, according to the TNM staging and GG+GC genotypes increased within individuals who had a positive family history of BC. Individuals who carry at least one A allele for CD44rs353639 were likely to progress developing N2 according to the TNM in BC patients. Conclusions: These findings suggest that both SNPs on FSCN1 (rs3801004) and CD44 (rs353639) affected BC susceptibility. FSCN1 (rs3801004) genetic variants may have a significant effect on BC prognosis. However, CD44 (rs353639) affected lymph node invasions in BC patients.

Background: To address the growing threat of drug-resistant organisms, it's crucial to establish effective stewardship programs. However, before doing so, it's vital to ensure access to evidence-based information on the local emergence of antibiotic resistance. Objective: The current study aims to determine the frequency of pathogens at one of Cairo University Hospitals and detect the antibiotic resistance profile of bacterial pathogens recovered from various sites of infections. Methodology: A three-year retrospective study was conducted (January 2020 and December 2022). We examined the information from the microbiology laboratory's Laboratory Data Manager, including the antimicrobial resistance profiles of pathogens isolated and identified from microbiological samples sent for routine culture. Results: Gram-negative isolates were more prevalent than Gram-positive ones. The most prevalent isolated pathogens were Klebsiella spp., Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas spp., and Coagulase-negative Staphylococci. Among Gram-negative organisms, more than 80% resistance was towards ceftriaxone, cefotaxime, ceftazidime, amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, and cefepime, while tigecycline showed the least resistance (19.15%). While, among Gram-positive organisms, vancomycin showed the least resistance (2.12%), and linezolid displayed minimal resistance (5.2%). Conclusions: Most of the investigated bacteria have become resistant to most antibiotics. This indicates an impending disaster that might threaten the future medical profession and needs extreme caution and continuous monitoring. Supporting local and national surveillance programs with ongoing monitoring of antimicrobial resistance patterns at the national and regional levels is a crucial step in the fight against emerging antimicrobial resistance. These findings imply that hospital resources should be the primary focus of efforts to reduce antibiotic resistance.

Background. The global incidence of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) is increasing, posing a major treatment challenge and serious infection control concern. Objective. We aimed to characterize carbapenemases both genotypically and phenotypically among CRE isolated from two tertiary hospitals in Egypt, and to detect the genetic relatedness among studied isolates. Methodology. A total of 107 non-duplicate CRE strains isolated from different clinical specimens of hospitalized patients were assessed for presence of carbapenemases genes using multiplex PCR. One-hundred isolates were also assessed for the presence of carbapenemases using MASTDISCS Combi Carba Plus kit. Molecular typing of the isolates was done by Enterobacterial Repetitive Intergenic Consensus region PCR (ERIC-PCR). Results. Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) represented most of the studied isolates (n=85; 79.4%). The most prevalent carbapenemase gene among our isolates was blaNDM-1 (n=103; 96.2%) followed by blaOXA-48 (n=68; 63.5%). Among them, 64 isolates (59.8%) carried more than one gene as blaNDM-1 and blaOXA-48 genes. blaKPC, blaVIM and blaIMP were not detected in the isolates. The sensitivity of the Carba Plus kit for the detection of MBL was much better than OXA-48 (82.29% and 9.52%, respectively), however, the negative predictive value was poor for the detection of both (19.05% and 39.36%, respectively). The constructed dendrogram for each genus from each hospital revealed significant genetic diversity among the investigated isolates. Conclusions. The study highlights the wide dissemination of diverse clones of CRE isolates that co-harbor blaOXA-48 and blaNDM-1 genes among our hospitals as well as low accuracy of detection using phenotypic techniques like Carba plus kit.

Background: Autism may be one of the pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders, and several studies investigated the frequency of serum anti-ganglioside M1 autoantibodies in children with autism, as possible indicators of autoimmunity to the brain. The current study aimed to compare the level of anti-ganglioside M1 autoantibodies between autistic and normally developed children and to study the correlation between the level of anti-ganglioside M1 autoatibodies and the severity of autism. Forty children with autism and 40 age- and gender-matched healthy controls were enrolled. The Childhood Autism Rating Scale was used to assess the severity of autism in the patient group at the time of the study. The clinical and demographic data were recorded and plasma anti-ganglioside M1 autoantibodies level was measured in both groups. Results: The mean anti-ganglioside M1 autoantibodies level was significantly higher in autistic patients compared to the control group. The anti-ganglioside M1 autoantibodies level in patients with mild to moderate severity was insignificantly lower than its level in patients with severe autism. Conclusions: Plasma anti-ganglioside MI autoantibodies levels are higher in autistic patients than in healthy controls which may imply that some cases of autism may be autoimmune in nature.