n tests available with excellent to reasonable clinical performance to diagnose invasive fungal infections. Only a few assays are useful to monitor therapeutic response. There are multiple marketed IgG antibody tests to detect Aspergillus fumigatus antibodies, the titres vary widely and the performance differs significantly. In general, diagnostic tests are vulnerable to being affected by the host, the microbe and laboratory setting.
  We investigated the impact of COVID-19 and national pandemic response on primary care antibiotic prescribing in London.
 
  Individual prescribing records between 2015 and 2020 for 2 million residents in north west London were analysed. Prescribing records were linked to SARS-CoV-2 test results. Prescribing volumes, in total, and stratified by patient characteristics, antibiotic class and AWaRe classification, were investigated. Interrupted time series analysis was performed to detect measurable change in the trend of prescribing volume since the national lockdown in March 2020, immediately before the first COVID-19 peak in London.
 
  Records covering 366059 patients, 730001 antibiotic items and 848201 SARS-CoV-2 tests between January and November 2020 were analysed.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/mptp-hydrochloride.html  Before March 2020, there was a background downward trend (decreasing by 584 items/month) in primary care antibiotic prescribing. This reduction rate accelerated to 3504 items/month from March 2020. This rate of decrease was sustained beyond the inly needed.
  The standard RT-PCR assay for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is laborious and time-consuming, limiting testing availability. Rapid antigen-detection tests are faster and less expensive; however, the reliability of these tests must be validated before they can be used widely. The objective of this study was to determine the performance of the Panbio™ COVID-19 Ag Rapid Test Device (PanbioRT) (Abbott) in detecting severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in nasopharyngeal swab specimens.
 
  This prospective multicentre study was carried out in ten Spanish university hospitals and included individuals with clinical symptoms or epidemiological criteria of COVID-19. Only individuals with ≤7days from the onset of symptoms or from exposure to a confirmed case of COVID-19 were included. Two nasopharyngeal samples were taken to perform the PanbioRT as a point-of-care test and a diagnostic RT-PCR test.
 
  Among the 958 patients studied, 325 (90.5%) had true-positive results. The overall sensitivity and specificity for the PanbioRT were 90.5% (95%CI 87.5-93.6) and 98.8% (95%CI 98-99.7), respectively. Sensitivity in participants who had a threshold cycle (C
  )<25 for the RT-PCR test was 99.5% (95%CI 98.4-100), and in participants with ≤5days of the clinical course it was 91.8% (95%CI 88.8-94.8). Agreement between techniques was 95.7% (κ score 0.90; 95%CI 0.88-0.93).
 
  The PanbioRT performs well clinically, with even more reliable results for patients with a shorter clinical course of the disease or a higher viral load. The results must be interpreted based on the local epidemiological context.
 The PanbioRT performs well clinically, with even more reliable results for patients with a shorter clinical course of the disease or a higher viral load. The results must be interpreted based on the local epidemiological context.
  Emergence of azole resistance may contribute to recurrences of vulvovaginal candidiasis. Thus, new drugs are needed to improve the therapeutic options. We studied the invitro activity of ibrexafungerp and comparators against Candida albicans isolates from vaginal samples and blood cultures. Furthermore, isolates were genotyped to study compartmentalization of genotypes and the relationship between genotype and antifungal susceptibility.
 
  Candida albicans unique patient isolates (n=144) from patients with clinical suspicion of vulvovaginal candidiasis (n=72 isolates) and from patients with candidaemia (n=72) were studied. Antifungal susceptibility to amphotericin B, fluconazole, voriconazole, posaconazole, isavuconazole, clotrimazole, miconazole, micafungin, anidulafungin and ibrexafungerp was tested (EUCAST 7.3.2). Mutations in the erg11 gene were analysed and isolates genotyped.
 
  Ibrexafungerp showed high activity (MICs from 0.03 mg/L to 0.25 mg/L) against the isolates, including those with reduced azole susceptibility to fluconazole.
  Little is known about the best revascularization procedure for patients with contralateral carotid artery occlusion (CCO). We aim to compare the outcomes of transcarotid artery revascularization (TCAR), carotid endarterectomy (CEA), and transfemoral carotid artery stenting (TFCAS) in patients with CCO.
 
  Patients in the Vascular Quality Initiative dataset who underwent CEA, TFCAS, or TCAR, and had CCO between September 2016 and April 2020, were included. Multivariable logistic analysis was used to evaluate in-hospital outcomes.
 
  The final cohort included 1,144 TCARs, 1,182 TFCAS, and 2,527 CEA procedures performed in patients with CCO. Compared with TFCAS, TCAR was associated with a significant reduction in the odds of in-hospital stroke or death (odds ratio [OR] 0.26; 95% CI 0.12-0.59; p < 0.01). However, no significant difference in stroke was noted (OR 0.71; 95% CI 0.34-1.51; p= 0.38). These results persisted after stratifying with respect to symptomatic status (p values of interaction= 0.92 and 0.74ifference is observed in symptomatic patients.
  Infectious complications after hernia operation are potentially disastrous, often requiring long-term antibiotic administration, debridement, and mesh explantation. Our objective was to describe the long-term incidence and risk factors for synthetic mesh explantation due to infection after hernia operation in a large cohort.
 
  Retrospective database study using Veterans Affairs Surgical Quality Improvement Program and chart review of veterans undergoing abdominal or groin hernia repair with synthetic mesh implantation during 2008-2015. The main outcome was mesh explantation due to infection within 5 years.
 
  The study population consisted of 103,869 hernia operations, of which 74.3% were inguinal, 10.7% umbilical, and 15.0% ventral. Explantation incidence was highest among ventral (1.5%). Median explantation interval overall was 208 days. In multivariable logistic regression, all obesity levels from pre-obesity to obesity class III were associated with higher explantation risk. American Society of Anesthesiology physical status classification of 3 to 5 was associated with odds ratio (OR) of 1.