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Euro Surveillance : Bulletin Europeen... Jan 2024BackgroundContact tracing was one of the central non-pharmaceutical interventions implemented worldwide to control the spread of SARS-CoV-2, but its effectiveness...
BackgroundContact tracing was one of the central non-pharmaceutical interventions implemented worldwide to control the spread of SARS-CoV-2, but its effectiveness depends on its ability to detect contacts.AimEvaluate the proportion of secondary infections captured by the contact tracing system in Geneva.MethodsWe analysed 166,892 concomitant infections occurring at the same given address from June 2020 until February 2022 using an extensive operational database of SARS-CoV-2 tests in Geneva. We used permutation to compare the total number of secondary infections occurring at the same address with that reported through manual contact tracing.ResultsContact tracing captured on average 41% of secondary infections, varying from 23% during epidemic peaks to 60% during low epidemic activity. People living in wealthy neighbourhoods were less likely to report contacts (odds ratio (OR): 1.6). People living in apartment buildings were also less likely to report contacts than those living in a house (OR: 1.1-3.1) depending on the SARS-CoV-2 variant, the building size and the presence of shops. This under-reporting of contacts in apartment buildings decreased during periods of mandatory wearing of face masks and restrictions on private gatherings.ConclusionContact tracing alone did not detect sufficient secondary infections to reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2. Campaigns targeting specific populations, such as those in wealthy areas or apartment buildings, could enhance coverage. Additionally, measures like wearing face masks, improving ventilation and implementing restrictions on gatherings should also be considered to reduce infections resulting from interactions that may not be perceived as high risk.
Topics: Humans; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; Contact Tracing; Switzerland; Coinfection
PubMed: 38240059
DOI: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2024.29.3.2300228 -
The Lancet Regional Health. Southeast... Jan 2024In developing/underdeveloped countries there is still a great burden of adverse drug reaction (ADR), morbidity and mortality because of poor regulations and... (Review)
Review
In developing/underdeveloped countries there is still a great burden of adverse drug reaction (ADR), morbidity and mortality because of poor regulations and implementation of preventive measures. These countries try to copy/follow guidelines from international bodies like American Urology Association (AUA), European Association of Urology (EAU), AGS, UMC and WHO irrespective of their country of origin and success in implementation. Although recommendations of these organizations are obligatory, yet these are taken as the gold standard for good clinical practices. This manuscript highlights difference in view point of various apex health organizations in formulating health policies for prevention, diagnosis, treatment and ADR monitoring for urological disorders. Lacking role of regulatory bodies in implementation of existing policies may lead to potentially inappropriate medication and produce a great economic burden. This analysis has prompted us to recommend that these apex bodies should have better coordination in producing a single value document, make it mandatory part of curricula in medical schools for better awareness, awareness campaigns and separate reporting column in ADR form.
PubMed: 38234703
DOI: 10.1016/j.lansea.2023.100330 -
Using whole genome sequencing to characterize isolates at a tertiary center in Melbourne, Australia.Antimicrobial Stewardship & Healthcare... 2024infection (CDI) is the commonest cause of healthcare-associated diarrhea and undergoes standardized surveillance and mandatory reporting in most Australian states and...
OBJECTIVE
infection (CDI) is the commonest cause of healthcare-associated diarrhea and undergoes standardized surveillance and mandatory reporting in most Australian states and territories. Historically attributed to nosocomial spread, local and international whole genome sequencing (WGS) data suggest varied sources of acquisition. This study describes genotypes isolated at a tertiary center in Melbourne, Australia, their likely source of acquisition, and common risk factors.
DESIGN
Retrospective observational study.
SETTING
The Royal Melbourne Hospital (RMH), a 570-bed tertiary center in Victoria, Australia.
METHODS
Short-read whole genome sequencing was performed on 75 out of 137 isolates obtained from 1/5/2021 to 28/2/2022 and compared to previous data from 8/11/2015 to 1/11/2016. Existing data from infection control surveillance and electronic medical records were used for epidemiological and risk factor analysis.
RESULTS
Eighty-five (62.1%) of the 137 cases were defined as healthcare-associated from epidemiological data. On genome sequencing, 33 different multi-locus sequence type (MLST) subtypes were identified, with changes in population structure compared to the 2015-16 period. Risk factors for CDI were present in 130 (94.9%) cases, including 108 (78.8%) on antibiotics, 86 (62.8%) on acid suppression therapy, and 25 (18.2) on chemotherapy.
CONCLUSION
In both study periods, most isolates were not closely related, suggesting varied sources of acquisition and that spread of within the hospital was unlikely. Current infection control precautions may therefore warrant review. Underlying risk factors for CDI were common and may contribute to the proportion of healthcare-associated infections in the absence of proven hospital transmission.
PubMed: 38234420
DOI: 10.1017/ash.2023.529 -
Radiography (London, England : 1995) Mar 2024Research has been performed by sonographers (also known as ultrasound reporting radiographers) for many years for improving diagnosis of disease, developing new imaging...
INTRODUCTION
Research has been performed by sonographers (also known as ultrasound reporting radiographers) for many years for improving diagnosis of disease, developing new imaging approaches, and enhancing patient outcomes. Despite this, sonographers' perspectives on research have not been well studied. To understand the views of sonographers is essential, as they have an important role in the successful implementation of research outcomes during their daily work. The study aimed to explore sonographers' perspectives on research.
METHODS
This cross-sectional online questionnaire was developed, and pilot tested, before distribution on social media platforms by the research group to sonographers or reporting radiographers in ultrasound worldwide. The questionnaire included 21-items. The link was open for 8 weeks in the spring of 2023. A mix of closed, open and scale questions were used. Informed consent was mandatory, and information about the study and anonymity was presented.
RESULTS
A total of 165 sonographers participated in the questionnaire of which 66.1 % were from Europe (n = 109), 6.1 % from North America (n = 10), 0.6 % from South America (n = 1), 2.4 % from Asia (n = 4), 13.3 % from Africa (n = 22) and 11.5 % from Oceania (n = 19). A total of 32 % of the participants had performed research. Also, 68.5 % would like to become more involved in research.
CONCLUSION
Most sonographers work in large hospitals, and half of them have obtained academic level 7 education. A limited number of sonographers have published peer reviewed papers. Many sonographers expressed an interest in research. This suggests a potential for future development of the sonographers' role in research.
IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE
The findings for this study provide insight that could be used to improve research practice for sonographers.
Topics: Humans; Cross-Sectional Studies; Ultrasonography; Allied Health Personnel; Surveys and Questionnaires; Europe
PubMed: 38219390
DOI: 10.1016/j.radi.2023.12.010 -
Therapeutic Advances in Urology 2024Penile shortening, frequently resulting from end-stage Peyronie's disease (PD), has a negative impact on patients' sexual activity and overall quality of life,... (Review)
Review
Risk and benefits of penile length preservation techniques during penile prosthesis implantation: a systematic review by the young academic urologists sexual and reproductive health working group.
BACKGROUND
Penile shortening, frequently resulting from end-stage Peyronie's disease (PD), has a negative impact on patients' sexual activity and overall quality of life, especially when accompanied by Erectile dysfunction (ED). Various surgical techniques have been described to manage concomitant ED and penile shortening through penile prosthesis (PP) implantation.
OBJECTIVES
To evaluate the benefits and risks of different penile length preservation techniques during PP implantation.
DESIGN
A systematic review of the available literature on the use of penile length preservation maneuvers in conjunction with PP implantation was conducted.
DATA SOURCES AND METHODS
For this systematic review, three databases (Medline, Embase and Cochrane) and clinical trial.gov were queried for relevant publications from 1 January 1990 to 1 September 2022. The review process followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses guidelines.
RESULTS
The qualitative analysis included 15 relevant articles involving 1186 adult patients who underwent penile length preservation techniques during PP implantation. Penile lengthening of 1-7 cm was reported. Overall, postoperative complications were described in up to 21.7% of cases. Only five studies reported functional outcomes, showing a significant improvement in postoperative period based on the administered questionnaire (e.g. IIEF - International Index of Erectile Function, EDITS - Erectile Dysfunction Inventory of Treatment Satisfaction).
CONCLUSION
Penile length preservation procedures appear to offer a viable option for managing acquired penile shortening, particularly in cases of PD. However, they are associated with a significant risk of complications. Proper patient selection, thorough discussion of risks and benefits, and referral to high-volume centers are mandatory to achieve optimal outcomes and minimizing complications.
TRIAL REGISTRATION
PROSPERO database registration CRD42022360758.
PubMed: 38205393
DOI: 10.1177/17562872231215177 -
The Science of the Total Environment Mar 2024Accounting and reporting of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are mandatory for Parties under the Paris Agreement. Emissions reporting is important for understanding the...
Accounting and reporting of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are mandatory for Parties under the Paris Agreement. Emissions reporting is important for understanding the global carbon cycle and for addressing global climate change. However, in a period of open conflict or war, military emissions increase significantly and the accounting system is not currently designed to account adequately for this source. In this paper we analyze how, during the first 18 months of the 2022/2023 full-scale war in Ukraine, GHG national inventory reporting to the UNFCCC was affected. We estimated the decrease of emissions due to a reduction in traditional human activities. We identified major, war-related, emission processes from the territory of Ukraine not covered by current GHG inventory guidelines and that are not likely to be included in national inventory reports. If these emissions are included, they will likely be incorporated in a way that is not transparent with potentially high uncertainty. We analyze publicly available data and use expert judgment to estimate such emissions from (1) the use of bombs, missiles, barrel artillery, and mines; (2) the consumption of oil products for military operations; (3) fires at petroleum storage depots and refineries; (4) fires in buildings and infrastructure facilities; (5) fires on forest and agricultural lands; and (6) the decomposition of war-related garbage/waste. Our estimate of these war-related emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide for the first 18 months of the war in Ukraine is 77 MtCO-eq. with a relative uncertainty of +/-22 % (95 % confidence interval).
PubMed: 38185145
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.169879 -
JAMA Network Open Jan 2024Physicians play an important role in assessing patients' ability to drive. There is a dearth of peer-reviewed information on policies regarding physician reporting of...
IMPORTANCE
Physicians play an important role in assessing patients' ability to drive. There is a dearth of peer-reviewed information on policies regarding physician reporting of medically impaired drivers.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate state reporting requirements and the availability of confidentiality and legal immunity for physicians who report medically impaired drivers.
DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS
This cross-sectional study was conducted from November 1 to 30, 2022, in 3 rounds. First, all 50 US states' Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) websites were systematically reviewed. Second, DMV staff from each state were surveyed via telephone. Third, each state's legal codes for driver licensing were reviewed.
MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES
Outcome measures included the percentage of states with mandatory and voluntary reporting policies, reporting instructions on DMV websites, anonymous reporting options, and legal immunity for reporting physicians, in addition to characteristics of states' mandatory reporting policies (ie, types of medical conditions that require reporting) and policies surrounding the confidentiality of reports. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics.
RESULTS
One-third of state DMV websites (17 [34%]) lacked instructions regarding physician reporting. Six states had mandatory reporting requirements; 4 of these states only required reporting of conditions characterized by lapses of consciousness. Only 3 states (6%) accepted anonymous reports, and 7 states (14%) deemed physician reports of medically impaired drivers confidential without exception. Nearly one-third of states (15 [30%]) deemed reports by physicians confidential, with the exception that reported drivers could find out who reported them if they asked for a copy of the reporting form. Most states (37 [74%]) had statutes that protected physicians from liability related to reporting medically impaired drivers.
CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE
This cross-sectional study of state reporting requirements regarding medically impaired drivers found many differences in state policies regarding mandatory reporting and the conditions that require reporting. There was also limited availability of online reporting instructions, anonymous reporting options, and legal protections for reporting physicians.
Topics: Humans; Automobile Driving; Cross-Sectional Studies; Licensure; Mandatory Reporting; Physicians
PubMed: 38180760
DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.50495 -
Journal of the American Medical... Feb 2024The Observational Health Data Sciences and Informatics (OHDSI) is the largest distributed data network in the world encompassing more than 331 data sources with 2.1...
IMPORTANCE
The Observational Health Data Sciences and Informatics (OHDSI) is the largest distributed data network in the world encompassing more than 331 data sources with 2.1 billion patient records across 34 countries. It enables large-scale observational research through standardizing the data into a common data model (CDM) (Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership [OMOP] CDM) and requires a comprehensive, efficient, and reliable ontology system to support data harmonization.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
We created the OHDSI Standardized Vocabularies-a common reference ontology mandatory to all data sites in the network. It comprises imported and de novo-generated ontologies containing concepts and relationships between them, and the praxis of converting the source data to the OMOP CDM based on these. It enables harmonization through assigned domains according to clinical categories, comprehensive coverage of entities within each domain, support for commonly used international coding schemes, and standardization of semantically equivalent concepts.
RESULTS
The OHDSI Standardized Vocabularies comprise over 10 million concepts from 136 vocabularies. They are used by hundreds of groups and several large data networks. More than 8600 users have performed 50 000 downloads of the system. This open-source resource has proven to address an impediment of large-scale observational research-the dependence on the context of source data representation. With that, it has enabled efficient phenotyping, covariate construction, patient-level prediction, population-level estimation, and standard reporting.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
OHDSI has made available a comprehensive, open vocabulary system that is unmatched in its ability to support global observational research. We encourage researchers to exploit it and contribute their use cases to this dynamic resource.
Topics: Humans; Data Science; Vocabulary; Medical Informatics; Databases, Factual; Electronic Health Records
PubMed: 38175665
DOI: 10.1093/jamia/ocad247 -
Vaccine: X Dec 2023The negative impact of vaccine conspiracies is linked with negative health behavior. The aim of the current study was to examine the association between attitudes toward...
Unraveling the association between vaccine attitude, vaccine conspiracies and self-reported side effects following COVID-19 vaccination among nurses and physicians in Jordan.
BACKGROUND
The negative impact of vaccine conspiracies is linked with negative health behavior. The aim of the current study was to examine the association between attitudes toward booster COVID-19, influenza, and monkeypox (mpox) vaccinations with post-COVID-19 vaccine side effects, vaccine conspiracies, and attitude towards mandatory vaccination among nurses and physicians in Jordan.
METHODS
A structured closed-ended questionnaire was used to collect data on demographics, COVID-19 history, COVID-19 vaccine type and doses received, self-reported side effects post-COVID-19 vaccination, acceptance of booster COVID-19, seasonal influenza, and mpox vaccinations, attitudes towards mandatory vaccination, and beliefs in vaccine conspiracies.
RESULTS
The study sample comprised a total of 341 participants. Acceptance of yearly booster COVID-19 vaccination was expressed by 46.6% of the sample, while 73.3% accepted seasonal influenza vaccination, and only 37.0% accepted mpox vaccination. A higher frequency of self-reported side effects following the first COVID-19 vaccine dose was associated with embrace of vaccine conspiracies and vaccine type. For the second vaccine dose, a higher frequency of self-reported side effects was associated with the embrace of vaccine conspiracies, older age, and affiliation to private sector. In multinomial logistic regression analyses, the lower embrace of vaccine conspiracies was associated with lower odds of reporting side effects post-COVID-19 vaccination. The lower embrace of vaccine conspiracies and favorable attitude towards mandatory vaccination were associated with the willingness to get COVID-19, influenza, and mpox vaccinations.
CONCLUSION
The study findings highlighted the negative impact of embracing vaccine conspiracies on health-seeking behavior among nurses and physicians. The findings indicated that the willingness to get vaccinated was associated with lower endorsement of vaccine conspiracies. Additionally, the lower embrace of vaccine conspiracies was associated with a lower frequency of self-reported side effects following COVID-19 vaccination. These results emphasize the importance of addressing vaccine misinformation and promoting accurate information to ensure optimal vaccine uptake and public health outcomes.
PubMed: 38161986
DOI: 10.1016/j.jvacx.2023.100405 -
Nutrients Nov 2023The Chinese food industry has opposed the mandatory inclusion of increased nutrients in the Nutrition Facts Table (NFT), thus impeding its improvement. This poses a...
The Chinese food industry has opposed the mandatory inclusion of increased nutrients in the Nutrition Facts Table (NFT), thus impeding its improvement. This poses a challenge to the endeavors aiming to assist consumers in cultivating healthy dietary habits that incorporate reduced saturated fatty acids and added sugars while ensuring the adequate intake of essential micronutrients. This study conducted a choice experiment to investigate Chinese consumers' preference for updated labeling schemes among 630 adults that were randomly selected from Central, North, East, South, Northwest, Southwest, and Northeast China. It revealed that respondents were willing to pay the highest premium for the most mandatory nutrients (22.575% of the food price per unit). Respondents preferred the NFT with the most mandatory nutrients if they met the following population characteristics: female; non-overweight or obese; without a college degree; possessed an annual household disposable income between 50,000 and 99,999 CNY; from North China; lived in rural areas and often cooked for family; cared about food nutrition. Two combinations of NFT information received the highest preference: (1) the NFT detailing the most mandatory nutrients and their content values and nutrient reference values (NRV%); (2) the NFT containing the most nutrients and the nutrients in 100 g/mL or a serving. The first and second combinations attracted a premium of 14.884% and 31.833% of the food price per unit, respectively.
Topics: Adult; Humans; Female; Diet; Food; Nutrients; Nutritional Status; Obesity; Food Labeling; Consumer Behavior
PubMed: 38068739
DOI: 10.3390/nu15234881