scholarly journals Comparison of COVID-19 outcomes among shielded and non-shielded populations

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bhautesh D. Jani ◽  
Frederick K. Ho ◽  
David J. Lowe ◽  
Jamie P. Traynor ◽  
Sean P. MacBride-Stewart ◽  
...  

AbstractMany western countries used shielding (extended self-isolation) of people presumed to be at high-risk from COVID-19 to protect them and reduce healthcare demand. To investigate the effectiveness of this strategy, we linked family practitioner, prescribing, laboratory, hospital and death records and compared COVID-19 outcomes among shielded and non-shielded individuals in the West of Scotland. Of the 1.3 million population, 27,747 (2.03%) were advised to shield, and 353,085 (26.85%) were classified a priori as moderate risk. COVID-19 testing was more common in the shielded (7.01%) and moderate risk (2.03%) groups, than low risk (0.73%). Referent to low-risk, the shielded group had higher confirmed infections (RR 8.45, 95% 7.44–9.59), case-fatality (RR 5.62, 95% CI 4.47–7.07) and population mortality (RR 57.56, 95% 44.06–75.19). The moderate-risk had intermediate confirmed infections (RR 4.11, 95% CI 3.82–4.42) and population mortality (RR 25.41, 95% CI 20.36–31.71) but, due to their higher prevalence, made the largest contribution to deaths (PAF 75.30%). Age ≥ 70 years accounted for 49.55% of deaths. In conclusion, in spite of the shielding strategy, high risk individuals were at increased risk of death. Furthermore, to be effective as a population strategy, shielding criteria would have needed to be widely expanded to include other criteria, such as the elderly.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bhautesh D Jani ◽  
Frederick K Ho ◽  
David J Lowe ◽  
Jamie P Traynor ◽  
Sean MacBride-Stewart ◽  
...  

AbstractMany western countries used shielding (extended self-isolation) of people presumed to be at high-risk from COVID-19 to protect them and reduce healthcare demand. To investigate the effectiveness of this strategy, we linked family practitioner, prescribing, laboratory, hospital and death records and compared COVID-19 outcomes among shielded and non-shielded individuals in the West of Scotland. Of the 1.3 million population, 27,747 (2.03%) were advised to shield, and 353,085 (26.85%) were classified a priori as moderate risk. COVID-19 testing was more common in the shielded (7.01%) and moderate risk (2.03%) groups, than low risk (0.73%). Referent to low-risk, the shielded group had higher confirmed infections (RR 8.45, 95% 7.44-9.59), case-fatality (RR 5.62, 95% CI 4.47-7.07) and population mortality (RR 57.56, 95% 44.06-75.19). The moderate-risk had intermediate confirmed infections (RR 4.11, 95% CI 3.82-4.42) and population mortality (RR 25.41, 95% CI 20.36-31.71) but, due to their higher prevalence, made the largest contribution to deaths (PAF 75.30%). Age ≥70 years accounted for 49.55% of deaths. In conclusion, shielding has not been effective at preventing deaths in individuals at high risk. Also, to be effective as a population strategy, shielding criteria would need to be widely expanded to include other criteria, such as the elderly.


Gut ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 66 (12) ◽  
pp. 2141-2148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas U Lindner ◽  
Manuela Salvucci ◽  
Clare Morgan ◽  
Naser Monsefi ◽  
Alexa J Resler ◽  
...  

ObjectiveThe mitochondrial apoptosis pathway is controlled by an interaction of multiple BCL-2 family proteins, and plays a key role in tumour progression and therapy responses. We assessed the prognostic potential of an experimentally validated, mathematical model of BCL-2 protein interactions (DR_MOMP) in patients with stage III colorectal cancer (CRC).DesignAbsolute protein levels of BCL-2 family proteins were determined in primary CRC tumours collected from n=128 resected and chemotherapy-treated patients with stage III CRC. We applied DR_MOMP to categorise patients as high or low risk based on model outputs, and compared model outputs with known prognostic factors (T-stage, N-stage, lymphovascular invasion). DR_MOMP signatures were validated on protein of n=156 patients with CRC from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) project.ResultsHigh-risk stage III patients identified by DR_MOMP had an approximately fivefold increased risk of death compared with patients identified as low risk (HR 5.2, 95% CI 1.4 to 17.9, p=0.02). The DR_MOMP signature ranked highest among all molecular and pathological features analysed. The prognostic signature was validated in the TCGA colon adenocarcinoma (COAD) cohort (HR 4.2, 95% CI 1.1 to 15.6, p=0.04). DR_MOMP also further stratified patients identified by supervised gene expression risk scores into low-risk and high-risk categories. BCL-2-dependent signalling critically contributed to treatment responses in consensus molecular subtypes 1 and 3, linking for the first time specific molecular subtypes to apoptosis signalling.ConclusionsDR_MOMP delivers a system-based biomarker with significant potential as a prognostic tool for stage III CRC that significantly improves established histopathological risk factors.


2019 ◽  

Osteoporosis (OP) is a progressive metabolic bone disease caused by disturbed balance between bone formation and bone resorption. Osteoporotic fractures lead to a deterioration in the quality of patients’ life due to high morbidity and mortality, and the economic burden of osteoporotic fractures is expected to increase. Various tools have been developed to assess the risk of osteoporosis in the clinical practice. The Osteoporosis Self-Assessment Tool (OST) is used to predict osteoporosis and is suitable for self-assessment. The purpose of this study is to assess the ability of the OST score to predict the risk of OP. 180 postmenopausal women with a mean age of 61 ± 13 years (38-86 years) were included in the study. The OST score was evaluated using the formula: (body weight  age) × 0.2. Patients were divided into three groups according to the risk of OP: low risk (> -1), moderate risk (-1 to -4) and high risk (<-4). Based on the total lumbar spine T-score, measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA), the actual number of the women with OP was established. According to the OST score, 22 women were in the high risk group, 41 women in the moderate risk group, and 117 women in the low risk group. There was a correlation between the risk of OP calculated with OST and the number of patients with OP, established by DEXA measurement - with increased risk of OP, the number of the women with OP also increased (p = 0.000). The percentage of the women with osteoporosis is highest in the high risk group and lowest in the low risk group. In the high risk group, 95.5% of the women had a diagnosis of osteoporosis. These results demonstrate the good ability of OST score to predict the risk of OP in the Bulgarian population.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Chamat-Hedemand ◽  
Niels Eske Bruun ◽  
Lauge Østergaard ◽  
Magnus Arpi ◽  
Emil Fosbøl ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Infective endocarditis (IE) is diagnosed in 7–8% of streptococcal bloodstream infections (BSIs), yet it is unclear when to perform transthoracic (TTE) and transoesophageal echocardiography (TOE) according to different streptococcal species. The aim of this sub-study was to propose a flowchart for the use of echocardiography in streptococcal BSIs. Methods In a population-based setup, we investigated all patients admitted with streptococcal BSIs and crosslinked data with nationwide registries to identify comorbidities and concomitant hospitalization with IE. Streptococcal species were divided in four groups based on the crude risk of being diagnosed with IE (low-risk < 3%, moderate-risk 3–10%, high-risk 10–30% and very high-risk > 30%). Based on number of positive blood culture (BC) bottles and IE risk factors (prosthetic valve, previous IE, native valve disease, and cardiac device), we further stratified cases according to probability of concomitant IE diagnosis to create a flowchart suggesting TTE plus TOE (IE > 10%), TTE (IE 3–10%), or “wait & see” (IE < 3%). Results We included 6393 cases with streptococcal BSIs (mean age 68.1 years [SD 16.2], 52.8% men). BSIs with low-risk streptococci (S. pneumoniae, S. pyogenes, S. intermedius) are not initially recommended echocardiography, unless they have ≥3 positive BC bottles and an IE risk factor. Moderate-risk streptococci (S. agalactiae, S. anginosus, S. constellatus, S. dysgalactiae, S. salivarius, S. thermophilus) are guided to “wait & see” strategy if they neither have a risk factor nor ≥3 positive BC bottles, while a TTE is recommended if they have either ≥3 positive BC bottles or a risk factor. Further, a TTE and TOE are recommended if they present with both. High-risk streptococci (S. mitis/oralis, S. parasanguinis, G. adiacens) are directed to a TTE if they neither have a risk factor nor ≥3 positive BC bottles, but to TTE and TOE if they have either ≥3 positive BC bottles or a risk factor. Very high-risk streptococci (S. gordonii, S. gallolyticus, S. mutans, S. sanguinis) are guided directly to TTE and TOE due to a high baseline IE prevalence. Conclusion In addition to the clinical picture, this flowchart based on streptococcal species, number of positive blood culture bottles, and risk factors, can help guide the use of echocardiography in streptococcal bloodstream infections. Since echocardiography results are not available the findings should be confirmed prospectively with the use of systematic echocardiography.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. e043837
Author(s):  
Usha Dutta ◽  
Anurag Sachan ◽  
Madhumita Premkumar ◽  
Tulika Gupta ◽  
Swapnajeet Sahoo ◽  
...  

ObjectivesHealthcare personnel (HCP) are at an increased risk of acquiring COVID-19 infection especially in resource-restricted healthcare settings, and return to homes unfit for self-isolation, making them apprehensive about COVID-19 duty and transmission risk to their families. We aimed at implementing a novel multidimensional HCP-centric evidence-based, dynamic policy with the objectives to reduce risk of HCP infection, ensure welfare and safety of the HCP and to improve willingness to accept and return to duty.SettingOur tertiary care university hospital, with 12 600 HCP, was divided into high-risk, medium-risk and low-risk zones. In the high-risk and medium-risk zones, we organised training, logistic support, postduty HCP welfare and collected feedback, and sent them home after they tested negative for COVID-19. We supervised use of appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) and kept communication paperless.ParticipantsWe recruited willing low-risk HCP, aged <50 years, with no comorbidities to work in COVID-19 zones. Social distancing, hand hygiene and universal masking were advocated in the low-risk zone.ResultsBetween 31 March and 20 July 2020, we clinically screened 5553 outpatients, of whom 3012 (54.2%) were COVID-19 suspects managed in the medium-risk zone. Among them, 346 (11.4%) tested COVID-19 positive (57.2% male) and were managed in the high-risk zone with 19 (5.4%) deaths. One (0.08%) of the 1224 HCP in high-risk zone, 6 (0.62%) of 960 HCP in medium-risk zone and 23 (0.18%) of the 12 600 HCP in the low-risk zone tested positive at the end of shift. All the 30 COVID-19-positive HCP have since recovered. This HCP-centric policy resulted in low transmission rates (<1%), ensured satisfaction with training (92%), PPE (90.8%), medical and psychosocial support (79%) and improved acceptance of COVID-19 duty with 54.7% volunteering for re-deployment.ConclusionA multidimensional HCP-centric policy was effective in ensuring safety, satisfaction and welfare of HCP in a resource-poor setting and resulted in a willing workforce to fight the pandemic.


2013 ◽  
Vol 95 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
EJC Dawe ◽  
E Lindisfarne ◽  
T Singh ◽  
I McFadyen ◽  
P Stott

Introduction The Sernbo score uses four factors (age, social situation, mobility and mental state) to divide patients into a high-risk and a low-risk group. This study sought to assess the use of the Sernbo score in predicting mortality after an intracapsular hip fracture. Methods A total of 259 patients with displaced intracapsular hip fractures were included in the study. Data from prospectively generated databases provided 22 descriptive variables for each patient. These included operative management, blood tests and co-mobidities. Multivariate analysis was used to identify significant predictors of mortality. Results The mean patient age was 85 years and the mean follow-up duration was 1.5 years. The one-year survival rate was 92% (±0.03) in the low-risk group and 65% (±0.046) in the high-risk group. Four variables predicted mortality: Sernbo score >15 (p=0.0023), blood creatinine (p=0.0026), ASA (American Society of Anaesthesiologists) grade >3 (p=0.0038) and non-operative treatment (p=0.0377). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed the Sernbo score as the only predictor of 30-day mortality (area under curve 0.71 [0.65–0.76]). The score had a sensitivity of 92% and a specificity of 51% for prediction of death at 30 days. Conclusions The Sernbo score identifies patients at high risk of death in the 30 days following injury. This very simple score could be used to direct extra early multidisciplinary input to high-risk patients on admission with an intracapsular hip fracture.


2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharine Wallis ◽  
Rebecca Tuckey

ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION High-risk prescribing in general practice is common and places patients at increased risk of adverse events. AIM The Safer Prescribing and Care for the Elderly (SPACE) intervention, comprising audit and feedback plus practice mail-out to patients with high-risk prescribing, was designed to promote medicines review and support safer prescribing. This study aims to test the SPACE intervention feasibility in general practice. METHODS This feasibility study involved an Auckland Primary Health Organisation (PHO), a clinical advisory pharmacist, two purposively sampled urban general practices, and seven GPs. The acceptability and utility of the SPACE intervention were assessed by semi- structured interviews involving study participants, including 11 patients with high-risk prescribing. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using a general inductive approach to identify emergent themes. RESULTS The pharmacist said the SPACE intervention facilitated communication with GPs, and provided a platform for their clinical advisory role at no extra cost to the PHO. GPs said the feedback session with the pharmacist was educational but added to time pressures. GPs selected 29 patients for the mail-out. Some GPs were concerned the mail-out might upset patients, but patients said they felt cared for. Some patients intended to take the letter to their next appointment and discuss their medicines with their GP; others said there were already many things to discuss and not enough time. Some patients were confused by the medicines information brochure. DISCUSSION The SPACE intervention is feasible in general practice. The medicines information brochure needs simplification. Further research is needed to test the effect of SPACE on high-risk prescribing.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuanyuan Chen ◽  
Dongru Chen ◽  
Huancai Lin

Abstract Background Infiltration and sealing are micro-invasive treatments for arresting proximal non-cavitated caries lesions; however, their efficacies under different conditions remain unknown. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the caries-arresting effectiveness of infiltration and sealing and to further analyse their efficacies across different dentition types and caries risk levels. Methods Six electronic databases were searched for published literature, and references were manually searched. Split-mouth randomised controlled trials (RCTs) to compare the effectiveness between infiltration/sealing and non-invasive treatments in proximal lesions were included. The primary outcome was obtained from radiographical readings. Results In total, 1033 citations were identified, and 17 RCTs (22 articles) were included. Infiltration and sealing reduced the odds of lesion progression (infiltration vs. non-invasive: OR = 0.21, 95% CI 0.15–0.30; sealing vs. placebo: OR = 0.27, 95% CI 0.18–0.42). For both the primary and permanent dentitions, infiltration and sealing were more effective than non-invasive treatments (primary dentition: OR = 0.30, 95% CI 0.20–0.45; permanent dentition: OR = 0.20, 95% CI 0.14–0.28). The overall effects of infiltration and sealing were significantly different from the control effects based on different caries risk levels (OR = 0.20, 95% CI 0.14–0.28). Except for caries risk at moderate levels (moderate risk: OR = 0.32, 95% CI 0.01–8.27), there were significant differences between micro-invasive and non-invasive treatments (low risk: OR = 0.24, 95% CI 0.08–0.72; low to moderate risk: OR = 0.38, 95% CI 0.18–0.81; moderate to high risk: OR = 0.17, 95% CI 0.10–0.29; and high risk: OR = 0.14, 95% CI 0.07–0.28). Except for caries risk at moderate levels (moderate risk: OR = 0.32, 95% CI 0.01–8.27), infiltration was superior (low risk: OR = 0.24, 95% CI 0.08–0.72; low to moderate risk: OR = 0.38, 95% CI 0.18–0.81; moderate to high risk: OR = 0.20, 95% CI 0.10–0.39; and high risk: OR = 0.14, 95% CI 0.05–0.37). Conclusion Infiltration and sealing were more efficacious than non-invasive treatments for halting non-cavitated proximal lesions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Takeshi Hasegawa ◽  
Hiroki Nihiwaki ◽  
Erika Ota ◽  
William Levack ◽  
Hisashi Noma

Abstract Background and Aims Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) undergoing dialysis are at a particularly high risk of cardiovascular mortality and morbidity. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the benefits and harms of aldosterone antagonists, both non-selective (spironolactone) and selective (eplerenone), in comparison to control (placebo or standard care) in patients with CKD requiring haemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis. Method We searched the Cochrane Kidney and Transplant Register of Studies up to 29 July 2019 using search terms relevant to this review. Studies in the Register are identified through searches of CENTRAL, MEDLINE, and EMBASE, conference proceedings, the International Clinical Trials Register Search Portal and ClinicalTrials.gov. We included individual and cluster randomised controlled trials (RCTs), cross-over trials, and quasi-RCTs that compared aldosterone antagonists with placebo or standard care in patients with CKD requiring dialysis. We used a random-effects model meta-analysis to perform a quantitative synthesis of the data. We used the I2 statistic to measure heterogeneity among the trials in each analysis. We indicated summary estimates as a risk ratio (RR) for dichotomous outcomes with their 95% confidence interval (CI). We assessed the certainty of the evidence for each of the main outcomes using the GRADE (Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation) approach. Results We included 16 trials (14 parallel RCTs and two cross-over trials) involving a total of 1,446 patients. Among included studies, 13 trials compared spironolactone to placebo or standard care and one trial compared eplerenone to a placebo. Most studies had an unclear or high risk of bias. Compared to control, aldosterone antagonists reduced the risk of all-cause death for patients with CKD requiring dialysis (9 trials, 1,119 patients: RR 0.45, 95% CI 0.30 to 0.67; moderate certainty of evidence). Aldosterone antagonist also decreased the risk of death due to cardiovascular disease (6 trials, 908 patients: RR 0.37, 95% CI 0.22 to 0.64; moderate certainty of evidence) and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular morbidity (3 trials, 328 patients: RR 0.38, 95% CI 0.18 to 0.76; moderate certainty of evidence). While aldosterone antagonists had an apparent increased risk of gynaecomastia compared with control (4 trials, 768 patients: RR 5.95, 95% CI 1.93 to 18.3; moderate certainty of evidence), the elevated risk of hyperkalaemia due to aldosterone antagonists was uncertain (9 trials, 981 patients: RR 1.41, 95% CI 0.72 to 2.78; low certainty of evidence). Conclusion Based on moderate certainty of the evidence, aldosterone antagonists could reduce the risk of all-cause and cardiovascular death and morbidity due to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease but increase the risk of gynaecomastia in patients with CKD requiring dialysis.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Tremblay ◽  
M. Haloui ◽  
F. Harvey ◽  
R. Tahir ◽  
F.-C. Marois-Blanchet ◽  
...  

AbstractType 2 diabetes increases the risk of cardiovascular and renal complications, but early risk prediction can lead to timely intervention and better outcomes. Through summary statistics of meta-analyses of published genome-wide association studies performed in over 1.2 million of individuals, we combined 9 PRS gathering genomic variants associated to cardiovascular and renal diseases and their key risk factors into one logistic regression model, to predict micro- and macrovascular endpoints of diabetes. Its clinical utility in predicting complications of diabetes was tested in 4098 participants with diabetes of the ADVANCE trial followed during a period of 10 years and replicated it in three independent non-trial cohorts. The prediction model adjusted for ethnicity, sex, age at onset and diabetes duration, identified the top 30% of ADVANCE participants at 3.1-fold increased risk of major micro- and macrovascular events (p=6.3×10−21 and p=9.6×10−31, respectively) and at 4.4-fold (p=6.8×10−33) increased risk of cardiovascular death compared to the remainder of T2D subjects. While in ADVANCE overall, combined intensive therapy of blood pressure and glycaemia decreased cardiovascular mortality by 24%, the prediction model identified a high-risk group in whom this therapy decreased mortality by 47%, and a low risk group in whom the therapy had no discernable effect. Patients with high PRS had the greatest absolute risk reduction with a number needed to treat of 12 to prevent one cardiovascular death over 5 years. This novel polygenic prediction model identified people with diabetes at low and high risk of complications and improved targeting those at greater benefit from intensive therapy while avoiding unnecessary intensification in low-risk subjects.


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