scholarly journals Covid-19 serology in nephrology health care workers

Author(s):  
Thomas Reiter ◽  
Sahra Pajenda ◽  
Ludwig Wagner ◽  
Martina Gaggl ◽  
Johanna Atamaniuk ◽  
...  

Background: Chronic kidney disease patients show a high mortality in case of a SARS-CoV-2 infection. Thus, to be informed on Nephrology personnel's sero-status might be crucial for patient protection. However, limited information exists about the presence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in asymptomatic individuals. Methods: We examined the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 IgG and IgM antibodies among health care workers of a tertiary care kidney center during the peak phase of the Covid-19 crisis in Austria using an orthogonal test strategy and a total of 12 commercial nucleocapsid protein or spike glycoprotein based assays as well as Western blotting and a neutralization assay. Results: At baseline 60 of 235 study participants (25.5%, 95% CI: 20.4-31.5) were judged to be borderline positive or positive for IgM or IgG using a high sensitivity/low specificity threshold in one test system. Follow-up analysis after about two weeks revealed IgG positivity in 12 (5.1%, 95% CI: 2.9-8.8) and IgM positivity in six (2.6%, 95% CI: 1.1-5.6) in at least one assay. 2.1% (95% CI: 0.8-5.0) of health care workers showed IgG nucleocapsid antibodies in at least two assays. By contrast, positive controls with proven Covid-19 showed antibody positivity among almost all test systems. Moreover, serum samples obtained from health care workers did not show SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing capacity, in contrast to positive controls. Conclusions: Using a broad spectrum of antibody tests the present study revealed inconsistent results for SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence among asymptomatic individuals, while this was not the case among Covid-19 patients.

Author(s):  
Thomas Reiter ◽  
Sahra Pajenda ◽  
Ludwig Wagner ◽  
Martina Gaggl ◽  
Johanna Atamaniuk ◽  
...  

Summary Background Chronic kidney disease patients show a high mortality in cases of a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV‑2) infection. Thus, information on the sero-status of nephrology personnel might be crucial for patient protection; however, limited information exists about the presence of SARS-CoV‑2 antibodies in asymptomatic individuals. Methods We examined the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV‑2 IgG and IgM antibodies among healthcare workers of a tertiary care kidney center during the the first peak phase of the corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis in Austria using an orthogonal test strategy and a total of 12 commercial nucleocapsid protein or spike glycoprotein-based assays as well as Western blotting and a neutralization assay. Results At baseline 60 of 235 study participants (25.5%, 95% confidence interval, CI 20.4–31.5%) were judged to be borderline positive or positive for IgM or IgG using a high sensitivity/low specificity threshold in one test system. Follow-up analysis after about 2 weeks revealed IgG positivity in 12 (5.1%, 95% CI: 2.9–8.8%) and IgM positivity in 6 (2.6%, 95% CI: 1.1–5.6) in at least one assay. Of the healthcare workers 2.1% (95% CI: 0.8–5.0%) showed IgG nucleocapsid antibodies in at least 2 assays. By contrast, positive controls with proven COVID-19 showed antibody positivity among almost all test systems. Moreover, serum samples obtained from healthcare workers did not show SARS-CoV‑2 neutralizing capacity, in contrast to positive controls. Conclusion Using a broad spectrum of antibody tests the present study revealed inconsistent results for SARS-CoV‑2 seroprevalence among asymptomatic individuals, while this was not the case among COVID-19 patients. Trial registration number CONEC, ClinicalTrials.gov number NCT04347694


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 03-06
Author(s):  
Wajeeha Qayyum ◽  
Asad Khalil ◽  
Mohammad Jawad ◽  
Seema Ashraf

Introduction: Infectious pandemics are a significant health risk to the general population, but much more so for the frontline health care workers tending patients at different locations. The increased workload, stress, fear, and anxiety are the burdens to be coped with by health professionals through resort to resiliency and other mechanisms.Objective: To determine the magnitude of depression / anxiety and factors associated with it in health care workers of a tertiary care hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.Materials & Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted at Rehman Medical Institute, Peshawar after approval from Rehman Medical Institute Research Ethics Committee. A structured questionnaire consisting of two sections was distributed by convenience sampling to health care workers in the hospital, the first part containing demographic information, and the second part consisting of Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) comprised of 14 scales to assess anxiety and depression. Scoring for Normal, Borderline Abnormal, and Definitive Disorder was done as per standard criteria. Data were analyzed for descriptive statistics by SPSS 22. Results: Total 327 participants were included in the study, having mean age of 30.19 ± 7.82 years, of which 230(70.3%) were males. The majority of health care workers 226(69.1%) were suffering from disturbed mental status either in the form of Anxiety (19.9%), Depression (8%) or Mixed Disorder (41.3%). Factors associated with high disease frequency were female gender, age group 21-30 years, nursing staff, workers of ICU and Hostel residence (p value <0.05). Conclusion: COVID-19 related psychological disturbances significantly affected healthcare staff of a tertiary care hospital of Peshawar, being more evident in females, younger age groups, nurses, and ICU staff on duty.


2002 ◽  
Vol 65 (11) ◽  
pp. 509-514
Author(s):  
Kate Gregory ◽  
Deanna Gibbs

AIDS Dementia Complex (ADC) is a subcortical dementia often associated with HIV disease. Despite undergoing numerous assessments of cognition and function to determine their need for personal care assistance, there is limited information on how individuals with ADC view their functional and cognitive impairments and the subsequent effect on their lifestyle. This study investigated issues of concern to clients with ADC in order to provide a greater understanding of the psychological effect of the loss of functional ability. A qualitative design was used to explore individuals' experience of ADC and clarify their insight and perception regarding the loss of function. The participants were selected by the use of purposeful sampling techniques. Information was obtained through semi-structured interviews and analysed using an analytic induction method. Five main themes were identified as being important in relation to the perception of functional ability. Discrepancies emerged between the insights of individuals with ADC regarding their level of function and their need for assistance and support with activities of daily living, compared with those of the health care workers involved in their care. Health care workers need to have an awareness of the insight that individuals with ADC may have into their functional ability when addressing issues of supported accommodation and level of assistance required.


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