COVID-19 Testing in Sweden During 2020–Split Responsibilities and Multi-Level Challenges

Sweden's use of soft response measures early in the COVID-19 pandemic received a good deal of international attention. Within Sweden, one of the most debated aspects of the pandemic response has been COVID-19 testing and the time it took to increase testing capacity. In this article, the development of and the debate surrounding COVID-19 testing in Sweden during 2020 is described in detail, with a particular focus on the coordination between national and regional actors in the decentralised healthcare system. A qualitative case study was carried out based on qualitative document analysis with a chronological presentation. To understand COVID-19 testing in Sweden, two aspects of its public administration model emerged as particularly important: (i) the large and independent government agencies and (ii) self-governing regions and municipalities. In addition, the responsibility principle in Swedish crisis management was crucial. Overall, the results show that mass testing was a new area for coordination and involved a number of national and regional actors with partly different views on their respective roles, responsibilities and interpretations of the laws and regulations. The description shows the ambiguities in the purpose of testing and the shortcomings in communication and cooperation during the first half of 2020, but after that an increasing consistency among the crucial actors. During the first half of 2020, testing capacity in Sweden was limited and reserved to protect the most vulnerable in society. Because mass testing for viruses is not normally carried out by the 21 self-governing regions responsible for healthcare and communicable disease prevention, and the Public Health Agency of Sweden stated that there was no medical reason to test members of the public falling ill with COVID-like symptoms, the responsibility for mass testing fell through the cracks during the first few months of the pandemic. This article thus illustrates problems associated with multi-level governance in healthcare during a crisis and illustrates the discrepancy between the health service's focus on the individual and the public health-oriented work carried out within communicable disease control.

Lymphocyte levels following COVID-19 vaccine BNT162b2

Introduction: The BNT162b2 vaccine has been shown to be effective in reducing the incidence, severity and mortality of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). The clinical trial report of BNT162b2 suggested that the mechanism of BNT162b2 includes lymphocytes migration from the blood to the lymph nodes, and that it relates to the clinical trial finding of decreased blood lymphocytes in the 3 days following dose-1 of BNT162b2. A decrease in blood lymphocytes was also shown in the second day after dose-1 BNT162b2 in another study, and in studies of BNT162b1 and other mRNA vaccines. The BNT162b2 clinical trial also found that lymphocytes were normal in the 6-8 days following dose-1 and dose-2, but it did not test lymphocytes in the 3 days following dose-2. Our study aims to estimate the lymphocytes in the 3 days following dose-2 using existing electronic health records, to help improve the understanding of the BNT162b2 dose-2 mechanism.Methods: We extracted values of lymphocyte blood tests and BNT162b2 immunization from Electronic Health Record data including diagnosis, procedures, labs, vitals, medications and histories sourced from participating members of the Healthjump network, which is situated in the United States. Absolute lymphocytes were calculated as 10^3/mm3 (thousands per cubic millimeter), and vaccines were extracted from December 10th 2020 to September 30th 2021 based on the CXV code 208, the CPT code 91300, and the vaccine description from a database of 900 thousand vaccinations. We included BNT162b2 first dose administration and second dose BNT162b2 administrations that were done 21 days after a BNT162b2 first dose administration to resemble the clinical trial protocol (excluding dose-2 before or after day 21). We calculated the median lymphocyte values in each of the 14 days before and after the vaccination to determine its lowest median value, and we also compared the lymphocyte values in the 3 days before and after the administration using Wilcox rank test (significance at p<0.05). Results: We extracted 13,329 records, with a mean age of 59 years. The median lymphocyte in the 14 days before the 1st and 2nd dose was 1.85 (10^3/mm3). For the first dose, the lowest median value was 1.75 (10^3/mm3) and it was reached 3 days after administration, while for the second dose the lowest median value was 1.35 (10^3/mm3) and it was reached 2 days after administration. The lymphocyte value in the 3 days after dose-2 administration were significantly higher than those in the 3 days before the vaccination (p<0.01). Discussion: Our analysis suggests that lymphocyte blood levels have a temporary decrease in the 3 days following the second dose of BNT162b, which resembles the decrease reported after the first dose in the clinical trial. This could relate to the high increase in antibodies that is often found following the second dose. The main limitation of the study is that the lymphocyte tests were done for a medical reason, such as an annual exam or to diagnose a disease, unlike the clinical trial that tested each participant. Future vaccine studies could examine blood lymphocytes in the 3 days following the second dose to verify this finding and further examine the dose-2 mechanism and its effect.

Female genital mutilation (FGM) in Somaliland – why is change so slow?

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is defined as any procedure involving the alteration or excision of external female genitalia for no medical reason. Somaliland has among the highest prevalence rates of FGM globally. In this article we describe how the Civil Society Organisation (CSO) ‘Network against female genital mutilation in Somaliland’ (NAFIS) has approached the challenge to reduce the high FGM prevalence. From its start in 2006, NAFIS has developed a multifaceted program to reach the overall goal: the elimination of all forms of FGM in Somaliland. Alone among the group of CSOs in the network, NAFIS introduced in its activities medical care and counselling for women who suffer from the consequences of FGM. From 2011 and onwards, thousands of women have been relieved of their FGM-related health complications and participated in counselling sessions at project centres. Shortly after this visit they have been invited to participate in community group meetings to share their experiences with other women who also have received FGM care and counselling, and other community members. The aim of the article is to describe this model of work - combining FGM care and counselling with community dialogues. The article is basically descriptive, using the authors’ own observations and encounters with project clients and staff over eight years. We have also used findings from three Master's theses on aspects of the process, and from other small scale studies to highlight people’s understanding, experiences and opinions in a context of an on-going health intervention. A lesson learnt from NAFIS project is that it has helped to open up communicative spaces in community dialogues where experiences are shared and understanding created of the harm caused by FGM, without the habitual stigma and shame. We discuss this process in a context of behavioural change theories. A major challenge during the process has been to involve men in the project’s FGM information and counselling activities. The role of nurses/midwives, being the first to meet women with FGM complications, is also discussed and the need emphasised to strengthen capacity of this category of health workers. One type of FGM gaining in usage is the poorly defined sunna, the health risks of which are unclear.

Twin pregnancy reduction is not an ‘all or nothing’ problem: a response to Räsänen

In his paper, ‘Twin pregnancy, fetal reduction and the ‘all or nothing problem’, Räsänen sets out to apply Horton’s ‘all or nothing’ problem to the ethics of multifetal pregnancy reduction from a twin to a singleton pregnancy (2-to-1 MFPR). Horton’s problem involves the following scenario: imagine that two children are about to be crushed by a collapsing building. An observer would have three options: do nothing, save one child by allowing their arms to be crushed, or save both by allowing their arms to be crushed. Horton offers two intuitively plausible claims: (1) it is morally permissible not to save either child and (2) it is morally impermissible to save only one of the children, which taken together lead to the problematic conclusion that (3) if an observer does not save both children, then it is better to save neither than save only one. Räsänen applies this problem to the case of 2-to-1 MFPR, arguing ultimately that, in cases where there is no medical reason to reduce, the woman ought to bring both fetuses to term. We will argue that Räsänen does not provide adequate support for the claim, crucial to his argument, that aborting only one of the fetuses in a twin pregnancy is wrong, so the ‘all or nothing’ problem does not arise in this context. Furthermore, we argue that the scenario Räsänen presents is highly unrealistic because of the clinical realities of 2-to-1 MFPR, making his argument of limited use for real-life decision making in this area.

Factors and Outcomes of Intensive Care Unit Readmission in Elderly Patients

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> An increase in age has been observed among patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). Age is a well-known risk factor for ICU readmission and mortality. However, clinical characteristics and risk factors of ICU readmission of elderly patients (≥65 years) have not been studied. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> This retrospective single-center cohort study was conducted in a total of 122-bed ICU of a tertiary care hospital in Seoul, Korea. A total of 85,413 patients were enrolled in this hospital between January 1, 2007, and December 31, 2017. The odds ratio of readmission and in-hospital mortality was calculated by logistic regression analysis. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Totally, 29,503 patients were included in the study group, of which 2,711 (9.2%) had ICU readmissions. Of the 2,711 readmitted patients, 472 patients were readmitted more than once (readmitted 2 or more times to the ICU, 17.4%). In the readmitted patient group, there were more males, higher sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) scores, and hospitalized for medical reasons. Length of stay (LOS) in ICU and in-hospital were longer, and 28-day and in-hospital mortality was higher in readmitted patients than in nonreadmitted patients. Risk factors of ICU readmission included the ICU admission due to medical reason, SOFA score, presence of chronic heart disease, diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, transplantation, use of mechanical ventilation, and initial ICU LOS. ICU readmission and age (over 85 years) were independent predictors of in-hospital mortality on multivariable analysis. The delayed ICU readmission group (&#x3e;72 h) had higher in-hospital mortality than the early readmission group (≤72 h) (20.6 vs. 16.2%, <i>p</i> = 0.005). <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> ICU readmissions occurred in 9.2% of elderly patients and were associated with poor prognosis and higher mortality.

Impact of systemic corticosteroids for cutaneous immune-related adverse events on survival outcomes in patients with advanced cancer: A retrospective cohort study.

e14523 Background: Cutaneous immune-related adverse events (cirAE) may disrupt immune-checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy. Current guidelines recommend systemic corticosteroids (SCS) for moderate to severe cirAE, but SCS-associated complications and their impact on survival remain poorly understood. We therefore investigated the impact of SCS exposures on infectious complications and survival outcomes among patients with cirAE. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients who initiated anti-programmed death-1/ligand-1 (PD-1/PDL-1) and/or anti-cytotoxic-T-lymphocyte-4 (CTLA-4) ICI therapy between 1/1/16-3/8/19 with confirmed cirAE, obtaining oncologic history, clinical features, SCS exposures, infection rates, and survival outcomes. SCS exposures were categorized by indication (cirAE, other immune-related adverse event, other medical reason) and dosage in prednisone equivalents (low, ≤7.5mg/day for ≥2 months; moderate, > 7.5mg/day for ≥2 months; high, ≥1mg/kg/day for ≥1 week). Infection rates were compared among patients treated with SCS for initial cirAE and those with no SCS exposures for any indication. Cox proportional hazards (CPH) models adjusted for age, sex, and covariates with P <0.05 were used to assess relationships between SCS for first cirAE episode, progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Results: 358 patients developed cirAE (median age 64 years, 40.5% female, 41.9% melanoma). 50 (14.0%) patients received SCS for initial cirAE, 192 (53.6%) received SCS for another indication, and 116 (32.4%) had no SCS exposures. Patients who received SCS for initial cirAE had higher median rash severity (Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events grade 3 vs. 1, P< 0.001) and were more likely to be hospitalized for cirAE management (20.0% vs. 1.9%, P< 0.001) than those who did not receive SCS. SCS delivery for initial cirAE was predominantly at low doses (n = 42, 84.0%). Infection rates were higher in patients who received SCS for initial cirAE than those with no SCS exposures for any indication (34.0% vs. 19.8%). Most infections in both groups required systemic therapy (88.2% vs. 95.7%). In multivariate models adjusted for age, sex, and SCS exposures by indication and dosage, patients who received SCS for initial cirAE and those who did not had similar PFS (HR 0.7, CI 0.4-1.3, P= 0.287) and OS (HR 3.0, CI 0.3-35.3, P =0.380). Conclusions: We observed higher rates of infection than previously reported among both patients who did and did not receive SCS for initial cirAE. Despite the theoretical risk of SCS impeding the anti-tumor response, we found no relationship between SCS for initial cirAE and PFS/OS. Collectively, these findings suggest that with appropriate management, low-dose SCS may be safely administered for cirAE without significant impact on survival outcomes.

Spoonful of honey or a gallon of vinegar? A conditional COVID-19 vaccination policy for front-line healthcare workers

Seven COVID-19 vaccines are now being distributed and administered around the world (figure correct at the time of submission), with more on the horizon. It is widely accepted that healthcare workers should have high priority. However, questions have been raised about what we ought to do if members of priority groups refuse vaccination. Using the case of influenza vaccination as a comparison, we know that coercive approaches to vaccination uptake effectively increase vaccination rates among healthcare workers and reduce patient morbidity if properly implemented. Using the principle of least restrictive alternative, we have developed an intervention ladder for COVID-19 vaccination policies among healthcare workers. We argue that healthcare workers refusing vaccination without a medical reason should be temporarily redeployed and, if their refusal persists after the redeployment period, eventually suspended, in order to reduce the risk to their colleagues and patients. This ‘conditional’ policy is a compromise between entirely voluntary or entirely mandatory policies for healthcare workers, and is consistent with healthcare workers’ established professional, legal and ethical obligations to their patients and to society at large.

Active elderly and health—can moderate exercise improve health and wellbeing in older adults? Protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Background Aging is marked by a progressive rise in chronic diseases with an impact on social and healthcare costs. Physical activity (PA) may soothe the inconveniences related to chronic diseases, has positive effects on the quality of life and biological rhythms, and can prevent the decline in motor functions and the consequent falls, which are associated with early death and disability in older adults. Methods We randomized 120 over-65 males and females into groups of similar size and timing and will give each either moderate physical activity or cultural and recreational activities. Being younger than 65 years, inability to participate in physical activity for any medical reason, and involvement in a massive program of physical exercise are the exclusion criteria. The primary outcome measures are: quality of life, walking speed, and postural sway. Participants are tested at baseline, post-treatment, and 6-month (24 weeks) and 12-month (48 weeks) follow-ups. Discussion This study aims at improving the quality of life, wellness, and cognitive functioning in the elderly through a low-cost affordable program of moderate physical activity. Given the growing aging of the world population and the social and economic burden of disability in the elderly, our results might have a major impact on future practices. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03858114. Registered on 28 February 2019.

Main determinants of physician-driven amiodarone discontinuation in clinical practice

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Background Amiodarone is the most prescribed antiarrhythmic drug, but drug-related side effects sometimes result in drug discontinuation. Not infrequently, physicians discontinue amiodarone without a medical reason. We explored the determinants of such permanent drug discontinuation. Methods A single-centre, longitudinal study included consecutive patients newly prescribed or already taking amiodarone when first seen in our health centre from January 2013 to December 2017. Baseline data were retrieved from the hospital electronic database and patients were scheduled for a follow-up visit in January to March 2019. Results Of 1212 patients taking amiodarone (mean age 64.2 ±11.2 yrs; female n= 358, 29.5%; median follow-up 22.5 months), the drug was permanently discontinued in 489 (40.3 %), see Figure. On univariate Cox regression analysis, female sex (HR 1.55; 95%CI 1.0-2.3; p = 0.032), non-multimorbidity (2.9; 2.0-4.3; p &lt; 0.001), LV EF (1.0; 1.0-1.1; p &lt; 0.001), NOAC therapy (1.9; 1.2-3.0; p = 0.003) and AF ablation (2.7; 1.5-4.6; P &lt; 0.001) were associated with amiodarone discontinuation. Age (0.9; 0.9-0.9; p &lt; 0.001), CAD (0.3; 0.2-0.5; p &lt; 0.001), HF (0.5; 0.3-0.9; p = 0.020), ventricular arrhythmias (0.1; 0.0-0.3; p &lt; 0.001), stroke (0.2; 0.1-0.9; p = 0.045), CKD (0.5; 0.3-0.9; p = 0.011), ICD (0.1; 0.0-0.6; P = 0.014), LV diastolic (0.9; 0.9-0.9; p = 0.001) and systolic diameter (0.9; 0.9-0.9; p &lt; 0.001), polypharmacy (0.5; 0.3-0.7; P &lt; 0.001), VKA therapy (0.6; 0.4-0.9; p = 0.027), aspirin (0.57; 0.4-0.9; p = 0.011), loop diuretic (0.5; 0.3-0.7; p &lt; 0.001), spironolactone (0.4; 0.2-0.7; p &lt; 0.001) and statin (0.6; 0.4-0.9; p = 0.009) therapy were associated with drug continuation. Multivariable risk factors for amiodarone discontinuation are showed in Table. Conclusion Study showed that within the first two years of treatment, despite persistent indication, amiodarone was discontinued in 1 out of 10 patients in the absence of side effects, mostly in younger patients with less comorbidities, which may not always be justified. There is a need for qualitative research to elucidate the reasons for such physicians’ decisions. Table.Multivariable Cox Proportional HAZARD Regression analysis of permanent Amiodarone discontinuation due to physician decisionVariableHR95% CIP valueAge0.9700.95-0.990.003VT/VF/electrical storm0.1390.04-0.450.001VKA therapy0.5980.38-0.940.026Ablation of AF2.5391.38-4.690.003Number of comorbidities ≤32.0241.26-3.270.004VT ventricular tachycardia; VF: ventricular fibrillation.Abstract Figure.

Studi Komparatif Tindak Pidana Aborsi dalam Perspektif Hukum Article Positif dan Hukum Pidana Islam (Imam Madzhab)

The rise of promiscuity and free sex is the reason for a large number of abortion perpetrators in Indonesia. In the enactment of the law stipulated in the Criminal Code (KUHP) regarding abortion, it is very clear that abortion is prohibited as well as from the perspective of Islamic law it is forbidden to abort the fetus unless there is a medical reason that an abortion must be performed. However, in the opinion of Madzhab, there is still a classification of permissibility before the blowing of the spirit and the scholars agree that it is haram to abort the fetus after blowing the spirit. The research approach used in this study is the Normative Juridical Research Method, namely the approach method used in this study is the normative juridical approach or doctrinal legal research, which is legal research that uses secondary data sources. The results of the research conducted by the author are to provide insight to readers so that they better understand the meaning of abortion and also the punishment of the perpetrators of the crime of abortion both in terms of positive law and Islamic criminal law. In finding the comparison of the punishment between positive law and Islamic criminal law lies in the age limit of the fetus that is in the content of the sanction based on Islamic criminal law, the punishment is to pay ghurrah or diyat Kamilah Dari before the blowing of the spirit or after the blowing of the spirit.