Wastewater surveillance in smaller college communities may aid future public health initiatives.

To date, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in over 570 million cases and over 6 million deaths worldwide. Predominant clinical testing methods, though invaluable, may create an inaccurate depiction of COVID-19 prevalence due to inadequate access, testing, or most recently under-reporting because of at-home testing. These concerns have created a need for unbiased, community-level surveillance. Wastewater-based epidemiology has been used for previous public health threats, and more recently has been established as a complementary method of SARS-CoV-2 surveillance. Here we describe the application of wastewater surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 in two university campus communities located in rural Lincoln Parish, Louisiana. This cost-effective approach is especially well suited to rural areas where limited access to testing may worsen the spread of COVID-19 and quickly exhaust the capacity of local healthcare systems. Our work demonstrates that local universities can leverage scientific resources to advance public health equity in rural areas and enhance their community involvement.

Retrospective study of N-methyl-D-aspartate glutamate receptor IgG testing outcomes at LabPLUS, Auckland City Hospital, New Zealand, 2015 - 2020, in a clinically demand-managed setting

Conclusions: Under the framework of neurologist gate keeping and liaison LabPLUS was able to implement and consistently deliver high value clinical results (antibody positive and negative) that allowed rapid treatment intervention when indicated which then translated into the best possible outcomes for patients with NMDAR encephalitis. NZJ Med Lab Sci 2021;75:192-201 INTRODUCTION Anti-NMDAR (N-methyl-D-aspartate glutamate receptor) encephalitis is an autoimmune based syndrome with a progressive clinical course that can be treated. For reasons outlined earlier in this introduction, NMDAR encephalitis was the first condition chosen to deliver on-site testing, not only to improve patient outcomes but also to demonstrate proof of concept of the new service which, if delivered, would then allow future expansion. After a further set of incubation and wash steps slides had cover slips applied and were viewed for characteristic (nuclear with cytoplasmic extensions) staining using Zeiss LED-based fluorescence microscopy (excitation: 470/40nm;emission: 515nm) at a magnification of X200 (Figure 1).

Using Anesthesia Machines as Critical Care Ventilators During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Somewhere between 30% and 89% of patients with COVID-19 admitted to a critical care unit require invasive mechanical ventilation. Concern over the lack of adequate numbers of critical care ventilators to meet this demand led the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to authorize the use of anesthesia machines as critical care ventilators. The use of anesthesia machines for ventilating patients with COVID-19 is overseen by an anesthesia provider, but respiratory therapists may encounter their use. This article reviews the fundamental differences between anesthesia machines and critical care ventilators, as well as some common problems encountered when using an anesthesia machine to ventilate a patient with COVID-19 and steps to mitigate these problems.