ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: During the last two and a half years, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection has spread around the world. Most of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccines are designed to produce anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin G (IgG) against the viral S-glycoprotein. The aim of this study was to measure the anti-S antibody titres among the medical personnel who had been fully vaccinated with different types of vaccines, and to compare them with those who were COVID-19 convalescents. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In this study serum was collected from 261 healthcare workers, of whom 227 were vaccinated, while 34 were recovered participants who were not immunised. Serum samples were collected 21 days after the first dose and 60 and 180 days after the second dose of the vaccines and tested with a commercial ELISA kit. RESULTS: The highest antibody level (12 AU/ml) was measured in the Pfizer-BioNTech group, followed by Sinopharm (9.3 AU/ml), Sputnik V (5.9 AU/ml), Sinovac (4.6 AU/ml) and Oxford/Astra- Zeneca vaccine (2.5 AU/ml) 60 days after the second dose of the vaccines (90 days after the first dose). The seropositivity rate for mRNA vaccine was 88.5%, for vector vaccines 86.2% and for inactivated vaccines 71.4%. When comparing these antibody levels with COVID-19 convalescents, higher antibody titres were found in vaccinated participants (5.76 AU/ml vs 7.06 AU/ml), but the difference was not significant (p = 0.08). CONCLUSIONS: Individuals vaccinated with mRNA and vector vaccines had a higher seroconversion rate compared to the group vaccinated with inactivated vaccines, or convalescents. Copyright © 2023 Termedia.
ABSTRACT
Background/Aim: Diarrhoea that occurs as a result of the presence of Clostridium difficile (reclassified as Clostridioides difficile) is usually manifested as a hospital infection, usually after antibiotic treatment. The study aim was to assess the incidence, characteristics and outcomes of hospitalised patients with healthcare – associated Clostridioides difficile infection (HA-CDI) before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This retrospective cohort study included patients older than 18, who met the HA-CDI case definition. The CDI diagnosis was made by demonstrating toxins A and B in stool samples using an immunochromatographic assay test and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results: The incidence of HA-CDI has significantly decreased from the pre-COVID-19 period to the COVID-19 period (11.04 per 10,000 vs 6.49 per 10,000, p < 0.001). Before establishing the HA-CDI diagnosis, 41.4 % of patients used one antibiotic, 25.9 % used two and 11.2 % were treated with three or more antibiotics. Almost one half of the applied antibiotics were from the group that represents high risk for the development of HA-CDI. Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that older age (OR = 3.4;95 % CI = 0.9-12.4;p = 0.038) and complicated disease course (OR = 11.8;95 % CI = 2.6-53.6;p ≤ 0.001) were associated with a higher risk of death. Conclusion: The incidence of HA-CDI has decreased during the observed period of the COVID-19 pandemic, however, no clear connection between the impact of the pandemic and incidence reduction was found. Due to unfavourable outcome of the treatment of HA-CDI patients during COVID-19 pandemic, the rational use of antibiotics is necessary. © 2023 Knežević et al.