Solitary Anosmia/Ageusia in Prison: Results From a COVID-19 Cluster.

A prison setting with its congregate environment is at high risk for widespread transmission of respiratory illnesses. Identifying COVID-19 cases as early as possible and isolating cases and tracing contacts is critical to halting the spread of this disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) added new loss of taste or smell to its list of symptoms and, initially, only if associated with at least one of six other symptoms. The CDC has since updated the guidance to remove this qualifier as of May 13, 2020. New loss of taste or smell, alone, can help to identify COVID-19 cases. Solitary anosmia/ageusia should be strongly considered in routine symptom screening protocols for COVID-19.

Lipid nanoparticles for cardiac RNA delivery

Introduction: RNA-based therapies of the myocardium offer a range of therapeutic opportunities for conditions in which gene transfer needs to be highly effective but transient, such as cardiac regeneration and cardiac gene editing. MicroRNA and mRNA gene transfer can be achieved by intramyocardial injection of lipofectamine-based products, but these are not amenable to clinical translation. In contrast, lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) have already reached clinical approval for siRNA administration with patisiran in 2018 and for mRNA delivery with the COVID-19 vaccines by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna in 2020. Objective(s): We wanted to develop Stable Nucleic Acid Lipid nanoParticles (SNALPs) for the effective myocardial delivery of microRNAs and mRNAs. Material(s) and Method(s): We generated various SNALP formulations via ethanol injection method, carrying the pro-regenerative microRNA-199a-3p or GFP mRNA and assessed their transfection efficiency by high-content microscopy (stimulation of EdU incorporation and GFP fluorescence respectively) in neonatal rat and mouse cardiomyocytes and upon intramyocardial injection in mice. Result(s): We started by investigating the inclusion of different ionisable lipids, helper lipids and PEG-lipids in the nanoparticle shell. Then, we systematically tested the effect of varying the molar ratios of each of the constituents to improve transfection. After optimising the formulations in vitro, we tested the same in mice through direct intramyocardial injection. Conclusion(s): The results obtained highlight the applicability of the LNP technology for efficient delivery of mRNA and microRNA into cardiomyocytes. Copyright © 2022

Pay per View: Cost and Satisfaction of Virtual Video Clinics

Aims: The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated use of video consultations to provide continued patient care. It is not clear if video clinics are well received by patients, or if they are cost efficient. We evaluate The benefits of video consultation and review The impact on waiting times and cost implications to a trust. Method(s): 100 patients referred between January-December 2021 with gallstones were invited to complete a patient satisfaction questionnaire after initial clinic consultation. Patients were divided into three groups based on consultation type;face-to-face, telephone and video consultation (via The Attend Anywhere platform). Secondary outcome measures included time from referral to appointment, time to final outcome and cost implications. Result(s): 93 patients responded;33 video, 30 face-to-face and 30 telephone consultations. Of these patients 62% were female and 38% male with an average age of 51 (25-84). Average time from referral was 22 days in The video cohort, 22 in The telephone cohort and 32 for face-to-face appointments. Of The video cohort, 44% were booked for cholecystectomy from initial consultation and 56% sent for further investigation. The conversion rate from video to face-to-face consultation was zero. 50% of respondents stated face-to-face consultations as their preferred method of future consultation, 49% of patients opted for video and 1% preferred telephone consultation. 79% reported increased satisfaction due to convenience of consultation. Conclusion(s): This study demonstrates video consultations decrease costs and waiting times. Patient satisfaction is comparable to inperson visit. Specific referral criteria and patient selection is essential to maximise The benefits of video consultations.

Anesthesiology Articles Published in 2020: A Review and Characterization of COVID-19 Versus Non-COVID-19 Publications in Top Anesthesiology Journals.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a significant impact on the practice of medicine worldwide, particularly in anesthesiology. As the clinical realm has rapidly adjusted to the realities of the pandemic, anesthesiology literature has also changed significantly to reflect this. The purpose of this study was to characterize the effects the COVID-19 pandemic has had on anesthesiology literature. Specifically, it was hypothesized that the COVID-19-related literature in the anesthesiology community would gain more interest than non-COVID-19-related articles. A total of 15 anesthesiology-related journals with the highest impact factor in 2019, according to the Journal Citation Reports (JCR), were selected for data collection. An advanced PubMed search identified 5,722 COVID-19-related articles published by these journals in 2020. Next, articles with titles including "corona," "COVID," "COVID-19," "pandemic," "SARS," or "SARS-CoV-2" were selected for inclusion in the study, which resulted in 676 (12%) articles. A Kruskal-Wallis test was used to assess the Altmetric score, which is a weighted calculation of the attention an article receives online, for COVID-19 versus non-COVID-19 articles. Articles were then further characterized across multiple different variables, including country of origin, month published, type of article, and subspecialty of anesthesiology it pertained to. Of the 15 journals investigated, 676 (12%) articles of the 5,722 total articles published were found to be COVID-19-related material. The majority of the articles were found to be published in April (18%), May (19.5%), and June (14%). The majority of these articles were related either to general anesthesia (operating room anesthesiology that is not tied to a particular subspecialty fellowship track) (48%) or critical care (39%). By article type, most were determined to be editorial (71%) in nature, followed by original research articles (21%), of which most were cross-sectional (55%) studies. When compared with non-COVID-19-related articles, COVID-19-related articles had a significantly greater Altmetric score (29.518 versus 8.6333, p < 0.001). Of the COVID-19-related articles, original articles had the greatest Altmetric score, when compared to editorials and guidelines (54.794 versus 20.777 versus 40.643, p < 0.002). The response of the academic anesthesiology community to the COVID-19 pandemic was strong and timely, with a particularly strong focus on critical care anesthesia. The impact of the pandemic was strongly felt by the anesthesiology community, and their timely response served to guide our country and world through an incredibly challenging time. The pandemic highlighted the value of anesthesiologists worldwide, not only in the operating room setting but particularly as critical care physicians.