Electrospun Filtering Membrane Designed as Component of Self-Decontaminating Protective Masks.

The 2019 coronavirus outbreak and worsening air pollution have triggered the search for manufacturing effective protective masks preventing both particulate matter and biohazard absorption through the respiratory tract. Therefore, the design of advanced filtering textiles combining efficient physical barrier properties with antimicrobial properties is more newsworthy than ever. The objective of this work was to produce a filtering electrospun membrane incorporating a biocidal agent that would offer both optimal filtration efficiency and fast deactivation of entrapped viruses and bacteria. After the eco-friendly electrospinning process, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) nanofibers were stabilized by crosslinking with 1,2,3,4-butanetetracarboxylic acid (BTCA). To compensate their low mechanical properties, nanofiber membranes with variable grammages were directly electrospun on a meltblown polypropylene (PP) support of 30 g/m2. The results demonstrated that nanofibers supported on PP with a grammage of around only 2 g/m2 presented the best compromise between filtration efficiencies of PM0.3, PM0.5, and PM3.0 and the pressure drop. The filtering electrospun membranes loaded with benzalkonium chloride (ADBAC) as a biocidal agent were successfully tested against E. coli and S. aureus and against human coronavirus strain HCoV-229E. This new biocidal filter based on electrospun nanofibers supported on PP nonwoven fabric could be a promising solution for personal and collective protection in a pandemic context.

Antioxidants other than vitamin C may be detected by glucose meters: Immediate relevance for patients with disorders targeted by antioxidant therapies.

Owing to their ease of use, glucose meters are frequently used in research and medicine. However, little is known of whether other non-glucose molecules, besides vitamin C, interfere with glucometry. Therefore, we sought to determine whether other antioxidants might behave like vitamin C in causing falsely elevated blood glucose levels, potentially exposing patients to glycemic mismanagement by being administered harmful doses of glucose-lowering drugs. To determine whether various antioxidants can be detected by seven commercial glucose meters, human blood samples were spiked with various antioxidants ex vivo and their effect on the glucose results were assessed by Parkes error grid analysis. Several of the glucose meters demonstrated a positive bias in the glucose measurement of blood samples spiked with vitamin C, N-acetylcysteine, and glutathione. With the most interference-sensitive glucose meter, non-blood solutions of 1 mmol/L N-acetylcysteine, glutathione, cysteine, vitamin C, dihydrolipoate, and dithiothreitol mimicked the results seen on that glucose meter for 0.7, 1.0, 1.2, 2.6, 3.7 and 5.5 mmol/L glucose solutions, respectively. Glucose meter users should be alerted that some of these devices might produce spurious glucose results not only in patients on vitamin C therapy but also in those being administered other antioxidants. As discussed herein, the clinical relevance of the data is immediate in view of the current use of antioxidant therapies for disorders such as the metabolic syndrome, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and coronavirus disease 2019.

Analysis of clinical pharmacist interventions in the COVID-19 units of a French university hospital.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives were to compare clinical pharmacist interventions between two care groups: COVID-19-positive and COVID-19-negative patients, and to identify drugs that require particular attention, especially those involved in COVID-19 management. METHODS: A prospective cohort study was conducted on patients with positive and negative COVID-19 statuses admitted to Lille University Hospital over 1 month. Pharmaceutical analysis instigated interventions to rectify drug-related errors. For each pharmaceutical intervention (PI), the anatomical therapeutic chemical classification of the drug and the outcome of such an intervention were specified. RESULTS: The study included 438 patients. Prescription analysis led to 188 PIs performed on 118 patients (64 COVID-19-positive patients and 54 COVID-19-negative patients). Most drug-related problems were incorrect dosage representing 36.7% (69/188) of all interventions: 27.9% (29/104) for the COVID-19-positive group and 47.6% (40/84) for the COVID-19-negative group. The most frequent PI in 34% (64/188) of cases was terminating a drug: 27.9% (29/104) for the COVID-19-positive group and 47.6% (40/84) for the COVID-19-negative group. The main drug classes involved were antithrombotic agents (20.7%, 39/188), antibacterials for systemic use (13.8%, 26/188) and drugs for gastric acid-related disorders (6.4%, 12/188). Study population was limited to a single centre over 1 month. CONCLUSION: No difference in PI was noted between the two groups. The presence of pharmacists led to a reduction in drug-related prescription problems, especially for antithrombotic and antibacterial drugs for both groups. Clinical pharmacy commitment in such a pandemic is therefore important.