ABSTRACT
Background. During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, healthcare facilities (HCFs) were overwhelmed with increasing patient volumes and limited resources. Reports of disruptions in routine practices at HCFs have emerged. We evaluated changes in policies, practices, and programs for antimicrobial stewardship (AMS), infection prevention and control (IPC), and clinical microbiology across six HCF in South America following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods. We conducted a survey in 6 HCFs in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile;2 HCFs in each country. Data on 5 components (facility characteristics, antibiotic procurement and distribution, AMS activities, IPC activities, and clinical microbiology) were collected from designated specialists within each HCF from March 2018 - February 2021. We compared observations within these 5 components pre-pandemic (March 2018 - February 2020) to during pandemic (March 2020 - February 2021.) Results. During the pandemic, the number of ICU beds increased across all the 6 HCFs by 57-633%, and the number of ventilators increased by 15-317% in 5 out of the 6 HCFs. Healthcare personnel shortages were observed in all 6 HCFs, notably common for nurses and laboratory personnel (Table 1). Extended use of N95 respirators was reported across all 6 HCFs with 2 doing extended use of gowns and medical masks. The only PPE reused was N95 respirators in 2 HCFs. Difficulties in cohorting patients with multi-drug resistance organism (MDRO) was reported by one of the HCFs. Three HCFs reported shortages in drugs with coverage for MRSA, gramnegative bacteria, and fungal pathogens despite no reports of interruption in AMS activities in these HCFs. Two hospitals reported delays on microbiology results. Facility characteristics and reported changes during COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020-February 2021) Conclusion. The COVID-19 pandemic led to substantial increases in ICU beds, number of ventilators, and extended use of PPE suggesting increases in admission of severe patients and suboptimal IPC practices in HCFs in South America. It is unclear if shortages in agents commonly used to treat MDRO was related to overuse or access difficulties. Additional evaluation is needed to determine the impact of these findings on antimicrobial resistance and antimicrobial use.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Depression and anxiety impact up to 1 in 5 pregnant and postpartum women worldwide. Yet, as few as 20% of these women are treated with frontline interventions such as evidence-based psychological treatments. Major barriers to uptake are the limited number of specialized mental health treatment providers in most settings, and problems with accessing in-person care, such as childcare or transportation. Task sharing of treatment to non-specialist providers with delivery on telemedicine platforms could address such barriers. However, the equivalence of these strategies to specialist and in-person models remains unproven. METHODS: This study protocol outlines the Scaling Up Maternal Mental healthcare by Increasing access to Treatment (SUMMIT) randomized trial. SUMMIT is a pragmatic, non-inferiority test of the comparable effectiveness of two types of providers (specialist vs. non-specialist) and delivery modes (telemedicine vs. in-person) of a brief, behavioral activation (BA) treatment for perinatal depressive and anxiety symptoms. Specialists (psychologists, psychiatrists, and social workers with ≥ 5 years of therapy experience) and non-specialists (nurses and midwives with no formal training in mental health care) were trained in the BA protocol, with the latter supervised by a BA expert during treatment delivery. Consenting pregnant and postpartum women with Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) score of ≥ 10 (N = 1368) will be randomized to one of four arms (telemedicine specialist, telemedicine non-specialist, in-person specialist, in-person non-specialist), stratified by pregnancy status (antenatal/postnatal) and study site. The primary outcome is participant-reported depressive symptoms (EPDS) at 3 months post-randomization. Secondary outcomes are maternal symptoms of anxiety and trauma symptoms, perceived social support, activation levels and quality of life at 3-, 6-, and 12-month post-randomization, and depressive symptoms at 6- and 12-month post-randomization. Primary analyses are per-protocol and intent-to-treat. The study has successfully continued despite the COVID-19 pandemic, with needed adaptations, including temporary suspension of the in-person arms and ongoing randomization to telemedicine arms. DISCUSSION: The SUMMIT trial is expected to generate evidence on the non-inferiority of BA delivered by a non-specialist provider compared to specialist and telemedicine compared to in-person. If confirmed, results could pave the way to a dramatic increase in access to treatment for perinatal depression and anxiety. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04153864 . Registered on November 6, 2019.