Identification of Patients Diagnosed with Rare and Emerging Diseases Utilizing the Trinetx Network: A Case Study of African and American Trypanosomiasis

Objectives: Due to large sample sizes, electronic medical records (EMR) databases have the potential to provide pivotal insights into patients diagnosed with rare, orphan, or emerging diseases. This study aimed to explore the patient profile of African and American trypanosomiasis, both vector-borne parasitic diseases, pre-and post the COVID-19 pandemic using the TriNetX Network. Method(s): From Jan 1, 2018 - Nov 30, 2019 (pre-COVID) and Jan 1, 2020 - Nov 30, 2021 (post-COVID) patients were queried from the TriNetX Global health research network, inclusive of 88 million patients from the United States (US), Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and Asia Pacific. Eligible patients with an ICD-10 diagnosis code of African trypanosomiasis or American trypanosomiasis were identified (2280 patients on 22-Dec-2022) and analyzed separately, pre- and post-COVID. Result(s): We identified 340 patients pre- and 960 patients post-COVID with African trypanosomiasis and 960 patients pre- and 190 patients post-COVID with American trypanosomiasis. Most patients resided in the US. Pre-COVID African trypanosomiasis patients had a mean age of 38 and were 59% female while post-COVID patients had a mean age of 34 and were 57% female. Pre-COVID American trypanosomiasis patients had a mean age of 49 and were 57% female while post-COVID patients had a mean age of 49 and were 53% female. Top co-diagnoses included diseases of the respiratory (85%, 84%) and nervous systems (82%, 79%) for patients with African trypanosomiasis and diseases of the digestive (69%, 54%) and circulatory systems (68%, 61%) for patients with American trypanosomiasis in both the pre- and post-COVID cohorts, respectively. Conclusion(s): Using real-world EMR data we were able to obtain patient profiles for a rare disease (African trypanosomiasis) and a common, emerging disease (American trypanosomiasis). This informationsupportsutilizing EMR data for describing patient populations in rare, orphan, or emerging diseases, which may aid drug development for these indications.Copyright © 2023

Factors influencing COVID-19 health protective behaviours in Zambian university students with symptoms of low mood.

BACKGROUND: Health protective behaviours are crucial in the prevention of the spread of COVID-19, particularly in university students who typically live and study in large groups. Depression and anxiety are common in students and can impact young people's motivations to follow health advice. The study aims to assess the relationship between mental health and COVID-19 health-protective behaviours in Zambian university students with symptoms of low mood. METHODS: The study was a cross-sectional, online survey of Zambian university students. Participants were also invited to take part in a semi-structured interview to explore views about COVID-19 vaccination. Invitation emails were sent explaining the study aims and directed students who self-identified as having low mood in the past two weeks to an online survey. Measures included COVID-19 preventive behaviours, COVID-19-related self-efficacy, and Hospital and Anxiety Depression scale. RESULTS: A total of 620 students (n=308 female, n=306 male) participated in the study, with a mean participant age of 22.47±3.29 years (range 18-51). Students reported a mean protective behaviour score of 74.09/105 and 74% scored above the threshold for possible anxiety disorder. Three-way ANOVA showed lower COVID-19 protective behaviours in students with possible anxiety disorder (p=.024) and those with low self-efficacy (p<0.001). Only 168 (27%) said they would accept vaccination against COVID-19, with male students being twice as likely to be willing to accept COVID-19 vaccination (p<0.001). Of 50 students interviewed. 30 (60%) expressed fears about the vaccination and 16 (32%) were concerned about a lack of information. Only 8 (16%) participants expressed doubts about effectiveness. CONCLUSION: Students who self-identify as having symptoms of depression have high levels of anxiety. The results suggest that interventions to reduce anxiety and promote self-efficacy might enhance students' COVID-19 protective behaviours. Qualitative data provided insight into the high rates of vaccine hesitancy in this population.

SARS-CoV-2 causing COVID-19: A comprehensive review in clinical perspective

The SARS-CoV-2 virus that emerged in Wuhan, China which is the causative organism for the highly contagious respiratory illness called COVID-19, has now grown to become a global pandemic. This novel coronavirus which possesses a lower fatality rate than SARS and MERS, has a higher infectivity rate and unique pathogenic pathways which, as of now have not yet been completely explored. Therefore, on the basis of published evidence and scientifically backed hypothesis, we intend to systematically summarise the epidemiology, clinical features, diagnosis, possible treatment protocols for COVID-19 and prevention, so as to understand what works and why. This review aims to unbiasedly observe and interpret all available data on the current pandemic and its causative virus, so as to offer a detailed clinical account of the disease and possible methods to combat it, in a condensed and singular format. © (2021) Society for Biomaterials & Artificial Organs #20047821