Complex Reporting of the COVID-19 Epidemic in the Czech Republic: Use of an Interactive Web-Based App in Practice.

BACKGROUND: The beginning of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic dates back to December 31, 2019, when the first cases were reported in the People's Republic of China. In the Czech Republic, the first three cases of infection with the novel coronavirus were confirmed on March 1, 2020. The joint effort of state authorities and researchers gave rise to a unique team, which combines methodical knowledge of real-world processes with the know-how needed for effective processing, analysis, and online visualization of data. OBJECTIVE: Due to an urgent need for a tool that presents important reports based on valid data sources, a team of government experts and researchers focused on the design and development of a web app intended to provide a regularly updated overview of COVID-19 epidemiology in the Czech Republic to the general population. METHODS: The cross-industry standard process for data mining model was chosen for the complex solution of analytical processing and visualization of data that provides validated information on the COVID-19 epidemic across the Czech Republic. Great emphasis was put on the understanding and a correct implementation of all six steps (business understanding, data understanding, data preparation, modelling, evaluation, and deployment) needed in the process, including the infrastructure of a nationwide information system; the methodological setting of communication channels between all involved stakeholders; and data collection, processing, analysis, validation, and visualization. RESULTS: The web-based overview of the current spread of COVID-19 in the Czech Republic has been developed as an online platform providing a set of outputs in the form of tables, graphs, and maps intended for the general public. On March 12, 2020, the first version of the web portal, containing fourteen overviews divided into five topical sections, was released. The web portal's primary objective is to publish a well-arranged visualization and clear explanation of basic information consisting of the overall numbers of performed tests, confirmed cases of COVID-19, COVID-19-related deaths, the daily and cumulative overviews of people with a positive COVID-19 case, performed tests, location and country of infection of people with a positive COVID-19 case, hospitalizations of patients with COVID-19, and distribution of personal protective equipment. CONCLUSIONS: The online interactive overview of the current spread of COVID-19 in the Czech Republic was launched on March 11, 2020, and has immediately become the primary communication channel employed by the health care sector to present the current situation regarding the COVID-19 epidemic. This complex reporting of the COVID-19 epidemic in the Czech Republic also shows an effective way to interconnect knowledge held by various specialists, such as regional and national methodology experts (who report positive cases of the disease on a daily basis), with knowledge held by developers of central registries, analysts, developers of web apps, and leaders in the health care sector.

The joint action MODE (Mutual Organ Donation and Transplantation Exchanges): a sound contribution to implementation of health policies in organ donation and transplantation.

BACKGROUND: The main objective of the joint action MODE is the transfer of best-practices in the field of organ donation and transplantation and the creation of positive synergies among participating European (EU) Member States (MS) apt to support authorities in possible decision-making and policy contexts. METHODS: The consortium has chosen to foster the exchange of best-practice through a series of exchange visits followed by the provision of a set of specialized trainings.Each participating MS has presented its strengths and weaknesses through a questionnaire based on the Organ Action Plan. Once the situation was clearer, countries with the strongest program organized and hosted the on-site visits and each country had the opportunity to perform five exchange visits on five selected topics.Specific courses for healthcare staff of organ coordinating and transplantation centres were organized. Based on evaluation of the results of the on-site visits and training needs indicated by the partners, the chosen topics were:• reporting on adverse events and reactions• quality assurance programme of the donation process in Spain• quality assurance of the transplantation process RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The outcome is that within the EU, even among MS with well-developed services, the organ donation and transplantation activity has substantial differences so that all participating countries would benefit from investigating foreign donation and transplant systems. Collaboration at EU level can be beneficial for all systems and the joint action MODE indicated that in some countries the sharing of expertise across the EU Member States has already proved to be useful in starting a virtuous circle in organization and training that would allow to increase organ donor rates and improve overall performance.

Current situation of donation after circulatory death in European countries.

The aim of the present study was to describe the current situation of donation after circulatory death (DCD) in the Council of Europe, through a dedicated survey. Of 27 participating countries, only 10 confirmed any DCD activity, the highest one being described in Belgium, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom (mainly controlled) and France and Spain (mainly uncontrolled). During 2000-2009, as DCD increased, donation after brain death (DBD) decreased about 20% in the three countries with a predominant controlled DCD activity, while DBD had increased in the majority of European countries. The number of organs recovered and transplanted per DCD increased along time, although it remained substantially lower compared with DBD. During 2000-2008, 5004 organs were transplanted from DCD (4261 kidneys, 505 livers, 157 lungs and 81 pancreas). Short-term outcomes of 2343 kidney recipients from controlled versus 649 from uncontrolled DCD were analyzed: primary non function occurred in 5% vs. 6.4% (P = NS) and delayed graft function in 50.2% vs. 75.7% (P < 0.001). In spite of this, 1 year graft survival was 85.9% vs. 88.9% (P = 0.04), respectively. DCD is increasingly accepted in Europe but still limited to a few countries. Controlled DCD might negatively impact DBD activity. The degree of utilization of DCD is lower compared with DBD. Short-term results of DCD are promising with differences between kidney recipients transplanted from controlled versus uncontrolled DCD, an observation to be further analyzed.