Heart valve service provision in the United Kingdom and the effect of the COVID 19 pandemic; improved but must do better. A British Heart Valve Society national survey.

BACKGROUND: Outpatient care for patients with heart valve disease (HVD) is best provided by valve clinics delivered by specialists. Modern day practice in the United Kingdom (UK) is currently poorly understood and has not been evaluated for nearly a decade. Furthermore, the COVID 19 pandemic changed the management of many chronic diseases, and how this has impacted patients with heart valve disease is unclear. METHODS: A British Heart Valve Society survey was sent to 161 hospitals throughout the UK. RESULTS: There was a general valve clinic in 46 of the 68 hospitals (68%), in 19 of 23 Heart Centres (83%) and 29 of 45 DGHs (64%). Across all settings, 3824 new patients and 17,980 follow up patients were seen in valve clinics per annum. The mean number of patients per hospital were 197 (median 150, range 48-550) for new patients and 532 (median 400, range 150-2000) for follow up. On the day echocardiography was available in 55% of valve clinics. In patients with severe HVD, serum brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) was measured routinely in 39% of clinics and exercise testing routinely performed in 49% of clinics. A patient helpline was available in 27% of clinics. 78% of centres with a valve clinic had a valve multidisciplinary team meeting (MDT). 45% centres had an MDT co-ordinator and MDT outcomes were recorded on a database in 64%. COVID-19 had a major impact on valve services in 54 (95%) hospitals. CONCLUSIONS: There has been an increase in the number of valve clinics since 2015 from 21 to 68% but the penetration is still well short of the expected 100%, meaning that valve clinics only serve a small proportion of patients requiring surveillance for HVD. COVID-19 had a major impact on the care of patients with HVD in the majority of UK centres surveyed.

SARS-CoV-2 Detection in Gingival Crevicular Fluid.

Understanding the pathophysiology of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection remains a significant challenge of our times. The gingival crevicular fluid being representative of systemic status and having a proven track record of detecting viruses and biomarkers forms a logical basis for evaluating the presence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The study aimed to assess gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) for evidence of SARS-CoV-2 in 33 patients who were deemed to be COVID-19 positive upon nasopharyngeal sampling. An attempt was also made to comparatively evaluate it with saliva in terms of its sensitivity, as a diagnostic fluid for SARS-CoV-2. GCF and saliva samples were collected from 33 COVID-19-confirmed patients. Total RNA was extracted using NucliSENS easyMAG (bioMérieux) and eluted in the elution buffer. Envelope gene (E gene) of SARS-CoV-2 and human RNase P gene as internal control were detected in GCF samples by using the TRUPCR SARS-CoV-2 RT qPCR kit V-2.0 (I) in an Applied Biosystems 7500 real-time machine. A significant majority of both asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic patients exhibited the presence of the novel coronavirus in their GCF samples. Considering the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the nasopharyngeal swab sampling as gold standard, the sensitivity of GCF and saliva, respectively, was 63.64% (confidence interval [CI], 45.1% to 79.60%) and 64.52% (CI, 45.37% to 80.77%). GCF was found to be comparable to saliva in terms of its sensitivity to detect SARS-CoV-2. Saliva samples tested positive in 3 of the 12 patients whose GCF tested negative, and likewise GCF tested positive for 2 of the 11 patients whose saliva tested negative on real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. The results establish GCF as a possible mode of transmission of SARS-CoV-2, which is the first such report in the literature, and also provide the first quantifiable evidence pointing toward a link between the COVID-19 infection and oral health.

Coinfection of H1N1 Influenza and Scrub Typhus-A Review.

The H1N1 influenza infection usually coincides with the typical scrub typhus season in North India. This leads to diagnostic difficulties due to their similar and non-specific symptoms. We describe three patients with confirmed co-infection of pandemic (H1N1) influenza and scrub typhus who had presented with acute respiratory distress syndrome. A systematic review of database yielded one case of scrub typhus and H1N1 influenza co-infection reported from South Korea. Co-infection of influenza with tropical infections may not be uncommon in endemic countries and hence a high index of suspicion on the part of physicians coupled with appropriate investigations are needed. The true burden of co-infections needs to be evaluated during outbreaks of influenza in a systematic manner.

A case of insufficient evidence equipoise: the NICE guidance on antibiotic prophylaxis for the prevention of infective endocarditis.

This paper argues that the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence should not offer guidance in situations where there is insufficient evidence equipoise about the potential benefit of the treatment in question. This is broadly for two reasons. First, without knowing if the treatment is effective no cost-effectiveness judgement can be logically made. Second, the implementation of a population wide change in treatment where there is equipoise amounts to a de facto clinical trial that falls outside the Clinical Trials Regulations. As such there are strong ethical and possibly legal grounds for preventing such an outcome. Guidance based upon insufficient evidence equipoise also impacts upon the clinical discretion possessed by individual medical professionals.

Positing a difference between acts and omissions: the principle of justice, Rachels' cases and moral weakness.

The difficulty in discovering a difference between killing and letting die has led many philosophers to deny the distinction. This paper seeks to develop an argument defending the distinction between killing and letting die. In relation to Rachels' cases, the argument is that (a) even accepting that Smith and Jones may select equally heinous options from the choices they have available to them, (b) the fact that the choices available to them are different is morally relevant, and (c) this difference in available choices can be used to distinguish between the agents in certain circumstances. It is the principle of justice, as espoused by Aristotle, which requires that equal things are treated equally and that unequal things are treated unequally that creates a presumption that Smith and Jones should be treated differently. The magnitude of this difference can be amplified by other premises, making the distinction morally relevant in practical reality.

Medical futility: a conceptual model.

This paper introduces the medical factual matrix as a new and potentially valuable tool in medical ethical analysis. Using this tool it demonstrates the idea that a defined medical intervention can only be meaningfully declared futile in relation to a defined goal(s) of treatment. It argues that a declaration of futility made solely in relation to a defined medical intervention is inchoate. It recasts the definition of goal futility as an intervention that cannot alter the probability of the existence of the important outcome states that might flow from a defined intervention. The idea of value futility and the extent of physician obligations in futile situations are also addressed. It also examines the source of substantive conflicts which commonly arise within the doctor-patient relationship and the ensuing power relations that operate between doctor and patient when questions of futility arise.

Selective inflammatory effect of systemic fluorouracil in actinic keratosis.

A selective inflammatory reaction involving actinic keratosis may occur in patients receiving systemic 5-fluorouracil as part of a chemotherapeutic protocol. This may be effectively treated with topical 5-fluorouracil.

Computation of activities induced by 14 MeV neutrons for the elemental analysis of human tissues, skin and tooth enamel.

For planning experiments for neutron activation analysis investigations at 14 MeV, suitable induced beta activities in Bq/g/neutron flux have been computed via appropriate reactions for the estimation of 19F, 23Na, 24Mg, 31P, 32S, 35,37Cl, 39K, 40Ca, 55Mn, 56Fe, 66Zn, 63,65Cu, 107,109Ag and 208Pb. The computational work for (n,p); (n, alpha); (n,n') and (n,2n) reactions induced with 14 MeV neutrons are based on the pre-equilibrium emission mechanism and also the compound nucleus theory with otpical model potential and pairing energy corrections. The cross-sections obtained by pre-equilibrium computer codes are reasonable and have been used in the present computations.

Monoclonal gammapathy, multiple myeloma and cancer.

Seventeen cancer patients with monoclonal gammapathy on serum protein electrophoresis are described. Thirteen of these patients were proved to have multiple myeloma, while four patients had "benign" monoclonal gammapathy. In all the cases where bone marrow aspiration was done, an increase in plasma cells was revealed. A majority of the myeloma patients had osteolytic lesions, while all the patients with "benign" monoclonal gammapathy had normal bone survey. A relationship between the solid tumors and monoclonal gammapathy is discussed. The difficulty of detecting multiple myeloma in patients who are previously known to have cancer is presented.