ABSTRACT
Patients with cancer are poorly represented in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) series, and heterogeneous series concerning hematology patients have been published. This study aimed to analyze the impact of COVID-19 in patients with lymphoma. We present a multicenter retrospective study from 19 centers in Madrid, Spain, evaluating risk factors for mortality in adult patients with COVID-19 and lymphoma. About 177 patients (55.9% male) were included with a median follow-up of 27 days and a median age of 70 years. At the time of COVID-19 diagnosis, 49.7% of patients were on active treatment. The overall mortality rate was 34.5%. Age >70 years, confusion, urea concentration, respiratory rate, blood pressure, and age >65 score ≥2, heart disease, and chronic kidney disease were associated with higher mortality risk (P < 0.05). Active disease significantly increased the risk of death (hazard ratio, 2.43; 95% confidence interval, 1.23-4.77; P = 0.01). However, active treatment did not modify mortality risk and no differences were found between the different therapeutic regimens. The persistence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2-positive polymerase chain reaction after week 6 was significantly associated with mortality (54.5% versus 1.4%; P < 0.001). We confirm an increased mortality compared with the general population. In view of our results, any interruption or delay in the start of treatment should be questioned given that active treatment has not been demonstrated to increase mortality risk and that achieving disease remission could lead to better outcomes.
ABSTRACT
La salud no depende sólo de factores biológicos o hábitos de vida. Numerosos factores económicos, sociales, políticos y ambientales configuran la forma de vivir y enfermar de las personas. Así, la salud no es únicamente el resultado de las políticas sanitarias, y por ello las administraciones públicas se interesan cada vez más en conocer el efecto de sus políticas sectoriales en la salud. La evaluación del impacto en la salud es una metodología prospectiva que trata de predecir los impactos en la salud de las políticas para maximizar sus impactos positivos y evitar sus efectos negativos inesperados en la salud. El cribado es la primera fase y tiene especial importancia, porque permite seleccionar las intervenciones que pueden beneficiarse de una evaluación del impacto en la salud completa. Teniendo en cuenta la limitación de los recursos, y que no es posible valorar todas las intervenciones gubernamentales, son esenciales herramientas de priorización. Como primer paso del proceso de validación de una herramienta de cribado sistemático en el contexto español, se presenta el procedimiento de recopilación y tipificación de las políticas públicas no sanitarias planificadas en la octava legislatura del Gobierno Vasco. De las 97 políticas analizadas, el 76% se relacionaba con determinantes estructurales de las desigualdades sociales en salud, el 79% era de naturaleza táctica/operacional, el 67% se dirigía a grupos específicos de población y el 66% estaban ya iniciadas. En relación con el trabajo intersectorial, las percepciones del personal técnico de los departamentos participantes acerca de la iniciativa, de su justificación y del proceso, fueron positivas. Esta primera experiencia ha permitido conocer con mayor detalle la naturaleza de la planificación política no sanitaria en Euskadi como medio para avanzar en la incorporación de la perspectiva de la salud en todas las políticas(AU)
Health not only depends on biologic or lifestyle factors but also on other economic, social, political, and environmental factors that shape the way people live and become ill. Thus, health policies are not the only policies affecting health, and consequently governments are increasingly interested in identifying the effect of other non-health policies on health. Health impact assessment is a prospective methodology that aims to predict the health impacts of policies before their implementation so that modifications can be suggested to maximize positive effects and avoid unexpected negative repercussions on health. The first stage in this process is screening, which can be used to select the interventions that could benefit from complete health impact assessment. Since resources are limited and not all government interventions can be assessed, tools that allow prioritization are essential. As a first stage in the validation of a systematic screening tool for health impact assessment in Spain, this article presents the process of compiling and classifying the non-health public policies of the eighth term of office of the Basque Government. Of the 97 policies analyzed, 76% were related to structural determinants of health inequalities, 79% were tactical or operational, 67% were aimed at specific population groups, and 66% were already implemented. The technical staff of other participating departments perceived the entire process of this initiative and its rationale positively. This initial experience allowed the planning of non-health policies in the Basque Country to be determined in detail as a means to move forward in incorporating impact on health in all policies (AU)
Subject(s)
Humans , Impacts of Polution on Health/policies , /methods , 50207 , Mass Screening/organization & administration , Health Status Disparities , Social Impact Indicators , 24436ABSTRACT
Health not only depends on biologic or lifestyle factors but also on other economic, social, political, and environmental factors that shape the way people live and become ill. Thus, health policies are not the only policies affecting health, and consequently governments are increasingly interested in identifying the effect of other non-health policies on health. Health impact assessment is a prospective methodology that aims to predict the health impacts of policies before their implementation so that modifications can be suggested to maximize positive effects and avoid unexpected negative repercussions on health. The first stage in this process is screening, which can be used to select the interventions that could benefit from complete health impact assessment. Since resources are limited and not all government interventions can be assessed, tools that allow prioritization are essential. As a first stage in the validation of a systematic screening tool for health impact assessment in Spain, this article presents the process of compiling and classifying the non-health public policies of the eighth term of office of the Basque Government. Of the 97 policies analyzed, 76% were related to structural determinants of health inequalities, 79% were tactical or operational, 67% were aimed at specific population groups, and 66% were already implemented. The technical staff of other participating departments perceived the entire process of this initiative and its rationale positively. This initial experience allowed the planning of non-health policies in the Basque Country to be determined in detail as a means to move forward in incorporating impact on health in all policies.
Subject(s)
Government , Health Policy , Outcome Assessment, Health Care , Public Policy , Humans , SpainABSTRACT
La evaluación del impacto en la salud es una herramienta de carácter predictivo, de ayuda a la toma de decisiones. La experiencia acumulada muestra que podría desempeñar un papel primordial en el desarrollo de la estrategia de salud en todas las políticas. La evaluación del impacto en la salud ha sido ampliamente utilizada en otros países europeos, en diversos ámbitos sectoriales y administrativos. En la mayoría de los casos se ha introducido de forma no obligatoria e independiente de otros tipos de evaluación del impacto de las políticas sectoriales. Su uso en España es relativamente reciente, escaso, y principalmente limitado a experiencias en el ámbito local y al cribado de actuaciones de una comunidad autónoma. La reforma normativa y organizativa de la salud pública actualmente en curso en España es una gran oportunidad para impulsar el desarrollo de la evaluación del impacto en la salud. Entre las barreras para su desarrollo destacan el predominio de la visión biomédica de la salud entre los profesionales, los responsables políticos y la población general; la desafección política, la escasa cultura de participación ciudadana y de tradición evaluadora en la elaboración de políticas públicas; y el insuficiente desarrollo del trabajo intersectorial. Dado el potencial de la evaluación del impacto en la salud para avanzar en el logro de una mejor salud poblacional y en la reducción de las desigualdades sociales en salud, deberían dedicarse esfuerzos políticos, formativos y de investigación para que esta evaluación se introduzca y desarrolle en los distintos ámbitos administrativos y sectoriales (AU)
Health impact assessment is a predictive tool to support decisions in policy-making. Current experience shows that health impact assessment could play an important role in the development of the Health in All Policies strategy. This strategy has been extensively used in other European countries and in a wide range of policy and administrative sectors. Health impact assessment is hardly ever mandatory and is frequently carried out separately from other impact assessments. The use of this process in Spain is relatively new, limited and fundamentally based on local level experiences and the screening of regional interventions. The current normative and organizational reform of public health in Spain provides an excellent opportunity to promote the development of health impact assessment. Some of the barriers to the development of this process are related to the biomedical model of health prevailing among health professionals, politicians, and the general population, political disaffection, lack of assessment culture, underdevelopment of community participation processes, and insufficient intersectoral work. Health impact assessment provides an opportunity to move toward improving the populations health and reducing inequalities in health. Consequently, political commitment, as well as investment in education and research, is needed to introduce and develop health impact assessment in all administrative settings and policy sectors (AU)
Subject(s)
Humans , Health Status , Health Policy , Spain , Europe , Evaluation Studies as TopicABSTRACT
Health impact assessment is a predictive tool to support decisions in policy-making. Current experience shows that health impact assessment could play an important role in the development of the Health in All Policies strategy. This strategy has been extensively used in other European countries and in a wide range of policy and administrative sectors. Health impact assessment is hardly ever mandatory and is frequently carried out separately from other impact assessments. The use of this process in Spain is relatively new, limited and fundamentally based on local level experiences and the screening of regional interventions. The current normative and organizational reform of public health in Spain provides an excellent opportunity to promote the development of health impact assessment. Some of the barriers to the development of this process are related to the biomedical model of health prevailing among health professionals, politicians, and the general population, political disaffection, lack of assessment culture, underdevelopment of community participation processes, and insufficient intersectoral work. Health impact assessment provides an opportunity to move toward improving the population's health and reducing inequalities in health. Consequently, political commitment, as well as investment in education and research, is needed to introduce and develop health impact assessment in all administrative settings and policy sectors.
Subject(s)
Health Policy , Health Status , Europe , Evaluation Studies as Topic , Humans , SpainABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The purposes of this study were: to study the presence of human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8) in different Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) epidemiological groups, multiple myeloma (MM), and immunodeficiency-associated lymphoid proliferations; to investigate the potential sexual transmission of HHV-8 by analyzing its presence in women from the general population, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) seropositive women, and prostitutes; and to establish a reliable and efficient PCR strategy for the detection of HHV-8. PATIENTS AND METHODS: HHV-8 detection was performed by PCR and positive cases were confirmed by automatic bi-directional sequencing. We selected 25 KS, 70 immunodeficiency associated non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL), 30 HIV-positive Hodgkin's lymphomas (HL), and 2 primary effusion lymphomas (PEL). Bone marrow aspirates were available from 41 MM, 9 monoclonal gammopathies of undetermined significance and 24 patients with other disorders. Bone marrow dendritic cell cultures from 12 MM patients were also performed. Cells from cervical, anal, and oral cavity scrapes were examined for the presence of HHV-8 in 40 control women, 10 HIV-seropositive women, and 20 HIV-seronegative prostitutes. Serologic tests were also performed. RESULTS: HHV-8 was specifically detected in 100% KS and PEL, and in 5.7% immunodeficiency associated NHL. All cases of HIV-HL and MM were HHV-8 negative. Antibodies against HHV-8 were found in 10% of control women, 10% HIV-positive women, and 25% prostitutes. Only 1 sample was positive for HHV-8 by PCR. CONCLUSIONS: HHV-8 is associated with all epidemiological forms of KS; HHV-8 does not contribute to the pathogenesis of MM, and this virus is not ubiquitous in the human population. Seroprevalence of HHV-8 is increased in prostitutes, although this may partially be attributed to the geographical origin. For a reliable PCR detection of HHV-8, it is necessary to target different regions of the viral genome and to sequence amplification products.
Subject(s)
Herpesviridae Infections/epidemiology , Herpesvirus 8, Human/isolation & purification , Lymphoma/virology , Multiple Myeloma/virology , Sarcoma, Kaposi/virology , Anal Canal/virology , Cervix Uteri/virology , Female , Herpesviridae Infections/immunology , Herpesviridae Infections/transmission , Humans , Immunocompetence , Immunocompromised Host , Lymphoma/immunology , Lymphoproliferative Disorders/immunology , Lymphoproliferative Disorders/virology , Mouth Mucosa/virology , Multiple Myeloma/immunology , Polymerase Chain Reaction , Sarcoma, Kaposi/immunology , Seroepidemiologic Studies , Sex Work , Sexually Transmitted Diseases, ViralABSTRACT
FUNDAMENTO: Estudiar la presencia del virus herpes humano tipo-8 (VHH-8) en distintas variantes epidemiológicas de sarcoma de Kaposi (SK), en el mieloma múltiple (MM) y en procesos linfoproliferativos en pacientes inmunodeprimidos. Investigar la posible transmisión sexual del VHH-8 estudiando su presencia en mujeres control, seropositivas para el virus de la inmunodeficiencia humana (VIH) y prostitutas. Determinar cuál es la estrategia más adecuada para la detección mediante reacción en cadena de la polimerasa (PCR) del VHH-8. PACIENTES Y MÉTODO: El genoma del VHH-8 se detectó mediante PCR y secuenciación directa. Se seleccionaron 25 SK, 70 linfomas no hodgkinianos (LNH) en pacientes con inmunodeficiencia, 30 linfomas de Hodgkin (LH) en infectados por el VIH y 2 linfomas primarios de cavidades (LPC). Se dispuso de aspirados medulares de 41 pacientes con MM, 9 con gammapatías monoclonales de significado incierto y 24 enfermedades diferentes, así como de cultivos de células dendríticas de 12 MM. Se estudió la presencia del VHH-8 en células exfoliadas de cérvix y mucosas anal y oral de 40 mujeres control, 10 infectados por el VIH y 20 prostitutas sin infección por el VIH, y se realizaron también análisis serológicos. RESULTADOS: Se detectó de forma específica el VHH-8 en el 100 por ciento de los SK y LPC y en el 5,7 por ciento de los LNH asociados a inmunodeficiencia. Todos los LH infectados por el VIH y los MM fueron negativos. La serología fue positiva en el 10 por ciento de las mujeres control, el 10 por ciento de las infectadas por el VIH y el 25 por ciento de las prostitutas, y se detectó genoma viral sólo en 1 caso. CONCLUSIONES: El VHH-8 se asocia con todas las variantes de SK, no está implicado en la etiopatogenia del MM y no se distribuye de forma ubicua. La seroprevalencia es mayor en las prostitutas aunque esto puede deberse a causas geográficas. Para descartar falsos positivos es necesario combinar distintas PCR, preferiblemente no acotadas, y secuenciar los productos de amplificación. (AU)
