The Causal-Benefit Model to Prevent Cardiovascular Events.

Selecting individuals for preventive lipid-lowering therapy is presently governed by the 10-year risk model. Once a prespecified level of cardiovascular disease risk is equaled or exceeded, individuals become eligible for preventive lipid-lowering therapy. A key limitation of this model is that only a small minority of individuals below the age of 65 years are eligible for therapy. However, just under one-half of all cardiovascular disease events occur below this age. Additionally, in many, the disease that caused their events after 65 years of age developed and progressed before 65 years of age. The causal-benefit model of prevention identifies individuals based both on their risk and the estimated benefit from lowering atherogenic apoB lipoprotein levels. Adopting the causal-benefit model would increase the number of younger subjects eligible for preventive treatment, would increase the total number of cardiovascular disease events prevented at virtually the same number to treat, and would be cost-effective.

Seafood-induced anaphylaxis in children presenting to Canadian emergency departments: Rates, clinical presentation, and management.

BACKGROUND: There is a lack of data on seafood-induced anaphylaxis in children in Canada. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the rate, clinical features, and management of seafood-induced anaphylaxis in children presenting to emergency departments across Canada. METHODS: Children with anaphylaxis were recruited at 6 emergency departments between 2011 and 2020 as part of the Cross-Canada Anaphylaxis REgistry. A standardized form documenting symptoms, triggers, comorbidities, and management was used to collect data. RESULTS: There were 75 fish-induced and 71 shellfish-induced cases of suspected anaphylaxis, most of which were caused by salmon and shrimp, respectively. Mucocutaneous symptoms were most common, whereas respiratory symptoms were associated with patients with fish-induced reactions who have comorbid asthma (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.18; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.02-1.36). Prehospital epinephrine was underused (<35%), whereas in-hospital epinephrine was given to less than 60% of the patients. Among those with a known fish or shellfish allergy, prehospital epinephrine use was associated with known asthma (aOR 1.39 [95% CI, 1.05-1.84] and aOR 1.25 [95% CI, 1.02-1.54], respectively). Among children who were assessed by either skin test or specific immunoglobulin E, 36 patients (76.6%) with suspected fish-induced anaphylaxis and 19 patients (51.4%) with suspected shellfish-induced anaphylaxis tested positive. CONCLUSION: Prehospital epinephrine is underused in the management of seafood-induced anaphylaxis. Among children with known seafood allergy, prehospital epinephrine use is more likely if there is a known asthma comorbidity.

COVID-19 and comorbidities: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

SARS-CoV-2 has caused a worldwide pandemic that began with an outbreak of pneumonia cases in the Hubei province of China. Knowledge of those most at risk is integral for treatment, guideline implementation, and resource allocation. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate comorbidities associated with severe and fatal cases of COVID-19. A search was conducted on PubMed and EmBase on 20 April 2020. Pooled estimates were collected using a random-effects model. Thirty-three studies were included in the systematic review and twenty-two in the meta-analysis. Of the total cases 40.80% (95%CI: 35.49%, 46.11%) had comorbidities, while fatal cases had 74.37% (95%CI: 55.78%, 86.97%). Hypertension was more prevalent in severe [47.65% (95%CI: 35.04%, 60.26%)] and fatal [47.90% (95%CI: 40.33%, 55.48%)] cases compared to total cases [14.34% (95%CI: 6.60%, 28.42%)]. Diabetes was more prevalent among fatal cases [24.89% (95%CI: 18.80%, 32.16%)] compared to total cases [9.65% (95%CI: 6.83%, 13.48%)]. Respiratory diseases had a higher prevalence in fatal cases [10.89% (95%CI: 7.57%, 15.43%)] in comparison to total cases [3.65% (95%CI: 2.16%, 6.1%)]. Studies assessing the mechanisms accounting for the associations between severe cases and hypertension, diabetes, and respiratory diseases are crucial in understanding this new disease, managing patients at risk, and developing policies and guidelines that will reduce future risk of severe COVID-19 disease.