National safety monitoring of vaccines from the Canadian Adverse Events Following Immunization Surveillance System (CAEFISS), 2018-2019.

Background: The Canadian Adverse Events Following Immunization Surveillance System (CAEFISS) is a comprehensive vaccine safety surveillance system that includes both passive and active surveillance of vaccines administered in Canada. This work presents a summary of adverse events following immunization (AEFI) nationally for 2018 and 2019. Methods: Data extracted from CAEFISS included all AEFI reports received by the Public Health Agency of Canada by April 30, 2022, for vaccines marketed in Canada and administered between January 1, 2018, and December 31, 2019. Descriptive statistics were conducted on AEFI reports by type of surveillance program (i.e., active vs. passive), AEFIs, demographics, healthcare utilization, outcome, seriousness of adverse events and type of vaccine. Results: Between 2018 and 2019, 5,875 AEFI reports were received from across Canada. The average annual AEFI reporting rate was 10.9/100,000 doses distributed in Canada for vaccines administered during 2018-2019 and was found to be inversely proportional to age. The majority of reports (91%) were non-serious events, involving vaccination site reactions, rash and allergic events. Overall, there were 511 serious adverse event reports during 2018-2019. Of the serious adverse event reports, the most common primary AEFIs were anaphylaxis followed by seizure. There were no unexpected vaccine safety issues identified or increases in frequency or severity of adverse events. Conclusion: Canada's continuous monitoring of the safety of marketed vaccines during 2018-2019 did not identify any increase in the frequency or severity of AEFIs, previously unknown AEFIs, or areas that required further investigation or research.

Exercise induced laryngeal obstruction (EILO) in children and young people: Approaches to assessment and management.

Exercise Induced Laryngeal Obstruction (EILO) is characterised by breathlessness, cough and/or noisy breathing particularly during high intensity exercise. EILO is a subcategory of inducible laryngeal obstruction where exercise is the trigger that provokes inappropriate transient glottic or supraglottic narrowing. It is a common condition affecting 5.7-7.5% of the general population and is a key differential diagnosis for young athletes presenting with exercise related dyspnoea where prevalence rates go as high as 34%. Although the condition has been recognised for a long time, little attention, and awareness of the condition results in many young people dropping out of sporting participation due to troublesome symptoms. With evolving understanding of the condition, diagnostic tests and interventions, this review looks to present the current available evidence and best practice when managing young people with EILO.

Re-valuation of annual cytology using HPV self-sampling to upgrade prevention (REACH UP): A feasibility study in women living with HIV in the UK.

INTRODUCTION: Current UK guidelines for cervical cancer screening are based on the assumption that most women living with HIV (WLWH) are also high-risk (HR) human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive. We aimed to provide data on prevalence of HR-HPV in WLWH in the UK and to assess feasibility and acceptability of HR-HPV self-sampling in this group. METHODS: Women living with HIV attending six HIV services in London/south of England, with no history of cervical cancer, were enrolled. Participants self-collected a vaginal swab for the detection of HR-HPV, completed a survey about sexual/gynaecological history, attitudes towards annual screening and perception of HR-HPV self-sampling, and were asked to have their annual cervical smear. RESULTS: In all, 67 women were included: 86.5% were of black ethnicity, the median (range) age was 47 (24-60) years, median CD4 T-cell count was 683 cells/µL [interquartile range (IQR): 527-910], and 95.4% had viral load ≤ 50 copies/mL. All performed the vaginal swab. Eighteen (27%) had no cervical smear results; none of these women attended HIV services where this was routinely offered. No cervical samples were positive for HR-HPV. Three-quarters (75.8%) of participants reported adherence to annual screening, with only one woman (1.5%) attending irregularly. On visual analogue scales (from 0 to 100), median (IQR) acceptability and necessity of smear tests were 100 (75-100) and 100 (85-100), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that the prevalence of HR-HPV in WLWH in the UK may be low. Self-sampling seems to be acceptable, suggesting, if validated, its potential role in supporting less frequent smear testing and improving screening uptake in WLWH.

COVID-19 and delivery of difficult asthma services.

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated an urgent reconfiguration of our difficult asthma (DA) service. We rapidly switched to virtual clinics and rolled out home spirometry based on clinical need. From March to August 2020, 110 patients with DA (68% virtually) were seen in clinic, compared with March-August 2019 when 88 patients were seen face-to-face. There was DA clinic cancellation/non-attendance (16% vs 43%; p<0.0003). In patients with home spirometers, acute hospital admissions (6 vs 26; p<0.01) from March to August 2020 were significantly lower compared with the same period in 2019. There was no difference in the number of courses of oral corticosteroids or antibiotics prescribed (47 vs 53; p=0.81). From April to August 2020, 50 patients with DA performed 253 home spirometry measurements, of which 39 demonstrated >20% decrease in forced expiratory volume in 1 s, resulting in new action plans in 87% of these episodes. In our DA cohort, we demonstrate better attendance rates at virtual multidisciplinary team consultations and reduced hospital admission rates when augmented with home spirometry monitoring.

Efficacy and Safety of Subcutaneous Neostigmine for Ileus, Acute Colonic Pseudo-obstruction, or Refractory Constipation.

BACKGROUND: Neostigmine is traditionally administered intravenously for treatment of acute colonic pseudo-obstruction (ACPO), though use is associated with administration constraints and adverse effects. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether an alternative route of administration for neostigmine via subcutaneous (SQ) delivery is safe and effective in a broad cohort of medical and surgical patients. METHODS: This multicenter, retrospective observational study included adult patients administered SQ neostigmine for ileus, ACPO, or refractory constipation. Efficacy indicators were time to first bowel movement (BM) following initiation of the medication, total SQ neostigmine dose administered to produce a BM, and administration of a rescue intervention to produce a BM. Safety events evaluated were cardiac arrest, bradycardia, bronchospasm requiring intervention, nausea requiring intervention, or severe salivation, lacrimation, or diarrhea. RESULTS: A total of 182 patients were eligible for inclusion. The most commonly utilized dosing strategy of neostigmine was 0.25 mg SQ 4 times daily. The median time to first BM following initiation of SQ neostigmine was 29.19 hours (interquartile range = 12.18-56.84) with a median dose administered before first BM of 1.25 mg. Three patients (1.65%) experienced an adverse drug event leading to drug discontinuation, with 2 developing bradycardia that resolved with drug discontinuation alone. CONCLUSIONS: SQ neostigmine may be reasonable for management of ileus, ACPO, or refractory constipation, though use should be avoided in patients with new-onset heart block, a history of second-degree heart block, or following bowel resection with primary anastomosis. Despite the low incidence of adverse drug events observed, monitoring for bradycardia with telemetry may be considered.