Socioeconomic and Demographic Risk Factors for SARS-CoV-2 Seropositivity Among Healthcare Workers in a UK Hospital: A Prospective Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: To protect healthcare workers (HCWs) from the consequences of disease due to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), it is necessary to understand the risk factors that drive exposure and infection within hospitals. Insufficient consideration of key socioeconomic variables is a limitation of existing studies that can lead to bias and residual confounding of proposed risk factors for infection. METHODS: The Co-STARs study prospectively enrolled 3679 HCWs between April 2020 and September 2020. We used multivariate logistic regression to comprehensively characterize the demographic, occupational, socioeconomic, and environmental risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity. RESULTS: After adjusting for key confounders, relative household overcrowding (odds ratio [OR], 1.4 [95% confidence interval {CI}, 1.1-1.9]; P = .006), Black, Black British, Caribbean, or African ethnicity (OR, 1.7 [95% CI, 1.2-2.3]; P = .003), increasing age (ages 50-60 years: OR, 1.8 [95% CI, 1.3-2.4]; P < .001), lack of access to sick pay (OR, 1.8 [95% CI, 1.3-2.4]; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Socioeconomic and demographic factors outside the hospital were the main drivers of infection and exposure to SARS-CoV-2 during the first wave of the pandemic in an urban pediatric referral hospital. Overcrowding and out-of-hospital SARS-CoV-2 contact are less amenable to intervention. However, lack of access to sick pay among externally contracted staff is more easily rectifiable. Our findings suggest that providing easier access to sick pay would lead to a decrease in SARS-CoV-2 transmission and potentially that of other infectious diseases in hospital settings. CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION: NCT04380896.

Prescribing in a pandemic: Electronic prescribing aids to improve non-specialist adherence to COVID-19 guidelines.

Introduction: The evidence around COVID-19 management is continuously evolving. Ensuring awareness of, and adherence to current guidance is challenging. As the second wave of COVID-19 emerged, we recognised the urgent need for better standardisation of patient care in the context of increasing patient load and acuity and the resulting redeployment of staff. Methods: COVID-19 patients admitted to adult medical wards were identified via their positive swab results. An e-prescribing protocol which included five drugs was introduced and adherence to prescribing guidelines assessed via the electronic noting and prescribing system. Doctors' views of the prescribing protocol were assessed. Results: Following introduction of the protocol, adherence to guidelines improved. The proportion of patients either prescribed dexamethasone or with a valid contraindication documented increased from 85% to 97% and for remdesivir this increased from 60% to 79%. There was also significant improvement in the prescription of 'as required' insulin for patients on steroids (26% to 48%) and oxygen (43% to 79%).93% of doctors surveyed were aware of the e-prescribing protocol and 81% had used it. Confidence in adhering to the protocols increased from an average of 3.3 to 4.5 out of 5 and 93% of respondents agreed that the protocol was easy to use. Discussion: Overall, this demonstrates that electronic prescribing protocols can be effective in increasing adherence to guidelines and doctors felt this was a useful tool. This is especially important in a pandemic situation in which many doctors were redeployed outside of their usual specialties.

Area postrema syndrome: Intractable hiccups and vomiting as a result of neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum disorder.

A 31 year old woman was referred to the medical team for further investigation of intractable hiccups and vomiting. Initial investigations including blood tests, endoscopy and CT imaging did not identify any cause of symptoms. Following multidisciplinary team review, serial MRI Head imaging was arranged, which revealed progressive posterior fossa signal abnormality with involvement of the area postrema. In combination with a positive serum Aquaporin-4 antibody result, this helped establish a diagnosis of Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder (NMOSD). Treatment included high dose steroids, plasma exchange and immunomodulatory therapy, and led to a marked improvement in symptoms. This case highlights the importance of utilising specialty team input and broadening lines of investigation, when managing patients with intractable hiccups and vomiting in whom an initial workup has not established a clear diagnosis. While NMOSD is rare, early identification can inform treatment strategies that may lead to a significant improvement in clinical outcome.

Tuberculosis Genetic Epidemiology: A Latin American Perspective.

There are an estimated 10 million new cases of tuberculosis worldwide annually, with 282,000 new or relapsed cases each year reported from the Americas. With improvements in genome sequencing technology, it is now possible to study the genetic diversity of tuberculosis with much greater resolution. Although tuberculosis bacteria do not engage in horizontal gene transfer, the genome is far more variable than previously thought. The study of genome-wide variation in tuberculosis has improved our understanding of the evolutionary origins of tuberculosis, the arrival of tuberculosis in Latin America, the genetic determinants of drug resistance, and lineage-specific associations with important clinical phenotypes. This article reviews what is known about the arrival of tuberculosis in Latin America, the genetic diversity of tuberculosis in Latin America, and the genotypic determinants of clinical phenotypes.