2021-12-13

National Institute of Locomotor diseases and Disabilities, Budapest, Hungary; Department of Laboratory Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary. Electronic address: nagy.eszter@orfi.hu.; Immunologia Allergologia, Dipartimento di Medicina di Laboratorio, Ospedale San Giovanni di Dio Azienda, Usl Toscana Centro, Florence, Italy.; Laboratorio di Patologia Clinica, Ospedale San Antonio (Tolmezzo), Azienda Sanitaria Universitaria Integrata, Udine, Italy.; Division of Immunology and Transfusion Medicine, Department of Laboratory Medicine, University Hospital of North Norway, Tromsø, Norway.; Department of Clinical Chemistry, Medical Immunology Laboratory, Amsterdam Infection & Immunity, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands.; Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, KU Leuven and Laboratory Medicine, University Hospital Leuven, Belgium.; Department of Immunology, Centre Hospitalier Lyon Sud, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon, France.; Individual Laboratory for Rheumatologic Diagnostics, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland.; Medical Immunology, Laboratory Medicine, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland.; Medical University of Innsbruck, Department of Internal Medicine II, Rheumatology Laboratory, Innsbruck, Austria.; Department of Laboratory Diagnostics, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia.; Central Laboratory, East Tallinn Central Hospital, Tallinn, Estonia.; Servicio de Inmunología, Hospital Universitario Marqués de Valdecilla-IDIVAL, Universidad Cantabria, Santander, Spain.; The Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, Institution of Medicine, Department of Rheumatology and Inflammation Research, Gothenburg, Sweden; Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Department of Clinical Immunology and Transfusion Medicine, Gothenburg, Sweden.; Centro de Medicina Laboratorial Germano de Sousa, Lisboa, Portugal.; Immunology-Histocompatibility Department, "Evangelismos" General Hospital of Athens, Greece.; Central Diagnostic Laboratory, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, the Netherlands.CN - European Autoimmunity Standardisation Initiative

INTRODUCTION: The first wave of COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted almost all areas of the health care services to some extent throughout the world. Although the negative impact of COVID-19 on patients with autoimmune diseases has also been recognized, available data in this regard are limited. In the current study of the European Autoimmunity Standardisation Initiative (EASI) we aimed to provide reliable data on the extent of the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on test requests for different autoantibodies in European countries. METHODS: Data on test numbers and on the number of positive results were collected in 97 clinical laboratories from 15 European countries on a monthly basis for the year before (2019) and the year during (2020) the COVID-19 pandemic. RESULTS: A reduction in the number of autoantibody tests was observed in all European countries in the year 2020 compared to 2019. The reduction affected all autoantibody tests with an overall decrease of 13%, ranging from 1.4% (

2021-07-28

UFR IM2AG, Université Grenoble Alpes, 38000 Grenoble, France.; Laboratory for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (LIAM), Department of Mathematics and Statistics, York University, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada.; Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tohoku, Sendai 980-8575, Japan.; Chantal BIYA International Reference Centre for Research on HIV/AIDS Prevention and Management (CIRCB), Yaoundé 3077, Cameroon.; Graduate School of Life Sciences, University of Tohoku, Sendai 980-8577, Japan.; Canadian Centre for Disease Modelling (CCDM), Department of Mathematics and Statistics, York University, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada.

Scientometrics enables scholars to assess and visualize emerging research trends and hot-spots in the scientific literature from a quantitative standpoint. In the last decades, Africa has nearly doubled its absolute count of scholarly output, even though its share in global knowledge production has dramatically decreased. The still-ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted the way scholarly research is conducted, published, and disseminated. However, the COVID-19-related research focus, the scientific productivity, and the research collaborative network of African researchers during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic remain to be elucidated. This study aimed to clarify the COVID-19 research patterns among African researchers and estimate the strength of collaborations and partnerships between African researchers and scholars from the rest of the world during the COVID-19 pandemic, collecting data from electronic scholarly databases such as Web of Science (WoS), PubMed/MEDLINE and

2021-06-30

Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.; Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.; Wellness Institute, Collaborative Support Programs of New Jersey, Freehold, NJ, USA.; Center of Alcohol and Substance Use Studies, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA.; Wellness Institute, Collaborative Support Programs of New Jersey, Freehold, NJ, USA.; Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.; Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.

People with behavioral health disorders may be particularly vulnerable to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, yet little is known about how they are faring. A mixed-methods, anonymous needs assessment was conducted to understand changes in the lives of adults with mental health and substance use disorders since the pandemic onset. A cross-sectional, online survey was completed by 272 adults in April and May 2020, recruited from statewide networks of community programs in New Jersey and New York. Measures included the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-2 to screen for depressive and anxiety disorders. Also assessed was the pandemic's impact on sleep and dietary patterns, exposure to COVID-19 infection, and access to health care and medications. Finally, respondents were asked to describe in their own words any changes in their lives since the pandemic began. Over one-third (35.1%) screened positive for generalized anxiety disorder and over one-quarter

2021-06-22

Department of Life Sciences (DLS), School of Environment and Life Sciences (SELS), Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB), Plot 16, Block B, Aftabuddin Ahmed Road, Bashundhara, Dhaka, 1229, Bangladesh. rashednoor@iub.edu.bd.

COVID-19 pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has put the global public health at its highest threat around the world. Previous epidemic caused by the acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) in 2002 is also considered since both the coronaviruses resulted in the similar clinical complications. The outbreak caused by the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in 2012 had a low rate of disease transmission and death cases. Modes of entry by MERS and SARS coronaviruses are similar to that of SARS-CoV-2, except MERS-CoV utilize different receptor. They all belong to the lineage C of β-coronavirus. Based on the information from the previous reports, the present review is mainly focused on the mechanisms of disease progression by each of these viruses in association to their strategies to escape the host immunity. The viral entry is the first step of pathogenesis associated with attachment of viral spike protein with

2021-06-20

Lung Unit, Department of Medical Oncology, The Royal Marsden Hospital, Downs Road, Sutton, SM2 5PT, UK.; Lung Unit, Department of Medical Oncology, The Royal Marsden Hospital, Downs Road, Sutton, SM2 5PT, UK.; Lung Unit, Department of Medical Oncology, The Royal Marsden Hospital, Downs Road, Sutton, SM2 5PT, UK.; Lung Unit, Department of Medical Oncology, The Royal Marsden Hospital, Downs Road, Sutton, SM2 5PT, UK.; Lung Unit, Department of Medical Oncology, The Royal Marsden Hospital, Fulham Road, London, SW3 6JJ, UK.; Lung Unit, Department of Medical Oncology, The Royal Marsden Hospital, Fulham Road, London, SW3 6JJ, UK.; Lung Unit, Department of Medical Oncology, The Royal Marsden Hospital, Downs Road, Sutton, SM2 5PT, UK.; Lung Unit, Department of Medical Oncology, The Royal Marsden Hospital, Downs Road, Sutton, SM2 5PT, UK.; Lung Unit, Department of Medical Oncology, The Royal Marsden Hospital, Downs Road, Sutton, SM2 5PT, UK.; Lung Unit, Department of Medical Oncology, The Royal Marsden Hospital, Downs Road, Sutton, SM2 5PT, UK; The Drug Development Unit, The Royal Marsden Hospital/Institute of Cancer Research, Downs Road, Sutton, SM2 5PT, UK. Electronic address: anna.minchom@icr.ac.uk.

Durvalumab is the first approved adjuvant immunotherapy agent for patients with stage III NSCLC treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy and is associated with improved overall survival. In order to minimise the number of hospital visits for patients receiving durvalumab during the COVID-19 pandemic we implemented 4-weekly (20 mg/kg) durvalumab in place of 2-weekly infusions at The Royal Marsden Hospital. We assessed the potential impact of the safety of a 4-weekly schedule in patients receiving adjuvant durvalumab. We carried out a retrospective study of 40 patients treated with 2-weekly and 4-weekly infusions of durvalumab prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Clinical documentation was analysed from 216 consultations across 40 patients receiving 2-weekly durvalumab and 66 consultations of 14 patients who switched from 2-weekly to 4-weekly durvalumab during the COVID-19 pandemic. In patients receiving 2-weekly durvalumab, the rate of grade 3 and 4 toxicities was 15 % compared

2021-05-23

Department of Surgery, Amsterdam UMC, location AMC, Amstserdam Gastroenterology Endocrinology Metabolism, University of Amsterdam, Meibergdreef 9, 1105 AZ, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.; Department of Surgery, Cancer Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.; Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Amsterdam Gastroenterology Endocrinology Metabolism, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.; Department of Surgery, Amsterdam UMC, location AMC, Amstserdam Gastroenterology Endocrinology Metabolism, University of Amsterdam, Meibergdreef 9, 1105 AZ, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.; Department of Surgery, Noordwest Hospital Group, Alkmaar, the Netherlands.; Department of Surgery, Albert Schweitzer Hospital, Dordrecht, the Netherlands.; Department of Surgery, Isala Hospital, Zwolle, the Netherlands.; Department of Surgery, Hospital Group Twente, Almelo, the Netherlands.; Department of Surgery, OLVG, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.; Department of Surgery, Haaglanden Medical Center, The Hague, the Netherlands.; Departement of Surgery, Flevo Hospital, Almere, the Netherlands.; Department of Surgery, Maasstad Hospital, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.; Department of Surgery, Gelre Hospitals, Apeldoorn, the Netherlands.; Department of Surgery, Tergooi Hospitals, Hilversum, the Netherlands.; Department of Surgery, OLVG, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.; Department of Surgery, Elisabeth - Tweesteden Hospital, Tilburg, the Netherlands.; Department of Surgery, Zuyderland Medical Center, Sittard-Geleen/Heerlen, the Netherlands.; Department of Surgery, Amphia Hospital, Breda, the Netherlands.; Department of Surgery, Maastricht UMC+, Maastricht, the Netherlands.; Department of Surgery, Dijklander Hospital, Hoorn, the Netherlands.; Department of Surgery, VieCuri Medisch Centrum for Noord-Limburg, Venlo, the Netherlands.; Department of Emergency Medicine, St Jansdal Hospital, Harderwijk, the Netherlands.; Department of Surgery, Sint Antonius Hospital, Nieuwegein, the Netherlands.; Department of Surgery, Rijnstate Hospital, Arnhem, the Netherlands.; Department of Surgery, Spaarne Gasthuis, Haarlem, and Hoofddorp, the Netherlands.; Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Amsterdam Institute for Infection and Immunity (AI&II), Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.; Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Maastricht UMC+, Maastricht, the Netherlands.; Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Amsterdam Gastroenterology Endocrinology Metabolism, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.; Department of Surgery, Cancer Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.; Department of Surgery, Cancer Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.; Department of Surgery, Amsterdam UMC, location AMC, Amstserdam Gastroenterology Endocrinology Metabolism, University of Amsterdam, Meibergdreef 9, 1105 AZ, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. m.a.boermeester@amsterdamumc.nl.CN - SCOUT Collaboarative Study group

BACKGROUND: During the COVID-19 pandemic, a decrease in the number of patients presenting with acute appendicitis was observed. It is unclear whether this caused a shift towards more complicated cases of acute appendicitis. We compared a cohort of patients diagnosed with acute appendicitis during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic with a 2019 control cohort. METHODS: We retrospectively included consecutive adult patients in 21 hospitals presenting with acute appendicitis in a COVID-19 pandemic cohort (March 15 - April 30, 2020) and a control cohort (March 15 - April 30, 2019). Primary outcome was the proportion of complicated appendicitis. Secondary outcomes included prehospital delay, appendicitis severity, and postoperative complication rates. RESULTS: The COVID-19 pandemic cohort comprised 607 patients vs. 642 patients in the control cohort. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a higher proportion of complicated appendicitis was seen (46.9% vs. 38.5%; p = 0.003). More patients had symptoms

2021-05-20

Department of Neurology, Kasr Al-Ainy Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt. Electronic address: rehab.m.hassan@kasralainy.edu.eg.; Department of Neurology, Kasr Al-Ainy Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.; Department of Neurology, Kasr Al-Ainy Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.; Department of Neurology, Kasr Al-Ainy Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.

OBJECTIVE: No data exist regarding the impact of the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic on the risk factors of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP). This study aimed to stratify risk factors of SUDEP in relation to COVID-19 lockdown, among patients with epilepsy (PWE) in Cairo University epilepsy unit (CUEU). Therefore, we can detect risk factors and mitigate such factors in the second wave of the virus. METHODS: an observational, cross-sectional study carried on 340 Egyptian patients with active epilepsy. Individual risk identification and stratification was done by using The SUDEP and seizure Safety Checklist, after which sharing risk knowledge to PWE and their caregivers was undertaken. RESULTS: The mean age of patients was 29.72 ± 12.12. The median of the static factors was 4 (IQR 3-5) whereas, the median of the modifiable factors was 2 (IQR 1-3). Epilepsy emergencies (serial seizures or status epilepticus) were reported in 24.1 % of patients, for which non-compliance

2021-04-11

Bioethics Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, Italy. marta.perin@ausl.re.it.; PhD Program in Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy. marta.perin@ausl.re.it.; Bioethics Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, Italy.

BACKGROUND: Under COVID-19 pandemic, many organizations developed guidelines to deal with the ethical aspects of resources allocation. This study describes the results of an argument-based review of ethical guidelines developed at the European level. It aims to increase knowledge and awareness about the moral relevance of the outbreak, especially as regards the balance of equity and dignity in clinical practice and patient's care. METHOD: According to the argument-based review framework, we started our research from the following two questions: what are the ethical principles adopted by the ethical guidelines produced at the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak related to resource allocation? And what are the practical consequences in terms of 'priority' of access, access criteria, management of the decision-making process and patient care? RESULTS: Twenty-two ethical guidelines met our inclusion criteria and the results of our analysis are organized into 4 ethical concepts and related

2021-03-30

Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.; Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, K7L 2V7, Canada.; Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. jjoseph16@partners.org.; Cardiology Section, VA Boston, Healthcare System, 1400 VFW Parkway, West Roxbury, MA, USA. jjoseph16@partners.org.; Clinical Research Partnerships and Innovations, Massachusetts Veterans Epidemiology Research & Innovation Center (MAVERIC), Boston, USA. jjoseph16@partners.org.

Along with its heavy toll of morbidity and mortality, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic exposed several limitations of the current global research response. The slow and inefficient process of carrying out traditional randomized clinical trials led regulatory authorities to hastily approve treatments and tests without sufficient evidence of safety and efficacy.We here outline issues with the current research platform, summarize shortcomings of traditional randomized clinical trials particularly apparent at the time of pandemics, and highlight the advantages of pragmatic clinical trials as an alternative to rapidly generate the needed clinical evidence. We further discuss barriers and challenges to pragmatic clinical trials implementation and explore opportunities for research institutions and regulatory authorities to facilitate widespread adoption of this vital research tool.As a subsequent wave of COVID-19, and/or another epidemic, are all but inevitable in our

2021-12-07

Department of Psychiatry, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Republic of Korea; Gwang-ju Mental Health Commission, Gwangju, Republic of Korea.; Gwang-ju Mental Health Commission, Gwangju, Republic of Korea.; Department of Psychiatry, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Republic of Korea.; Department of Psychiatry, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Republic of Korea.; Department of Psychiatry, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Republic of Korea.; Department of Psychiatry, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Republic of Korea.; Department of Psychiatry, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Republic of Korea.; Department of Psychiatry, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Republic of Korea; Gwang-ju Mental Health Commission, Gwangju, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: swkim@chonnam.ac.kr.

BACKGROUND: During the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses might experience added emotional stress. This study examined the relationship between gratitude and psychological stress to explore effective psychological support among nurses. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey assessed the level of psychological distress in 646 nurses in Gwangju, South Korea, using the Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10), Gratitude Questionnaire-6 (K-GQ-6), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), and Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey (MBI-GS). Sociodemographic factors and COVID-19-related experiences were also examined. A linear regression model was used to determine the factors influencing perceived stress. RESULTS: The mean PSS-10 score was 19.0 ± 4.4. Linear regression analyses revealed that the MBI-GS-Exhaustion, PHQ-9, and GAD-7 scores were positively associated with perceived stress, while the MBI-GS-Professional efficacy score was inversely associated with perceived