Long COVID Definitions and Models of Care : A Scoping Review.

BACKGROUND: Definitions of long COVID are evolving, and optimal models of care are uncertain. PURPOSE: To perform a scoping review on definitions of long COVID and provide an overview of care models, including a proposed framework to describe and distinguish models. DATA SOURCES: English-language articles from Ovid MEDLINE, PsycINFO, the Cochrane Library, SocINDEX, Scopus, Embase, and CINAHL published between January 2021 and November 2023; gray literature; and discussions with 18 key informants. STUDY SELECTION: Publications describing long COVID definitions or models of care, supplemented by models described by key informants. DATA EXTRACTION: Data were extracted by one reviewer and verified for accuracy by another reviewer. DATA SYNTHESIS: Of 1960 screened citations, 38 were included. Five clinical definitions of long COVID varied with regard to timing since symptom onset and the minimum duration required for diagnosis; 1 additional definition was symptom score-based. Forty-nine long COVID care models were informed by 5 key principles: a core "lead" team, multidisciplinary expertise, comprehensive access to diagnostic and therapeutic services, a patient-centered approach, and providing capacity to meet demand. Seven characteristics provided a framework for distinguishing models: home department or clinical setting, clinical lead, collocation of other specialties, primary care role, population managed, use of teleservices, and whether the model was practice- or systems-based. Using this framework, 10 representative practice-based and 3 systems-based models of care were identified. LIMITATIONS: Published literature often lacked key model details, data were insufficient to assess model outcomes, and there was overlap between and variability within models. CONCLUSION: Definitions of long COVID and care models are evolving. Research is needed to optimize models and evaluate outcomes of different models. PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (Protocol posted at https://effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/products/long-covid-models-care/protocol.).

Long COVID: Rapid Evidence Review.

Postacute sequelae of COVID-19, also known as long COVID, affects approximately 10% to 30% of the hundreds of millions of people who have had acute COVID-19. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines long COVID as the presence of new, returning, or ongoing symptoms associated with acute COVID-19 that persist beyond 28 days. The diagnosis of long COVID can be based on a previous clinical diagnosis of COVID-19 and does not require a prior positive polymerase chain reaction or antigen test result to confirm infection. Patients with long COVID report a broad range of symptoms, including abdominal pain, anosmia, chest pain, cognitive impairment (brain fog), dizziness, dyspnea, fatigue, headache, insomnia, mood changes, palpitations, paresthesias, and postexertional malaise. The presentation is variable, and symptoms can fluctuate or persist and relapse and remit. The diagnostic approach is to differentiate long COVID from acute sequelae of COVID-19, previous comorbidities, unmasking of preexisting health conditions, reinfections, new acute concerns, and complications of prolonged illness, hospitalization, or isolation. Many presenting symptoms of long COVID are commonly seen in a primary care practice, and management can be improved by using established treatment paradigms and supportive care. Although several medications have been suggested for the treatment of fatigue related to long COVID, the evidence for their use is currently lacking. Holistic treatment strategies for long COVID include discussion of pacing and energy conservation; individualized, symptom-guided, phased return to activity programs; maintaining adequate hydration and a healthy diet; and treatment of underlying medical conditions.

Launching a Statewide COVID-19 Primary Care Hotline and Telemedicine Service.

To respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and recover from its aftermath, primary care teams will face waves of overwhelming demand for information and the need to significantly transform care delivery. INNOVATION: Oregon Health & Science University's primary care team envisioned and implemented the COVID-19 Connected Care Center, a statewide telephone "hotline" service. RESULTS: The hotline has taken more than 5825 calls from patients in 33 of Oregon's 36 counties in less than 3 months. In preliminary survey data, 86% of patients said their questions were answered during the call, 90% would recommend this service, and 70% reported a reduction in stress levels about coronavirus. In qualitative interviews, patients reported their questions answered, short wait times, nurses spent time as needed, and appropriate follow-up was arranged. CONCLUSION: Academic health centers may have the capacity to leverage their extensive resources to rapidly launch a multiphased pandemic response that meets peoples' need for information and access to primary care, while minimizing risk of infection and emergency department use and rapidly supporting primary care teams to make the necessary operational changes to do the same in their communities. Such efforts require external funding in a fee-for-service payment model.

Understanding the Efficiency of Splenic Hemangiosarcoma Diagnosis Using Monte Carlo Simulations.

Hemangiosarcoma is a common neoplasm of the spleen in older dogs. However, diagnosis is complicated by necrosis and hemorrhage, which can mimic a number of benign processes. Currently, there is no consensus about the number of sections pathologists should examine to rule out hemangiosarcoma. To answer this question, we examined 413 histopathologic sections from 50 cases of canine hemangiosarcoma (mean: 8.1 sections per case; range, 5-14). Each section had the presence or absence of hemangiosarcoma determined by 2 board-certified anatomic pathologists. Then, 100 Monte Carlo simulations were performed, randomly selecting sections from each case 10 000 times and the results averaged. These simulations suggest that examination of 5 sections from a spleen with hemangiosarcoma yields a 95.02% chance of diagnosing hemangiosarcoma, while examination of 10 sections yields a 98.59% chance of diagnosis when hemangiosarcoma is in fact present. The data emphasize the need to submit the entire spleen for histopathologic examination in suspected cases of hemangiosarcoma and suggest that 5 sections obtained by a trained individual are likely sufficient for diagnosis.

Impact of postoperative antibiotics on rates of infection and implant removal after tibial tuberosity advancement in 1,768 canine stifles.

OBJECTIVE: To report infection rate, implant removal rate, and postoperative antibiotic therapy after tibial tuberosity advancement (TTA) in dogs. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective study. ANIMALS: One thousand seven hundred sixty-eight stifles in 1,732 dogs. METHODS: Medical records (January 2007-December 2011) of dogs treated with a TTA were reviewed. Cases were included if at least 1 year of postoperative follow-up was available and no additional procedures were performed on the stifle. Date of surgery, date of culture, culture and susceptibility results, postoperative antimicrobials used, and any implant removals were recorded. Use of postoperative antibiotics and implant removal were evaluated statistically for effect on infection occurrence and resolution. RESULTS: Postoperative infections were diagnosed in 82 of 1,768 (4.6%) stifles. Implants were removed from 32 (39%) stifles, with plate and screw removal only in 23 (71.9%) stifles. The rate of infection did not differ between dogs with or without postoperative antibiotic therapy. However, dogs receiving postoperative antibiotic therapy were at risk for developing an oxacillin-resistant infection (P = .001). Oxacillin-resistant infections were associated with a requirement for implant removal to achieve resolution compared with other types of bacterial infections (P < .05). CONCLUSION: No benefit was detected with the use of postoperative antibiotics after TTA in this population. Implant removal was infrequent, and the requirement for cage removal was not commonly required for infection resolution. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: This study does not provide evidence to support postoperative antibiotic therapy after TTA. Postoperative infection can be treated in most dogs without removal of the TTA cage.

Aberration considerations in lens tolerancing.

Often the tolerancing of an optical system is performed by treating the optical system as a black box in which the designer sets tolerances for perturbations and then runs a Monte Carlo analysis to determine the as-built performance. When the effects of the perturbations are not considered, the tolerances might result tighter than necessary, proper compensation might be missed, and manufacturing cost can be increased. By acquiring aberration sensitivity for each type of perturbation, an optical engineer can increase tolerances by ad hoc compensation. An aberration sensitivity evaluation can be performed quickly and can be incorporated into the initial lens design phase. A lens designer can find what surfaces or elements within the optical system will be problematic before any time-consuming Monte Carlo run is performed. In this paper we use aberration theory of plane symmetric systems to remove, to some useful extent, the black-box tolerancing approach and to provide some insights into tolerancing. The tolerance sensitivities that are analyzed are with respect to surface tilt, center thickness, index value, and radius. To analyze these perturbations, exact wavefront calculations are performed for the following aberrations: uniform astigmatism, uniform coma, linear astigmatism, distortion I, distortion II, spherical aberration, linear coma, quadratic astigmatism, and cubic distortion. We provide a discussion about how the aberration tolerancing analysis is useful.

System design process for refractive simultaneous short and long wave infrared imaging.

The future of optical design is multispectral imaging. Advancements in detector technology have led to the challenge of imaging over both short wave infrared and long wave infrared spectrums. This paper discusses the technical hurdles associated with designing a refractor to image over both of these spectrums, such as minimizing chromatic focal shift while maximizing contrast. The design process is outlined on an eight element F/1, 23° full field of view solution. Optomechanical design forms are evaluated by analyzing possible stresses and tolerance errors. Antireflection coating designs are discussed to complete the full system. This entire design process is highlighted as a feasibility study for the future of multispectral imaging devices.

A single-item measure of health-related quality-of-life for HIV-infected patients in routine clinical care.

Measurement of health-related quality-of-life (HRQL) captures dimensions of health not otherwise assessed. However, HRQL measurement is time-consuming and difficult to incorporate into a routine clinical care setting. The purpose of this study was to assess the construct validity, discriminative ability, and feasibility of administering a single-item health status measure (EVGGFP) of HRQL rating health as excellent, very good, good, fair, or poor among HIV-infected patients in routine clinical care. Patients attending an urban HIV specialty clinic completed a survey assessing their current symptom burden, HRQL as measured by EVGGFP and by a 7-domain, 21-item HRQL instrument (HRQL-21), and sociodemographic factors (n = 269). Patients were predominantly men (91%), 27% reported a history of intravenous drug use, and over half had some college education. We used multiple regression analysis to examine the association between HRQL assessed by EVGGFP and the HRQL-21. We compared the discriminative ability of EVGGFP and the HRQL-21 to detect differences in CD4 cell count, plasma HIV-1 RNA level, and symptom burden. We found that HRQL scores determined by EVGGFP were significantly associated with domain scores from the HRQL-21 (adjusted R2 0.42-0.69). The discriminative ability of EVGGFP was equivalent to that of the HRQL-21. EVGGFP had high sensitivity and low to moderate specificity in identifying patients with poor overall HRQL who might benefit from more comprehensive evaluation of multiple HRQL domains. EVGGFP can be used to assess health status among HIV-infected patients in routine clinical care and may be useful in settings in which comprehensive HRQL assessment is not practical.

Germline fumarate hydratase mutations and evidence for a founder mutation underlying multiple cutaneous and uterine leiomyomata.

Multiple cutaneous and uterine leiomyomata syndrome (MCL) is an autosomal dominant disease characterized by the presence of concurrent benign tumors of smooth muscle origin (leiomyoma) in the skin and uterus of affected females, and in the skin of affected males. MCL can also be associated with type II papillary renal cell cancer (HLRCC). The genetic locus for MCL and HLRCC was recently mapped to chromosome 1q42.3-43 and subsequently, dominantly inherited mutations in the fumarate hydratase gene ( FH ) were identified. Importantly, analysis of the FH gene in tumors of MCL patients revealed a second mutation inactivating the wild-type allele in some tumors. Based on these findings, it has been suggested that FH may function as a tumor suppressor gene in MCL. Here, we report the analysis of the FH gene in a group of 11 MCL families, with the identification of 8 different mutations accounting for the disease in all families. One of the mutations, 905-1G>A, has been identified in 4 families of Iranian origin. The analysis of highly polymorphic markers in the vicinity of the FH gene showed a shared haplotype in these 4 families, suggesting that 905-1G>A represents a founder mutation. Collectively, identification of 5 novel and 3 recurrent mutations further supports the role of FH in the pathogenesis of MCL.