Retrospective evaluation of Vitis vinifera ingestion in dogs presented to emergency clinics in the UK (2012-2016): 606 Cases.

OBJECTIVE: To assess key presenting signs in dogs following Vitis vinifera fruit (VVF) ingestion (grapes, raisins, currants, and sultanas), outcome, and the incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI). DESIGN: Retrospective study (2012-2016). SETTING: Out-of-hours clinics in the United Kingdom. ANIMALS: The study population included 606 dogs attending 53 emergency clinics across the United Kingdom following ingestion of VVF. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Vitis vinifera fruits were found in vomit after more than 12 hours after ingestion. There was an increased incidence in December. Serum creatinine or urea was measured in 338 dogs; all were within reference intervals. In this cohort of dogs with VVF ingestion, there is no evidence for significant AKI in 32 of 33 cases within 24 hours of admission where supportive measures were introduced and repeated assessments of creatinine concentration were performed. CONCLUSIONS: All dogs survived to discharge. One out of 33 cases with repeated creatinine concentration developed IRIS AKI grade I within 24 hours following VVF ingestion, when current emergency treatment guidelines were followed in whole or part.

Antibody testing for COVID-19: A report from the National COVID Scientific Advisory Panel.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic caused >1 million infections during January-March 2020. There is an urgent need for reliable antibody detection approaches to support diagnosis, vaccine development, safe release of individuals from quarantine, and population lock-down exit strategies. We set out to evaluate the performance of ELISA and lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) devices. Methods: We tested plasma for COVID (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; SARS-CoV-2) IgM and IgG antibodies by ELISA and using nine different LFIA devices. We used a panel of plasma samples from individuals who have had confirmed COVID infection based on a PCR result (n=40), and pre-pandemic negative control samples banked in the UK prior to December-2019 (n=142). Results: ELISA detected IgM or IgG in 34/40 individuals with a confirmed history of COVID infection (sensitivity 85%, 95%CI 70-94%), vs. 0/50 pre-pandemic controls (specificity 100% [95%CI 93-100%]). IgG levels were detected in 31/31 COVID-positive individuals tested ≥10 days after symptom onset (sensitivity 100%, 95%CI 89-100%). IgG titres rose during the 3 weeks post symptom onset and began to fall by 8 weeks, but remained above the detection threshold. Point estimates for the sensitivity of LFIA devices ranged from 55-70% versus RT-PCR and 65-85% versus ELISA, with specificity 95-100% and 93-100% respectively. Within the limits of the study size, the performance of most LFIA devices was similar. Conclusions: Currently available commercial LFIA devices do not perform sufficiently well for individual patient applications. However, ELISA can be calibrated to be specific for detecting and quantifying SARS-CoV-2 IgM and IgG and is highly sensitive for IgG from 10 days following first symptoms.