COVID-19 vaccine booster doses provide increased protection against COVID-19 hospitalization compared with previously vaccinated individuals: Interim findings from the REFORCO-Brazil real-world effectiveness study during Delta and Omicron.

BACKGROUND: Although COVID-19 booster vaccination is widely recommended, there is limited long-term, population-level, real-world evidence on the magnitude of improved protection against severe COVID-19 conferred by boosting with monovalent COVID-19 vaccines developed against ancestral SARS-CoV-2, especially in low- or middle-income countries. We present interim results from the first large-scale assessment of the relative vaccine effectiveness (rVE) of first and second booster doses against severe COVID-19 in a low-/middle-income country. METHODS: REFORCO-Brazil is an ongoing, test-negative case-control study (NCT05697705) utilizing Brazil national severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) surveillance and vaccination data. In SARS hospitalizations from August 1, 2021 to July 31, 2022, we matched test-positive (via SARS-CoV-2 antigen/reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction [RT-PCR]) cases and test-negative case-controls (via RT-PCR) based on admission date, preceding vaccinations, and age. We evaluated the rVEs of four monovalent COVID-19 vaccines (AZD1222, Ad26.COV2.S, CoronaVac, and BNT162b2) as second boosters compared with any first boosters received ≥4 months previously, and as first boosters compared with primary-series vaccinations completed ≥4 months previously. RESULTS: The overall rVE of second boosters, from 5668 (2238 test-positive) evaluated hospitalizations, was 24.7 % (95 % confidence interval [CI]: 12.6-35.1); the overall rVE of first boosters, from 30,272 (12,063 test-positive) hospitalizations, was 46.8 % (95 % CI: 43.3-50.0). The rVEs of AZD1222 and BNT162b2 were similar: 29.4 % (95 % CI: 8.6-45.5) and 25.5 % (95 % CI: 4.2-42.2), respectively, for second boosters; and 42.5 % (95 % CI: 28.0-54.0) and 50.8 % (95 % CI: 47.5-54.0), respectively, for first boosters. In general, rVEs were higher in elderly (≥80 years) and immunocompromised/high-risk individuals. CONCLUSIONS: Our results support the use of AZD1222 and other adenoviral/mRNA vaccine boosters to maintain protection against COVID-19 hospitalization from Omicron subvariants, including in elderly and immunocompromised individuals at increased risk of accelerated waning or severe outcomes.

Interprofessional education for shared decision making in drug therapy: a scoping review.

The current complex scenario of medication use calls for the implementation of interprofessional education (IPE) initiatives focused on shared decision making (SDM) in drug therapy. A scoping review was conducted to collate, summarize, and report the evidence available on IPE teaching and learning approaches in this context, involving pre-licensure healthcare students. Searches were conducted in seven electronic databases, with 21 articles meeting the inclusion criteria. This review examines educational strategies employed for interprofessional SDM as well as characteristics of students, teachers, and tutors involved in IPE interventions. The reviewed studies lack detailed description of the students' decision-making process, and none addresses aspects related to patient preferences as a part of learning outcomes. We identified shortcomings in how IPE interventions are assessed and reported. Only a few of the studies explicitly describe the use of competency-based frameworks proposed by national and international organizations, and less than 60% describe learning outcomes. The absence of experiences focused on interprofessional SDM in drug therapy suggests a gap that needs to be addressed with future studies evaluated in a robust way. We argue that such experiences enable students, as a team, to learn to share decisions with the patient as an effective team member.

Avaliação da educação interprofissional para a tomada de decisão compartilhada em farmacoterapia: uma revisão de escopo sobre métodos e instrumentos / Evaluación de la educación interprofesional para la toma de decisionescompartida en farmacoterapia: una revisión del alcance sobre métodos einstrumentos / Evaluation of interprofessional education for shared decision making in drug therapy: a scoping review on methods and instruments

Resumo Este estudo teve como objetivo descrever os métodos de pesquisa e instrumentos utilizados na avaliação de estratégias de educação interprofissional para a tomada de decisão compartilhada em farmacoterapia. Os tipos de avaliação empregados foram categorizados segundo o modelo adaptado de Kirkpatrick. Foi conduzida uma revisão de escopo, seguindo as recomendações do Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (Prisma-ScR). Entre os 21 estudos selecionados, houve predomínio dos métodos quantitativos na avaliação das experiências educacionais (n=18). Destes, o aspecto mais comum avaliado foi "atitudes e percepções dos estudantes em relação à educação e à prática interprofissional", por meio de instrumentos validados (n=13). Foram identificados dez diferentes instrumentos, que se mostraram em conformidade com as competências colaborativas do Interprofessional Education Collaborative. A variedade de instrumentos sinaliza a crescente produção de conhecimento acerca do assunto, mas aponta o desafio de realizar análises comparativas entre experiências educacionais ao redor do mundo. (AU)

Resumen El objetivo de este estudio es describir los métodos de investigación e instrumentos utilizados en la evaluación de estrategias de educación interprofesional para la toma de decisiones compartida en farmacoterapia. Los tipos de evaluación empleados se caracterizaron según el modelo adaptado de Kirkpatrick. Se realizó una revisión de alcance, siguiendo las recomendaciones del PRISMA-ScR. Entre los 21 estudios seleccionados, predominaron los métodos cuantitativos en la evaluación de las experiencias educativas (n=18). De ellos, el aspecto más común evaluado fue el de "actitudes y percepciones de los alumnos con relación a la educación y a la práctica interprofesional", por medio de instrumentos validados (n=13). Se identificaron diez diferentes instrumentos, que se mostraron en conformidad con las competencias colaborativas del Interprofessional Education Collaborative . La variedad de instrumentos señala la creciente producción de conocimiento sobre el asunto, pero muestra el desafío de realizar análisis comparativos entre experiencias educativas alrededor del mundo. (AU)

Abstract This study aimed to describe the research methods and instruments used in the evaluation of interprofessional education strategies for shared decision making in drug therapy. The types of evaluation employed were categorized according to Kirkpatrick's adapted model. A scoping review was conducted, following the PRISMA-ScR recommendations. Among the 21 selected studies, there was a predominance of quantitative methods in the evaluation of educational experiences (n=18). Of these, the most common aspect evaluated was "students' attitudes and perceptions towards interprofessional education and practice" by means of validated instruments (n=13). Ten different instruments were identified and found to be in line with the Interprofessional Education Collaborative competencies. The variety of instruments signals the growing production of knowledge about this topic, but points to the challenge of conducting comparative analyses between educational experiences around the world. (AU)

Vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia after COVID-19 vaccination: Description of a series of 39 cases in Brazil.

OBJECTIVE: Describe a case series of vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) after COVID-19 vaccination in Brazil that included ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, Ad26.COV2.S and BNT162b2 vaccines, describing their clinical and laboratory characteristics. METHODOLOGY: Descriptive case series study using Bio-Manguinhos/Fiocruz/AstraZeneca Brazil and National Immunization Program/Ministry of Health (NIP/MoH) data on COVID-19 AEFI surveillance. We obtained patient-level data from pharmacovigilance for AEFI surveillance and used both the NIP/MoH and Bio-Manguinhos/Fiocruz pharmacovigilance databases to create the study database. Thirty-nine cases of suspect VITT were included, 36 after ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, one after BNT162b2 and two after Ad26.COV2.S vaccine. All cases were based on meeting the Brighton Collaboration criteria for VITT. The primary outcomes were clinical and laboratory features, site of thrombosis, and anti-PF4 ELISA, when available. RESULTS: Thirty-nine cases met the criteria, 38 of which were classified as level 1 and one as level 3 according to Brighton Collaboration. Most cases had the central nervous system (CNS) as the main site of thrombosis (21/39) and happened after the vaccine first dose (34/39). The median age of the cases was 41 years old (23 to 86 yo). Most of the cases (61.5%) occurred in women. The median interval between vaccination and onset of symptoms was 8 days (0-37 days). The platelet count and D-dimer count had median values of 34,000/µL and 19,235 µg FEU/L, respectively. The ELISA anti-PF4 antibody was positive in 18 samples. The overall mortality rate was 51% and was higher in cases of CNS thrombosis with intracerebral bleeding. CONCLUSION: Our case series shows that Brazilian VITT cases have similar clinical and laboratory profiles as demonstrated in the literature. Brazil has administered more than 300 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines (more than 110 million from ChAdOx1 nCoV-19). VITT seems to be a very rare but serious adverse event following COVID-19 immunization, especially adenoviral vector immunization.

Autoetnografia colaborativa em tempos de pandemia: uma experiência de ensinoaprendizagem terapêutica e decolonial / Autoetnografía colaborativa en tiempos de pandemia: una experiencia de enseñanza-aprendizaje terapéutica y decolonial / Collaborative autoethnography in pandemic times: a therapeutic and decolonial teachinglearning experience

Esta Autoetnografia colaborativa teve como objetivo compreender a experiência de três estudantes em disciplina de Autoetnografia no programa de pós-graduação na Faculdade de Farmácia da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais durante o período inicial da pandemia de Covid-19. Para tal, os diários de campo e as produções autoetnográficas dos estudantes - textos, poemas, fotografias, arquivos em áudio e arquivos em vídeo com performances ou dança - foram analisados. Destacaram-se os diversos aspectos terapêuticos e decoloniais que a Autoetnografia oportuniza pelo exercício metacognitivo. A disciplina humanizou o ambiente acadêmico proporcionando interconexão das ciências convencionais com as artes e a cultura. Este trabalho aponta os benefícios da Autoetnografia para a formação de profissionais de saúde críticos e reflexivos, especialmente os farmacêuticos, por promover competências apropriadas ao cuidado centrado na pessoa. (AU)

Esta autoetnografía tuvo el objetivo de comprender la experiencia de tres estudiantes de la asignatura de Autoetnografía en el programa de postgrado en la Facultad de Farmacia de la Universidad Federal de Minas Gerais durante el período inicial de la pandemia de Covid-19. Para ello, se analizaron los diarios de campo y las producciones autoetnográficas de los estudiantes: textos, poemas, fotografías, archivos de audio y archivos de video con performances o danza. Se destacaron los diversos aspectos terapéuticos y decoloniales a los que la Autoetnografía da oportunidad a partir del ejercicio metacognitivo. La asignatura humanizó el ambiente académico, proporcionando interconexión de las ciencias convencionales con las artes y la cultura. Este trabajo señala los beneficios de la Autoetnografía para la formación de profesionales de salud críticos y reflexivos, especialmente los farmacéuticos, por promover competencias apropiadas al cuidado centrado en la persona. (AU)

This collaborative autoethnography aimed to understand the experience of three students in an Autoethnography course in a graduate program at the Minas Gerais Federal University School of Pharmacy during the initial stages of the Covid-19 pandemic. To this end, the students' field journals and autoethnographic data - such as texts, poems, photographs, audio and video files with performances or dance - were analysed. The study highlighted multiple therapeutic and decolonial facets of autoethnography that arise from its metacognitive practice. This course humanized the academic environment, providing interconnectivity of conventional sciences with arts and culture. This research points out the benefits of including autoethnography in the training of health professionals as its critical and reflective features promote cultural and humanistic competences useful to person-centered care, which are very relevant to pharmacists. (AU)

Epidemiology of pertussis among adolescents, adults, and older adults in selected countries of Latin American: a systematic review.

We aimed to describe the impact of pertussis on adolescents, adults, and older adults over 2007-2018 in selected Latin American countries by reviewing the literature. We searched the Medline, Embase, Scopus, LILACS, Scielo, Google Scholar, CAPES Journals Web-portal, and Cochrane databases for observational epidemiological studies, clinical trials, and systematic reviews of primary studies. Data were extracted and analyzed for all individuals aged ≥10 years. Of 6,891 studies identified only 25 were eligible. Studies were conducted in Brazil (14), Argentina (4), Colombia (4), Mexico (2) and Chile (1). Epidemiological data among target population were limited. No studies clearly assessed the status of asymptomatic or oligosymptomatic B. pertussis carriers in these age groups. Among all pertussis cases identified, the percentage of patients ≥10 years-old ranged between 2.1% and 66.7% depending on country and sample characteristics. The definition of cases, diagnostic methods, and age groups were not consistent across studies.

Pertussis epidemiological pattern and disease burden in Brazil: an analysis of national public health surveillance data.

Objective: We described pertussis epidemiological trends in Brazil between 2010 and 2015. We also assessed tetanus, diphtheria and acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccine coverage among pregnant women from 2014, the year of the introduction of Tdap maternal immunization recommendation in Brazil, to 2016.Methods: Epidemiological data for incidence, prevalence, hospitalization, mortality, and maternal vaccination coverage were calculated based on the Brazilian public surveillance databases.Results: The epidemiological data analysis results showed that the pertussis average incidence rate (IR) was 2.19/100,000 inhabitants for all ages, with a peak in 2014 (4.03/100,000 inhabitants) and highest incidence in <1-year-old children (IR = 175.20/100,000). 97.6% of pertussis deaths (405/415) were in <1-year-old children. Maternal immunization coverage was 9.2% in 2014, 40.4% in 2015, and 33.8% in 2016.Conclusions: Pertussis incidence and pertussis-related deaths increased in Brazil from 2010 to 2014 and decreased in 2015. In the two years, 2015 and 2016 that followed the NIP recommendation, Tdap vaccination coverage of pregnant women was low and varying from region to region. More efforts and national plans would help increase awareness and maternal immunization coverage.