COVID-19 vaccination and transmission patterns among pregnant and postnatal women during the fifth wave of COVID-19 in a tertiary hospital in Hong Kong.

INTRODUCTION: Vaccination is a key strategy to control the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Safety concerns strongly influence vaccine hesitancy. Disease transmission during pregnancy could exacerbate risks of preterm birth and perinatal mortality. This study examined patterns of vaccination and transmission among pregnant and postnatal women during the fifth wave of COVID-19 in Hong Kong. METHODS: The Antenatal Record System and Clinical Management System of the Hospital Authority was used to retrieve information concerning the demographic characteristics, vaccination history, COVID-19 status, and obstetric outcomes of women who were booked for delivery at Queen Mary Hospital in Hong Kong and had attended the booking antenatal visit from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022. RESULTS: Among 2396 women in the cohort, 2006 (83.7%), 1843 (76.9%), and 831 (34.7%) had received the first, second, and third doses of COVID-19 vaccine, respectively. Among 1012 women who had received the second dose, 684 (67.6%) women were overdue for their third dose. There were 265 (11.1%) reported COVID-19 cases. Women aged 20 to 29 years had a low vaccination rate but the highest disease rate (19.1%). The disease rate was more than tenfold higher in women who had no (20.3%) or incomplete (18.8%) vaccination, compared with women who had complete vaccination (2.1%; P<0.001). CONCLUSION: Acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination was low in pregnant women. Urgent measures are needed to promote vaccination among pregnant women before the next wave of COVID-19.

Impact of rhG-CSF on Clinical Efficacy and Immune Cell Subsets after Initial Induction Chemotherapy in AML.

BACKGROUND: The impact of recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (rhG-CSF) in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is still controversial. The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of rhG-CSF administration on clinical efficacy and immune cell subsets after initial induction chemotherapy in AML. METHODS: The clinical efficacy and immune cell subsets were compared in the newly diagnosed patients with AML according to whether rhG-CSF was used after initial induction chemotherapy. Next, rhG-CSF stimulation experi-ments on leukemia cell lines and primary leukemia blasts were performed in vitro. RESULTS: There was no statistical difference between control group and rhG-CSF therapy group in complete remission rate and relapse free survival. The duration of agranulocytosis was significantly shortened in rhG-CSF therapy group compared with control group. The percentage of circulating monocytic myeloid-derived suppressor cells (M-MDSCs) and regulatory T cells (Tregs) were significantly increased after the administration of rhG-CSF. Furthermore, it was found that rhG-CSF did not promote the proliferation of leukemia cell lines and primary leukemia blasts, but increased the proportion of M-MDSCs and Tregs in vitro. CONCLUSIONS: Administration of rhG-CSF after initial induction therapy of AML does not affect the clinical remission and relapse rate, but reduces the duration of agranulocytosis and increases the proportion of M-MDSCs and Tregs.

Application of virtual reality for peritoneal dialysis exchange learning in patients with end-stage renal disease and cognitive impairment.

Cognitive impairment is not uncommon in patients with end-stage renal disease and can make it more difficult for these patients to carry out peritoneal dialysis (PD) on their own. Their attempts to do so may result in adverse consequences such as peritonitis. PD exchange is a complex procedure demanding knowledge and skill which requires close supervision and guidance by a renal nurse specialist. In this study, a non-immersive virtual reality (VR) training program using a Leap motion hand tracking device was developed to facilitate patients' understanding and learning of the PD exchange procedure before attempting real task practice. This study was a two-center single-blinded randomized controlled trial on 23 incident PD patients. Patients in the experimental group received 8 sessions of VR training, while patients in the control were provided with printed educational materials. The results showed that there were significant differences between the two groups in performance of the overall PD exchange sequence, especially on the crucial steps. VR had a patient satisfaction rate of 89%, and all patients preferred to have the VR aid incorporated in PD training. Our findings conclude VR can be a useful aid in the training and reinforcement of PD exchange procedures, with distinct merits of being free from restrictions of time, space, and manpower.

Behavioural adaptations and responses to obstetric care among pregnant women during an early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong: a cross-sectional survey.

INTRODUCTION: This study evaluated behavioural adaptations and responses to obstetric care among pregnant women during an early stage of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. METHODS: This cross-sectional survey included pregnant women who received obstetric care from 27 May 2020 to 16 June 2020 in a university-affiliated hospital in Hong Kong. Responses were collected with respect to obstetric appointment scheduling, workplace changes, mask-wearing practices, travel and quarantine experiences, obstetric service adjustments, and visiting arrangements. Regression analysis was used to compare the effects of patient characteristics on their responses. RESULTS: In total, 1000 surveys were distributed; 733 pregnant women provided complete survey responses. Among obstetric-related appointments in public hospitals, 16% were postponed or cancelled by pregnant women; such changes were most frequent among women beyond 24 weeks of gestation, women who had previous deliveries, and women who had a history of mental illness. The practice of working from home imposed psychological stress and negatively impacted the pregnancy experience in 4.5% of women. Childbirth companionship was regarded as an important service by 88.1% of women; only 4.2% agreed with its suspension. Obstetric service adjustments had the greatest impact on Chinese women and nulliparous women. CONCLUSIONS: The findings provide an overview of how pregnant women adapted during an early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic. Women adjusted obstetric service attendance, began working from home, and wore masks. Women's expectations did not match changes in childbirth companionship and peripartum services. Hospital administrators should consider psychological impacts on pregnant women when implementing service adjustments.

Effect of COVID-19 on delivery plans and postnatal depression scores of pregnant women.

INTRODUCTION: Owing to the coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak Hong Kong hospitals have suspended visiting periods and made mask wearing mandatory. In obstetrics, companionship during childbirth has been suspended and prenatal exercises, antenatal talks, hospital tours, and postnatal classes have been cancelled. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of these restrictive measures on delivery plans and risks of postpartum depression. METHODS: We compared pregnancy data and the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS) scores of women who delivered between the pre-alert period (1 Jan 2019 to 4 Jan 2020) and post-alert period (5 Jan 2020 to 30 Apr 2020) in a tertiary university public hospital in Hong Kong. Screening for postpartum depression was performed routinely using the EPDS questionnaire 1 day and within 1 week after delivery. RESULTS: There was a 13.1% reduction in the number of deliveries between 1 January and 30 April from 1144 in 2019 to 994 in 2020. The EPDS scores were available for 4357 out of 4531 deliveries (96.2%). A significantly higher proportion of women had EPDS scores of ≥10 1 day after delivery in the post-alert group than the pre-alert group (14.4% vs 11.9%; P<0.05). More women used pethidine (6.2% vs 4.6%) and fewer used a birthing ball (8.5% vs 12.4%) for pain relief during labour in the post-alert group. CONCLUSIONS: Pregnant women reported more depressive symptoms in the postpartum period following the alert announcement regarding coronavirus infection in Hong Kong. This was coupled with a drop in the delivery rate at our public hospital. Suspension of childbirth companionship might have altered the methods of intrapartum pain relief and the overall pregnancy experience.

[Analysis of factors related to recanalization of intramural hematoma-type carotid artery dissection].

Objective: To investigate the factors related to recanalization of intramural hematoma-type carotid artery dissection (CAD). Methods: Retrospective analysis was performed on 56 patients (61 CADs) with intramural-hematoma type CAD confirmed by multimodal imaging examination based on cervical vascular ultrasound (CDU) in the Stroke Center of the First Affiliated Hospital of Suzhou University from August 2015 to May 2019. The clinical and imaging data were collected, and the time from onset to visit is bounded by 14 days. CDU follow-up was performed at 3, 6, and 12 months after the onset. According to the results of the 12-month follow-up, patients were divided into complete recanalization group and incomplete recanalization group. The clinical data, ultrasonic manifestations and drug treatment of patients between the two groups were compared. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the related factors affecting vascular recanalization. Results: Vascular recanalization: the rates of complete recanalization at 3, 6 and 12 months were 42.6% (26/61), 55.7% (34/61) and 59.0% (36/61), respectively. While among the 25 vessels in the incomplete recanalization group, 26.2% (16/61) showed residual stenosis and 14.8% (9/61) showed persistent occlusion. Comparison between the complete recanalization group and the incomplete recanalization group: the differences in the proportion of time from onset to visit ≤ 14 days, the echo type of intramural hematoma, and the proportion of vascular occlusion were statistically significant (all P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the time from onset to visit ≤14 days (OR=5.625, 95%CI: 1.302-24.293, P=0.021), and the hypoechoic intramural hematoma (OR=4.888, 95%CI: 1.304-18.320, P=0.019) were positively correlated with complete recanalization, while the dissection vascular occlusion (OR=0.234, 95%CI: 0.059-0.932, P=0.039) was negatively correlated with complete recanalization. Conclusions: CDU showed that hypoechoic intramural hematoma-type CAD treated with standard medications in the acute phase had a higher complete recanalization rate, while the recanalization rate of patients with dissecting vessel occlusion decreased. Early evaluation can provide a basis for clinical individualized treatment.

Acceptance of antiviral treatment and enhanced service model for pregnant patients carrying hepatitis B.

INTRODUCTION: A service model was established for pregnant women with positive screening results for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) at Queen Mary Hospital in Hong Kong. All women were offered a blood test for hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA level during the first antenatal visit. Women with HBV DNA levels of ≥200 000 IU/mL received counselling from hepatologists regarding treatment with antenatal tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) 300 mg daily. METHODS: This retrospective review included women attending our antenatal clinic who exhibited positive HBsAg screening results from 15 May 2017 to 31 December 2019. The proportions of women with positive HBsAg, DNA test acceptance, hepatological review, and TDF acceptance during pregnancy were reviewed. RESULTS: In total, 375 (2.9%) of 13 082 pregnant women had positive HBsAg screening results. Blood tests for HBV DNA and hepatological reviews were offered to 273 women who had not undergone hepatological review prior to pregnancy; the acceptance rate was 97.8%. Sixty (22.6%) pregnant women were hepatitis B carriers with high viral loads of ≥200 000 IU/mL. Among 58 women with high viral loads, 57 received antenatal counselling regarding TDF and 56 (96.6%) agreed to take the drug; 92.9% of these 56 women had commenced TDF at or before 32 weeks of gestation. CONCLUSIONS: This study indicated broad acceptance of HBV DNA tests by pregnant women. Triage allowed early review and commencement of antiviral medication. This service model serves as a framework for enhanced antenatal service to prevent mother-to-child-transmission in public maternity units.

Effect of couple-based cognitive behavioural intervention on prevention of postnatal depression: multisite randomised controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: To compare a couple-based cognitive behavioural intervention (CBI) for postnatal depression with CBI delivered to women alone and control (standard perinatal care). DESIGN: Multisite randomised controlled trial. SETTING: Antenatal clinics at three regional public hospitals in Hong Kong. SAMPLE: 388 low-risk childbearing couples. METHODS: Childbearing couples were randomly allocated to couple-based CBI (n = 134), women-alone CBI (n = 124) or control (n = 130). The CBI consists of a 3-hour antenatal group session and two 30-minute postnatal telephone follow-up sessions. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was depressive symptoms, measured on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Assessments were collected at baseline (during pregnancy), 6 weeks, 6 months, and 12 months postpartum. RESULTS: Depressive symptoms were significantly more improved at 6 weeks postpartum for mothers in couple-based CBI than in women-alone CBI (difference 1.46, 95% CI 0.11-2.81) or control groups (difference 1.71, 95% CI 0.29-3.13). The proportion of mothers with postnatal depression (EPDS score ≥ 10) was significantly lower at 6 weeks postpartum in couple-based CBI than in control (difference 17.8%, 95% CI 3.6-32.0). However, the treatment effect was not maintained at 6 and 12 months. There was no significant intervention effect among fathers. CONCLUSIONS: Couple-based CBI is more effective than CBI delivered to mothers alone and standard perinatal care in reducing the incidence of postnatal depression among Chinese mothers in the early postpartum period. TWEETABLE ABSTRACT: Couple-based cognitive behavioural intervention is effective in reducing postnatal depression among Chinese mothers in the early postpartum period.

Health Literacy Risk in Older Adults With and Without Mild Cognitive Impairment.

BACKGROUND: The relationship between an increasing elderly population and wide-ranging neurological conditions has led to heightened rates of cognitive function impairment. Some researchers have found that health literacy risk may be associated with cognitive impairment in older adults. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to delineate the difference in health literacy risk between older adults with mild cognitive impairment and those with normal cognitive function. METHODS: We conducted a survey study to explore the health literacy risk in older adults with and without mild cognitive impairment. Data were collected from 412 subjects between 60 and 91 years of age (260 without and 152 with mild cognitive impairment) between June and December 2016 in China. Cognitive function was measured using the Mini-Mental Status Examination, Montreal Cognitive Assessment, Global Deterioration Scale, Activities of Daily Living, and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. Health literacy was measured using the Chinese Citizen Health Literacy Questionnaire. RESULTS: The scores of total health literacy and its three dimensions (basic health knowledge and mind, basic skills, and health lifestyle and behavior) were lower in those with mild cognitive impairment. Older adults with normal cognitive function had adequate or marginal health literacy levels, whereas those with mild cognitive impairment had marginal or inadequate health literacy levels. Using multiple logistic regression analysis, we found that health literacy risk, education level, age, marital status, and body mass index were independent risk factors for mild cognitive impairment. DISCUSSION: These results suggest that low health literacy may be a predictor of mild cognitive impairment. Screening for lower health literacy risk should be included in multidimensional geriatric evaluation.

Adjuvant chemoradiotherapy vs. radiotherapy alone in early-stage high-risk endometrial cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: The benefits of adjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) in patients with International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stages I-II high-risk endometrial cancer remain controversial. We undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the efficacy of CRT over radiotherapy (RT) in patients with early-stage high-risk endometrial cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We searched MEDLINE (from 1946 to May 2018), EMBASE (from 1966 to May 2018), and the Cochrane Library database for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) conducted for endometrial cancer comparing CRT to RT alone. The outcomes were overall survival (OS), failure-free survival (FFS), local recurrence rates (LRR) and the distant metastasis rate (DMR). RESULTS: Three eligible studies with 1120 participants were included in the meta-analysis. All studies were published from 1990 to 2018. The OS rates were 82.5% for the patients in the CRT group and 84.4% for patients in the RT group. The included three RCTs showed no significant difference of OS between the CRT and RT groups (odd ratio 0.98, 95% CI 0.93 to 1.02, p=0.35) with no heterogeneity (I2=0%, p=0.47). Two studies reported 382 FFS events in 469 patients with CRT treatment (81.4%) and 376 events of the 470 patients with RT treatment (80.0%). Overall, CRT group didn't provide any benefit over RT alone (1.02, 0.95 to 1.08, p=0.62; I2 = 0%, p=0.55) in FFS. 39 patients in CRT group (10.2%) vs. 16 patients in RT group (4.3%) were diagnosed with local recurrence. LRR was significantly more common in patients receiving adjuvant chemoradiotherapy compared with adjuvant radiotherapy (2.29, 1.31 to 3.98, p=0.004; I²=0%, p=0.33). The distant metastasis occurred in 20 patients (5.2%) treated with CRT and 26 patients (7.0%) treated with RT. The effect of reducing DMR was equivocal between the CRT group and the RT group, with an OR of 0.74 (0.43-1.27, p=0.28; I²=0%, p=0.87). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that adjuvant chemoradiotherapy has no advantage over radiotherapy alone for overall survival and failure-free survival in high-risk patients with FIGO stages I-II endometrial cancer. In addition, CRT is associated with a high risk of local recurrences.

[Research on the effects of CPAP for OSA combined CHD long-term prognosis].

Objective:To investigate the effects of CPAP for obstructive sleep apnea（OSA） combined CHD（coronary heart disease） long-term prognosis. Method:One hundred and twenty cases of OSA combind CHD in gansu province people's hospital sleep center were randomly divided into two groups according to apnea hypopnea index（AHI）, group A（light, medium OSA and CHD） 60 cases, group B（severe OSA and CHD） 60 cases. Contrast analysis and comparison between two groups PSG（Polysomnography） parameters, and the differences between the degree of coronary artery lesions and CPAP therapy effect on coronary long-term prognosis. Result:Compared group B with A, AHI, BMI, LSaO2, Epworth sleepiness scale（ESS） score, the amino acid homocysteine, the prevalence of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, the prevalence of acute myocardial infarction（ami） and vascular lesions and SYNTAX score increased significantly（P<0.05）. The ejection fraction decreased significantly（P<0.05）. The BNP（Brain natriuretic peptide） and cTNT（cardiac troponin, cTn） concentration there was no significant difference between the two groups（P>0.05）. CPAP treatment（30.0±4.2） months later, Group B: CAPA + conventional treatment group, compared with the simple routine LSaO2, ejection fraction increased significantly（P<0.05）, AHI, cardiovascular adverse events, vascular lesions, SYNTAX score, the BNP and TNT concentration significantly reduced（P<0.05）; Group A: AHI, decreased significantly（P<0.05）, LSaO2increased significantly（P<0.05）, ejection fraction, cardiovascular adverse events, vascular lesions, SYNTAX score, there was no significant difference between the BNP and TNT concentration; Survival analysis showed that: Group A CPAP+conventional treatment group cumulative survival rate higher than the conventional treatment group, but there was no statistically significant difference（P=0.260）. Group B: CPAP+conventional treatment group total survival rate was significantly higher than that of the conventional treatment group（P<0.001）; Conclusion:With the increase of the severity of OSA, OSA merge CHD coronary artery pathological changes degree aggravating, CPAP therapeutic benefit the long-term prognosis of CHD.

Healthcare Satisfaction among Older Adults.

OBJECTIVE: This study seeks to examine how older adults rate and identify the importance of attributes associated with healthcare seeking and utilization (eg, affordability, type of facility, and accessibility) in the United States. METHODS: The empirical work of this cross-sectional study is based on the 2014 Health and Retirement Study. Conjoint analysis and cluster analysis are used to assess the objective. RESULTS: There is a pressing need for sound policies that seek to reduce the cost of treatment and consultation and to improve the accessibility of care facility for older adults even though satisfaction pertaining to these attributes (ie, affordability, type of facility, and accessibility) differs across clusters. CONCLUSION: The use of conjoint analysis in conjunction with cluster analysis can serve as a needs assessment tool to help policymakers and practitio- ners gauge older adults' expectations and priorities with respect to healthcare seeking and utilization. By taking the priorities of older adults into account, policymakers and practitioners can allocate healthcare resources more efficiently within budgetary constraints as they redesign and customize their program delivery approaches to meet the specific and relative healthcare needs of older adults in different clusters.

A persistent antimicrobial resistance pattern and limited methicillin-resistance-associated genotype in a short-term Staphylococcus aureus carriage isolated from a student population.

The aim of the present study was to assess and compare the antimicrobial susceptibility pattern against a panel of antibiotics and molecular and methicillin resistance-associated genotypes of 120 carriage S. aureus isolates previously isolated from a student population at two isolation events within a one-month interval. The antibiotic susceptibility of isolates was determined using the Kirby-Bauer disc-diffusion method (cefoxitin by Etest). The MRSA was screened using polymerase chain reaction for the presence of the mecA gene. The mecA-positive isolates were subjected to staphylococcal cassette chromosome (SCC) mec typing, multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and eBURST analysis. All isolates were characterized for the presence of the Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) gene, an enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus-polymerase chain reaction (ERIC-PCR) pattern and the spa type. For the two occasions where S. aureus was isolated, the highest frequency of resistance was observed for penicillin (70% and 65%, respectively), with a lower rate against erythromycin and tetracycline (<12%). All isolates were susceptible to ciprofloxacin and gentamycin. As for methicillin resistance, eight isolates had minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of resistant categories, but 10 isolates (8.33%) were positive for the mecA gene. The mecA-positive isolates belonged to SCCmec types I (n=9) and V (n=1). MLST was resolved for only three MRSAs, ST508 (n=1), ST88 (n=1) and ST96 (n=1). The results of the eBURST analysis showed that the MRSA isolates analyzed in the present study were potentially related to MRSA identified in other countries. Approximately half of the persistent S. aureus carriers harbored S. aureus of a similar spa type in the respective individuals during both isolation events. A persistent antimicrobial pattern and limited distinct MRSAs were observed over the short study period. The latter frequently exhibited SCCmec type I, commonly associated with hospital-acquired (HA) characteristics, but further delineation is needed to justify the origins of these bacteria.

Suppressed epidemics in multirelational networks.

A two-state epidemic model in networks with links mimicking two kinds of relationships between connected nodes is introduced. Links of weights w1 and w0 occur with probabilities p and 1-p, respectively. The fraction of infected nodes ρ(p) shows a nonmonotonic behavior, with ρ drops with p for small p and increases for large p. For small to moderate w1/w0 ratios, ρ(p) exhibits a minimum that signifies an optimal suppression. For large w1/w0 ratios, the suppression leads to an absorbing phase consisting only of healthy nodes within a range pL≤p≤pR, and an active phase with mixed infected and healthy nodes for ppR. A mean field theory that ignores spatial correlation is shown to give qualitative agreement and capture all the key features. A physical picture that emphasizes the intricate interplay between infections via w0 links and within clusters formed by nodes carrying the w1 links is presented. The absorbing state at large w1/w0 ratios results when the clusters are big enough to disrupt the spread via w0 links and yet small enough to avoid an epidemic within the clusters. A theory that uses the possible local environments of a node as variables is formulated. The theory gives results in good agreement with simulation results, thereby showing the necessity of including longer spatial correlations.