Protective HLA alleles against severe COVID-19: HLA-A*68 as an ancestral protection allele in Tapachula-Chiapas, Mexico.

HLA is a polymorphic antigen presenter which has provided valuable information on the susceptibility of populations to viruses. Therefore, the study of HLA can reveal specific susceptibility or resistance alleles to severe COVID-19 in an ethnically dependent manner. This pilot study investigated HLA alleles associated with COVID-19 severity in Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico. A total of 146 Mexican Mestizos were typed for HLA class I and II using PCR-SSP. The patients were classified according to the outcome (death or improvement) and the infection's severity (mild or severe). In addition, a group of exposed uninfected individuals was included. HLA-A*68 was found to be a protective allele against the severe infection and fatal outcome; pC = 0.03, OR = 0.4, 95% CI =0.20-0.86, and pC =0.009, OR = 0.3, 95% CI =0.13-0.71 respectively. HLA-DRB1*03 also appears to be a protective factor against fatal outcome pC = 0.009, OR = 0.1, 95%IC = 0.01-0.66; however, the low frequency of this allele in the studied population limits the statistical power. The severity and fatal outcome of COVID-19 patients in Tapachula, Chiapas depend more on the lack of resistance than susceptibility HLA alleles.

Impact of a Novel Social Work Program on Access to Tertiary Care.

Background: In the movement for global health equity, increased research and funding have not yet addressed a shortage of evidence on effectively implementing context-specific interventions; one unmet need is facilitating access to specialty care within the public health sector in Mexico. Compañeros en Salud has been piloting a novel program, called Right to Healthcare (RTHC), to increase access to specialty care for the rural poor in Chiapas, Mexico. The RTHC program incorporates social work, patient navigation, referrals, direct economic support, and accompaniment for patients. Objectives: This study evaluates the effectiveness of the RTHC program. Primary outcomes analyzed included acceptance of any referral and attendance of any appointment. Secondary outcomes included acceptance of the first referral and rate of appointment attendance for patients with an accepted referral. Methods: Using referral process data for the years 2014 to 2019 from a public tertiary care hospital in Chiapas, 91 RTHC patients were matched using 2:1 optimal pair matching with a control cohort balancing covariates of patient age, sex, specialty referred to, level of referring hospital, and municipality. Findings: RTHC patients were more likely to have had an accepted referral (OR 17.42, 95% CI 3.68 to 414.16) and to have attended an appointment (OR 5.49, 95% CI 2.93 to 11.60) compared to the matched control group. RTHC patients were also more likely to have had their first referral accepted (OR 2.78, 95% CI 1.29 to 6.73). Among patients with an accepted referral, RTHC patients were more likely to have attended an appointment (OR 3.86, 95% CI 1.90 to 8.57). Conclusions: The results demonstrate that the RTHC model is successful in increasing access to specialty care by both increasing referral acceptance and appointment attendance.

Risk Prediction of Death in Inpatient Adults With COVID-19 from Mexico.

Background: There is substantial variation in COVID-19 lethality across countries. In addition, in countries with populations with extreme economic inequalities, such as Mexico, there are regional and local differences in risk factors for COVID-19 death. The goal of this study was to test the hypothesis that the risk of death in Mexican COVID-19 patients was associated with the time between symptom onset and hospitalization and/or with the healthcare site. Also, death prognostic models were developed. Methods: The study included two COVID-19 inpatient cohorts, one prospective and one retrospective from Chiapas, Mexico. Demographic, clinical and laboratory variables were collected, and the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection was performed using RT-qPCR in samples collected seven days since symptom onset. The 30-day mortality, since symptom onset, was the outcome, and clinical variables at the first 48 hours of hospitalization were independent factors. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted. Results: Of the 392 patients included, 233 died (59.4%). The time between symptom onset and hospitalization, the healthcare site and sex were not related to the 30-day mortality. Three death prognostic models were developed (AUC between 0.726 and 0.807). Age, LDH, AST, and lymphocyte count were included in all models, OSI-WHO Classification (Non-invasive ventilation or high-flow oxygen, and mechanical ventilation with or without organ support/ECMO) and leukocyte count in two models, and diabetes and diarrhea in one model. Conclusion: The population evaluated had underlying deteriorated health before COVID-19 compared with regional and country population. The factors that determine the COVID-19 mortality risk in a relatively healthy population are sex, age and comorbidities. However, as this study shows, when populations have underlying poor health, some of these factors lose their associations with mortality risk, and others become more important.

Impacto del éxito en trasplantes debido al mantenimiento de órganos en terapia intensiva, a propósito de la primera donación multiorgánica en Chiapas, reporte de caso / Impact of success in transplants due to maintenance of organs in intensive therapy, apropos of the first multiorgan donation in Chiapas, case report / Impacto do êxito em transplantes devido a manutenção de órgãos na Unidade de Terapia Intensiva, a respeito da primeira doação multiorgânica em Chiapas, relato de caso

Resumen: Existe alta necesidad de órganos para trasplante en Chiapas y no hay registro previo de donación multiorgánica con fines de trasplante en el estado. Caso clínico: Hombre de 19 años con probable muerte encefálica debido a traumatismo craneoencefálico atendido en el IMSS y con imposibilidad de traslado a hospitales de tercer nivel, se coordinó la red chiapaneca de apoyo interinstitucional y en «Ciudad Salud¼ se diagnosticó muerte cerebral, se activó la red nacional de trasplantes y los equipos tardarían en llegar para procuración. El donador se mantuvo en terapia intensiva donde sus condiciones generales se mantuvieron de manera óptima, la donación fue exitosa gracias al apoyo multidisciplinario. Conclusión: En Chiapas la red de coordinación interinstitucional y el apoyo multidisciplinario fueron clave para la primera donación multiorgánica con fines de trasplante. El manejo en terapia intensiva fue crucial para el éxito de la donación.

Abstract: There is a high need of organs for transplantation in Chiapas and there is no previous registration of multiorgan donation for transplant purposes in the state. Case report: A 19 year old man with probably brain death due to traumatic brain injury treated at IMSS and unable to transfer to third level hospitals, the Chiapanecan interinstitutional support network was coordinated and in «Ciudad Salud¼, brain death was diagnosed, the national network of transplants was activated and the teams would arrive late for procurement, the donor stayed in Intensive Care Unit where their general conditions were maintained in optimal conditions, the donation was successful thanks to the multidisciplinary support. Conclusion: In Chiapas, the interinstitutional coordination network and multidisciplinary support were key for the first multiorgan donation for transplant purposes, the management in intensive care was crucial for the success of the donation.

Resumo: Há uma grande necessidade de órgãos para transplante em Chiapas e não há registro prévio de doação de múltiplos órgãos para fins de transplante no estado. Caso clínico: Homem de 19 anos com provável morte encefálica por traumatismo cranioencefálico tratado no IMSS e com inviabilidade de transferência para hospitais de terceiro nível, coordenou-se a rede Chiapaneca de apoio interinstitucional, na «Ciudad Salud¼ foi diagnosticada morte encefálica. Ativou-se a rede nacional de transplantes e as equipes chegariam atrasadas para a aquisição, o doador permaneceu em Terapia Intensiva onde suas condições gerais foram mantidas em condições ótimas, a doação foi bem sucedida graças ao apoio multidisciplinar. Conclusão: Em Chiapas a rede de coordenação interinstitucional e o apoio multidisciplinar foram fundamentais para a primeira doação de múltiplos órgãos para fins de transplante, o manejo em Terapia Intensiva foi fundamental para o sucesso da doação.