Meteorological factors and El Nino Southern Oscillation are associated with paediatric varicella infections in Hong Kong, 2004-2010.

Varicella accounts for substantial morbidities and remains a public health issue worldwide, especially in children. Little is known about the effect of meteorological variables on varicella infection risk for children. This study described the epidemiology of paediatric varicella notifications in Hong Kong from 2004 to 2010, and explored the association between paediatric varicella notifications in children aged <18 years and various meteorological factors using a time-stratified case-crossover model, with adjustment of potential confounding factors. The analysis found that daily mean temperature, atmospheric pressure and Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) were positively associated with paediatric varicella notifications. We found that an interquartile range (IQR) increase in temperature (8·38°C) at lag 1 day, a 9·50 hPa increase in atmospheric pressure for the current day, and a 21·91 unit increase in SOI for the current day may lead to an increase in daily cases of 5·19% [95% confidence interval (CI) 1·90-8·58], 5·77% (95% CI 3·01-8·61), and 4·32% (95% CI 2·98-5·68), respectively. An IQR increase in daily relative humidity (by 11·96%) was associated with a decrease in daily paediatric varicella (-2·79%, 95% CI -3·84 to -1·73). These findings suggest that meteorological factors might be important predictors of paediatric varicella infection in Hong Kong.

Varicella vaccine uptake and associated factors in children in Hong Kong.

Varicella is a common and highly contagious childhood disease which impacts the public worldwide. Hong Kong children can only be vaccinated against the disease in private practice. The varicella vaccination rate of local children in preschool is uncertain. Therefore a cross-sectional kindergarten-based parent-administered questionnaire survey was conducted in Hong Kong during 2012. Twelve kindergartens were randomly selected from a complete school list from the Education Bureau of Hong Kong. In total, 1285/1538 (83·6%) parents consented to join the study and completed the questionnaires. The overall varicella infection rate was 19·5% and the uptake of varicella vaccination rate was 57·6%. Barriers against varicella vaccination were mostly due to parental uncertainties about the effectiveness of vaccine, lack of recommendations from doctors or government, and adverse side-effects of the vaccine. The government and healthcare professional bodies are strongly recommended to further enhance health education among healthcare professionals, encouraging their active promotion of varicella vaccination for their patients. Furthermore, health education through various stakeholders is crucial to enhance parental awareness of varicella, as well as the effectiveness and safety of varicella vaccine.

High morbidity and mortality in adults hospitalized for respiratory syncytial virus infections.

BACKGROUND: Better understanding of complications and outcomes of adults hospitalized with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection is necessary. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted on all adults (≥ 18 years) admitted to 3 acute care general hospitals in Hong Kong with virologically confirmed RSV infection during 2009-2011 (N = 607). Adults hospitalized for seasonal influenza during the period were used for comparison (n = 547). Both infections were prospectively diagnosed following a standard protocol. Independent reviews of chest radiographs were performed by radiologists. Main outcome measures were all-cause death, respiratory failure requiring ventilatory support, and hospitalization duration. Cox proportional hazards models were used for analyses. RESULTS: The mean age of RSV patients was 75 (SD, 16) years; 87% had underlying conditions. Lower respiratory and cardiovascular complications were diagnosed in 71.9% (pneumonia, 42.3%; acute bronchitis, 21.9%; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease/asthma exacerbation, 27.3%) and 14.3% of patients, respectively; 12.5% had bacterial superinfections. Supplemental oxygen and ventilatory support were required in 67.9% and 11.1%, respectively. Crude all-cause mortality was 9.1% and 11.9% within 30 days and 60 days, respectively; mean length of stay of survivors was 12 (SD, 13) days. Advanced age, radiographic pneumonia, requirement for ventilation, bacterial superinfection, and elevated urea level and white blood cell count were independently associated with poorer survival. Systemic corticosteroid use was associated with longer hospitalization and secondary infections. The overall outcomes of survival and length of stay were not significantly different from those in influenza. CONCLUSIONS: RSV can cause severe lower respiratory complications in older adults, resulting in respiratory failure, prolonged hospitalization, and high mortality similar to seasonal influenza. Corticosteroids did not seem to improve outcomes. The unmet need for antiviral therapy and vaccination against RSV in adults should be promptly addressed.

A randomized non-inferiority study comparing the addition of exenatide twice daily to sitagliptin or switching from sitagliptin to exenatide twice daily in patients with type 2 diabetes experiencing inadequate glycaemic control on metformin and sitagliptin.

AIMS: To test the hypothesis that glycaemic control achieved when switching sitagliptin to exenatide twice daily plus metformin is non-inferior to adding exenatide twice daily to sitagliptin and metformin. METHODS: Patients with Type 2 diabetes inadequately controlled with sitagliptin plus metformin were randomly assigned to 20 weeks of treatment with twice-daily exenatide plus placebo and metformin (SWITCH, n = 127) or twice-daily exenatide plus sitagliptin and metformin (ADD, n = 128). RESULTS: Non-inferiority (0.4% margin) of SWITCH to ADD treatment, measured by change in HbA(1c) from baseline to week 20, was not shown {between-treatment difference in least-squares mean [95% CI 3 mmol/mol (0.30%)] [0.8-5.8 (0.07-0.53)]}. A greater reduction (P = 0.012) in HbA(1c) [least-squares mean (se)] was experienced by patients in the ADD group {-7 mmol/mol [-0.68%] [0.9 (0.08)]}, compared with those in the SWITCH group {-4 mmol/mol [-0.38%] [1.0 (0.09)]} and a greater proportion (P = 0.027) of patients in the ADD group (41.7%) reached < 7.0% (< 53 mmol/mol) HbA(1c) target, compared with those in the SWITCH group (26.6%) by week 20. Patients in the ADD group experienced greater fasting serum glucose (P = 0.038) and daily mean postprandial self-monitored blood glucose (P = 0.048) reductions, compared with patients in the SWITCH group, by week 20. Patients in both groups experienced a lower incidence of nausea and vomiting compared with previous exenatide studies. CONCLUSIONS: Non-inferiority of SWITCH to ADD treatment was not supported by the results of this study. In patients with Type 2 diabetes inadequately controlled with sitagliptin plus metformin, adding exenatide provided better glycaemic control than switching to exenatide. These results are consistent with the clinical approach that adding is better than switching to another oral anti-hyperglycaemic medication.

Systematic review with meta-analysis: faecal occult blood tests show lower colorectal cancer detection rates in the proximal colon in colonoscopy-verified diagnostic studies.

BACKGROUND: The performance of faecal occult blood tests (FOBTs) to screen proximally located colorectal cancer (CRC) has produced inconsistent results. AIM: To assess in a meta-analysis, the diagnostic accuracy of FOBTs for relative detection of CRC according to anatomical location of CRC. METHODS: Diagnostic studies including both symptomatic and asymptomatic cohorts assessing performance of FOBTs for CRC were searched from MEDINE and EMBASE. Primary outcome was accuracy of FOBTs according to the anatomical location of CRC. Bivariate random-effects model was used. Subgroup analyses were performed to evaluate test performance of guaiac-based FOBT (gFOBT) and immunochemical-based FOBT (iFOBT). RESULTS: Thirteen studies, with 17 cohorts, reporting performance of FOBT were included; a total of 26 342 patients (mean age 58.9 years; 58.1% male) underwent both colonoscopy and FOBT. Pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio and negative likelihood ratio of FOBTs for CRC detection in the proximal colon were 71.2% (95% CI 61.3-79.4%), 93.6% (95% CI 90.7-95.7%), 11.1 (95% CI 7.8-15.8) and 0.3 (95% CI 0.2-0.4) respectively. Corresponding findings for CRC detection in distal colon were 80.1% (95% CI 70.9-87.0%), 93.6% (95% CI 90.7-95.7%), 12.6 (95% CI 8.8-18.1) and 0.2 (95% CI 0.1-0.3). The area-under-curve for FOBT detection for proximal and distal CRC were 90% vs. 94% (P = 0.0143). Both gFOBT and iFOBT showed significantly lower sensitivity but comparable specificity for the detection of proximally located CRC compared with distal CRC. CONCLUSION: Faecal occult blood tests, both guaiac- and immunochemical-based, show better diagnostic performance for the relative detection of colorectal cancer in the distal colon than in the proximal bowel.