A quick access to information on influenza burden and prevention in Lyon university hospital: A prospective QR code-based information campaign in 2022-2023.

BACKGROUND: Influenza vaccines are effective in decreasing hospitalizations and mortality related to influenza and its complications. However, the Vaccine Coverage Rate of influenza remains low and multifaceted efforts are required to improve it. The aim of this study was to assess the impact on influenza vaccine perception using a digital tool among outpatients and health care workers (HCWs). METHODS: A study was performed among outpatients and the HCWs of 23 hospital departments from 4 hospitals affiliated to Lyon university Hospitals (France), between October 2022 and February 2023. By scanning QR (Quick Response) codes, displayed on posters for patients, their companions, as well as in the letters sent to HCWs, users accessed anonymously to a web-application (ELEFIGHT®), which provided information on influenza and invited them to initiate a discussion on influenza prevention with their physicians during the consultation. Patients were also invited to complete a questionnaire regarding their perception of influenza vaccination before and after reading the information on ELEFIGHT®. The retention rate (RR = proportion of people who remain on the page for >2 s), the conversion rate (CR = proportion of people who click on the "Call-To-Action" button) and the absolute variation (difference in the perception before/after) and relative variation (absolute change as a percentage of the initial perception) in perception regarding influenza vaccination before and after consulting the application were calculated. RESULTS: 3791 scans were performed by 3298 patients and/or their companions with a RR of 52% and a CR of 55.1% and 253 scans by 221 HCWs with a RR of 71.2% and a CR of 115.3%. Participants spent an average of 47 s on the application. The questionnaire on influenza vaccination perception was completed by 1533 participants (46.5%); 1390 (90.7%) maintained the same position (neutral, favorable or unfavorable) on this vaccination before and after consulting the application. The relative variations in favor of vaccination were + 7.2% (unfavorable then favorable) and + 19.8% (neutral then favorable). CONCLUSION: This study suggests that a facilitated direct access to medical information through QR codes disseminated in health settings can help nudge people to foster their awareness of influenza and its prevention. Future deployments in a similar context or to other populations could be envisaged. Other vaccine-preventable and/or chronic diseases could also be the target of similar projects as part of public health programs.

Range of trait variation in prey determines evolutionary contributions to predator growth rates.

Evolutionary and ecological dynamics can occur on similar timescales and thus influence each other. While it has been shown that the relative contribution of ecological and evolutionary change to population dynamics can vary, it still remains unknown what influences these differences. Here, we test whether prey populations with increased variation in their defence and competitiveness traits will have a stronger impact on evolution for predator growth rates. We controlled trait variation by pairing distinct clonal lineages of the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii with known traits as prey with the rotifer Brachionus calyciforus as predator and compared those results with a mechanistic model matching the empirical system. We measured the impact of evolution (shift in prey clonal frequency) and ecology (shift in prey population density) for predator growth rate and its dependency on trait variation using an approach based on a 2-way ANOVA. Our experimental results indicated that higher trait variation, i.e., a greater distance in trait space, increased the relative contribution of prey evolution to predator growth rate over 3-4 predator generations, which was also observed in model simulations spanning longer time periods. In our model, we also observed clone-specific results, where a more competitive undefended prey resulted in a higher evolutionary contribution, independent of the trait distance. Our results suggest that trait combinations and total prey trait variation combine to influence the contribution of evolution to predator population dynamics, and that trait variation can be used to identify and better predict the role of eco-evolutionary dynamics in predator-prey systems.

The Prognostic Value of Olfactory Dysfunction in Patients with COVID-19: The COVIDORA Study.

BACKGROUND: Among all studies describing COVID-19 clinical features during the first wave of the pandemic, only a few retrospective studies have assessed the correlation between olfac-tory dysfunction (OD) and the evolution of disease severity. The main aim was to assess whether OD is a predictive factor of COVID-19 severity based on the patient's medical management (outpa-tient care, standard hospital admission, and ICU admission). METHODS: A national, prospective, mul-ticenter cohort study was conducted in 20 public hospitals and a public center for COVID-19 screen-ing. During the first wave of the pandemic, from 6 April to 11 May 2020, all patients tested positive for COVID-19 confirmed by RT-PCR underwent two follow-up ENT consultations within 10 days of symptom onset. The main outcome measures were the evolution of medical management (out-patient care, standard hospital admission, and ICU admission) at diagnosis and along the clinical course of COVID-19 disease. RESULTS: Among 481 patients included, the prevalence of OD was 60.7%, and it affected mostly female patients (74.3%) under 65 years old (92.5%), with fewer comor-bidities than patients with normal olfactory function. Here, 99.3% (290/292) of patients with OD presented with non-severe COVID-19 disease. Patients reporting OD were significantly less hospi-talized than the ones managed as outpatients, in either a standard medical unit or an ICU. Conclu-sions: As regards the clinical course of COVID-19 disease, OD could predict a decreased risk of hospitalization during the first wave of the pandemic.