Accessing needed sexual health services during the COVID-19 pandemic in British Columbia, Canada: a survey of sexual health service clients.

OBJECTIVES: We assessed COVID-19 pandemic impacts on accessing needed sexual health services, and acceptability of alternative service delivery models, among sexual health service clients in British Columbia (BC), Canada. METHODS: We administered an online survey on 21 July-4 August 2020 to clients using a provincial STI clinic or internet-based testing service, GetCheckedOnline, in the year prior to March 2020. We used logistic regression to identify factors associated with having unmet sexual health needs (ie, not accessing needed services) during March-July 2020 and the likelihood of using various alternative service models, if available. RESULTS: Of 1198 survey respondents, 706 (59%) reported needing any sexual health service since March 2020; of these 706, 365 (52%) did not access needed services and 458 (66%) had avoided or delayed accessing services. GetCheckedOnline users (univariate OR (uOR)=0.62; 95% CI 0.43 to 0.88) or clients with more urgent needs (eg, treatment for new STI, uOR 0.40 (95% CI 0.21 to 0.7)) had lower odds of unmet sexual health needs. The most common factors reported for avoiding or delaying access were public messaging against seeking non-urgent healthcare (234/662, 35%), concern about getting COVID-19 while at (214/662, 32%) or travelling to (147/662, 22%) a clinic or lab and closure of usual place of accessing services (178/662, 27%). All factors were positively associated with having unmet sexual health needs, with public messaging showing the strongest effect (adjusted OR=4.27 (95% CI 2.88 to 6.42)). Likelihood of using alternative sexual health service models was high overall, with the most appealing options being home self-collection kits (634/706, 90%), receiving test kits or antibiotics at home (592/700, 85%) and express testing (565/706, 80%). CONCLUSIONS: Of BC sexual health service clients needing services during March-July 2020, many had unmet needs. Offering alternative service delivery methods may help to improve access during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

Self-Collected Saline Gargle Samples as an Alternative to Health Care Worker-Collected Nasopharyngeal Swabs for COVID-19 Diagnosis in Outpatients.

We assessed the performance, stability, and user acceptability of swab-independent self-collected saliva and saline mouth rinse/gargle sample types for the molecular detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in adults and school-aged children. Outpatients who had recently been diagnosed with COVID-19 or were presenting with suspected COVID-19 were asked to have a nasopharyngeal (NP) swab collected and provide at least one self-collected sample type. Participants were also asked about sample acceptability using a five-point Likert scale. For those previously diagnosed with COVID-19, all samples underwent real-time PCR testing using a lab-developed assay, and the majority were also tested using an FDA-authorized assay. For those presenting with suspected COVID-19, only those with a positive nasopharyngeal swab sample went on to have other samples tested. Saline mouth rinse/gargle and saliva samples were tested daily at time zero, day 1, and day 2 to assess nucleic acid stability at room temperature. Fifty participants (aged 4 to 71 years) were included; of these, 40 had at least one positive sample and were included in the primary sample yield analysis. Saline mouth rinse/gargle samples had a sensitivity of 98% (39/40), while saliva samples had a sensitivity of 79% (26/33). Both saline mouth rinse/gargle and saliva samples showed stable viral RNA detection after 2 days of room temperature storage. Mouth rinse/gargle samples had the highest (mean, 4.9) and health care worker (HCW)-collected NP swabs had the lowest acceptability scores (mean, 3.1). In conclusion, saline mouth rinse/gargle samples demonstrated higher combined user acceptability ratings and analytical performance than saliva and HCW-collected NP swabs. This sample type is a promising swab-independent option, particularly for outpatient self-collection in adults and school-aged children.

Population-Level Outcomes of Partner Notification Among Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Report Sex With Men Diagnosed With Infectious Syphilis in British Columbia, Canada.

BACKGROUND: Syphilis testing, treatment, and partner notification (PN) are centrally coordinated in British Columbia (BC), Canada. Public health (PH) nurses (PHNs) contact almost all syphilis patients and either notify partners of syphilis exposure (PH-initiated PN) or support patients to notify their own partners (patient-initiated PN). In the context of an ongoing syphilis epidemic among gay, bisexual, and other men who report sex with men (gbMSM), we measured population-level yields and compared PN approaches to inform prevention and control efforts. METHODS: All gbMSM diagnosed with infectious syphilis in 2016 in BC were included. We calculated indicators of engagement with PN among patients and PN outcomes among notifiable partners using a cascade-of-care framework. χ2 Tests compared indicators between PN approaches. RESULTS: Of the 759 syphilis diagnoses, 85.4% (648/759) were among gbMSM and 94.7% (614/648) were treated within 30 days of testing (mean [SD], 5.5 [5.2] days). Among patients, 87.7% (568/648) discussed PN with PHNs and 49.5% (281/568) named at least 1 notifiable partner, for a total of 1094 partners (mean [SD], 3.9 [5.5] partners/patient). Compared with PH-initiated PN, patient-initiated PN resulted in a greater proportion of partners notified (70.1% [573/817] vs. 89.8% [211/235]; P = 1.88 × 10-9), but there was no difference in the proportion of partners tested and/or treated (90.2% [517/573] vs. 86.7% [183/211]; P = 0.203), and diagnosed (12.8% [66/517] vs. 16.4% [30/183]; P > 0.271). CONCLUSIONS: Public health- and patient-initiated PN had similarly high yields of partners tested and/or treated, and diagnosed, demonstrating that gbMSM can contribute to syphilis PN when supported by resource-equipped PHNs.

5-grass-pollen SLIT effectiveness in seasonal allergic rhinitis: Impact of sensitization to subtropical grass pollen.

Background: Temperate grass (eg, ryegrass) pollen is a major driver of seasonal allergic rhinitis (SAR) and asthma risks, including thunderstorm asthma. Data for the effectiveness of temperate grass pollen allergen immunotherapy (AIT) in SAR patients from the southern hemisphere, who are frequently polysensitized to subtropical grass pollens, are limited. The 300 IR 5-grass pollen sublingual immunotherapy tablet (300 IR 5-grass SLIT) is known to be effective in polysensitized SAR patients with primary allergy to temperate grasses, however, the influence of polysensitization to subtropical grass pollen on treatment responses has yet to be specifically addressed. Key aims of this study were to measure patient treatment satisfaction during 300 IR 5-grass SLIT treatment and evaluate how polysensitization to subtropical grass pollens affects treatment responses. Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted in 63 patients (aged ≥5 years) in several temperate regions of Australia prescribed 300 IR 5-grass SLIT for SAR over 3 consecutive grass pollen seasons. Ambient levels of pollen were measured at representative sites. Patient treatment satisfaction was assessed using a QUARTIS questionnaire. Rhinoconjunctivitis Total Symptom Score (RTSS) and a Hodges-Lehmann Estimator analysis was performed to evaluate if polysensitization to subtropical grass pollen affected SAR symptom intensity changes during SLIT. Results: A diagnosis of ryegrass pollen allergy was nearly universal. There were 74.6% (47/63) polysensitized to subtropical and temperate grass pollens. There were 23.8% (15/63) monosensitized to temperate grass pollens. From the first pollen season, statistically significant improvements occurred in SAR symptoms compared with baseline in both monosensitized and polysensitized patients, particularly in those polysensitized (P = 0.0297). Improvements in SAR symptoms were sustained and similar in both groups in the second and third pollen seasons, reaching 70-85% improvement (P < 0.01). Polysensitized patients from both northerly and southerly temperate regions in Australia showed similar improvements. Grass pollen counts in both regions were consistently highest during springtime. Conclusions: 300 IR 5-grass SLIT is effective in a real-life setting in SAR patients in the southern hemisphere with primary allergy to temperate grass pollen and predominantly springtime grass pollen exposures. Importantly, SLIT treatment effectiveness was irrespective of the patient's polysensitization status to subtropical grass pollens.

Nickel exposure reduces enterobactin production in Escherichia coli.

Escherichia coli is a well-studied bacterium that can be found in many niches, such as industrial wastewater, where the concentration of nickel can rise to low-millimolar levels. Recent studies show that nickel exposure can repress pyochelin or induce pyoverdine siderophore production in Pseudomonas aueroginosa. Understanding the molecular cross-talk between siderophore production, metal homeostasis, and metal toxicity in microorganisms is critical for designing bioremediation strategies for metal-contaminated sites. Here, we show that high-nickel exposure prolongs lag phase duration as a result of low-intracellular iron levels in E. coli. Although E. coli cells respond to low-intracellular iron during nickel stress by maintaining high expression of iron uptake systems such as fepA, the demand for iron is not met due to a lack of siderophores in the extracellular medium during nickel stress. Taken together, these results indicate that nickel inhibits iron accumulation in E. coli by reducing the presence of enterobactin in the extracellular medium.

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia in very low birth weight subjects and lung function in late adolescence.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this work was to determine the relationship between lung function in late adolescence and bronchopulmonary dysplasia, to establish whether lung function changed more from earlier in childhood in those with bronchopulmonary dysplasia, and to assess the effect of different definitions of bronchopulmonary dysplasia on respiratory outcome. METHODS: Subjects were composed of 147 survivors of birth weight <1500 g from the Royal Women's Hospital (Melbourne, Australia) born during 1977-1982 and who had lung function tests at a mean age of 18.9 years. Of the 147 subjects, 33 (22%) had bronchopulmonary dysplasia in the newborn period. Lung function was measured according to American Thoracic Society guidelines. RESULTS: All of the lung function variables reflecting airflow were substantially diminished in the bronchopulmonary dysplasia group, but lung volumes were not significantly different. More subjects in the bronchopulmonary dysplasia group had reductions in airflow in the clinically significant range (eg, forced expired volume in 1 second/forced vital capacity ratio <75%; bronchopulmonary dysplasia: 42.4% [14 of 33]; and no bronchopulmonary dysplasia: 16.4% [18/114]). Results were not substantially affected after adjustment for confounding variables, including intrauterine growth restriction or birth weight. Compared with earlier in childhood, the forced expired volume in 1 second/forced vital capacity ratio deteriorated more in bronchopulmonary dysplasia subjects between 8 and 18 years. Lung function results varied little with different definitions of bronchopulmonary dysplasia. CONCLUSIONS: Subjects of very low birth weight with bronchopulmonary dysplasia in the newborn period have poorer lung function in late adolescence than those without bronchopulmonary dysplasia, and their lung function may be deteriorating at a more rapid rate.

Health and hospitalistions after discharge in extremely low birth weight infants.

Apart from higher rates of mortality and adverse neurosensory outcome, extremely low birth weight (ELBW, birth weight 500-999 g) children have more hospital readmissions and other health problems in the early years after discharge than do normal birth weight (NBW, birth weight >2499 g) children. Respiratory illnesses, including lower respiratory infections, are the dominant cause for hospital readmission. ELBW survivors with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) have even more ill-health and hospital readmissions than do ELBW survivors without BPD. ELBW survivors require closer surveillance after discharge, not only for adverse neurosensory outcome, but also for other general health problems in early childhood.