Impact of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic among health care workers in a secondary teaching hospital in Spain.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has posed a huge challenge to healthcare systems and their personnel worldwide. The study of the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection among healthcare workers (HCW), through prevalence studies, will let us know viral expansion, individuals at most risk and the most exposed areas in healthcare organizations. The aim of this study is to gauge the impact of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in our hospital workforce and identify groups and areas at increased risk. METHODS AND FINDINGS: This is a cross-sectional and incidence study carried out on healthcare workers based on molecular and serological diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Of the 3013 HCW invited to participate, 2439 (80.9%) were recruited, including 674 (22.4%) who had previously consulted at the Occupational Health Service (OHS) for confirmed exposure and/or presenting symptoms suggestive of COVID-19. A total of 411 (16.9%) and 264 (10.8%) healthcare workers were SARS-CoV-2 IgG and rRT-PCR positive, respectively. The cumulative prevalence considering all studies (IgG positive HCW and/or rRT-PCR positive detection) was 485 (19.9%). SARS-CoV-2 IgG-positive patients in whom the virus was not detected were 221 (9.1%); up to 151 of them (68.3%) did not report any compatible symptoms nor consult at the OHS for this reason. Men became more infected than women (25% vs 18.5%, p = 0.0009), including when data were also classified by age. COVID-19 cumulative prevalence among the HCW assigned to medical departments was higher (25.2%) than others, as well as among medical staff (25.4%) compared with other professional categories (p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on HCW of our centre has been 19.9%. Doctors and medical services personnel have had the highest prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection, but many of them have not presented compatible symptoms. This emphasizes the performance of continuous surveillance methods of the most exposed health personnel and not only based on the appearance of symptoms.

Influencia del informe de laboratorio en el diagnóstico de la disfunción tiroidea en la gestante: más allá del asterisco / The influence of the laboratory report on the diagnosis of thyroid dysfunction in pregnant women: beyond the asterisk

Introducción: La fisiología tiroidea sufre cambios adaptativos durante la gestación, haciendo necesario conocer los límites de normalidad de las hormonas tiroideas según la edad gestacional para una correcta interpretación, principalmente en la enfermedad tiroidea subclínica. Los sistemas de información de laboratorio (SIL) encuentran dificultades para informar rangos de referencia ante diferentes situaciones fisiopatológicas. La labor del facultativo del laboratorio es importante para desarrollar y diseñar herramientas que permitan identificar estas situaciones e interpretar los resultados de forma adecuada. Objetivo: Analizar si el cambio del SIL en nuestro servicio y la emisión del informe del laboratorio con la interpretación de los resultados, habían tenido repercusión sobre la identificación y el seguimiento de la disfunción tiroidea en las gestantes de nuestra área. Material y métodos: Se ha realizado un estudio retrospectivo transversal analizando los resultados de las analíticas de todas las gestantes de primer trimestre y a las que se les habían solicitado pruebas tiroideas en los siguientes 6 meses. Se realizaron 2 grupos, antes y después del cambio de SIL. Resultados: Los porcentajes de seguimiento fueron similares en los 2 grupos, excepto cuando la TSH era patológica para gestantes y normal para población general, es decir, cuando no salía asterisco. Conclusiones: Los rangos de referencia establecidos para población normal no identifican la enfermedad tiroidea subclínica en gestantes. Es imprescindible la intervención activa del facultativo del laboratorio en la valoración de estos resultados. En nuestro estudio un 50% más de las gestantes con hipotiroidismo subclínico se benefició de la estrategia que habíamos introducido

Introduction: Thyroid physiology undergoes adaptive changes during pregnancy, making it necessary to know the reference ranges of thyroid hormones according to gestational age for a correct interpretation, especially in subclinical thyroid disease. Laboratory information systems (LIS) have difficulty in reporting reference ranges (RR) in different pathophysiological situations. The work of the laboratory physician is important in developing and designing tools to identify these situations, and to make an appropriate interpretation of the results. Objective: To determine whether the change in the LIS in our department and the issue of the laboratory report with the interpretation of the results, had an impact on the identification and monitoring of thyroid dysfunction in pregnant women in our area. Material and methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was carried out by analysing the results of all first-trimester pregnant women and those on whom thyroid tests had been requested in the following six months. The pregnant women were divided into two groups, before and after the change of the LIS. Results: Follow-up percentages were similar in the two groups, except when TSH was abnormal for pregnant women and normal for the general population, that is, when there was no asterisk. Conclusions: The RRs established for the normal population do not identify sub-clinical thyroid disease in pregnant women. The active intervention of the laboratory physician is essential in the evaluation of these results. In our study, more than 50% of the pregnant women with sub-clinical hypothyroidism benefited from the strategy introduced

Preanalítica de orina de 24 horas: qué hacemos y qué deberíamos hacer / 24-Hour urine pre-analytical phase: what we do and what we should do

Introducción. Ante la necesidad de estandarizar los procedimientos de recogida, transporte, manejo y análisis de muestras de orina de 24 h, se han elaborado guías internacionales con una serie de recomendaciones que deberían ser adaptadas a cada laboratorio según sus circunstancias. Objetivo. Conocer el grado de cumplimiento de estas recomendaciones en laboratorios españoles. Material y métodos. Se realizó una encuesta a través de la página web de la Sociedad Española de Bioquímica Clínica y Patología Molecular sobre los diferentes procesos preanalíticos en el manejo de la orina de 24 h. Resultados. Se obtuvieron respuestas de 50 laboratorios, dos de los cuales no eran españoles. Aunque mayoritariamente los laboratorios proporcionan información acerca de la recogida de la muestra, existe variabilidad en la forma de hacerlo. Estas diferencias se observan en aspectos como el acceso de los pacientes a los contenedores de recogida de orina con y sin conservante, la forma de entregar la muestra, el registro de la información asociada y los criterios de rechazo de una muestra no recogida de forma correcta. Conclusiones. Existe variabilidad en el cumplimiento de las recomendaciones internacionales. Un posible sesgo de esta encuesta es que los participantes en ella sean los que más motivados estén por este tema, y por tanto más fieles al cumplimiento de estas normas, por lo que la variabilidad detectada podría ser aún mayor. Finalmente, se revisan las principales recomendaciones para la estandarización de todo el proceso, con el fin de obtener una muestra de calidad que asegure unos buenos resultados (AU)

Introduction. Given the need to standardise procedures for the collection, transportation, handling, and analysis of 24-hour urine specimens, international guidelines have been developed with a series of recommendations that should be adapted to each laboratory depending on its circumstances. Objective. To determine the level of compliance to these recommendations in Spanish laboratories. Material and methods. A survey was carried out, through the website of the Spanish Society of Clinical Biochemistry and Molecular Pathology, on the different pre-analytical procedures in the management of 24hour urine specimens. Results. A total of 50 laboratories responded, two of which were not Spanish. Although most laboratories provide information about the collection of the specimen, there is variability in how this is done. Differences were observed in areas such as, patient access to containers for collecting urine without preservative, how to deliver the specimen, recording the associated information, and rejection criteria of a specimen not collected correctly. Conclusions. There is variability in compliance with international recommendations. A possible bias of the survey is that the participants were those who are more motivated by this issue, and therefore more faithful compliance with these standards, thus the variability detected could be even higher. Finally, the main recommendations for the standardisation of the entire procedure is reviewed in order to obtain a specimen quality to ensure good results (AU)

Recomendación del uso de ecuaciones de corrección de valores de potasio en presencia de interferencia por hemólisis / Recommendation on the use of correction equations for potassium levels in haemolysed samples

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