The clinical utility of polygenic risk scores in genomic medicine practices: a systematic review.

Genomic medicine aims to improve health using the individual genomic data of people to inform care. While clinical utility of genomic medicine in many monogenic, Mendelian disorders is amply demonstrated, clinical utility is less evident in polygenic traits, e.g., coronary artery disease or breast cancer. Polygenic risk scores (PRS) are subsets of individual genotypes designed to capture heritability of common traits, and hence to allow the stratification of risk of the trait in a population. We systematically reviewed the PubMed database for unequivocal evidence of clinical utility of polygenic risk scores, using stringent inclusion and exclusion criteria. While we identified studies demonstrating clinical validity in conditions where medical intervention based on a PRS is likely to benefit patient outcome, we did not identify a single study demonstrating unequivocally such a benefit, i.e. clinical utility. We conclude that while the routine use of PRSs hold great promise, translational research is still needed before they should enter mainstream clinical practice.

Host-Based Diagnostics for Acute Respiratory Infections.

PURPOSE: The inappropriate use of antimicrobials, especially in acute respiratory infections (ARIs), is largely driven by difficulty distinguishing bacterial, viral, and noninfectious etiologies of illness. A new frontier in infectious disease diagnostics looks to the host response for disease classification. This article examines how host response-based diagnostics for ARIs are being used in clinical practice, as well as new developments in the research pipeline. METHODS: A limited search was conducted of the relevant literature, with emphasis placed on literature published in the last 5 years (2014-2019). FINDINGS: Advances are being made in all areas of host response-based diagnostics for ARIs. Specifically, there has been significant progress made in single protein biomarkers, as well as in various "omics" fields (including proteomics, metabolomics, and transcriptomics) and wearable technologies. There are many potential applications of a host response-based approach; a few key examples include the ability to discriminate bacterial and viral disease, presymptomatic diagnosis of infection, and pathogen-specific host response diagnostics, including modeling disease progression. IMPLICATIONS: As biomarker measurement technologies continue to improve, host response-based diagnostics will increasingly be translated to clinically available platforms that can generate a holistic characterization of an individual's health. This knowledge, in the hands of both patient and provider, can improve care for the individual patient and help fight rising rates of antibiotic resistance.

Road Traffic Injury Prevention Initiatives: A Systematic Review and Metasummary of Effectiveness in Low and Middle Income Countries.

BACKGROUND: Road traffic injuries (RTIs) are a growing but neglected global health crisis, requiring effective prevention to promote sustainable safety. Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) share a disproportionately high burden with 90% of the world's road traffic deaths, and where RTIs are escalating due to rapid urbanization and motorization. Although several studies have assessed the effectiveness of a specific intervention, no systematic reviews have been conducted summarizing the effectiveness of RTI prevention initiatives specifically performed in LMIC settings; this study will help fill this gap. METHODS: In accordance with PRISMA guidelines we searched the electronic databases MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science, TRID, Lilacs, Scielo and Global Health. Articles were eligible if they considered RTI prevention in LMICs by evaluating a prevention-related intervention with outcome measures of crash, RTI, or death. In addition, a reference and citation analysis was conducted as well as a data quality assessment. A qualitative metasummary approach was used for data analysis and effect sizes were calculated to quantify the magnitude of emerging themes. RESULTS: Of the 8560 articles from the literature search, 18 articles from 11 LMICs fit the eligibility and inclusion criteria. Of these studies, four were from Sub-Saharan Africa, ten from Latin America and the Caribbean, one from the Middle East, and three from Asia. Half of the studies focused specifically on legislation, while the others focused on speed control measures, educational interventions, enforcement, road improvement, community programs, or a multifaceted intervention. CONCLUSION: Legislation was the most common intervention evaluated with the best outcomes when combined with strong enforcement initiatives or as part of a multifaceted approach. Because speed control is crucial to crash and injury prevention, road improvement interventions in LMIC settings should carefully consider how the impact of improvements will affect speed and traffic flow. Further road traffic injury prevention interventions should be performed in LMICs with patient-centered outcomes in order to guide injury prevention in these complex settings.