ANTI-NUCLEOCAPSIDE IgG ANTIBODIES: A POTENTIAL MARKER FOR A MORE ACCURATE EPIDEMIOLOGICAL MONITORING OF SARS-COV-2 INFECTION

On March 11th, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the pandemic status of CoronaVirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2. Viral nucleic acid detection using molecular testing is the gold standard to diagnose SARS-CoV-2 infection. Asymptomatic subjects or with mild symptoms may not be subjected to molecular diagnostic tests with important repercussions on epidemiological estimate. The overall evolution especially of post-pandemic dynamics, will be probably obtained by the detection of immune response. Humoral immune response against the nucleocapsid (N) protein is related to SARS-CoV-2 infection. The detection of these antibodies could discriminate cases with from cases without history of COVID-19 for a more accurate evaluation of population exposed to SARSCoV-2. In this retrospective study, we evaluated four subclasses of SARS-CoV-2 IgG (anti-S1, anti-S2, anti-RBD, anti-N) in n.200 blood samples (February-March 2022) of health workers of Azienda Sanitaria Provinciale (ASP) di Ragusa, already vaccinated against Covid-19 in the period February-March 2022. A statistically significant association between SARS-CoV-2 infection and seropositivity to anti-N IgG (p-value <0.0001) was found. In order to evaluate the SARS-CoV-2 anti-N antibodies titer trend, the cases with a positive history for COVID-19 were classified as follows: cases with infection within three months and cases with infection after three months from serological test.No statistically association (p-value= 0.075) was found between seropositivity to anti-N IgG and SARS-CoV-2 infection within and after three months. We observed that approximately 30% of cases with a history for COVID-19 was seronegative for anti-N IgG within three months from infection.In post-pandemic period the evaluation of anti-N IgG in a time interval of less than three months could identify asymptomatic population exposed to SARS-CoV-2. Although our findings should be validated with a larger cohort, these results suggest that anti-N IgG might be used as a marker of early infection and assure a more accurate epidemiological estimate.

INEQUITIES IN PHYSICAL DISTANCING PRACTICES IN THE US WORKPLACE DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

SESSION TITLE: What Lessons Will We Take From the Pandemic? SESSION TYPE: Rapid Fire Original Inv PRESENTED ON: 10/19/2022 11:15 am - 12:15 pm PURPOSE: Physical distancing is a fundamental community mitigation strategy that averts adverse health outcomes from COVID-19 and other transmissible illnesses. Despite national policies in place, racial/ethnic minority groups and individuals with lower socioeconomic status had disproportionately worse COVID-19 outcomes. Barriers to adherence to these public health recommendations may underlie some of these disparities. We, therefore, examined physical distancing practices according to racial/ethnic group, educational attainment, and income level in the US. METHODS: The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), an annual cross-sectional survey that collects health indicators for noninstitutionalized civilians, was queried for adult respondents interviewed in 2020. We included adults who were working at any point in the past 12 months prior to the interview. Respondents working the week prior to the interview were identified in subgroup analyses. The outcomes of interest were rates of self-reported physical distancing measures in the workplace and non-adherence to these measures. Sample-weighted proportions and 95% confidence intervals were estimated and Pearson χ2 tests (α=0.05) were conducted to compare outcomes across racial/ethnic, educational, and income categories. Data were publicly available and deidentified, therefore institutional review was not sought. RESULTS: 9,501 respondents aged ≥18 years reported working at any point in the past 12 months prior to the interview. After weighting, 88.3% (n=8,427) reported having physical distancing measures in the workplace. In subgroup analyses of 8,394 individuals who worked in the last week, 91.2% (n=7,713) reported currently having physical distancing measures in the workplace. Rates of having social distancing measures in the workplace were higher with increasing educational attainment and income level (Table). Black and Hispanic individuals worked at places with higher rates of non-adherence to physical distancing measures compared with White and Asian respondents. Rates of non-adherence to physical distancing in the workplace were lower with increasing educational attainment and income level (Table). CONCLUSIONS: In 2020, higher rates of having physical distancing measures in the workplace were seen among more educated and higher-income individuals. Higher rates of non-adherence to these measures at the place of work were seen among Black and Hispanic individuals and those with lower educational attainment and income level. Limitations of this study include the self-reported nature of data, small sample sizes of some minority populations, and lack of granularity in work settings. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Varying working conditions are possible barriers to adherence to public policies. Future efforts are needed to elucidate and mitigate the factors behind inequities in the ability to adhere to public health recommendations and disparities in health outcomes. DISCLOSURES: No relevant relationships by Deepak Bhatt No relevant relationships by Edward Christopher Dee No relevant relationships by Enrico Ferro No relevant relationships by Bhav Jain No relevant relationships by Bisola Ojikutu No relevant relationships by Joseph Alexander Paguio No relevant relationships by Jasper Seth Yao

Level of satisfaction of online classes by students of Physical Education of Chile in times of pandemic

Introduction: In Chile the first case of COVID-19 was diagnosed on March 3, 2020 and on the eighteenth of the same month the president decreed state of catastrophe, so that classes at school and university level went from the presence to the virtuality.The present study aims to know the level of satisfaction of the virtual classes of the students of Physical Education. Methodology: Quantitative, non experimental, transversal.The sample consisted of 542 students of Physical Education from different study houses in Chile.The Satisfaction scale online classes was adapted and validated. Results: there are significant differences comparing theoretical and practical subjects, with theoretical chairs being better valued. Differences were also found by sex, where males have a more negative perception about virtual classes and when comparing by course, freshmen have a more positive perception about virtual classes in relation to higher courses. Conclusions: there is a resistance on the part of students to virtual classes in Physical Education, because, although significant differences were found between the theoretical and practical subjects, values were always around 3 on a scale of 1 to 5. Future research with other variables such as physical activity, stress levels and strategies for the teaching of Virtual Physical Education are necessary. © Copyright: Federación Española deAsociaciones de Docentes de Educación Física (FEADEF)

Intentional Hydroxychloroquine Overdose Treated with High-Dose Diazepam: an Increasing Concern in the COVID-19 Pandemic.

INTRODUCTION: Recent attention on the possible use of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine to treat COVID-19 disease has potentially triggered a number of overdoses from hydroxychloroquine. Toxicity from hydroxychloroquine manifests with cardiac conduction abnormalities, seizure activity, and muscle weakness. Recognizing this toxidrome and unique management of this toxicity is important in the COVID-19 pandemic. CASE REPORT: A 27-year-old man with a history of rheumatoid arthritis presented to the emergency department 7 hours after an intentional overdose of hydroxychloroquine. Initial presentation demonstrated proximal muscle weakness. The patient was found to have a QRS complex of 134 ms and QTc of 710 ms. He was treated with early orotracheal intubation and intravenous diazepam boluses. Due to difficulties formulating continuous diazepam infusions, we opted to utilize an intermitted intravenous bolus strategy that achieved similar effects that a continuous infusion would. The patient recovered without residual side effects. DISCUSSION: Hydroxychloroquine toxicity is rare but projected to increase in frequency given its selection as a potential modality to treat COVID-19 disease. It is important for clinicians to recognize the unique effects of hydroxychloroquine poisoning and initiate appropriate emergency maneuvers to improve the outcomes in these patients.