Population well-being and the COVID-19 vaccination program in Chile: evidence from Google Trends.

OBJECTIVE: We analyze the dynamics of the mental well-being of the Chilean population in response to the progress of the vaccination strategy implemented by the government. STUDY DESIGN: This study aims at investigating the possibility of using Google Trends as an instrument for tracking mental well-being of the Chilean population. METHODS: We use the volume of searches for keywords in Google Trends (GT) related to Anguish, Anxiety, Depression, and Stress as a proxy for population well-being. Using event study methods, we analyze social attention reactions to news about the vaccination program. We implement a Difference-in-Difference-in-Differences estimation to estimate changes in population welfare by socio-economic status induced by the progress of inoculation. RESULTS: We show that social attention to mental health problems is sensitive to news about the vaccination program. Moreover, and most importantly, we find that mental well-being responds positively to the percentage of inoculated people. This phenomenon appear to be permanent and affected by socio-economic status, with the wealthier population experiencing greater improvements than the less wealthy. CONCLUSIONS: During the COVID-19 vaccination program in Chile, social attention to mental health problems appears to be sensitive to news about the vaccination program. There is also strong evidence of socio-economic status-induced heterogeneity in population responses to program implementation. The above phenomena appears to be permanent and cannot be attributed to either socio-economic segregation in access to vaccines or to the highly stratified schedule of the vaccination program.

Software Tools For Systematic Literature Review In Medicine: A Review And Feature Analysis

Introduction. Systematic reviews (SRs) are central to evaluating therapies but have high costs in time and money. Many software tools exist to assist with SRs, but most tools do not support the full process, and transparency and replicability of SR depends on performing and presenting evidence according to established best practices. In order to provide a basis for comparing between software tools that support SR, we performed a feature-by-feature comparison of SR tools. Methods. We searched for SR tools by reviewing any such tool listed the Systematic Review Toolbox, previous reviews of SR tools, and qualitative Google searching. We included all SR tools that were currently functional, and required no coding and excluded reference managers, desktop applications, and statistical software. The list of features to assess was populated by combining all features assessed in four previous reviews of SR tools;we also added five features (manual addition, screening automation, dual extraction, living review, and public outputs) that were independently noted as best practices or enhancements of transparency/replicability. Then, two reviewers assigned binary 'present/absent' assessments to all SR tools with respect to all features, and a third reviewer adjudicated all disagreements. Results. Of 53 SR tools found, 29 were excluded, leaving 24 for assessment. Thirty features were assessed across six classes, and the inter-observer agreement was 86 percent. DistillerSR (Evidence Partners;n = 26/30, 87%), Nested Knowledge (Nested Knowledge;n = 25/30, 83%), and EPPI-Reviewer Web (EPPI-Centre;n = 24/30, 80%) support the most features followed by Giotto Compliance (Giotto Compliance;n = 23/30, 77%), LitStream (ICF;n = 22/30, 73%), and SRDB.PRO (VTS Software;n = 21/30, 70%). Seven tools support fewer than half of all features assessed: RobotAnalyst, SyRF, Data ion Assistant, SWIFT-Review, SR-Accelerator, RobotReviewer, and COVID-NMA. Notably, only 10 tools (42%) support direct search, 7 (29%) offer dual extraction, and 13 (54%) offer living/ updatable reviews. Conclusions. DistillerSR, EPPI-Reviewer Web, and Nested Knowledge each offer a high density of SR-focused web-based tools. By transparent comparison and discussion regarding SR tool functionality, the medical community can choose among existing software offerings and note the areas of growth needed, most notably in the support of living reviews.

Common data elements reported on middle meningeal artery embolization in chronic subdural hematoma: an interactive systematic review of recent trials

BackgroundCross-study heterogeneity has limited the evidence-based evaluation of middle meningeal artery embolization (MMAE) as a treatment for chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH). Ongoing trials and prospective studies suggest that heterogeneity in upcoming publications may detract from subsequent meta-analyses and systemic reviews. This study aims to describe this data heterogeneity in order to promote harmonization with common data elements (CDEs) in publications.MethodsClinicalTrialsgov and PubMed were searched for published or ongoing prospective trials of MMAE. The Nested Knowledge AutoLit living review platform was utilized to classify endpoints from randomized control trials (RCT) and prospective cohort studies comparing MMAE to other treatments. The Qualitative Synthesis feature was used to determine cross-study overlap of outcome-related data elements.ResultsEighteen studies were includedtwelve RCTs, two non-randomized controlled studies, two prospective single-arm trials, one combined prospective and retrospective controlled study, and one prospective cohort study. The most commonly reported data element was recurrence (15/18), but seven heterogenous (non-comparable) definitions were employed for ‘recurrence.’ Mortality was reported in 10/18 studies, but no common timepoint was reported in more than four studies. Re-intervention and CSDH volume were reported in eight studies, CSDH width in seven, and no other outcome was common across more than five studies.ConclusionsThere was significant heterogeneity in data element collection even among prospective, registered trials of MMAE. Even among CDEs, variation in definition and timepoints prevented harmonization. A standardized approach based on CDEs may be necessary to facilitate future meta-analyses and evidence-driven evaluation of MMAE treatment of CSDH.DisclosuresG. Adusumilli: None. S. Ghozy: None. K. Kallmes: 4;C;Nested Knowledge, Inc, Superior Medical Experts, Inc. 5;C;Nested Knowledge, Inc, Conway Medical LLC. N. Hardy: 4;C;Nested Knowledge, Inc. 5;C;Nested Knowledge, Inc. R. Tarchand: None. C. Zinn: None. D. Lamar: None. E. Singeltary: 5;C;Nested Knowledge, Inc. L. Siegel: 5;C;Nested Knowledge, Inc. D. Kallmes: 1;C;Microvention, Balt USA, Medtronic. 4;C;Nested Knowledge, Inc, Superior Medical Experts, Inc, Conway Medical LLC. A. Arthur: 1;C;STEM Trial. S. Gellißen: None. J. Fiehler: 1;C;Imaging Core Lab for EMBOLISE, German Ministry of Science and Education, German Ministry of Economy and Innovation, German Research Foundation, European Union, Hamburgische Investition- und Förderbank, Medtronic, Microvention, Route92, Stryker. 2;C;Acandis, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Cerenovus, Covidien, Medtronic, Medina, Microvention, Penumbra, Phenox, Stryker, Transverse Medical. 4;C;Tegus Medical. J. Heit: 1;C;iSchemaView.. 2;C;Medtronic, Microvention.

Impaired mRNA Based COVID-19 Vaccine Response in Patients with B-Cell Malignancies after CD19 Directed CAR-T Cell Therapy

Introduction: Patients with hematologic malignancies are at an increased risk of morbidity and mortality from COVID-19 disease (Vijenthira, Blood 2020). This is likely a result of combination of immunodeficiency conferred by the disease and the therapeutics. The immunogenicity of the COVID-19 vaccines in patients with exposure to CD19 directed Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR)-T cell therapy is not established. CD19 CAR-T cell therapies cause B-cell aplasia, which in turn can affect humoral immune response against novel antigens. Herein, we present results from our prospectively conducted clinical study to evaluate immune responses against mRNA based COVID-19 vaccines in patients with lymphoma who have received CD19 directed CAR-T cell therapy. Methods: All patients and healthy controls were enrolled in a prospective clinical study evaluating immune responses against commercial COVID-19 RNA vaccines in patients with hematologic malignancies. Plasma samples were generated from heparinized peripheral blood of 4 heathy controls (HCs) receiving the same vaccines and 19 B cell lymphoma patients treated with CD19 CAR- T cells. Samples from ~4 weeks post second dose of the vaccine (d56) were available for 14 CAR-T patients, for 5 CAR-T patients samples were available from ~4 weeks after the first dose (d28). Plasma samples were analyzed in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using different full-length recombinant SARS-CoV-2 proteins and control proteins. Neutralizing activity was measured using the cPass Neutralization Antibody Detection Kit (GenScript Biotech). Results: Results from 4 healthy controls and 19 patients (12 males and 7 females) with lymphoma are reported. Median age for the lymphoma patients is 65 years. Eleven patients had large B cell lymphoma, 5 had follicular lymphoma and 3 had mantle cell lymphoma as primary diagnoses. Seventeen patients had advance stage disease (III/IV stage) and had received a median of 3 prior lines of therapy. All patients received CD19 directed CAR-T cell therapy. Ten patients received Moderna vaccine and 9 received Pfizer vaccine. Median time between CAR-T infusion and first COVID-19 vaccine was 258 days. While the peripheral blood plasma from 3/4 HCs already showed substantial SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing activity at ~4 weeks after the first dose of COVID-19 mRNA vaccine, none of the 5 CD19 CAR-T patients analyzed evidenced any antibody-mediated neutralizing activity in their blood at the same point in time (Figure 1A). Around 4 weeks after receiving the second dose of the vaccine, all 4 HCs tested evidenced complete or almost complete neutralizing activity (Figure 1B). In marked contrast, only 1 out of 14 CAR-T patients analyzed evidenced any relevant antibody-mediated SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing activity in their blood (Figure 1B). Interestingly, when we asked whether a globally insufficient antibody-mediated immunity was the underlying cause of the lack of a response to the COVID-19 vaccine in our CAR-T patients, we found that that was clearly not the case since anti-Flu, -TT, and -EBV responses were equivalent to the ones observed in HCs (Figure 2A). However, while at ~4 weeks post second dose of the vaccine the HCs showed marked antibody titers against all the viral spike proteins including their “delta” variants (Figure 2B), that was not the case for our CAR-T patients. The vast majority of our CAR-T patients did not evidence IgG antibody responses against any of the SARS-CoV-2 proteins analyzed such as S1, S1 delta, RBD, RBD delta, or S2 (Figure 2B). Conclusion: In this prospectively conducted clinical study, 18 of 19 patients with lymphoma who have received CD19 CAR-T therapy had poor immunogenicity against mRNA based COVID-19 vaccines as measured by neutralization assays and antibody titers. The antibody titers against B.1.617.2 (delta variant, S1 and RBD protein) were also demonstrably poor. The antibody response to common pathogens (flu, EBV, TT) were preserved, suggesting impaired immune response against novel antigens. Long-term follow-up of this study is ongoin . APR and DJ contributed equally [Formula presented] Disclosures: Dahiya: Kite, a Gilead Company: Consultancy;Atara Biotherapeutics: Consultancy;BMS: Consultancy;Jazz Pharmaceuticals: Research Funding;Miltenyi Biotech: Research Funding. Hardy: American Gene Technologies, International: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees;InCyte: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees;Kite/Gilead: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees.

Aerosols, airflow, and airspace contamination during laparoscopy.

Laparoscopic surgery has been undermined throughout the COVID-19 pandemic by concerns that it may generate an infectious risk to the operating team through aerosolization of peritoneal particles. There is anyway a need for increased awareness and understanding of the occupational hazard for surgical teams regarding unfiltered escape of pollutants generated by surgical smoke and other microbials. Here, the aerosol-generating nature of this access modality was confirmed through repeatable real-time methodology both qualitatively and quantitively to inform best practice and additional engineering solutions to optimize the operating room environment.

Laparoscopic surgery has been undermined throughout the COVID-19 pandemic by concerns that it may generate an infectious risk to the operating team through aerosolization of peritoneal particles. There is anyway a need for increased awareness and understanding of the occupational hazard for surgical teams regarding unfiltered escape of pollutants generated by surgical smoke and other microbials. Here, the aerosol-generating nature of this access modality was confirmed through repeatable real-time methodology both qualitatively and quantitively to inform best practice and additional engineering solutions to optimize the operating room environment.