Detection of Nucleocapsid Antibodies Associated with Primary SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Unvaccinated and Vaccinated Blood Donors.

Nucleocapsid antibody assays can be used to estimate SARS-CoV-2 infection prevalence in regions implementing spike-based COVID-19 vaccines. However, poor sensitivity of nucleocapsid antibody assays in detecting infection after vaccination has been reported. We derived a lower cutoff for identifying previous infections in a large blood donor cohort (N = 142,599) by using the Ortho VITROS Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Total-N Antibody assay, improving sensitivity while maintaining specificity >98%. We validated sensitivity in samples donated after self-reported swab-confirmed infections diagnoses. Sensitivity for first infections in unvaccinated donors was 98.1% (95% CI 98.0-98.2) and for infection after vaccination was 95.6% (95% CI 95.6-95.7) based on the standard cutoff. Regression analysis showed sensitivity was reduced in the Delta compared with Omicron period, in older donors, in asymptomatic infections, <30 days after infection, and for infection after vaccination. The standard Ortho N antibody threshold demonstrated good sensitivity, which was modestly improved with the revised cutoff.

Effectiveness of 2, 3, and 4 COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine Doses Among Immunocompetent Adults During Periods when SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.1 and BA.2/BA.2.12.1 Sublineages Predominated - VISION Network, 10 States, December 2021-June 2022.

The Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, was first identified in the United States in November 2021, with the BA.1 sublineage (including BA.1.1) causing the largest surge in COVID-19 cases to date. Omicron sublineages BA.2 and BA.2.12.1 emerged later and by late April 2022, accounted for most cases.* Estimates of COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness (VE) can be reduced by newly emerging variants or sublineages that evade vaccine-induced immunity (1), protection from previous SARS-CoV-2 infection in unvaccinated persons (2), or increasing time since vaccination (3). Real-world data comparing VE during the periods when the BA.1 and BA.2/BA.2.12.1 predominated (BA.1 period and BA.2/BA.2.12.1 period, respectively) are limited. The VISION network† examined 214,487 emergency department/urgent care (ED/UC) visits and 58,782 hospitalizations with a COVID-19-like illness§ diagnosis among 10 states during December 18, 2021-June 10, 2022, to evaluate VE of 2, 3, and 4 doses of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines (BNT162b2 [Pfizer-BioNTech] or mRNA-1273 [Moderna]) compared with no vaccination among adults without immunocompromising conditions. VE against COVID-19-associated hospitalization 7-119 days and ≥120 days after receipt of dose 3 was 92% (95% CI = 91%-93%) and 85% (95% CI = 81%-89%), respectively, during the BA.1 period, compared with 69% (95% CI = 58%-76%) and 52% (95% CI = 44%-59%), respectively, during the BA.2/BA.2.12.1 period. Patterns were similar for ED/UC encounters. Among adults aged ≥50 years, VE against COVID-19-associated hospitalization ≥120 days after receipt of dose 3 was 55% (95% CI = 46%-62%) and ≥7 days (median = 27 days) after a fourth dose was 80% (95% CI = 71%-85%) during BA.2/BA.2.12.1 predominance. Immunocompetent persons should receive recommended COVID-19 booster doses to prevent moderate to severe COVID-19, including a first booster dose for all eligible persons and second booster dose for adults aged ≥50 years at least 4 months after an initial booster dose. Booster doses should be obtained immediately when persons become eligible.¶.

Estimation of COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine Effectiveness and COVID-19 Illness and Severity by Vaccination Status During Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 Sublineage Periods.

Importance: Recent SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant sublineages, including BA.4 and BA.5, may be associated with greater immune evasion and less protection against COVID-19 after vaccination. Objectives: To evaluate the estimated vaccine effectiveness (VE) of 2, 3, or 4 doses of COVID-19 mRNA vaccination among immunocompetent adults during a period of BA.4 or BA.5 predominant circulation; and to evaluate the relative severity of COVID-19 in hospitalized patients across Omicron BA.1, BA.2 or BA.2.12.1, and BA.4 or BA.5 sublineage periods. Design, Setting, and Participants: This test-negative case-control study was conducted in 10 states with data from emergency department (ED) and urgent care (UC) encounters and hospitalizations from December 16, 2021, to August 20, 2022. Participants included adults with COVID-19-like illness and molecular testing for SARS-CoV-2. Data were analyzed from August 2 to September 21, 2022. Exposures: mRNA COVID-19 vaccination. Main Outcomes and Measures: The outcomes of interest were COVID-19 ED or UC encounters, hospitalizations, and admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) or in-hospital death. VE associated with protection against medically attended COVID-19 was estimated, stratified by care setting and vaccine doses (2, 3, or 4 doses vs 0 doses as the reference group). Among hospitalized patients with COVID-19, demographic and clinical characteristics and in-hospital outcomes were compared across sublineage periods. Results: During the BA.4 and BA.5 predominant period, there were 82 229 eligible ED and UC encounters among patients with COVID-19-like illness (median [IQR] age, 51 [33-70] years; 49 682 [60.4%] female patients), and 19 114 patients (23.2%) had test results positive for SARS-CoV-2; among 21 007 hospitalized patients (median [IQR] age, 71 [58-81] years; 11 209 [53.4%] female patients), 3583 (17.1 %) had test results positive for SARS-CoV-2. Estimated VE against hospitalization was 25% (95% CI, 17%-32%) for receipt of 2 vaccine doses at 150 days or more after receipt, 68% (95% CI, 50%-80%) for a third dose 7 to 119 days after receipt, and 36% (95% CI, 29%-42%) for a third dose 120 days or more (median [IQR], 235 [204-262] days) after receipt. Among patients aged 65 years or older who had received a fourth vaccine dose, VE was 66% (95% CI, 53%-75%) at 7 to 59 days after vaccination and 57% (95% CI, 44%-66%) at 60 days or more (median [IQR], 88 [75-105] days) after vaccination. Among hospitalized patients with COVID-19, ICU admission or in-hospital death occurred in 21.4% of patients during the BA.1 period vs 14.7% during the BA.4 and BA.5 period (standardized mean difference: 0.17). Conclusions and Relevance: In this case-control study of COVID-19 vaccines and illness, VE associated with protection against medically attended COVID-19 illness was lower with increasing time since last dose; estimated VE was higher after receipt of 1 or 2 booster doses compared with a primary series alone.

Risk of inflammatory bowel disease following a diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) symptoms often overlap. In some IBS cases there are subtle inflammatory changes similar to the immune-mediated pathophysiology of IBD, and the risk of both increases after infectious gastroenteritis (IGE). METHODS: To evaluate the effect of IBS and IGE on IBD risk utilizing US Department of Defense medical encounter data, active duty personnel with IBS were matched to subjects without IBS. Medical encounter history was analyzed to assess for incident IBD. IGE was identified from documented medical encounters and by self-report. Relative risks were calculated using Poisson regression models. RESULTS: We identified 9,341 incident IBS cases and 18,678 matched non-IBS subjects and found an 8.6-fold higher incidence (p < 0.0001) of IBD among those with IBS (238.1 per 100,000 person-years) compared to our referent population (27.8 per 100,000 person-years). In a subset (n = 2,205) of well-defined IBS cases, IBD risk was 15 times that of subjects without IBS. The median time between IBS and IBD diagnoses was 2.1 years. IGE also increased IBD risk approximately 2-fold ( p < 0.05) after controlling for IBS. CONCLUSIONS: These data reflect a complex interaction between illness presentation and diagnosis of IBS and IBD and suggest intercurrent IGE may increase IBD risk in IBS patients. Additional studies are needed to determine whether IBS lies on the causal pathway for IBD or whether the two are on a pathophysiological spectrum of the same clinical illness. These data suggest consideration of risk reduction interventions for IGE among IBS patients at high disease risk.

Emergency Department Visits for Injuries Sustained During Sports and Recreational Activities by Patients Aged 5-24 Years, 2010-2016.

Objectives-This report describes emergency department (ED) visits made by patients aged 5-24 years for injuries sustained during sports and recreational activities, the treatments provided at these visits, and variation by activity, patient age, and patient sex. Methods-Data are from the 2010-2016 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. Sports injuries were defined by the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Edition, Clinical Modification and 10th Edition, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM and ICD-10-CM) external cause-of-injury codes, supplemented by manual review of narrative text fields from ED medical records. Sample weights were applied to each case to provide national estimates of ED visits for injuries sustained during sports and recreational activities. Results-During 2010-2016, approximately 2.7 million annual ED visits for sports injuries were made by patients aged 5-24 years. The top five most frequent activities that caused ED visits for sports injuries were football (14.1%), basketball (12.5%), pedal cycling (9.9%), soccer (7.1%), and ice or roller skating or skateboarding (6.9%). Visits caused by playing football and basketball accounted for a higher percentage of visits by males than females (20.2% compared with 2.2%, and 14.3% compared with 8.9%, respectively), whereas visits caused by gymnastics and cheerleading accounted for a higher percentage of visits by females (11.8% compared with 2.1%). Visits for injuries to the upper extremities decreased with increasing age (37.1% for those aged 5-9 to 27.4% for those aged 20-24), whereas visits for injuries to the lower extremities increased with increasing age (16.2% for those aged 5-9 to 41.0% for those aged 20-24). Approximately three in four ED visits for sports injuries included an imaging service ordered or provided. Computed tomography scans were ordered or provided at a higher percentage of visits for patients aged 15-19 years compared with all other age groups. Analgesics, including opioids and nonopioids, were given or prescribed at 63.9% of ED visits, and this percentage increased with age (51.2% for those aged 5-9 to 74.4% for those aged 20-24).