Hospital-based screening outperforms primary care screening as a means of achieving hepatitis C virus micro-elimination.

AIM: To assess the respective performances of a HCV screening program in a hospital setting and a HCV screening model applied concomitantly in a primary care centre. METHODS: Adult patients consecutively admitted to hospital for ambulatory surgery were screened for anti-HCV antibodies (hospital screening cohort, HPSC), as were patients receiving blood tests for medical reasons in a primary care centre (primary care screening cohort, PCSC). Serum anti-HCV and HCV RNA levels were tested by ELISA and real-time PCR, respectively. RESULTS: Seroprevalence of HCV infection was 2.2 % in the HPSC and 1.4 % in the PCSC (p = 0.044). All viraemic patients (0.2 % in HPSC and 0.1 % in PCSC) were treated with direct-acting antivirals and 85.7 % experienced a sustained virological response. CONCLUSIONS: Hospital-based HCV screening outperformed primary care-centered screening, significantly increasing HCV case findings.

Compassionate Use of Rectal Ozone (O3) in Severe COVID-19 Pneumonia: a Case-Control Study.

Objectives: To evaluate effect of rectal ozone in severe COVID-19 pneumonia and to compare it to standard of care (SOC). Material and Methods: In a case-control study, 14 patients with severe bilateral COVID-19 pneumonia (positive RT-PCR), treated with SOC and rectal ozone, were evaluated before-and-after treatment and compared with SOC (14 patients) in a 10-day follow-up period. Ozone protocol consisted of 8 sessions (1 session/day) of intra-rectal ozone (150 mL volume, 35 µg/mL concentration [5.25mg total dose]). The SOC protocol included O2 supply, antivirals (Remdesivir), corticosteroids (Dexamethasone/Metilprednisolone), monoclonal antibodies (Anakinra/Tocilizumab), antibiotics (Azytromicine), and anticoagulants (Enoxaparine). Primary outcome variables were the following: (a) clinical (O2 saturation and O2 supply); (b) biochemical (lymphocyte count, fibrinogen, D-dimer, urea, ferritin, LDH, IL-6, and CRP); (c) radiological Taylor's scale. Secondary outcome variables were the following: (a) hospitalization length of stay, (b) mortality rate. Results: At baseline, ozone/SOC groups were not different on age, comorbidities, O2 saturation, and O2 supply. Patients in the ozone group improved O2 saturation and decrease O2 supply. SOC maintained O2 saturation and required more O2 supply. Lymphocyte count improved only in the ozone group and with statistical difference (p<0.05). Biomarkers of inflammation (fibrinogen, D-dimer, urea, LDH, CRP, and IL-6) decreased in both groups, but only significantly in favor of the ozone group (p<0.05). Ferritin showed a significant decrease in the ozone group but an increase on the SOC group. Radiological pneumonitis decreased on both groups but the decrease was only significant in the ozone group (p<0.0001). Mortality and length of stay, although not significant, were inferior in the ozone group. Conclusion: Compassionate use of rectal ozone improved O2 saturation, reduced O2 supply, decreased inflammation biomarkers, and improved Taylor's radiological scale significantly when compared to the SOC group. Mortality and length of stay were inferior in the ozone group, but this difference was not significant.

[Right heart failure after pacemaker implantation]. / Insuficiencia cardiaca derecha tras el implante de un marcapasos.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Severe tricuspid regurgitation (TR) secondary to interference pacemaker (PM) cable is a rare cause of progressive right heart failure (HF), which can worsen patient outcomes. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We present 3 clinical cases of right HF secondary to TR after PM implantation. RESULTS: In these patients the clinic is right HF, which can appear early, as in our second patient, or after years of implementation of the PM, as in the first and third patients. The diagnosis is confirmed by echocardiography, the most accurate 3D, followed by transesophageal. The 2D transthoracic can not detect it, because it has low sensitivity for TR associated with PM. Medical treatment is always the first choice, since any other procedure carries significant morbidity and mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Probably this is a condition that we will diagnose with increasing frequency, because there are more and more patients with devices and, at the same time, the diagnostic tools are improving.