Impact of vaccination on the presence and severity of symptoms in hospitalized patients with an infection of the Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) of the SARS-CoV-2 (subvariant BA.1).

OBJECTIVES: The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants raised questions about the extent to which vaccines designed in 2020 have remained effective. We aimed to assess whether vaccine status was associated with the severity of Omicron SARS-CoV-2 infection in hospitalized patients. METHODS: We conducted an international, multi-centric, retrospective study in 14 centres (Bulgaria, Croatia, France, and Turkey). We collected data on patients hospitalized for ≥24 hours between 1 December 2021 and 3 March 2022 with PCR-confirmed infection at a time of exclusive Omicron circulation and hospitalization related or not related to the infection. Patients who had received prophylaxis by monoclonal antibodies were excluded. Patients were considered fully vaccinated if they had received at least two injections of either mRNA and/or ChAdOx1-S or one injection of Ad26.CoV2-S vaccines. RESULTS: Among 1215 patients (median age, 73.0 years; interquartile range, 57.0-84.0; 51.3% men), 746 (61.4%) were fully vaccinated. In multivariate analysis, being vaccinated was associated with lower 28-day mortality (Odds Ratio [95% Confidence Interval] (OR [95CI]) = 0.50 [0.32-0.77]), intensive care unit admission (OR [95CI] = 0.40 [0.26-0.62]), and oxygen requirement (OR [95CI] = 0.34 [0.25-0.46]), independent of age and comorbidities. When co-analysing these patients with Omicron infection with 948 patients with Delta infection from a study we recently conducted, Omicron infection was associated with lower 28-day mortality (OR [95CI] = 0.53 [0.37-0.76]), intensive care unit admission (OR [95CI] = 0.19 [0.12-0.28]), and oxygen requirements (OR [95CI] = 0.50 [0.38-0.67]), independent of age, comorbidities, and vaccination status. DISCUSSION: Originally designed vaccines have remained effective on the severity of Omicron SARS-CoV-2 infection. Omicron is associated with a lower risk of severe forms, independent of vaccination and patient characteristics.

Impact of Enterococcus faecalis Endocarditis Treatment on Risk of Relapse.

BACKGROUND: Enterococcus faecalis infective endocarditis (EFIE) is characterized by a higher frequency of relapses than other infective endocarditis. The role of the treatment on its occurrence remains poorly understood. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the antibiotic regimen could impact the risk of relapse in EFIE. MATERIALS: This was a multicenter retrospective study of patients diagnosed with definite EFIE between 2015 and 2019 in 14 French hospitals. The primary endpoint was the occurrence of relapses within the year following endocarditis diagnosis. As death was a competing risk for relapse, Fine and Gray models were used for studying risk factors and impact of treatment. RESULTS: Of the 279 patients included, 83 (29.7%) received the amoxicillin-gentamicin (A-G) combination, 114 (40.9%) amoxicillin-ceftriaxone (A-C), 63 (22.6%) A-G and A-C (A-G/A-C) sequentially, 9 (3.2%) amoxicillin (A), and 10 received other treatments. One-year-relapse rate was 9.3% (26 patients). Relapse occurred after a median delay of 107 days from EFIE diagnosis; 6 occurred after 6 months, and 6 were diagnosed by blood cultures in asymptomatic patients. In multivariate analysis, surgery during treatment was a protective factor against one-year relapse and death.The cumulative incidence of relapse 1 year after endocarditis was 46.2% for patients treated with amoxicillin, 13.4% with A-G, 14.7% with A-C, and 4.3% with A-G/A-C (P≥.05 in multivariate analysis). CONCLUSIONS: Relapses after treatment of EFIE are frequent, frequently asymptomatic, and may occur more than 6 months after the initial episode.

Efficacy of an Ethanol-Based Hand Sanitizer for the Disinfection of Blood Pressure Cuffs.

Blood pressure cuffs (BP cuffs) have been implicated in some nosocomial outbreaks. We compared the efficacy of an ethanol-based hand sanitizer (EBHS) with a detergent/disinfectant for the disinfection of BP cuffs. The inner sides of 30 BP cuffs were sampled for bacterial culture. Then, the same area was divided into halves. One half was disinfected by a detergent/disinfectant and the other was disinfected by an EBHS. The bacterial count decreased significantly with both disinfectants (p < 0.0001 compared with before disinfection). The bacterial count decrease seemed greater with the EBHS compared with the detergent/disinfectant, but the difference was not significant. Therefore, within the limits of a single application, the EBHS was an efficacious means of BP cuff disinfection. However, the repeated exposure to emollients contained in EBHS may require further studies before validating these results.

Second-trimester Down syndrome maternal serum marker screening: a prospective study of 11 040 twin pregnancies.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the value of Down syndrome (DS) second-trimester maternal serum screening in large series of twin pregnancies. METHODS: Prospective study of second-trimester maternal serum markers [alpha fetoprotein (AFP) and free beta-human chorionic gonadotrophin (beta-hCG)] in 11,040 twin pregnancies, 27 of which were trisomy 21-affected. Comparison with 64,815 singleton pregnancies, of which 86 were trisomy 21-affected. Markers were expressed in multiple of median (MoM) corrected by a previously defined coefficient (2.1 for AFP and 2.07 or 2.16 for free beta-hCG, dichorionic or monochorionic, respectively). RESULTS: Trisomy 21 frequency was 1/649 for twins and 1/754 in singletons (NS). Mean detection rate was 63% (71% when both twins were affected and 60% when one was affected), versus 74.4% in singletons. False-positive rates were 10.8% in twins versus 10.3% in singletons (NS). No significant differences in MoM AFP and free beta-hCG values were noted between twins and singletons (0.92 and 0.78 for AFP and 1.54 and 2.68 for free beta-hCG, respectively). CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrates that second-trimester DS maternal serum marker screening can be performed in twin pregnancies.