Pressure ulcer prevention devices in the management of older patients at risk after hospital discharge: an SNDS study.

OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to measure the effectiveness of home healthcare pressure ulcer (PU) prevention devices (PUPDs) for at-risk patients after hospital discharge in France. METHOD: We conducted a retrospective analysis of PU-associated hospitalisations based on the French medico-administrative database (Système National des Données de Santé, SNDS), which covers the entire French population. All adults >70 years of age, hospitalised from 1 July to 31 December 2015, and equipped with a medical bed at home, were included. Follow-up was for a maximum of 18 months. Propensity score matching allowed the comparison of PUPD equipped and non-equipped groups (No-PUPD), considering sociodemographic characteristics and other factors. RESULTS: The study included 43,078 patients. Of this population, 54% were PUPD patients and 46% No-PUPD. After matching, PUPD patients had significantly fewer PUs than No-PUPD patients (5.5% versus 8.9%, respectively; p<0.001). The adoption of PUPD reduced by 39% the risk of a PU in hospital. Patients equipped within the first 30 days at home after hospitalisation had fewer PUs than those equipped later (4.8% versus 5.9%, respectively). The estimated PUPD use costs represented 1% of total healthcare expenditure per patient during the study period. CONCLUSION: The study results demonstrated the effectiveness of the adoption of mattress toppers or prevention mattresses in reducing PU occurrence in patients aged >70 years of age. A short delay in PUPD delivery appeared to have a real impact in the medical setting. Future research on a larger population might provide more evidence on the appropriate support and timeframe to choose based on risk assessment.

Post-vaccination SARS-cov-2 infection in nursing home residents, Bordeaux, France.

OBJECTIVE: To describe COVID-19 breakthrough infections in two nursing homes (NHs) sites of active COVID-19 clusters despite optimal vaccination coverage. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in two NHs of south-western France, following the investigation of COVID-19 clusters (February-March 2021). SARS-CoV-2-confirmed infection was defined by positive RT-PCR. Antibodies neutralization capacities were tested in a subgroup of fully-vaccinated and seropositive-residents. RESULTS: Of the 152 residents, 66% were female with median age 87 years (IQR: 80.0-90.2). Overall, 132 (87%) residents received 2 doses of vaccine, 14 (9%) one dose and 6 (4%) were unvaccinated. Forty-seven (31%) residents had confirmed infection (45 (98%) with variant 20I/501Y.V1). All 6 non-vaccinated residents, 4 /14 who had one dose and 37/132 that had two doses, were infected. Of the 39 residents reporting symptoms, 12 and 3 presented severe and critical disease, respectively. One resident with a confirmed infection died. Infected-residents had a median anti-S IgG titre of 19 116.0 (IQR: 3 028.0-39 681.8 AU/mL), 19 times higher than that of non-infected vaccinated persons (1,207.0; IQR: 494.0-2,782.0). In the subgroup of 19 residents tested for neutralizing antibodies, the neutralizing titre (50%) was strongly positively correlated with the anti-S IgG titre (correlation coefficient = 0.83), and 1.5 times higher for the infected than non-infected residents [5.9 (IQR: 5.3-6.9) vs. 3.6 (2.9-3.8)]. CONCLUSION: Institutionalized elderly persons who undergo breakthrough infection develop higher titres of anti-S IgGs, which are strongly correlated with the neutralizing capacity of the antibodies. These results advocate for additional vaccine doses in this population.