Clinical Profile and Determinants of Mortality in Patients with Interstitial Lung Disease Admitted for COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: Concern has risen about the effects of COVID-19 in interstitial lung disease (ILD) patients. The aim of our study was to determine clinical characteristics and prognostic factors of ILD patients admitted for COVID-19. METHODS: Ancillary analysis of an international, multicenter COVID-19 registry (HOPE: Health Outcome Predictive Evaluation) was performed. The subgroup of ILD patients was selected and compared with the rest of the cohort. RESULTS: A total of 114 patients with ILDs were evaluated. Mean ± SD age was 72.4 ± 13.6 years, and 65.8% were men. ILD patients were older, had more comorbidities, received more home oxygen therapy and more frequently had respiratory failure upon admission than non-ILD patients (all p < 0.05). In laboratory findings, ILD patients more frequently had elevated LDH, C-reactive protein, and D-dimer levels (all p < 0.05). A multivariate analysis showed that chronic kidney disease and respiratory insufficiency on admission were predictors of ventilatory support, and that older age, kidney disease and elevated LDH were predictors of death. CONCLUSIONS: Our data show that ILD patients admitted for COVID-19 are older, have more comorbidities, more frequently require ventilatory support and have higher mortality than those without ILDs. Older age, kidney disease and LDH were independent predictors of mortality in this population.

Knowledge, Attitudes and Practice Regarding Antibiotic Prescription by Medical Interns: A Qualitative Study in Spain.

Antibiotic resistance is an issue of growing importance in the public health sphere. Medical interns are of great relevance when it comes to the source of this problem. This study therefore sought to ascertain which factors influence the management of antibiotic therapy by this population, in order to pinpoint the possible causes of misprescribing habits. We conducted a qualitative study based on focus group techniques, with groups consisting of medical interns from the Santiago de Compostela Clinical University Teaching Hospital. Our study identified factors which the participants considered to be determinants of antibiotic use and their relationship with the appearance of resistance. The single most repeated factor was the influence of the attending physician's judgement; other factors included a high healthcare burden or prescribing inertia. This stage is an opportunity to correct misprescribing habits, by implementing educational interventions aimed at modifying the identified factors.

Efficiency of screening for human immunodeficiency virus infection in emergency departments: a systematic review and meta-analysis. / Eficiencia del cribado de VIH en urgencias: revisión sistemática y metanálisis.

OBJECTIVES: The rates of undiagnosed and late-diagnosed human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection are high. Screening for HIV infection in hospital emergency departments (EDs) could offer a way to increase the number of diagnoses. Our aim was to analyze whether universal hospital ED screening for HIV is efficient. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We followed the guidelines for Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). PubMed, the Cochrane Library, LILACS, Scopus, EMBASE, and the Web of Science were searched using the following terms: "HIV infections/epidemiology," "AIDS serodiagnosis," "emergency service, hospital," "prevalence," and "mass screening/methods." The searches were limited to a 5-year time frame (2016-2020); only publications in English or Spanish were collected. We included studies of universal HIV screening among hospital ED patients and evaluated them using the Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies. RESULTS: A total of 273 articles were identified. Twelve met the inclusion criteria. The studies analyzed 103 731 patient samples and yielded 652 new HIV diagnoses. A random effects model estimated an overall new-diagnosis prevalence of 0.60% (95% CI, 0.39%-0.84%). The heterogeneity statistic I2 was high, at 90.02% (P .001). Estimates of prevalence based on studies carried out in Europe, the United States, and Africa were, respectively, 0.48% (95% CI, 0.13%-1.03%), 0.54% (95% CI, 0.33%-0.40%), and 5.6% (95% CI, 3.37%-9.2%). The studies received quality ratings of moderate or strong. CONCLUSION: Although the reviewed studies applied various screening strategies to identify new HIV diagnoses, our findings support the conclusion that universal screening is efficient.

OBJETIVO: Existe una elevada tasa de infección oculta y diagnóstico tardío en el virus de la inmunodeficiencia hu mana (VIH). La realización de pruebas diagnósticas de infección por VIH en los servicios de urgencias hospitalarios (SUH) puede representar una oportunidad para aumentar el número de diagnósticos. El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar si el cribado universal para el VIH realizado en los SUH es eficiente. METODO: Se realiza una revisión sistemática y metanálisis siguiendo la normativa PRISMA en la base de datos de Pubmed, Cochrane, LILACS, Scopus, EMBASE y WOS utilizando una combinación de términos MESH: "HIV Infections/ epidemiology", "AIDS Serodiagnosis", "Emergency Service, Hospital", "Prevalence", "Mass screening/methods". Los criterios de la búsqueda se centraron en los últimos 5 años (2016-2020) y en los artículos publicados en inglés y en español. Se incluyeron los estudios de pruebas de cribado universal mediante test de cribado de VIH realizadas en los SUH. Para evaluar la calidad de los artículos se utilizó el cuestionario "Quality assessment tool for quantitative studies". RESULTADOS: Se identificaron un total de 273 artículos de los cuales se analizaron finalmente 12 que cumplían los criterios de inclusión. Los estudios incluidos representan un total de 103.731 muestras analizadas obteniéndose un total de 652 nuevos diagnósticos de VIH. La prevalencia conjunta obtenida a través del modelo de efectos aleatorios fue de 0,60% (IC 95%: 0,39-0,84) y el valor del I2 revela una presencia elevada de heterogeneidad (I2 90,02%; p 0,001). La prevalencia conjunta en los estudios incluidos realizados en Europa, América y África fue de 0,48% (IC 95%: 0,13-1,03), 0,54% (IC 95%: 0,33-0,40) y 5,6% (IC 95%: 3,37-9,2), respectivamente. La evaluación de la calidad de los estudios fue de moderada a fuerte. CONCLUSIONES: Aunque las pruebas del VIH pueden realizarse utilizando diferentes estrategias, nuestros datos avalan que una estrategia de cribado universal es eficiente.

Eficiencia del cribado de VIH en urgencias: revisión sistemática y metanálisis / Efficiency of screening for human immunodeficiency virus infection in emergency departments: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objetivo. Existe una elevada tasa de infección oculta y diagnóstico tardío en el virus de la inmunodeficiencia humana (VIH). La realización de pruebas diagnósticas de infección por VIH en los servicios de urgencias hospitalarios (SUH) puede representar una oportunidad para aumentar el número de diagnósticos. El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar si el cribado universal para el VIH realizado en los SUH es eficiente. Método. Se realiza una revisión sistemática y metanálisis siguiendo la normativa PRISMA en la base de datos de Pubmed, Cochrane, LILACS, Scopus, EMBASE y WOS utilizando una combinación de términos MESH: “HIV Infections/ epidemiology”, “AIDS Serodiagnosis”, “Emergency Service, Hospital”, “Prevalence”, “Mass screening/methods”. Los criterios de la búsqueda se centraron en los últimos 5 años (2016-2020) y en los artículos publicados en inglés y en español. Se incluyeron los estudios de pruebas de cribado universal mediante test de cribado de VIH realizadas en los SUH. Para evaluar la calidad de los artículos se utilizó el cuestionario “Quality assessment tool for quantitative studies”. Resultado. Se identificaron un total de 273 artículos de los cuales se analizaron finalmente 12 que cumplían los criterios de inclusión. Los estudios incluidos representan un total de 103.731 muestras analizadas obteniéndose un total de 652 nuevos diagnósticos de VIH. La prevalencia conjunta obtenida a través del modelo de efectos aleatorios fue de 0,60% (IC 95%: 0,39-0,84) y el valor del I2 revela una presencia elevada de heterogeneidad (I2 90,02%; p < 0,001). La prevalencia conjunta en los estudios incluidos realizados en Europa, América y África fue de 0,48% (IC 95%: 0,13- 1,03), 0,54% (IC 95%: 0,33-0,40) y 5,6% (IC 95%: 3,37-9,2), respectivamente. La evaluación de la calidad de los estudios fue de moderada a fuerte. [...]

Background and objective. The rates of undiagnosed and late-diagnosed human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection are high. Screening for HIV infection in hospital emergency departments (EDs) could offer a way to increase the number of diagnoses. Our aim was to analyze whether universal hospital ED screening for HIV is efficient. Methods. We followed the guidelines for Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). PubMed, the Cochrane Library, LILACS, Scopus, EMBASE, and the Web of Science were searched using the following terms: “HIV infections/epidemiology,” “AIDS serodiagnosis,” “emergency service, hospital,” “prevalence,” and “mass screening/methods.” The searches were limited to a 5-year time frame (2016–2020); only publications in English or Spanish were collected. We included studies of universal HIV screening among hospital ED patients and evaluated them using the Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies. Results. A total of 273 articles were identified. Twelve met the inclusion criteria. The studies analyzed 103731 patient samples and yielded 652 new HIV diagnoses. A random effects model estimated an overall new-diagnosis prevalence of 0.60% (95% CI, 0.39%–0.84%). The heterogeneity statistic I2 was high, at 90.02% (P < .001). Estimates of prevalence based on studies carried out in Europe, the United States, and Africa were, respectively, 0.48% (95% CI, 0.13%–1.03%), 0.54% (95% CI, 0.33%–0.40%), and 5.6% (95% CI, 3.37%–9.2%). The studies received quality ratings of moderate or strong. Conclusion. Although the reviewed studies applied various screening strategies to identify new HIV diagnoses, our findings support the conclusion that universal screening is efficient.

[COVID-19 outbreaks in occupational settings in Spain, one year of follow-up (June 2020-June 2021).] / Brotes de COVID-19 en el ámbito laboral en España, un año de seguimiento (junio 2020-junio 2021).

COVID-19 outbreak surveillance in Spain was established with the main objective of characterizing outbreaks and the settings in which they occurred, in order to identify those population groups at highest risk to support them with the implementation of preventive and control measures. Between June 2020 and June 2021, 55,824 outbreaks were reported, with 414,882 cases in all settings. About 12.5% were reported in an occupational setting and within this, most of them were identified in the industry and building sectors. The outbreaks that had a greater impact were those that took place both in agriculture and in the meat industry, where there is a higher risk of exposure due to living and working conditions. Outbreaks in the catering and home care sectors were also frequent. Since the beginning, there was coordination between all stakeholders involved in the management of the pandemic, in order to implement prevention and control measures, as well as social protection measures. In addition, special actions were implemented in the most vulnerable sectors. Despite the work carried out, the presence of outbreaks in these sectors continues, although they are smaller than the previous pandemic phase. Due to this, there is needed to continue strengthening the inter-sectoral coordination structures and mechanisms to ensure the implementation of those measures that contribute to the containment of the pandemic.

La vigilancia de brotes COVID-19 en España se estableció con el objetivo de caracterizar los brotes y los ámbitos en los que ocurrían, con el propósito de identificar aquellos grupos de población con mayor riesgo para apoyar la toma de medidas de prevención y control. Entre junio de 2020 y junio de 2021 se comunicaron 55.824 brotes con 414.882 casos en todos los ámbitos. Alrededor del 12,5% de brotes y casos asociados fueron comunicados en el ámbito laboral y dentro de éste, la mayoría se identificó en los sectores de la industria y construcción, si bien, entre los brotes que han tenido un mayor impacto se encuentran aquellos producidos en el sector agrícola y en la industria de la carne, donde existe un mayor riesgo de exposición debido a las condiciones de vida y trabajo. También destacaron los brotes en el sector de la restauración y hostelería, y cuidados a domicilio. Desde el inicio hubo una coordinación entre las administraciones implicadas en la gestión de la pandemia para poner en marcha las medidas de prevención y control, así como las de protección social. Además, se llevaron a cabo medidas especiales en sectores de mayor vulnerabilidad. A pesar del trabajo realizado, los brotes en estos sectores continúan ocurriendo, si bien son de menor tamaño, por lo que se deben continuar fortaleciendo las estructuras y mecanismos de coordinación intersectoriales para la aplicación de las medidas que contribuyen además de la contención de la pandemia, a mantener activo el tejido productivo.