Sensitivity and specificity of in vivo COVID-19 screening by detection dogs: Results of the C19-Screendog multicenter study

Trained dogs can recognize the volatile organic compounds contained in biological samples of patients with COVID-19 infection. We assessed the sensitivity and specificity of in vivo SARS-CoV- 2 screening by trained dogs. We recruited five dog-handler dyads. In the operant conditioning phase, the dogs were taught to distinguish between positive and negative sweat samples collected from volunteers’ underarms in polymeric tubes. The conditioning was validated by tests involving 16 positive and 48 negative samples held or worn in such a way that the samples were invisible to the dog and handler. In the screening phase the dogs were led by their handlers to a drive-through facility for in vivo screening of volunteers who had just received a nasopharyngeal swab from nursing staff. Each volunteer who had already swabbed was subsequently tested by two dogs, whose responses were recorded as positive, negative, or inconclusive. The dogs’ behavior was constantly monitored for attentiveness and wellbeing. All the dogs passed the conditioning phase, their responses showing a sensitivity of 83-100% and a specificity of 94-100%. The in vivo screening phase involved 1251 subjects, of whom 205 had a COVID-19 positive swab and two dogs per each subject to be screened. Screeningsensitivity and specificity were respectively 91.6-97.6% and 96.3-100% when only one dog was involved, whereas combined screening by two dogs provided a higher sensitivity. Dog wellbeing was also analysed: monitoring of stress and fatigue suggested that the screening activity did not adversely impact the dogs’ wellbeing. This work, by screening a large number of subjects, strengthen recent findings that trained dogs can discriminate between COVID-19 infected and healthy human subjects and introduce two novel research aspects: i) assessement of signs of fatigue and stress in dogs during training and testing, and ii) combining screening by two dogs to improve detection sensitivity and specificity. Using some precautions to reduce the risk of infection and spillover, in vivo COVID-19 screening by a dog-handler dyad can be suitable to quickly screen large numbers of people: it is rapid, non- invasiveand economical, since it does not involve actual sampling, lab resources or waste management, and is suitable to screen large numbers of people

Analisi dei fattori incidenti sull’opposizione della popolazione alla donazione d’organo: una revisione integrativa della letteratura

BACKGROUND: To date, institutional sources show a conspicuous number of objections to donation, slow growth in donor registry enrolment, and a gap between available donors and wait-listed recipients. OBJECTIVES: To assess the factors that lead the national and international population to not consent to organ donation. METHODS: An integrative review was conducted during August 2022 in PubMed according to the methodology developed by Whittemore & Knafl. Articles were subsequently selected according to previously established inclusion and exclusion criteria. RESULTS: At the end of the selection process, 16 studies were included. The decision to consent to organ donation during the course of life or in case of the death of a family member is mediated by the influence of several factors, particularly the consent system, culture, religion, the activities of health professionals particularly the nurse, and the individual's knowledge of transplantation and donation. CONCLUSIONS: In order to gain consent toward organ donation, there should be a holistic intervention targeting both the general population and health professionals by planning educational interventions focused on the target audience considered.BACKGROUND: Fonti istituzionali mostrano ad oggi un cospicuo numero di opposizioni alla donazione, una lenta crescita di iscrizioni al registro dei donatori e un gap tra donatori disponibili e riceventi in lista di attesa. OBIETTIVI: Valutare i fattori che portano la popolazione nazionale ed internazionale a non acconsentire alla donazione degli organi. METODI: È stata condotta una revisione integrativa secondo la metodologia Whittemore & Knafl durante il mese di Agosto 2022  presso PubMed. Gli articoli sono stati successivamente selezionati secondo criteri di inclusione ed esclusione precedentemente stabiliti. RISULTATI: Al termine del processo di selezione sono stati inclusi 16 studi. Alla base della decisione di acconsentire alla donazione degli organi sia in vita sia in caso di morte di un familiare vi è l’influenza di diversi fattori, in particolare il sistema di consenso, la cultura, la religione, l’attività dei professionisti sanitari in particolare l’infermiere e la conoscenza del singolo in materia di trapianto e donazione. CONCLUSIONI: Per acquisire consenso nei confronti della donazione d’organo dovrebbe essere previsto un intervento olistico rivolto sia alla popolazione generale che ai professionisti sanitari, pianificando interventi educativi centrati sul target preso in considerazione.