Infection control and the prevalence, management and outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infections in mental health wards in London, UK: lessons learned from wave 1 to wave 2.

BACKGROUND: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) disease (COVID-19) has high morbidity and mortality in older adults and people with dementia. Infection control and prevention measures potentially reduce transmission within hospitals. AIMS: We aimed to replicate our earlier study of London mental health in-patients to examine changes in clinical guidance and practice and associated COVID-19 prevalence and outcomes between COVID-19 waves 1 and 2 (1 March to 30 April 2020 and 14 December 2020 to 15 February 2021). METHOD: We collected the 2 month period prevalence of wave 2 of COVID-19 in older (≥65 years) in-patients and those with dementia, as well as patients' characteristics, management and outcomes, including vaccinations. We compared these results with those of our wave 1 study. RESULTS: Sites reported that routine testing and personal protective equipment were available, and routine patient isolation on admission occurred throughout wave 2. COVID-19 infection occurred in 91/358 (25%; 95% CI 21-30%) v. 131/344, (38%; 95% CI 33-43%) P < 0.001 in wave 1. Hospitals identified more asymptomatic carriers (26/91; 29% v. 16/130; 12%) and fewer deaths (12/91; 13% v. 19/131; 15%; odds ratio = 0.92; 0.37-1.81) compared with wave 1. The patient vaccination uptake rate was 49/58 (85%). CONCLUSIONS: Patients in psychiatric in-patient settings, mostly admitted without known SARS-CoV-2 infection, had a high risk of infection compared with people in the community but lower than that during wave 1. Availability of infection control measures in line with a policy of parity of esteem between mental and physical health appears to have lowered within-hospital COVID-19 infections and deaths. Cautious management of vulnerable patient groups including mental health patients may reduce the future impact of COVID-19

Eligibility for antiamyloid treatment: preparing for disease-modifying therapies for Alzheimer's disease.

BACKGROUND: Disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) for Alzheimer's disease (AD) have early evidence of efficacy. Widespread delivery of DMTs will require major service reconfiguration. Treatment pathways will need to include triaging for eligibility, regular infusions and baseline and follow-up MRI scanning. A critical step in planning is provision of real-world estimates of patients likely to be eligible for triaging, but these are challenging to obtain. METHODS: We performed a retrospective service evaluation of patients attending five memory services across North and East London and a national specialist cognitive disorders service. We examined the likely proportion of patients who would (1) be referred for triaging for DMTs and (2) potentially be suitable for treatments. RESULTS: Data from a total of 1017 patients were included, 517 of whom were seen in community memory services and 500 in a specialist clinic. In the memory services, 367/517 (71%) were diagnosed with possible AD. After exclusions of those in whom cognitive and frailty scores, MRI contraindications or anticoagulant use indicated they would be unlikely to be suitable, an estimated 32% would be eligible for triaging. In the specialist cognitive clinic, where additional investigations are available, 14% of those seen (70/500) would be potentially eligible for treatment. CONCLUSIONS: While a sizeable proportion of patients attending memory clinics may be referred for triaging for DMTs for AD, only a minority are likely to be suitable for these, as demonstrated in patients seen in specialist cognitive services. This will need to be considered when designing pathways for DMT delivery