The Influence of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Clinical Application of Evidence-Based Practice in Health Science Professionals

(1) Background: Evidence-based practice (EBP) informs daily clinical interventions with the purpose of seeking changes to traditional practice through scientific evidence that justifies the reasons for our actions. The objectives were to describe the barriers, beliefs, and attitudes in the application of EBP among university health professionals (not doctors) and to evaluate the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic among them. (2) Methods: This prospective study is both descriptive and observational. The individuals under study were university health professionals (not doctors) from various autonomous regions within Spain, in both public and private spheres. Sociodemographic and labor-related variables linked to the research and its completion were studied. Likewise, the survey instrument Health Sciences Evidence-Based Practice questionnaire (HS-EBP) was administered to evaluate the barriers to, beliefs in, and attitudes towards evidence-based practice. (3) Results: A total of 716 responses were gathered, of which 387 were collected during the period of confinement, and 343 in the COVID-19 post-confinement period. Possible associations that might help respond to the objectives were explored through a correlational study between the sociodemographic variables and each sub-scale of the HS-EBP 30 questionnaire (n = 716). (4) Conclusions: Barriers to, beliefs in, and attitudes towards evidence-based practice are described. There is a leadership gap where line management provides insufficient motivation to follow work routines. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused immense stress among health professionals. The post-confinement group showed a significant change in the variables "beliefs and attitudes", and likewise in the "evaluation" block, justified by the need to update knowledge and to apply evidence.This project has been financed with the help of IDIVAL, Project number NVAL 19/04 through the Marqués de Valdecilla Research Institute, IDIVAL, Spain

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality