Herpes zoster epidemiology in Latin America: A systematic review and meta-analysis

The epidemiology and burden of Herpes Zoster (HZ) are largely unknown, and there are no recent reviews summarizing the available evidence from the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to characterize the epidemiology and burden of HZ in LAC. Bibliographic databases and grey literature sources were consulted to find studies published (January 2000 ?February 2020) with epidemiological endpoints: cumulative incidence and incidence density (HZ cases per 100,000 person-years), prevalence, case-fatality rates, HZ mortality, hospitalization rates, and rates of each HZ complication. Twenty-six studies were included with most studies coming from Brazil. No studies reported the incidence of HZ in the general population. In population at higher risk, the cumulative incidence ranged from 318?3,423 cases of HZ per 100,000 persons per year of follow-up. The incidence density was 6.4?36.5 cases per 1,000 person-years. Age was identified as a major risk factor towards HZ incidence which increase significantly in people >50 years of age. Hospitalization rates ranged from 3%?35.7%. The in-hospital HZ mortality rate ranged from 0%?36%. Overall, HZ mortality rates were found to be higher in females across all age groups and countries. The incidence of HZ complications (such as post-herpetic neuralgia, ophthalmic herpes zoster, and Ramsay Hunt syndrome) was higher in the immunosuppressed compared to the immunocompetent population. Acyclovir was the most frequently used therapy. Epidemiological data from Ministry of Health databases (Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile y Mexico) and Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation?s Global Burden of Disease project reported stable rates of hospitalizations and deaths over the last 10 years. High-risk groups for HZ impose a considerable burden in LAC. They could benefit from directed healthcare initiatives, including adult immunization, to prevent HZ occurrence and its complications.Fil: Bardach, Ariel Esteban. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública; ArgentinaFil: Palermo, Carolina. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; ArgentinaFil: Alconada, Tomás. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; ArgentinaFil: Sandoval, Macarena. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; ArgentinaFil: Balan, Darío Javier. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; ArgentinaFil: Guevara, Javier Nieto. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; ArgentinaFil: Gómez, Jorge. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; ArgentinaFil: Ciapponi, Agustín. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública; Argentin

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Costo-beneficio de la vacunación contra el rotavirus humano en niños menores de un año con gastroenteritis aguda severa por rotavirus atendidos en el Hospital del Niño. Junio a diciembre de 2008.

Objetivos: Estimación del costo-beneficio de la vacunación contra el rotavirus humano en menores de un año con gastroenteritis severa atendidos en el Hospital del Niño de Panamá durante el periodo de junio a diciembre de 2008. Métodos: Estudio de prevalencia desarrollado entre junio a diciembre de 2008 en niños menores de 1 año con prueba de ELISA positiva por rotavirus humano. Se estructuró un modelo epidemiológico con datos obtenidos de dicho estudio, costos estimados y evidencia científica publicada. Se estableció el costo-beneficio de la vacunación con base a la formula BENEFICIO A-COSTO A para evaluar la reducción de casos de enfermedad diarreica aguda por rotavirus en relación al costo de la vacunación. Resultados: Hubo 358 episodios de gastroenteritis en el periodo de estudio evaluado, de los cuáles 23 fueron positivos por rotavirus. Se estimó una efectividad vacuna de un 73% al comparar una cohorte histórica (2005) con la evaluada y un ahorro de 10,29612 dólares en hospitalizaciones. Se pudo establecer el costo/beneficio de la vacunación al demostrarse un ahorro de 613,889.90 dólares, con base a hospitalizaciones prevenidas. Conclusiones: Se pudo cuantificar el costo-beneficio de la estrategia de vacunación contra el rotavirus humano en el Hospital del Niño de Panamá

Exploring the evidence behind the comparable impact of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccines PHiD-CV and PCV13 on overall pneumococcal disease

The worldwide implementation of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) in children has reduced the overall pneumococcal disease burden. Two PCVs are widely available for infant vaccination: the pneumococcal non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae protein D conjugate vaccine (PHiD-CV) and the 13-valent PCV (PCV13). While these PCVs differ in serotype composition (PCV13 includes polysaccharides of serotypes 3, 6A and 19A; PHiD-CV does not), their impact on the overall pneumococcal disease burden in children is comparable. This commentary summarizes the evidence of comparability between PHiD-CV and PCV13 and explores why differences in serotype composition may not necessarily translate into a differential clinical impact. Both vaccines confer similarly high protection against disease caused by vaccine serotypes and lead to a partial replacement by non-vaccine serotypes. PHiD-CV does not protect against serotype 3 disease (not included in the vaccine) and PCV13’s effect on this serotype has been inconsistent. PHiD-CV provides some cross-protection against disease caused by vaccine-related serotype 19A but neither vaccine has fully controlled 19A disease. While protection against 19A is higher for PCV13 than PHiD-CV, replacement by non-PCV13 serotypes in settings with a PCV13 program appears to compensate for this difference. This results in a similar residual overall disease burden with both vaccines

Laboratory-based surveillance in Latin America: attributes and limitations in evaluation of pneumococcal vaccine impact

Disease surveillance data are needed to monitor trends in disease activity, inform decision-making in public health and evaluate disease prevention/control measures. The Sistema Regional de Vacunas (SIREVA) supports laboratory-based surveillance of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in Latin American countries, providing information on identification, distribution, and anti-microbial susceptibility of pneumococcal strains. We estimated the proportion of pneumococcal meningitis and sepsis/bacteremia cases captured by SIREVA, by comparing the number of SIREVA-reported isolates in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Mexico with the estimated expected number of cases based on regional estimates of disease incidence. In all six countries, the number of isolates reported by SIREVA was consistently lower than the number of cases expected, across all years with data available. The proportion of SIREVA-reported isolates was highest in Chile (43–83%) and lowest in Mexico (1.4–3.5%). Passive surveillance systems such as SIREVA are important tools for monitoring circulating strains that could be related to pneumococcal disease, but our results show that SIREVA is likely to underestimate pneumococcal disease incidence. This under-reporting will limit the precision of surveillance data in monitoring changes in the incidence of IPD after vaccine introduction, and this should be considered when assessing the impact of vaccination programs

Impacto de la introducción de la vacuna contra el rotavirus en la hospitalización por gastroenteritis aguda grave en el Hospital del Niño de la Ciudad de Panamá Impact of rotavirus vaccine introduction on hospital admissions for severe acute gastroenteritis at the Children's Hospital in Panama City

OBJETIVOS: Determinar si la introducción de la vacunación infantil contra el rotavirus en Panamá permitió reducir la tasa de hospitalización por gastroenteritis en niños menores de 5 años. MÉTODOS: Estudio observacional de corte transversal en dos períodos: del 1 de enero al 31 de agosto de 2005 (antes de la introducción de la vacunación contra el rotavirus) y del 1 de enero al 31 de agosto de 2007 (un año después de la introducción). Se estudiaron todos los niños y niñas entre 2 meses y 5 años de edad hospitalizados con diagnóstico de gastroenteritis aguda grave en la sala de corta estancia de gastroenteritis del Hospital del Niño, en Ciudad de Panamá, Panamá. Las variables fueron: número de episodios de gastroenteritis, número de casos hospitalizados por gastroenteritis aguda grave, días de hospitalización y uso de antibióticos, según dos grupos de edad (de 2 meses a 1 año y de más de 1 año a 5 años). Se calculó el riesgo relativo (RR) con intervalos de confianza de 95% (IC95%) y un nivel de significación P < 0,05. RESULTADOS: Se contabilizaron 1 240 episodios de gastroenteritis aguda grave en 1 222 niños. No se encontraron diferencias significativas entre los dos períodos de estudio en cuanto al número de complicaciones (P = 0,92) y defunciones (P = 1,00). Hubo más episodios de gastroenteritis aguda grave después de la introducción de la vacuna contra el rotavirus humano que en el período previo, pero esta diferencia no fue estadísticamente significativa (RR = 1,12; IC95%: 0,87 a 1,44; P = 0,39). No se encontraron diferencias significativas en relación al tiempo de hospitalización por grupos de edad en los periodos analizados. La proporción de casos tratados con antibióticos fue similar en ambos períodos de estudio (29,7% contra 25,2%; P = 0,08). CONCLUSIONES: No se encontró que la introducción de la vacunación infantil contra el rotavirus en Panamá llevara a una reducción significativa en la tasa de hospitalización por gastroenteritis en niños menores de 5 años. No se observaron cambios significativos en la morbimortalidad y el uso de antibióticos en el tratamiento de la gastroenteritis aguda grave después de la introducción de la vacuna.<br>OBJECTIVES: To determine if infant rotavirus vaccination in Panama has reduced the rate of hospital admission for gastroenteritis among children under 5 years of age. METHODS: An observational, cross-sectional study of two time periods: 1 January-31 August 2005 (prior to initiating rotavirus vaccination) and 1 January-31 August 2007 (one year after introducing rotavirus vaccination). All the children from 2 months-5 years of age admitted with a diagnosis of acute gastroenteritis to the short-stay gastroenteritis area of the Children's Hospital in Panama City, Panama, were studied. The variables were: number of gastroenteritis episodes; number of cases admitted for severe acute gastroenteritis; number of days hospitalized; and antibiotics treatment for each of the two age groups (2 months-1 year and >1-5 years). The relative risk (RR) was calculated with a 95% confidence interval (95%CI) and a significance level of P < 0.05. RESULTS: There was a total of 1 240 episodes of severe acute gastroenteritis in 1 222 children. No significant differences were found between the two study periods regarding the number of complications (P = 0.92) and deaths (P = 1.00). Although there were more episodes of severe acute gastroenteritis after initiating vaccination against human rotavirus than there were in the period prior, the difference was not statistically significant (RR = 1.12; 95%CI: 087-1.44; P = 0.39). There were no significant differences found in the length of hospital stay by age groups studied in each time period. The percent of cases treated with antibiotics was similar in both study periods (29.7% versus 25.2%; P = 0.08). CONCLUSIONS: The introduction of infant rotavirus vaccination was not found to lead to a significant reduction in hospital admission rates for gastroenteritis among children less than 5 years of age. Significant changes in morbidity and in antibiotics use were not found after the introduction of the vaccine