Prevalence of Chikungunya,Dengue and Zika viruses in blood donors: a systematic literature review and meta-analysis

BackgroundBlood transfusion centres should understand the epidemiology of emerging diseases that are transmissible through the transfusion of blood components. The risk of transmission of arboviruses through this route has become apparent in recent years. The aim of our study is to summarise the reported prevalence (viraemic rate, seroprevalence and/or antigen detection) of Chikungunya (CHIKV), Dengue (DENV) and Zika (ZIKV) viruses in blood donors according to screening test used and world region.Materials and methodsWe conducted a systematic literature review and meta-analysis having searched for information in the main bibliographic databases (MEDLINE, Embase, and Scopus). The prevalence for each of the viruses was calculated according to the screening test used and geographic location.ResultsWe included 18 records on CHIKV, 71 on DENV, and 27 on ZIKV. The highest prevalences of RNA for CHIKV were 1.9% in Puerto Rico (2014), 1.0% in Thailand (2009), and 1.0% in French Polynesia (2014–15). The highest prevalences of RNA for DENV were 5.5% in Saudi Arabia (2015–16), 2.3% in Madeira, Portugal (2012–13), and 0.6% in Brazil (2012). The highest prevalences of RNA for ZIKV were 2.8% in French Polynesia (2013–14), 2.7% in Brazil (2015–16), and 1.8% in Martinique (2016). Overall seroprevalence, as assessed by IgG antibodies, was 21.6% for CHIKV, 24.0% for DENV, and 5.1% for ZIKV.DiscussionOur study shows a high proportion of donors who are viraemic and asymptomatic, especially during outbreaks, with prevalences surpassing 5% for DENV, 1% for CHIKV, and 2% for ZIKV. These data confirm a clear threat to blood transfusion safety. The elevated seroprevalence for these three arboviruses is also indicative of their wide circulation in populations, correlating with an increased risk of infected but asymptomatic donors. Health centres and institutions must address this threat, especially in tropical regions where the biggest outbreaks occur.     

Headache-related circuits and high frequencies evaluated by EEG,MRI, PET as potential biomarkers to differentiate chronic and episodic migraine: Evidence from a systematic review

BackgroundThe diagnosis of migraine is mainly clinical and self-reported, which makes additional examinations unnecessary in most cases. Migraine can be subtyped into chronic (CM) and episodic (EM). Despite the very high prevalence of migraine, there are no evidence-based guidelines for differentiating between these subtypes other than the number of days of migraine headache per month. Thus, we consider it timely to perform a systematic review to search for physiological evidence from functional activity (as opposed to anatomical structure) for the differentiation between CM and EM, as well as potential functional biomarkers. For this purpose, Web of Science (WoS), Scopus, and PubMed databases were screened.FindingsAmong the 24 studies included in this review, most of them (22) reported statistically significant differences between the groups of CM and EM. This finding is consistent regardless of brain activity acquisition modality, ictal stage, and recording condition for a wide variety of analyses. That speaks for a supramodal and domain-general differences between CM and EM that goes beyond a differentiation based on the days of migraine per month. Together, the reviewed studies demonstrates that electro- and magneto-physiological brain activity (M/EEG), as well as neurovascular and metabolic recordings from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and positron emission tomography (PET), show characteristic patterns that allow to differentiate between CM and EM groups.ConclusionsAlthough a clear brain activity-based biomarker has not yet been identified to distinguish these subtypes of migraine, research is approaching headache specialists to a migraine diagnosis based not only on symptoms and signs reported by patients. Future studies based on M/EEG should pay special attention to the brain activity in medium and fast frequency bands, mainly the beta band. On the other hand, fMRI and PET studies should focus on neural circuits and regions related to pain and emotional processing.     

Occupation, smoking, and chronic obstructive respiratory disorders: a cross sectional study in an industrial area of Catalonia, Spain

Background  

Few studies have investigated the independent effects of occupational exposures and smoking on chronic bronchitis and airflow obstruction. We assessed the association between lifetime occupational exposures and airflow obstruction in a cross-sectional survey in an urban-industrial area of Catalonia, Spain.     

Evaluation of the multimorbidity network and its relationship with clinical phenotypes in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: The GALAXIA study

BackgroundChronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a complex and heterogeneous condition, in which taking into consideration clinical phenotypes and multimorbidity is relevant to disease management. Network analysis, a procedure designed to study complex systems, allows to represent connections between the distinct features found in COPD.MethodsNetwork analysis was applied to a cohort of patients with COPD in order to explore the degree of connectivity between different diseases, taking into account the presence of two phenotypic traits commonly used to categorize patients in clinical practice: chronic bronchitis (CB⁺/CB⁻) and the history of previous severe exacerbations (Ex⁺/Ex⁻). The strength of association between diseases was quantified using the correlation coefficient Phi (ɸ).ResultsA total of 1726 patients were included, and 91 possible links between 14 diseases were established. Although the four phenotypically defined groups presented a similar underlying comorbidity pattern, with special relevance for cardiovascular diseases and/or risk factors, classifying patients according to the presence or absence of CB implied differences between groups in network density (mean ɸ: 0.098 in the CB⁻ group and 0.050 in the CB⁺ group). In contrast, between‐group differences in network density were small and of questionable significance when classifying patients according to prior exacerbation history (mean ɸ: 0.082 among Ex⁻ subjects and 0.072 in the Ex⁺ group). The degree of connectivity of any given disease with the rest of the network also varied depending on the selected phenotypic trait. The classification of patients according to the CB⁻/CB⁺ groups revealed significant differences between groups in the degree of conectivity between comorbidities. On the other side, grouping the patients according to the Ex⁻/Ex⁺ trait did not disclose differences in connectivity between network nodes (diseases).ConclusionsThe multimorbidity network of a patient with COPD differs according to the underlying clinical characteristics, suggesting that the connections linking comorbidities between them vary for different phenotypes and that the clinical heterogeneity of COPD could influence the expression of latent multimorbidity. Network analysis has the potential to delve into the interactions between COPD clinical traits and comorbidities and is a promising tool to investigate possible specific biological pathways that modulate multimorbidity patterns.     

Análisis y minimización del riesgo de rotura de stock aplicado a la gestión en farmacia hospitalaria

ObjectiveTo determine how many dispensary drugs should be in the safety stock in a tertiary hospital in accordance with the risk level and the number of days that the hospital is able to withstand a stockout.MethodsWe statistically analysed the infliximab order recorded over a period of 120 days. This drug is relevant for this study as it is costly and is immediately supplied to the clinic. Using the data records for purchasing and dispensing in our department, we created a table to compare the level of risk assumed with the number of units in stock and the number of days that the safety stock should last. In addition, we calculated how much stock there should be in accordance with different heuristic rules used by pharmacy departments.ResultsIn the period being studied, the daily order was 11.4 ± 14.8 units of infliximab. Using the methodology proposed, we discovered that there should be 79 units in the safety stock. Other hospital rules determine values of 47 and 119 units.ConclusionsThe method proposed allows us to discover the risk level that is assumed when selecting the safety stock. Therefore, we are able to design a safety stock policy consistent with the risk level adopted. Under certain assumptions the safety stock quota provided by this method could be reduced. Lastly, there is a notable difference between the safety stock values suggested by different rules, as it has been shown in this article.     

La fiebre/encefalitis por virus West Nile: reemergencia en Europa y situación en España

Some arbovirosis have increased their incidence and geographic range in the past few years. This phenomenon has been particularly noticeable in the case of West Nile fever/encephalitis. This disease did not receive much attention until serious outbreaks occurred in Romania, Russia and Israel between 1996 and 1999. But the event drawing an unprecedented attention to this disease was its occurrence in New York in 1999. Since then its incidence and geographic range has not ceased to grow. In America it has extended from coast to coast and from Canada to Argentina. In Europe, the disease incidence has increased in areas where it had already been reported, and, recently, affected other areas where it had never been observed before. The present article is a review on the virus, the disease, and its situation in Europe, with special reference to Spain, where in 2010 human and veterinary cases were reported.