Lumbar Puncture Ordering and Results in the Pediatric Population: A Promising Data Source for Surveillance Systems

Background: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is incorporating laboratory data into real-time surveillance systems. When normal patterns of laboratory test orders and results are modeled, aberrations can be detected. Because many test orders are available electronically well before results, atypical patterns of test ordering may signal outbreaks.
Objectives: The authors sought to characterize baseline patterns in the ordering and early results of lumbar punctures, motivated by the possibility of using these data for real-time surveillance for early detection of meningitis or encephalitis outbreaks.
Methods: Retrospective cohorts of pediatric emergency department patients at a single hospital (1993–2003) and from the National Hospital and Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (1992–2000) were used for analysis.
Results: Test ordering exhibits seasonal patterns, with monthly peaks in January and August (p < 0.0001). For the hospital cohort, the rate of cerebrospinal fluid pleocytosis exhibits seasonal patterns (p < 0.0001), with a peak from August to October. This is strongly associated with the rate and pattern of clinical neurologic disease (p < 0.0001). A long-term secular decline in daily test ordering is evident, dropping from 5.3 to 2.9 in the hospital sample, and from 371.8 to 185.3 in the national sample (p < 0.001). The long-term rate of pleocytosis has declined (p < 0.0001), though the yield of testing for pleocytosis has improved (p = 0.0104).
Conclusions: Laboratory test patterns correspond with those of clinical disease and are a promising source of surveillance data. Using such data for real-time monitoring requires specific adjustments for patient age, periodicities, and secular trends.     

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: investigation of a hospital outbreak using a case-control study

A retrospective case-control study of 50 MRSA-positive patients was carried out during an outbreak of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) at an acute general hospital in London. Controls were randomly selected from MRSA-negative patients admitted during the outbreak period. Risk factors investigated included length of admission prior to screening, number of ward changes, main diagnosis, extent of staff contact, pressure sores, surgical and other invasive procedures and antibiotic treatment. Outcome variables examined were rates of infection (versus colonization) with MRSA and mortality. Patients with MRSA were in hospital longer before microbiological specimens were taken and moved wards more often than controls. In a logistic regression analysis, length of stay in hospital, pressure sores, physiotherapy and surgical procedures were associated with a significantly increased risk of acquiring MRSA. Odds ratios (and 95% confidence intervals) for having acquired MRSA were: 8·3 (1·02−71·43) if a patient had pressure sores; 3·7 (1·10−12·5) if they received physiotherapy; and 3·2 (1·82−10·0) if they underwent surgical procedures. The rate of clinical infection amongst patients with this strain of MRSA was 26% and included life-threatening infections such as septicaemia, underlining the potential virulence of MRSA. Surgery and physiotherapy may have been markers of debility. Physiotherapy was probably a marker of increased rates of contact with all hospital staff, and high standards of hand hygiene should be promoted amongst all staff as the most important factor in controlling an outbreak of MRSA. Good bed management is essential for hospital infection control.     

2016—2020年甘肃省食源性疾病暴发事件流行病学调查报告质量评价

目的:评价甘肃省食源性疾病暴发事件流行病学调查报告质量,发现基层流行病学调查过程中存在的问题并提出指导意见。方法:收集2016—2020年甘肃省食源性疾病暴发事件监测系统中,发病人数≥10例的食源性疾病暴发事件的流行病学调查报告,按照相应标准对流行病学调查报告中各项指标进行评价。结果:共收集68起食源性疾病暴发事件的流行病学调查报告。报告普遍存在条理性差、层次混乱不清,虽然书写了相应的指标但内容过于简单且不够规范的问题;报告还存在描述性流行病学调查不够全面、深入,分析流行病学欠缺,食品卫生学调查不充分等问题;仅有50.00%(34/68)的调查查明了致病因子和污染食物,39.71%(27/68)的调查查明了污染原因,14.71%(10/68)的调查找出了完整证据链。结论:甘肃省基层工作人员食源性疾病暴发事件流行病学调查不够深入、细致,病因调查和推断较少,几乎未开展分析流行病学调查,调查报告得出的结论依据不够充分;流行病学调查和调查报告书写质量均需要加强和提高;相关部门应基层流行病学调查队伍建设,对技术人员进行中长期的理论与实践相结合的培训。     

癫痫患者匹兹堡睡眠质量指数量表评分 与多导睡眠监测参数、脑功能状态指标相关性分析

摘 要：目的：评价甘肃省食源性疾病暴发事件流行病学调查报告质量,发现基层流行病学调查过程中存在的问题并提 出指导意见。方法：收集2016—2020年甘肃省食源性疾病暴发事件监测系统中,发病人数≥10例的食源性疾病暴发事件的 流行病学调查报告,按照相应标准对流行病学调查报告中各项指标进行评价。结果：共收集 68起食源性疾病暴发事件的流 行病学调查报告。报告普遍存在条理性差、层次混乱不清,虽然书写了相应的指标但内容过于简单且不够规范的问题;报告 还存在描述性流行病学调查不够全面、深入,分析流行病学欠缺,食品卫生学调查不充分等问题;仅有50.00% （34/68） 的 调查查明了致病因子和污染食物,39.71% （27/68） 的调查查明了污染原因,14.71% （10/68） 的调查找出了完整证据链。结 论：甘肃省基层工作人员食源性疾病暴发事件流行病学调查不够深入、细致,病因调查和推断较少,几乎未开展分析流行病 学调查,调查报告得出的结论依据不够充分;流行病学调查和调查报告书写质量均需要加强和提高;相关部门应基层流行病 学调查队伍建设,对技术人员进行中长期的理论与实践相结合的培训。     

Outbreak of Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus 2 Infections,Ghana

In September 2019, high mortality in commercial rabbits was reported in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus 2 phylogenetically related to isolates from 2015–2017 outbreaks in the Netherlands was confirmed as the causative agent. The virus has not yet been detected in native rabbits in Ghana.     

Recency-Weighted Statistical Modeling Approach to Attribute Illnesses Caused by 4 Pathogens to Food Sources Using Outbreak Data,United States

Foodborne illness source attribution is foundational to a risk-based food safety system. We describe a method for attributing US foodborne illnesses caused by nontyphoidal Salmonella enterica, Escherichia coli O157, Listeria monocytogenes, and Campylobacter to 17 food categories using statistical modeling of outbreak data. This method adjusts for epidemiologic factors associated with outbreak size, down-weights older outbreaks, and estimates credibility intervals. On the basis of 952 reported outbreaks and 32,802 illnesses during 1998–2012, we attribute 77% of foodborne Salmonella illnesses to 7 food categories (seeded vegetables, eggs, chicken, other produce, pork, beef, and fruits), 82% of E. coli O157 illnesses to beef and vegetable row crops, 81% of L. monocytogenes illnesses to fruits and dairy, and 74% of Campylobacter illnesses to dairy and chicken. However, because Campylobacter outbreaks probably overrepresent dairy as a source of nonoutbreak campylobacteriosis, we caution against using these Campylobacter attribution estimates without further adjustment.     

Potential Association between Zika Infection and Microcephaly during 2007 Fever Outbreak,Gabon

Although Zika virus (ZIKV) circulates in sub-Saharan Africa, no case of ZIKV-associated microcephaly has thus far been reported. Here, we report evidence of a possible association between a 2007 outbreak of febrile illness and an increase in microcephaly and possibly ZIKV infection in Gabon.     

Identifying gaps in COVID-19 health equity data reporting in Canada using a scorecard approach

ObjectiveTo assess health equity-oriented COVID-19 reporting across Canadian provinces and territories, using a scorecard approach.MethodsA scan was performed of provincial and territorial reporting of five data elements (cumulative totals of tests, cases, hospitalizations, deaths, and population size) across three units of aggregation (province or territory level, health regions, and local areas) (15 “overall” indicators), and for four vulnerable settings (long-term care and detention facilities, schools, and homeless shelters) and eight social markers (age, sex, immigration status, race/ethnicity, healthcare worker status, occupational sector, income, and education) (180 “equity-related” indicators) as of December 31, 2020. Per indicator, one point was awarded if case-delimited data were released, 0.7 points if only summary statistics were reported, and 0 if neither was provided. Results were presented using a scorecard approach.ResultsOverall, information was more complete for cases and deaths than for tests, hospitalizations, and population size denominators needed for rate estimation. Information provided on jurisdictions and their regions, overall, tended to be more available (average score of 58%, “D”) than that for equity-related indicators (average score of 17%, “F”). Only British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario provided case-delimited data, with Ontario and Alberta providing case information for local areas. No jurisdiction reported on outcomes according to patients’ immigration status, race/ethnicity, income, or education. Though several provinces reported on cases in long-term care facilities, only Ontario and Quebec provided detailed information for detention facilities and schools, and only Ontario reported on cases within homeless shelters and across occupational sectors.ConclusionOne year into the pandemic, socially stratified reporting for COVID-19 outcomes remains sparse in Canada. However, several “best practices” in health equity-oriented reporting were observed and set a relevant precedent for all jurisdictions to follow for this pandemic and future ones.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.17269/s41997-021-00496-6.     

2016—2020年河南省餐饮单位食源性疾病暴发事件流行病学特征分析

目的 分析河南省餐饮单位食源性疾病暴发的流行病学特征,提出相关监管建议。方法 收集2016—2020年河南省餐饮类食源性疾病暴发监测数据,采用SPSS 19.0软件对数据进行流行病学分析。结果 河南省2016—2020年共报告发生在餐饮单位的食源性疾病暴发事件224起,占同时期全省食源性疾病暴发事件总数的57.44%,发病2577人,占发病总人数的73.37%,死亡1人,占死亡总人数的14.29%。餐饮类暴发事件场所主要集中在宾馆饭店,事件报告数100起,占总事件数的44.64%。在查明原因的事件中,致病菌是引发食源性疾病暴发事件的主要因素,占总事件数的19.64%;加工储存不当引起的事件数量最多,占总事件数的27.33%。结论 建议加强对餐饮单位重点环节和危险因素的监管,建立健全餐饮单位食品安全知识培训制度,加强食品安全监管多部门沟通合作机制。