Digital remote monitoring for screening and early detection of urinary tract infections.

Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) are one of the most prevalent bacterial infections in older adults and a significant contributor to unplanned hospital admissions in People Living with Dementia (PLWD), with early detection being crucial due to the predicament of reporting symptoms and limited help-seeking behaviour. The most common diagnostic tool is urine sample analysis, which can be time-consuming and is only employed where UTI clinical suspicion exists. In this method development and proof-of-concept study, participants living with dementia were monitored via low-cost devices in the home that passively measure activity, sleep, and nocturnal physiology.

Remote Monitoring of Physiology in People Living With Dementia: An Observational Cohort Study.

Background: Internet of Things (IoT) technology enables physiological measurements to be recorded at home from people living with dementia and monitored remotely. However, measurements from people with dementia in this context have not been previously studied. We report on the distribution of physiological measurements from 82 people with dementia over approximately 2 years.

Risk of COVID-19 in shielded and nursing care home patients: a cohort study in general practice.

Background: COVID-19 cases were first detected in the UK in January 2020 and vulnerable patients were asked to shield from March to reduce their risk of COVID-19 infection.

Aim: To determine the risk and determinants of COVID-19 diagnosis in shielded versus non-shielded groups, adjusted for key comorbidities not explained by shielding.

Design & Setting: Retrospective cohort study of adults with COVID-19 infection between 1 February 2020 and 15 May 2020 in west London.

Molecular characterization of Vibrio parahaemolyticus strains associated with foodborne illness in Florida.

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is the leading cause of bacterial seafood-based illness in the United States. Real-time PCR, pandemic group-specific PCR, ribotyping, and multilocus sequence typing were used to characterize 30 strains of V. parahaemolyticus including 11 strains associated with foodborne outbreaks in Florida and 6 known pandemic strains.

Increased use of emergency services by older people after health screening.

Background: evaluation of the 'Keep Well At Home' (KWAH) Project in West London indicated that a programme of screening persons aged 75 and over had not reduced rates of emergency attendances and admissions to hospital. However, coverage of the target population was incomplete. The present analysis addresses 'efficacy'-whether individuals who completed the screening protocol as intended did subsequently use Accident & Emergency (A&E) services less often.

The Sherbrooke Questionnaire predicts use of emergency services.

Background: the National Service Framework for Older People mandates the introduction of 'intermediate care services' to reduce emergency admissions to hospital from the population aged 75 years or more. We evaluated the predictive performance of one of the screening instruments used to identify older people who might most benefit from such services.

Methods: using multiple logistic regression, we compared responses to the six-item, self-administered Sherbrooke Questionnaire with subsequent patterns of emergency attendance and admission to hospital among the elderly population of one borough in West London.

Real-time PCR detection of the thermostable direct hemolysin and thermolabile hemolysin genes in a Vibrio parahaemolyticus cultured from mussels and mussel homogenate associated with a foodborne outbreak.

Molecular methods have become vital epidemiological tools in the detection and characterization of bacteria associated with a foodborne outbreak. We used both culture and real-time PCR to detect a Vibrio parahaemolyticus isolate associated with a foodborne outbreak. The outbreak occurred in July 2002 in Polk County, Florida, and originated at a Chinese buffet, with one person being hospitalized.

Comparison of methods for DNA isolation from food samples for detection of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli by real-time PCR.

In this study, food samples were intentionally contaminated with Escherichia coli O157:H7, and then DNA was isolated by using four commercial kits. The isolated DNA samples were compared by using real-time PCR detection of the Shiga toxin genes. The four kits tested worked similarly.

Terminal digit preference and single-number preference in the Syst-Eur trial: influence of quality control.

Background: Terminal digit and single-number preference may produce inaccuracy and biased results when measuring blood pressure. We describe these preferences in the Syst-Eur randomized placebo-controlled trial of the treatment of isolated systolic hypertension and describe how we sought to eliminate these problems.

Methods: The Data Monitoring Committee of the trial conducted yearly quality control meetings in Belgium and visited the participating centres to check their adherence to the protocol.