The Global Health Security Index is not predictive of vaccine rollout responses among OECD countries.

Objective: This study sought to evaluate the utility of the Global Health Security (GHS) index in predicting the launch of COVID-19 vaccine rollout by Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member countries.

Methods: Country-level data on the preparedness to respond to infectious disease threats through vaccination rollout were collected using the GHS index. OECD member countries were rank-ordered based on the percentage of their populations fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Statins use and COVID-19 outcomes in hospitalized patients.

Background: There is an urgent need for novel therapeutic strategies for reversing COVID-19-related lung inflammation. Recent evidence has demonstrated that the cholesterol-lowering agents, statins, are associated with reduced mortality in patients with various respiratory infections. We sought to investigate the relationship between statin use and COVID-19 disease severity in hospitalized patients.

Factors associated with disease severity and mortality among patients with COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Understanding the factors associated with disease severity and mortality in Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is imperative to effectively triage patients. We performed a systematic review to determine the demographic, clinical, laboratory and radiological factors associated with severity and mortality in COVID-19.

Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase and WHO database for English language articles from inception until May 8, 2020.

The Global Health Security Index is not predictive of coronavirus pandemic responses among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has devastated many countries with ripple effects felt in various sectors of the global economy. In November 2019, the Global Health Security (GHS) Index was released as the first detailed assessment and benchmarking of 195 countries to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease threats. This paper presents the first comparison of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development OECD countries' performance during the pandemic, with the pre-COVID-19 pandemic preparedness as determined by the GHS Index.

Estimating obstetric and gynecologic surgical rate: A benchmark of surgical capacity building in Ghana.

Objective: To estimate the annual rate of obstetric and gynecologic (ObGyn) operations performed in Ghana and establish a baseline for tracking the expansion of Ghana's surgical capacity.

Methods: Data were obtained for ObGyn operations performed in Ghana between 2014 and 2015 from a nationally representative sample of hospitals and scaled up for national estimates. Operations were classified as "essential" or "other" according to The World Bank's Disease Control Priorities Project.

Enumeration of Operations Performed for Elderly Patients in Ghana: An Opportunity to Improve Global Surgery Benchmarking.

Introduction: The Lancet Commission on Global Surgery proposed 5000 operations/100,000 people annually as a benchmark for developing countries but did not define benchmarks for different age groups. We evaluated the operation rate for elderly patients (≥65 years) in Ghana and estimated the unmet surgical need for the elderly by comparison to a high-income country benchmark.

Methods: Data on operations performed for elderly patients over a 1-year period in 2014-5 were obtained from representative samples of 48/124 small district hospitals and 12/16 larger referral hospitals and scaled-up for nationwide estimates.