Determinants of growth differentiation factor 15 plasma levels in outpatients with peripheral arterial disease.

Background: Growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15) is a robust prognostic biomarker in patients with cardiovascular (CV) disease, and a better understanding of its clinical determinants is desirable. We aimed to study the associations between GDF-15 levels and in outpatients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD).

Methods: An explorative cross-sectional study (Study of Atherosclerosis in Vastmanland, Västerås, Sweden) included 439 outpatients with carotid or lower extremity PAD.

Inborn errors of immunity are associated with increased COVID-19-related hospitalization and intensive care compared to the general population.

Background: It is thought that patients with inborn errors of immunity (IEI) are more susceptible to severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) than the general population, but a quantification of this potential risk is largely missing.

Objective: We assessed the impact of COVID-19 on patients with IEI.

Methods: A nationwide cohort study was performed to estimate the relative risk (RR) for hospitalization, intensive care, and death within 30 days after a positive severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 test result in an IEI population (n = 2392) compared to the general population (n = 8,270,705) using data from Swedish national registries.

Sociodemographic determinants of COVID-19 vaccination in adolescents in Stockholm, Sweden.

Introduction: Limited data exists on sociodemographic differences in vaccination coverage against COVID-19 among adolescents. This study investigated the association of sociodemographic factors and vaccination coverage of adolescents aged 12 to 17 years over the period of the general vaccination recommendation in Stockholm County, Sweden.

Method: We conducted a population-based retrospective cross-sectional study of vaccine uptake of at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine up until 31 October 2022.

Risk of COVID-19 hospitalisation by HIV-status and SARS-CoV-2 vaccination status during pre- and post-Omicron era in a national register-based cohort study in Sweden.

Background: Data on the outcomes of COVID-19 in people living with HIV (PLHIV), specifically in relation to vaccination status, are lacking during the Omicron era.

Methods: This nationwide registry-based study included all resident in Sweden ≥18 years with a positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR test during January 2021-February 2023. We estimated adjusted odds ratios (adjOR) for COVID-19 hospitalisation and severe COVID-19 (ICU admission and 90-day mortality), categorised by SARS-CoV-2 vaccination status (0-1, 2, and ≥3 doses), and HIV-status.

Protection from prior natural infection vs. vaccination against SARS-CoV-2-a statistical note to avoid biased interpretation.

Introduction: The fight against SARS-CoV-2 has been a major task worldwide since it was first identified in December 2019. An imperative preventive measure is the availability of efficacious vaccines while there is also a significant interest in the protective effect of a previous SARS-CoV-2 infection on a subsequent infection (natural protection rate).

Methods: In order to compare protection rates after infection and vaccination, researchers consider different effect measures such as 1 minus hazard ratio, 1 minus odds ratio, or 1 minus risk ratio.

Prognostic Value of Cardiovascular Biomarkers in the Population.

Importance: Identification of individuals at high risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease within the population is important to inform primary prevention strategies.

Objective: To evaluate the prognostic value of routinely available cardiovascular biomarkers when added to established risk factors.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Individual-level analysis including data on cardiovascular biomarkers from 28 general population-based cohorts from 12 countries and 4 continents with assessments by participant age.

Climate change effects on plankton recruitment from coastal sediments.

In highly seasonal systems, the emergence of planktonic resting stages from the sediment is a key driver for bloom timing and plankton community composition. The termination of the resting phase is often linked to environmental cues, but the extent to which recruitment of resting stages is affected by climate change remains largely unknown for coastal environments. Here we investigate phyto- and zooplankton recruitment from oxic sediments in the Baltic Sea in a controlled experiment under proposed temperature and light increase during the spring and summer.

In-hospital mortality during the wild-type, alpha, delta, and omicron SARS-CoV-2 waves: a multinational cohort study in the EuCARE project.

Background: Investigating outcomes of hospitalised COVID-19 patients throughout the pandemic is crucial to understand the impact of different SARS-CoV-2 variants. We compared 28-day in-hospital mortality of Wild-type, Alpha, Delta, and Omicron variant infections. Whether the difference in risk by variant varied by age was also evaluated.

Declining salinity and increasing temperature reduce the diversity and resilience of benthic diatoms.

Climate change will modify the marine ecosystem in several ways, but the effects of changing climate on benthic diatoms, which are one of the most important photosynthesizing organism groups in benthic habitats, are poorly studied. We conducted a mesocosm experiment to investigate the effects of increasing temperature and decreasing salinity on the taxonomic and functional diversity of benthic diatoms. We showed that decreasing salinity affects the taxonomic and functional composition of communities, and the threshold salinity for community composition is ~5.

Effects of an advanced first aid course or real-time video communication with ambulance personnel on layperson first response for building-site severe injury events: a simulation study.

Background: The risk of high-energy trauma injuries on construction sites is relatively high. A delayed response time could affect outcomes after severe injury. This study assessed if an advanced first aid course for first aid response for laypersons (employees or apprentices) in the construction industry or real-time video communication and support with ambulance personnel, or neither, together with access to an advanced medical kit, would have an effect on immediate layperson vital responses in a severe injury scenario.

Multimodal fine-tuning of clinical language models for predicting COVID-19 outcomes.

Clinical prediction models tend only to incorporate structured healthcare data, ignoring information recorded in other data modalities, including free-text clinical notes. Here, we demonstrate how multimodal models that effectively leverage both structured and unstructured data can be developed for predicting COVID-19 outcomes. The models are trained end-to-end using a technique we refer to as multimodal fine-tuning, whereby a pre-trained language model is updated based on both structured and unstructured data.

Nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 Infections and Mortality During Unique COVID-19 Epidemic Waves.

Importance: Quantifying the burden of nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 infections and associated mortality is necessary to assess the need for infection prevention and control measures.

Objective: To investigate the occurrence of nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 infections and associated 30-day mortality among patients admitted to hospitals in Region Stockholm, Sweden.

Design, Setting, And Participants: A retrospective, matched cohort study divided the period from March 1, 2020, until September 15, 2022, into a prevaccination period, early vaccination and pre-Omicron (period 1), and late vaccination and Omicron (period 2).

Clinical outcomes during and beyond different COVID-19 critical illness variant periods compared with other lower respiratory tract infections.

Background: It is yet to be better understood how outcomes during and after the critical illness potentially differ between severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants from other lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs). We aimed to compare outcomes in adults admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during the Wild-type, Alpha, Delta, and Omicron periods with individuals admitted with other LRTI.

Methods: Population-based cohort study in Stockholm, Sweden, using health registries with high coverage, including ICU-admitted adults from 1 January 2016 to 15 September 2022.

Outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant Infections Compared With Seasonal Influenza and Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections in Adults Attending the Emergency Department: A Multicenter Cohort Study.

Background: There is a controversy over the impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections in an era of less virulent variants and an increasing population immunity. We compared outcomes in adults attending the emergency department (ED) with an Omicron, influenza, or respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection.

Methods: Retrospective multicenter cohort study including adults attending the ED in 6 acute care hospitals in Stockholm County, Sweden, with an Omicron, influenza, or RSV infection during 2021-2022 and 2015-2019.

EuCARE-hospitalised study protocol: a cohort study of patients hospitalised with COVID-19 in the EuCARE project.

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS CoV-2), the virus responsible for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), can lead to hospitalisation, particularly in elderly, immunocompromised, and non-vaccinated or partially vaccinated individuals. Although vaccination provides protection, the duration of this protection wanes over time. Additional doses can restore immunity, but the influence of viral variants, specific sequences, and vaccine-induced immune responses on disease severity remains unclear.

The performance of saliva test strips for determining ethanol levels, as compared to gas chromatography and breathalyser methods.

We set out to determine the performance of the Testi Technologies enzymatic assay saliva ethanol test strips of three different detection levels: 0 g/L, 0.2 g/L and 0.5 g/L, using as the reference method a gas chromatography analyser (GC).

Post-COVID-19 Condition After SARS-CoV-2 Infections During the Omicron Surge vs the Delta, Alpha, and Wild Type Periods in Stockholm, Sweden.

Little is known about the post-COVID-19 condition (PCC) after infections with different SARS-CoV-2 variants. We investigated the risk of PCC diagnosis after primary omicron infections as compared with preceding variants in population-based cohorts in Stockholm, Sweden. When compared with omicron (n = 215 279, 0.

Sociodemographic disparities affect COVID-19 vaccine uptake in non-elderly adults with increased risk of severe COVID-19.

Background: There is limited information about sociodemographic disparities in COVID-19 vaccine uptake among non-elderly adults with an increased risk of severe COVID-19. We investigated the COVID-19 vaccine uptake in individuals aged 18-64 years with an increased risk of severe COVID-19 (non-elderly risk group) in Stockholm County, Sweden.

Method: We used population-based health and sociodemographic registries with high coverage to perform a cohort study of COVID-19 vaccine uptake of one to four doses up until 21 November 2022.

Nondipping blood pressure pattern predicts cardiovascular events and mortality in patients with atherosclerotic peripheral vascular disease.

Background: Patients with peripheral vascular disease (PVD) are often underdiagnosed and undertreated. Nocturnal nondipping blood pressure (BP) pattern, as diagnosed by ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM), is associated with increased cardiovascular risk, but has not been studied in patients with PVD. We aimed to investigate if a nondipping BP pattern predicts cardiovascular events or all-cause death in outpatients with PVD.

Are the results from a multiplex proteomic assay and a conventional immunoassay for NT-proBNP and GDF-15 comparable?

Background: We aimed to compare absolute plasma concentrations of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15) obtained by a conventional immunoassay with the corresponding relative concentrations from a proximity extension assay (PEA) and compare the prognostic impact of the protein levels obtained from these assays.

Methods: We evaluated 437 patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and a population-based cohort of 643 individuals without PAD. Correlations were calculated using Spearman's rank correlation coefficients (rho).