Surveillance of Mpox Cases Attending Sexual Health Services in England (SOMASS): design, implementation and initial findings from the SOMASS data collection tool, 2022.

Objectives: We aimed to design and implement a data collection tool to support the 2022 mpox (monkeypox) outbreak, and to describe clinical and epidemiological data from individuals with mpox attending sexual health services (SHSs) in England.

Methods: The UK Health Security Agency and the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV established the Surveillance of Mpox Cases Attending Sexual Health Services in England (SOMASS) system.Descriptive data were collected via a secure web-based data collection tool, completed by SHS clinicians following consultation with individuals with suspected mpox.

Devices for the transport and microbiological detection of in sexual health clinic samples: a prospective comparative study.

Background: Propagation and microbiological detection of can be challenging due to the fastidious nature of the bacterium outside the human host environment. Different sample transport options were evaluated in order to address this issue.

Methods: Symptomatic and high-risk patients consented to take part.

BHIVA position statement on HIV, the law and the work of the clinical team.

The purpose of this statement is to outline issues at the interface between HIV transmission and the law and provide guidance to healthcare professionals (HCPs) working in the field of HIV medicine. The guidance is to support work in the UK, and it is important to note that the law in England and Wales differs from that in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Approaches are suggested to deal with these issues consistently, within legal and General Medical Council (GMC) regulatory frameworks and in the context of the public health agenda.

HIV Disclosure-Professional Body Guidelines, the Law and the Boundaries of Medical Advice.

This article examines the current BHIVA/BASHH guidelines on the disclosure of HIV+ status in the context of sexual activity. It assesses whether the guidance provided on how to avoid criminal prosecution accurately reflects the prevailing position in law. Given that aspects of the guidance related to non-disclosure of HIV infection in the context of low or negligible risk are as yet untested in UK law, it is argued that there is some uncertainty as to whether the professional body guidelines and the law can be reconciled with each other.

The role of sacral slope in lumbosacral fusion: a biomechanical study.

Object: Abnormal sacral slope (SS) has shown to increase progression of spondylolisthesis, yet there exists a paucity in biomechanical studies investigating its role in the correction of adult spinal deformity, its influence on lumbosacral shear, and its impact on the instrumentation selection process. This in vitro study investigates the effect of SS on 3 anterior lumbar interbody fusion constructs in a biomechanics laboratory.

Methods: Nine healthy, fresh-frozen, intact human lumbosacral vertebral segments were tested by applying a 550-N axial load to specimens with an initial SS of 20° on an MTS Bionix test system.