Impact of active case finding for tuberculosis with mass chest X-ray screening in Glasgow, Scotland, 1950-1963: An epidemiological analysis of historical data.

Background: Community active case finding (ACF) for tuberculosis was widely implemented in Europe and North America between 1940 and 1970, when incidence was comparable to many present-day high-burden countries. Using an interrupted time series analysis, we analysed the effect of the 1957 Glasgow mass chest X-ray campaign to inform contemporary approaches to screening.

Methods And Findings: Case notifications for 1950 to 1963 were extracted from public health records and linked to demographic data.

Quantifying non-adherence to anti-tuberculosis treatment due to early discontinuation: a systematic literature review of timings to loss to follow-up.

Background: The burden of non-adherence to anti-tuberculosis (TB) treatment is poorly understood. One type is early discontinuation, that is, stopping treatment early. Given the implications of early discontinuation for treatment outcomes, we undertook a systematic review to estimate its burden, using the timing of loss to follow-up (LFU) as a proxy measure.

No action is without its side effects: Adverse drug reactions and missed doses of antituberculosis therapy, a scoping review.

Aims: A key reason for the failure of antituberculosis (anti-TB) treatment is missed doses (instances where medication is not taken). Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are 1 cause of missed doses, but the global evidence, their relative contribution to missed doses vs. other causes, the patterns of missed doses due to ADRs and the specific ADRs associated with missed doses have not been appraised.

Rural versus urban out-of-hospital cardiac arrest response, treatment and outcomes in the North East of England from 2018 to 2019.

Introduction: Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is a time-sensitive medical emergency. There is international evidence to suggest that rural regions experience worse OHCA outcomes, such as reduced survival rates. The aim of this study was to quantitatively review and compare the OHCA response, treatment and pre-hospital outcomes in a single-centre ambulance service over a 1-year period in urban and rural areas.

Recent advances in the treatment of tuberculosis.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is a global health challenge and one of the leading causes of death worldwide. In the last decade, the TB treatment landscape has dramatically changed. After long years of stagnation, new compounds entered the market (bedaquiline, delamanid, and pretomanid) and phase III clinical trials have shown promising results towards shortening duration of treatment for both drug-susceptible (Study 31/A5349, TRUNCATE-TB, and SHINE) and drug-resistant TB (STREAM, NiX-TB, ZeNix, and TB-PRACTECAL).

The clinical effectiveness of a falls rapid response service, and sex differences of patients using the service: a cross-sectional study in an English ambulance trust.

Background: Falls in older adults are an important issue internationally. They occur from complex interactions between biological, environmental and activity-related factors. As the sexes age differently, there may be sex differences regarding falls.

Students' and staffs' views and experiences of asymptomatic testing on a university campus during the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland: a mixed methods study.

Objectives: To explore the acceptability of regular asymptomatic testing for SARS-CoV-2 on a university campus using saliva sampling for PCR analysis and the barriers and facilitators to participation.

Design: Cross-sectional surveys and qualitative semistructured interviews.

Setting: Edinburgh, Scotland.

Mendelian randomisation identifies priority groups for prophylactic EBV vaccination.

Background: Epstein Barr virus (EBV) infects ~ 95% of the population worldwide and is known to cause adverse health outcomes such as Hodgkin's, non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, and multiple sclerosis. There is substantial interest and investment in developing infection-preventing vaccines for EBV. To effectively deploy such vaccines, it is vital that we understand the risk factors for infection.

Forgiveness Is the Attribute of the Strong: Nonadherence and Regimen Shortening in Drug-sensitive Tuberculosis.

"Forgiveness" charts the ability of a drug or regimen to withstand nonadherence without negative clinical consequences. We aimed to determine the influence of regimen length, regimen drugs, and dosing, and when during treatment nonadherence occurs on the forgiveness of antituberculosis regimens. Using data from three randomized controlled trials comparing experimental 4-month regimens for drug-sensitive tuberculosis with the standard 6-month regimen, we used generalized linear models to examine how the risk of a negative composite outcome changed as dose-taking decreased.

Hidden loss to follow-up among tuberculosis patients managed by public-private mix institutions in South Korea.

In South Korea, public-private mix (PPM) was launched in 2011. This retrospective cohort study sought to determine the rate of loss to follow-up (LTFU) among drug-susceptible tuberculosis (DS-TB) patients in all nationwide PPM institutions, and the risk factors for LTFU. National notification data for DS-TB patients diagnosed between August 2011 and July 2014 in PPM institutions were analysed.

Gastroschisis in one twin neonate with extracorporeal liver.

We report a rare case of gastroschisis with extracorporeal liver suspected on late first trimester ultrasound and confirmed with second trimester ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging in one fetus in a twin pregnancy. Liver herniation is common in omphalocele, a membrane-covered abdominal wall defect associated with other congenital anomalies. However, it is highly uncommon in gastroschisis, an uncovered abdominal wall defect aside of the cord insertion.

Relational Dynamics of Treatment Behavior Among Individuals with Tuberculosis in High-Income Countries: A Scoping Review.

Although tuberculosis (TB) incidence has significantly declined in high-income, low-incidence (HILI) countries, challenges remain in managing TB in vulnerable populations who may struggle to stay on anti-TB treatment (ATT). Factors associated with non-adherence to ATT are well documented; however, adherence is often narrowly conceived as a fixed binary variable that places emphasis on individual agency and the act of taking medicines, rather than on the demands of being on treatment more broadly. Further, the mechanisms through which documented factors act upon the experience of being on treatment are poorly understood.

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behavior Related to COVID-19 Testing: A Rapid Scoping Review.

Testing programs for COVID-19 depend on the voluntary actions of members of the public for their success. Understanding people's knowledge, attitudes, and behavior related to COVID-19 testing is, therefore, key to the design of effective testing programs worldwide. This paper reports on the findings of a rapid scoping review to map the extent, characteristics, and scope of social science research on COVID-19 testing and identifies key themes from the literature.

Temporal trends and forecasting of COVID-19 hospitalisations and deaths in Scotland using a national real-time patient-level data platform: a statistical modelling study.

Background: As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, national-level surveillance platforms with real-time individual person-level data are required to monitor and predict the epidemiological and clinical profile of COVID-19 and inform public health policy. We aimed to create a national dataset of patient-level data in Scotland to identify temporal trends and COVID-19 risk factors, and to develop a novel statistical prediction model to forecast COVID-19-related deaths and hospitalisations during the second wave.

Methods: We established a surveillance platform to monitor COVID-19 temporal trends using person-level primary care data (including age, sex, socioeconomic status, urban or rural residence, care home residence, and clinical risk factors) linked to data on SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR tests, hospitalisations, and deaths for all individuals resident in Scotland who were registered with a general practice on Feb 23, 2020.

First-dose ChAdOx1 and BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccines and thrombocytopenic, thromboembolic and hemorrhagic events in Scotland.

Reports of ChAdOx1 vaccine-associated thrombocytopenia and vascular adverse events have led to some countries restricting its use. Using a national prospective cohort, we estimated associations between exposure to first-dose ChAdOx1 or BNT162b2 vaccination and hematological and vascular adverse events using a nested incident-matched case-control study and a confirmatory self-controlled case series (SCCS) analysis. An association was found between ChAdOx1 vaccination and idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) (0-27 d after vaccination; adjusted rate ratio (aRR) = 5.

Determinants of non-adherence to anti-TB treatment in high income, low TB incidence settings: a scoping review.

Improving adherence to anti-TB treatment is a public health priority in high-income, low incidence (HILI) regions. We conducted a scoping review to identify reported determinants of non-adherence in HILI settings. Key terms related to TB, treatment and adherence were used to search MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, PsycINFO and CINAHL in June 2019.

"": A qualitative study of the dynamics of treatment adherence among adults with tuberculosis in the United Kingdom.

Maintaining adherence to treatment for tuberculosis (TB) is essential if the disease is to be eliminated. As part of formative research to develop an intervention to improve adherence, we documented the lived experiences of adults receiving anti-TB treatment (ATT) in three UK cities and examined how personal, social, and structural circumstances interacted to impact on individuals' adherence to treatment. Using a topic guide that explored social circumstances and experiences of TB care, we conducted in-depth interviews with 18 adults (six women) who were being or had been treated for TB () and four adults (all women) who were caring for a friend, relative, or partner being treated for TB ().

Informing the public health response to COVID-19: a systematic review of risk factors for disease, severity, and mortality.

Background: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has challenged public health agencies globally. In order to effectively target government responses, it is critical to identify the individuals most at risk of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19), developing severe clinical signs, and mortality. We undertook a systematic review of the literature to present the current status of scientific knowledge in these areas and describe the need for unified global approaches, moving forwards, as well as lessons learnt for future pandemics.

Real-time spatial health surveillance: Mapping the UK COVID-19 epidemic.

Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for robust data linkage systems and methods for identifying outbreaks of disease in near real-time. Objectives The primary objective of this study was to develop a real-time geospatial surveillance system to monitor the spread of COVID-19 across the UK. Methods Using self-reported app data and the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage (SAIL) Databank, we demonstrate the use of sophisticated spatial modelling for near-real-time prediction of COVID-19 prevalence at small-area resolution to inform strategic government policy areas.

An open label, randomised controlled trial of rifapentine versus rifampicin based short course regimens for the treatment of latent tuberculosis in England: the HALT LTBI pilot study.

Background: Ending the global tuberculosis (TB) epidemic requires a focus on treating individuals with latent TB infection (LTBI) to prevent future cases. Promising trials of shorter regimens have shown them to be effective as preventative TB treatment, however there is a paucity of data on self-administered treatment completion rates. This pilot trial assessed treatment completion, adherence, safety and the feasibility of treating LTBI in the UK using a weekly rifapentine and isoniazid regimen versus daily rifampicin and isoniazid, both self-administered for 12 weeks.