Factors associated with SARS-CoV-2-related hospital outcomes among and between persons living with and without diagnosed HIV infection in New York State.

Background: Persons living with diagnosed HIV (PLWDH) are at increased risk for severe illness due to COVID-19. The degree to which this due to HIV infection, comorbidities, or other factors remains unclear.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective matched cohort study of individuals hospitalized with COVID-19 in New York State between March and June 2020, during the first wave of the pandemic, to compare outcomes among 853 PLWDH and 1,621 persons without diagnosed HIV (controls).

Emergence of Congenital Chagas Disease in Ireland.

Chagas disease (CD) is an under-diagnosed tropical disease that is increasingly being observed outside of Latin America. We describe the first 2 infants with congenital Chagas Disease (cCD) in Ireland. Clinicians in nonendemic countries need to be aware of the potential for cCD due to the migration of women from countries of high prevalence.

The Effect of COVID-19 Infection During Pregnancy; Evaluating Neonatal Outcomes and the Impact of the B.1.1.7. Variant.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection during pregnancy has been associated with adverse perinatal outcomes. We aim to evaluate the neonatal outcomes including the incidence of preterm birth, admission to the neonatal unit and incidence of congenital anomalies in this cohort. We will also describe these outcomes in the context of the B.

Haematological parameters and coagulation in umbilical cord blood following COVID-19 infection in pregnancy.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate infants, born to women with SARS-CoV-2 detected during pregnancy, for evidence of haematological abnormalities or hypercoagulability in umbilical cord blood.

Study Design: This was a prospective observational case-control study of infants born to women who had SARS-CoV-2 RNA detected by PCR at any time during their pregnancy (n = 15). The study was carried out in a Tertiary University Maternity Hospital (8,500 deliveries/year) in Ireland.

Vertical Transmission of in a Non-Endemic Country: Histology of the Infected Placenta.

Chagas disease, once confined to rural Latin America is an increasing public health concern in non-endemic countries due to population movements. Here we present an unexpected finding of a placenta infected with T. cruzi from a Brazilian woman residing in Ireland.

Assessing standards for prevention of early onset group B streptococcal (GBS) disease in Ireland.

Background: Early onset group B streptococcal (GBS) disease can cause significant neonatal morbidity and mortality. There is currently no Irish national guideline for GBS screening, and protocols vary across maternity units. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing at induction or labour onset informs triage for antibiotic prophylaxis; however, there are human and infrastructural resource requirements to enable widespread implementation.

Local Anesthetic Systemic Toxicity (LAST): Designing an Educational Effort for Nurses That Will Last.

Purpose: To improve knowledge and raise awareness of nurses who assist certified registered nurse anesthetists or anesthesiologists with peripheral nerve block or spinal block procedures about a potential life-threatening local anesthetic systemic toxicity (LAST) event.

Design: An evidence-based practice project design.

Methods: Nurses in units where nerve block procedures were performed (ie, postanesthesia care unit, preoperative, operating room, outpatient services, labor and delivery unit) received a pretest about their knowledge of LAST events, participated in a 30-minute educational session, and then completed a post-test.

Screening for group B Streptococcus (GBS) at labour onset using PCR: accuracy and potential impact - a pilot study.

Unlabelled: This pilot study assessed the diagnostic accuracy and potential impact of a rapid PCR-based screening test for the detection of group B Streptococcus (GBS) at the onset of labour for the purpose of optimising intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis (IAP). Vaginal and rectal swabs from a convenience sample of 158 women were analysed by conventional broth-enriched culture and a rapid PCR test. Overall, GBS carriage was 18.

Assessing children's speech using picture-naming: The influence of differing phonological variables on some speech outcomes.

Purpose: Sometimes, children's speech is judged as typical on picture-naming tests and not on other speech tests, even other picture-naming tests. This study attempts to explain this observation by examining the impact of increasing the numbers of polysyllabic words in a picture-naming test on the outcomes of percentages of consonants and vowels correct and phonological processes.

Method: The participants were 283 randomly sampled, typically-developing children, aged 3-7-years.

Pregnancy Outcomes of Mothers with Detectable CMV-Specific IgM Antibodies: A Three-Year Review in a Large Irish Tertiary Referral Maternity Hospital.

A retrospective audit was performed for all obstetric patients who had positive CMV IgM results between January 2012 and December 2014 in the Rotunda Hospital, Ireland. In total, 622 CMV IgM positive tests were performed on samples from 572 patients. Thirty-seven patients had a positive CMV IgM result (5.

Syphilis serology in pregnancy: an eight-year study (2005-2012) in a large teaching maternity hospital in Dublin, Ireland.

All cases of positive syphilis serology detected in antenatal and peripartum screening in a large teaching maternity hospital in inner city Dublin, Ireland over an eight-year period (2005-2012 inclusive) were reviewed and included in our study. Demographic, antenatal registration, laboratory (including co-infections), partner serology, treatment and delivery data were recorded in our database. Infant follow-up, treatment and outcome data were also collected.

Recovery of drugs of abuse from Dräger DCD5000 oral fluid collection device in Australia.

In Australia, it is a requirement of workplace oral fluid (OF) drugs of abuse testing that drug recovery from collection devices be verified by an accredited laboratory. Recovery data are used in conjunction with collection volume imprecision data and uncertainty of measurement to provide an estimation of drug concentration in neat OF. The manufacturer's product information for the DCD5000 collection device indicates that the collection volume of the swab is 380 µL.

Symptomatic primary Cytomegalovirus infection in a HIV-positive pregnant woman.

We describe a case of symptomatic primary Cytomegalovirus infection in a HIV-positive pregnant woman on antiretroviral treatment with a CD4 count >200 × 10(6)/l requiring intravenous ganciclovir. No adverse consequences from ganciclovir or evidence of congenital Cytomegalovirus infection were found.

LC-MS/MS method for the quantitation of metabolites of eight commonly-used synthetic cannabinoids in human urine--an Australian perspective.

An LC-MS/MS method for the quantitation of urinary metabolites of eight JWH-type synthetic cannabinoids (SCs) has been developed and validated. Urine samples are subjected to deconjugation using β-glucuronidase, followed by a solvent extraction procedure. Compounds are separated on a reverse-phase HPLC column within a 14 min cycle.

Evaluation of 4 weeks' neonatal antiretroviral prophylaxis as a component of a prevention of mother-to-child transmission program in a resource-rich setting.

Background: In resource-rich settings, universal adoption of a 4- rather than 6-week neonatal antiretroviral (ARV) prophylaxis regimen could reduce toxicity and results in cost savings, provided prevention of mother-to-child transmission program effectiveness is not compromised.

Methods: Between January 1999 and December 2008, a 10-year study of the observational database of the Irish prevention of mother-to-child transmission program that uses a 4- rather than 6-week neonatal ARV prophylaxis regimen was undertaken. Maternal and infant data were analyzed to determine the vertical transmission rate (VTR) and infant outcome.

Targeting points for further intervention: a review of HIV-infected infants born in ireland in the 7 years following introduction of antenatal screening.

Even in countries with well-developed programs for prevention of mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV, there remains a low level of ongoing transmission. Pregnant, HIV-infected women may not always access screening and available interventions because of circumstances, beliefs, and other influences. Missed opportunities for the prevention of MTCT remains an issue to be addressed.

The determination of the 99th centile level for troponin assays in an Australian reference population.

Background: Current guidelines for the diagnosis and risk assessment of patients presenting with myocardial infarction recommend a single decision cut-off point for cardiac troponin (cTn) based on the 99th centile of a reference population. The 99th centile level for eight troponin assays was determined in an apparently cardio-healthy Australian reference population.

Methods: Nine laboratories measured troponin in serum and plasma collected from 111 reference individuals.

HIV type 1 persistence in CD4- /CD8- double negative T cells from patients on antiretroviral therapy.

The establishment of reservoirs of latently infected cells is thought to contribute to the persistence of HIV-1 infection in the host. Studies so far have mainly focused on the long-lived reservoir of HIV-infected resting CD4+ T cells. A discrete population of HIV-infected CD4-/CD8- double negative (DN) T cells has recently been shown to exist and may also play a role in HIV-1 persistence.