Viewpoint on WHO implementation guidance on tuberculosis infection prevention and control.

https://bit.ly/3YcyJxj

Assessment of Alinity s Chagas as a Primary Diagnostic Test for Chronic Chagas Disease in a Non-Endemic Area of Europe (Barcelona, Spain).

Chagas disease (CD) has become a worldwide problem due to globalization. In Europe, most cases are imported and are diagnosed in the chronic phase by two serological tests, as recommended by the World Health Organization. Chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassays (CMIAs) are an emerging alternative to the diagnostic standard.

Changes in prevalence and socioeconomic inequalities in secondhand smoke exposure in Spanish children, 2016-2019.

Introduction: Children are vulnerable to secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure, especially those with lower socioeconomic status. This study assesses the changes in prevalence and socioeconomic inequalities in SHS exposure in children younger than 12 years old in Spain between 2016 and 2019.

Methods: We conducted two cross-sectional studies among representative samples of households with children aged <12 years in Spain, in 2016 (n=2411) and 2019 (n=2412).

Typing of isolates from vectors and leporids of the Madrid (Spain) outbreak.

In 2009, a large outbreak of leishmaniasis, associated with environmental changes, was declared near Madrid (Spain), in which was the vector, whereas the main reservoirs were hares and rabbits. Analysis of isolates from humans, vectors and leporids from the focus identified the ITS-Lombardi genotype. However, multilocus enzyme electrophoresis (MLEE), the reference technique for typing, and sequencing of the gene, a commonly used marker, were not performed.

The need for culture in tegumentary leishmaniasis diagnosis in Bolivia: A comparative evaluation of four parasitological techniques using two sampling methods.

Leishmaniases are zoonotic diseases caused by protozoa of the genus Leishmania. In Bolivia, leishmaniasis occurs mainly in the cutaneous form (CL) followed by the mucosal or mucocutaneous form (ML or MCL), grouped as tegumentary leishmaniosis (TL), while cases of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) are rare. The cases of TL are routinely diagnosed by parasitological methods: Direct Parasitological Exam (DPE) and axenic culture, the latter being performed only by specialized laboratories.

Impact of the implementation of a standardised interdisciplinary information transfer method in the delivery room and intermediate obstetric care unit.

Aim: This study aims to describe the implementation of the standard methodology for information transfer in the labour ward and Intermediate Obstetric Care Unit and to identify the impact of this implementation on the factors that act as facilitators and barriers in the procedure.

Method: Quasi-experimental pretest-posttest study without a control group in an Intermediate Obstetric Care Unit and delivery room of the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Service of a tertiary hospital in Barcelona. Healthcare staff self-completed an ad hoc questionnaire before and after implementing the standardised IDEAS methodology in the service during 2019 and 2020.

Control of occult hepatitis B virus infection.

Background: The diagnosis of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection requires HBV DNA testing and serologic testing for detection of the surface antigen (HBsAg) and the hepatitis B core antibody (anti-HBc). There is a population of patients with occult HBV infection (OBI), which is not detected by HBsAg or HBV DNA quantification in blood, despite the presence of active replication in the liver.

Scope: This document provides a definition of OBI and describes the diagnostic techniques currently used.

Prenatal environmental exposures associated with sex differences in childhood obesity and neurodevelopment.

Background: Obesity and neurodevelopmental delay are complex traits that often co-occur and differ between boys and girls. Prenatal exposures are believed to influence children's obesity, but it is unknown whether exposures of pregnant mothers can confer a different risk of obesity between sexes, and whether they can affect neurodevelopment.

Methods: We analyzed data from 1044 children from the HELIX project, comprising 93 exposures during pregnancy, and clinical, neuropsychological, and methylation data during childhood (5-11 years).

Long-Term Exposure to Nitrate and Trihalomethanes in Drinking Water and Prostate Cancer: A Multicase-Control Study in Spain (MCC-Spain).

Background: Nitrate and trihalomethanes (THMs) in drinking water are widespread and are potential human carcinogens.

Objective: We evaluated the association between drinking-water exposure to nitrate and THMs and prostate cancer.

Methods: During the period 2008-2013, 697 hospital-based incident prostate cancer cases (97 aggressive tumors) and 927 population-based controls were recruited in Spain, providing information on residential histories and type of water consumed.

Usefulness of Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry in the Characterization of Strains Causing Tegumentary Leishmaniasis in Bolivia versus Gene Sequencing.

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) is a proteomic technique with proven efficiency in the identification of microorganisms, such as bacteria, fungi, and parasites. The present study aimed to evaluate the usefulness of MALDI-TOF MS for the characterization of species circulating in Bolivia using gene sequencing as a reference technique. 55 strains that were isolated from patients with tegumentary leishmaniasis were analyzed.

Oportunistic diagnosis based on age and hepatitis C virus clearance: an essential step to improve the overall health of the liver.

Back in January 2022, an EASL-Lancet Commission on the impact of liver disorders in the European region commissioned by the WHO demonstrated that this condition is, actually, the second leading cause of loss of labor years in Europe after ischemic heart disease (1). This is a very relevant piece of information since this is something that is going to impact the new generations of Europeans unless a significant change is made in public health policies. Despite the advances made over the last few years in hepatitis C virus clearance-understood as a significant reduction of morbidity and mortality associated with Hepatitis B and C viruses-there are still challenges ahead to improve liver health due to the high use of alcohol, and the inseparable triad obesity / diabetes mellitus / metabolic associated fatty liver disease.

Recommendations for the integral diagnosis of chronic viral hepatitis in a single analytical extraction.

The Spanish Society of Digestive Pathology (SEPD), the Spanish Association for the Study of the Liver (AEEH), the Spanish Society of Infections and Clinical Microbiology (SEIMC) and its Viral Hepatitis Study Group (GEHEP), and with the endorsement of the Alliance for the Elimination of Viral Hepatitis in Spain (AEHVE), have agreed on a document to carry out a comprehensive diagnosis of viral hepatitis (B, C and D), from a single blood sample; that is, a comprehensive diagnosis, in the hospital and/or at the point of care of the patient. We propose an algorithm, so that the positive result in a viral hepatitis serology (B, C and D), as well as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), would trigger the analysis of the rest of the virus, including the viral load when necessary, in the same blood draw. In addition, we make two additional recommendations.

Performance of host-response biomarkers to risk-stratify children with pneumonia in Bhutan.

Pneumonia is the leading cause of post-neonatal death amongst children under five years of age; however, there is no simple triage tool to identify children at risk of progressing to severe and fatal disease. Such a tool could assist for early referral and prioritization of care to improve outcomes and enhance allocation of scarce resources. We compared the performance of inflammatory and endothelial activation markers in addition to clinical signs or scoring scales to risk-stratify children hospitalized with pneumonia at the national referral hospital of Bhutan with the goal of predicting clinical outcome.

Dietary inflammatory index and prostate cancer risk: MCC-Spain study.

Background: The etiology of prostate cancer (PCa) is not well-known, and the role of diet is not well established. We aimed to evaluate the role of the inflammatory power of the diet, measured by the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII), on the risk of PCa.

Methodology: A population-based multicase-control (MCC-Spain) study was conducted.

Levels and determinants of urinary cadmium in general population in Spain: Metal-MCC-Spain study.

Background: Cadmium is a ubiquitous and persistent metal, associated with different harmful health effects and with increased morbidity and mortality. Understanding the main sources of exposure is essential to identify at risk populations and to design public health interventions.

Objective: To evaluate cadmium exposure in a random-sample of general adult population from three regions of Spain, assessed by the urinary cadmium (U-Cd) concentration, and to identify its potential determinants and sex-specific differences, including sociodemographic, lifestyle and dietary factors.

Multicentre study on the reproducibility of MALDI-TOF MS for nontuberculous mycobacteria identification.

The ability of MALDI-TOF for the identification of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) has improved recently thanks to updated databases and optimized protein extraction procedures. Few multicentre studies on the reproducibility of MALDI-TOF have been performed so far, none on mycobacteria. The aim of this study was to evaluate the reproducibility of MALDI-TOF for the identification of NTM in 15 laboratories in 9 European countries.

Comparison of HE4, CA125, ROMA and CPH-I for Preoperative Assessment of Adnexal Tumors.

(1) OBJECTIVE: To assess the performance of CA125, HE4, ROMA index and CPH-I index to preoperatively identify epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) or metastatic cancer in the ovary (MCO). (2) METHODS: single center retrospective study, including women with a diagnosis of adnexal mass. We obtained the AUC, sensitivity, specificity and predictive values were of HE4, CA125, ROMA and CPH-I for the diagnosis of EOC and MCO.

Interferon-γ-Inducible Protein 10 (IP-10) Kinetics after Antiretroviral Treatment Initiation in Ethiopian Adults with HIV.

Interferon-γ-inducible protein 10 (IP-10) has been suggested as a marker for targeted viral load (VL) monitoring during antiretroviral treatment (ART). We aimed to determine the kinetics of IP-10 during the initial year of ART, with particular regard to the impact of tuberculosis (TB) co-infection on IP-10 secretion. Longitudinal plasma IP-10 levels were quantified in 112 treatment-naive HIV-positive adults at Ethiopian health centers, through enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using samples obtained before and during the initial 12 months of ART.