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Copyright of Herz is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Introduction: Nursing-home residents are among the highest risk group in the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. At the onset of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the majority of all deaths from or with SARS-CoV-2 occurred in long-term care facilities (LTCFs), so that maximum protective measures were mandated for these facilities. This study analyzed the impact of the new virus variants and the vaccination campaign on disease severity and mortality among nursing home residents and staff through 2022 as a basis for determining which protective measures remain necessary and appropriate. Methods: In five homes in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, with a total capacity for 705 residents, all cases occurring in the facility among residents and staff were recorded and documented (date of birth and diagnosis, hospitalization and death, vaccination status) and were descriptively analyzed with SPSS. Results: By 31st August 2022, 496 residents tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, 93 in 2020, 136 in 2021, and 267 in 2022; 14 residents presented with a second SARS-CoV-2 infection in 2022, having previously experienced an infection in 2020 or 2021. The percentage of hospitalizations decreased from 24.7% (2020) and 17.6% (2021) to 7.5% (2022), and the percentage of deaths decreased from 20.4% and 19.1% to 1.5%. In 2021, 61.8% of those infected were vaccinated (at least 2x); in 2022, 86.2% of residents had been vaccinated twice, 84% of whom had already had a booster vaccination. Hospitalization and death rates were significantly higher among the unvaccinated than the vaccinated throughout all years (unvaccinated 21.5% and 18.0%; vaccinated 9.8% and 5.5%; KW test p=0.000). However, this difference was no longer significant under the prevalence of the Omicron variant in 2022 (unvaccinated 8.3% and 0%; p=0.561; vaccinated 7.4% and 1.7%; p=0.604). From 2020 to 2022, 400 employees were documented as infected, with 25 having second infections in 2022. Only one employee showed a second infection in 2021 following the first in 2020. Three employees were hospitalized; no deaths occurred. Discussion and conclusion: Severe COVID-19 courses occurred with the Wuhan Wild type in 2020, with a high death rate among nursing-home residents. In contrast, during the waves in 2022 with the relatively mildly pathogenic Omicron variant, many infections but few severe courses and deaths were observed among the now mostly vaccinated and boostered nursing-home residents. Given the high immunity of the population and the low pathogenicity of the circulating virus – even in nursing-home residents – protective measures in nursing homes that restrict people's right to self-determination and quality of life no longer seem justified. Instead, the general hygiene rules and the recommendations of the KRINKO (German Commission for Hospital Hygiene and Infection Prevention) on infection prevention should be followed, and the recommendations of the STIKO (German Standing Commission on Vaccination) on vaccination not only against SARS-CoV-2 but also against influenza and pneumococci should be observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Herz is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Zeitschrift für Gerontologie und Geriatrie is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Herz is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Herz is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: Biomarkers play an important role in the risk stratification of patients with heart failure (HF). Recent studies have shown that soluble suppression of tumorigenicity 2 (sST2), a member of the interleukin 1 receptor family, is associated with disease prognosis in acute and chronic HF. In this study we aimed to investigate the relation between sST2 level and functional capacity in outpatients with systolic HF.Patients and methods: This study included 120 HF patients with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF; EF ≤ 40%). The mean age of patients was 66 ± 11 years. Advanced HF (New York Heart Association [NYHA] functional class III-IV) was observed in 35 patients (29%).Results: sST2 levels were on average higher in patients with NYHA functional classes III and IV than in patients with NYHA functional classes I and II (51 [9-198] vs. 25 ng/ml [9-118], p < 0.001). In a multiple logistic regression model, sST2 level (OR: 1.044, p = 0.004, 95% CI: 1.014-1.075), hemoglobin level (OR: 0.590, p = 0.001, 95% CI: 0.433-0.805), total cholesterol level (OR: 0.977, p = 0.004, 95% CI: 0.962-0.993), and age (OR: 1.066, p = 0.047, 95% CI: 1.001-1.136) were associated with poor functional capacity. In receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, the optimal cut-off value of sST2 for predicting poor functional capacity was >42 ng/ml, with 63% sensitivity and 88% specificity (AUC: 0.810, 95% CI: 0.728- 0.875).Conclusion: Higher sST2 levels were strongly associated with poor NYHA functional class, independent of cardiac risk factors, in outpatients with HFrEF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To investigate the correlation between the level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25-(OH)D] and community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in elderly patients.Methods: A total of 163 older patients were chosen from those hospitalized between October 2011 and October 2012. Patients were divided into pneumonia and non-pneumonia groups, and the concentrations of 25-(OH)D (nmol/L) in serum were measured. Clinical data were then compared between the two groups and pneumonia-related risk factors were analyzed using logistic regression.Results: Among the 163 older hospitalized patients, 49 suffered from pneumonia. Levels of 25-(OH)D, total cholesterol (TC), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were lower (P < 0.05) in the pneumonia group, while severe vitamin D (VitD) deficiency was higher in the pneumonia group (71.4 vs. 19.3%; P < 0.0001). Age and number of hospitalization days were higher in the pneumonia group (P < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression showed that age and VitD levels were independent risk factors for pneumonia. No significant difference was observed in terms of gender, onset season, body mass index, or smoking and drinking history between the two groups (P > 0.05).Conclusion: The older patients with CAP had a severe VitD deficiency, indicating that low levels of VitD might play an important role in the occurrence and development of CAP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Herz is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Herz is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Wiener Klinische Wochenschrift is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Zeitschrift für Gerontologie und Geriatrie is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)