Search

Pregnancy may increase the risk of adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes in SARS-CoV-2 infection. Effectiveness of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in pregnant women is not known. Using a test-negative case-control study, we determined the vaccine effectiveness of mRNA vaccines in preventing confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnant women at a national referral hospital, which handles > 75% of the deliveries in Qatar. Among 2,020 pregnant women who met the study criteria, 397 had a positive SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR and 1,623 had a negative test. Vaccine effectiveness ≥ 14 days after the second dose was 67.7% (95%CI 30.5–86.9), while vaccine effectiveness ≥ 14 days after the first dose but before the second dose was 40.3% (95%CI 0.0-80.4). There were nine severe/critical disease cases, and no deaths in the PCR-positive pregnant women, all among unvaccinated. The mRNA vaccines provide high level of protection against documented SARS-CoV-2 infection, which supports including pregnant women in vaccination campaigns.

Background Cystic fibrosis (CF) lung disease is associated with chronic inflammation leading to progress in lung function. Adiponectin is a predominantly anti-inflammatory adipokine that may have a role in CF lung. This study aims to determine total sputum and total plasma adiponectin levels in clinically stable adults CF patients with CFTR I1234V mutation, compared to plasma adiponectin levels in healthy controls and to investigate their correlations with body mass index (BMI) and spirometry in patients with CF. Methods A cross-sectional study comprises 17 CF patients and 18 healthy controls. Adiponectin levels were measured by magnetic bead-based multiplex assay. Results The mean age of adult CF patients was 22.9 years±3.8 (18–30) and 76.5% CF patients had pancreatic sufficiency. The mean BMI in healthy controls was slightly higher than CF patients. The mean sputum adiponectin level was significantly lower than plasma adiponectin levels in CF patients and healthy controls (p r = 0.47, p = 0.06). Sputum and plasma adiponectin levels in CF patients were correlated negatively with BMI and percentage predicted forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC). Conclusions Sputum adiponectin may provide a minimally invasive tool in the assessment of inflammatory status in CF patients. A further larger study to address any difference in sputum and plasma adiponectin levels among CF patients with pancreatic sufficiency versus pancreatic insufficiency.

Background: Incident reporting systems (IRS) facilitate incidents' reporting and tracking, and help in identifying gaps in health care (HC). Learnings from incident reports (IR) are extremely valuable. This study aimed to assess physician's knowledge and experience with an online IRS in a large tertiary academic institution and to identify barriers of reporting incidents. Methods: A 21-questions electronic online survey was sent to physicians working in the Internal Medicine Department of Hamad Medical Corporation. Results: A total of 115 physicians (76% trainees and 24% attending faculty) responded to the survey, 59% of them were aware of the availability of IRS at HMC. However, only 29% knew how to submit an online IR, and 20% have ever submitted an IR. The survey revealed that of 46% and 63% of participants are less likely to submit an IR when they or their colleague, respectively, commit an error. The main barriers of reporting incidents were, unawareness about the IRS (36%), inability to access it (26%), the perception that IR does not result in a change (13%), Also, the concern or fear of retaliation (13%). When asked about solutions, 57% recommended training and awareness, and 22% recommended sharing learnings and actions from previous IR. Conclusion: IRS is under-utilized by Internal Medicine physicians. The main barrier at the time of the survey is the lack of training and awareness. Promoting awareness and sharing previous learning and actions may improve the utilization of the IRS.