Sufficient Sleep, Time of Vaccination, and Vaccine Efficacy: A Systematic Review of the Current Evidence and a Proposal for COVID-19 Vaccination

Introduction: The emergence of the novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) sparked an unprecedented effort to develop effective vaccines against the disease. Some factors may boost the vaccine efficacy, including sufficient sleep and morning vaccination. We aimed to conduct a rapid systematic review to summarize data regarding the association between sleep and time of vaccination with immunity after vaccination. Materials and Methods: The systematic review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol, and three databases (PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus) were searched up to March 12, 2022. Results: Eight studies were included regarding the sleep and immune response after vaccination, of them, five studies were on influenza, two studies on hepatitis A (HAV), and one study on hepatitis B. Accordingly, six out of eight studies found a positive correlation between sleep and immune response after vaccination. Regarding the time of vaccination, seven studies were eligible to be included (two studies on influenza, one study on HAV and influenza, one study on BCG, one study on hexavalent vaccine, and two studies on SARS-CoV-2 vaccine). Among them, four out of seven studies (including a study on SARS-CoV-2 inactivated vaccine) reported the priorities of morning versus afternoon vaccination regarding antibody production and immune response after vaccination. Conclusion: Taken together, cumulative evidence suggests that sufficient sleep and vaccination in the morning could enhance the immune response after vaccination. Hence, modulating the time of vaccination and sufficient sleep could a be simple and applicable strategy for increasing vaccine efficacy. Future studies could be performed with SARS-CoV-2 vaccines to investigate the effects of time of vaccination and sufficient sleep on COVID-19 vaccine efficacy.

The Effect of Ondansetron and Dexamethasone on Nausea and Vomiting under Spinal Anesthesia

BACKGROUND

During abdominal surgery under regional anesthesia, nausea may happen due to several contributing factors. This study compared the effects of ondansetron and dexamethasone on nausea and vomiting under spinal anesthesia.

METHODS

One hundred and twenty patients of 15 to 35 years old with ASA class I and II were enrolled. Before administering either ondansetron or dexamethasone, blood pressure and heart rate of the patients were recorded. The patients received 70 mg of 5% lidocaine for spinal anesthesia. Patients who received 6 mg of ondansetron were considered as group A, while group B received 8 mg of dexamethasone. The level of nausea and vomiting, blood pressure, heart rate and respiratory rate of each patient was measured at 1, 5, 10, 15 and 30 minutes after spinal anesthesia and during recovery (every 5 minutes).

RESULTS

There was a significant difference between nausea and vomiting between the two groups after spinal anesthesia within the first and fifth minutes. There was no significant difference between nausea and vomiting between the two groups within 10, 15 and 30 minutes and during recovery at 5, 10, 15 and 30 minutes.

CONCLUSION

Dexamethasone and ondansetron were shown to equally reduce the incidence of nausea and vomiting under spinal anesthesia and can be recommended as a good choice for prevention of nausea and vomiting during surgeries.

The Preventive Role of Low-Dose Intravenous Ketamine on Postoperative Shivering in Children: A Placebo Randomized Controlled Trial

Background

Postoperative shivering is a major problem in children undergoing general anesthesia.

Objectives

The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of low-dose intravenous ketamine for prevention of shivering after induction of general anesthesia in children who had undergone tonsillectomy.

Patients and Methods

This was a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial including 80 children, of American society of anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status I or II, scheduled for tonsillectomy under general anesthesia who were randomly assigned to an intravenous ketamine (0.5 mg/kg, n = 40; group K) group or matched dose placebo (n = 40; group N) group. Surgical and demographic data, unexpected side effects, and the occurrence of shivering for each child were assessed by a blinded observer at the following time points: T0, in the recovery room; T10, at 10 minutes; T20, at 20 minutes; T30, and at 30 minutes.

Results

With regards to the demographic and surgical data, no significant differences between the two study groups were observed (P ≥ 0.05). Shivering intensity in children who had received ketamine was significantly lower than children who had not received ketamine, at T0, T10, T20, and T30 after arrival (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in hallucination, nausea, vomiting, hemodynamic dysfunction, blurred vision, and seizure in the K group compared with the N group (P ≥ 0.05).

Conclusions

Administration of intravenous ketamine at a dosage of 0.5 mg/kg immediately after anesthesia induction had a preventive effect on shivering intensity without hemodynamic alterations in children undergoing general anesthesia for tonsillectomy.

Sero-Epidemiological Study of Hepatitis E Virus among Thalassemia as High Risk Patients: A Cross-Sectional Survey in Jahrom, Southern, Iran

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) could be cause of viral hepatitis in the developing countries and cause severe epidemics. According to other studies, blood transfusion as a probable route of HEV infection has been suggested. An infection with hepatitis agents such as HEV causes active liver failure in multi-transfusion patients in particular thalassemia. The purpose of this study determines the seropositivity of anti-HEV antibodies in thalassemia individuals in Jahrom. In a cross-sectional study, sera from 110 thalassemia were collected between 2013 and 2014. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method was performed to detection of anti-HEV antibodies. Individuals’ data were collected such as, demographic and clinical, for statistical analysis. Our results show that 10% and 1.8% of the enrolled patients were HEV Ig-G and Ig-M positive antibodies respectively. In addition, there was statiscally significant difference in age groups for prevalence of anti-HEV Ig-G (P = 0.01). Also the serum levels of liver enzymes such as ALT and AST in the HEV Ig-G and Ig-M positive samples were significantly higher than anti-HEV negative samples. But there were no significant difference between sex and splenectomy with anti-HEV positive samples. The results indicate more study are needed to assess HEV screening of blood products to these patients that those have a probably risk of exposure to HEV especially in higher years old.

Comparison of the Analgesic Effect of Paracetamol and Magnesium Sulfate during Surgeries

BACKGROUND

New drugs are increasingly used to induce analgesia during surgeries. This study compared the analgesic effects of paracetamol and magnesium sulfate.

METHODS

Sixty patients with American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) class I or II patients who were candidates for surgery of the lower limbs were randomly divided into three equal groups who were age and gender matched. Group 1 received paracetamol, and group 2, the magnesium sulfate during surgery and group 3 as the control. Pain intensities were measured and recorded using the Visual Analog Scale before surgery, in the recovery room, and 6, 12, and 18 hours after surgery.

RESULTS

Pain intensities (7.10, 5.80, and 4.10) were higher in the control group; 6, 12, and 18 hours after surgery compared to the paracetamol (6.45, 4.15, 2.50) and the magnesium groups (7.25, 4.55, and 2.05), but the difference was not statistically significant.

CONCLUSION

Paracetamol and magnesium sulfate were shown to have postoperative analgesic effects and reduce the quantity of narcotic use after surgery.

Association of Tumor Growth Factor-β and Interferon-γ Serum Levels With Insulin Resistance in Normal Pregnancy

Pregnancy is related to change in glucose metabolism and insulin production. The aim of our study was to determine the association of serum IFN-γ and TGF-β levels with insulin resistance during normal pregnancy. This cross sectional study was carried out on 97 healthy pregnant (in different trimesters) and 28 healthy non-pregnant women. Serum TGF-β and IFN-γ level were measured by ELISA method. Pregnant women had high level TGF-β and low level IFN-γ as compared non-pregnant women. Maternal serum TGF-β concentration significantly increased in third trimester as compared first and second trimester of pregnancy. Maternal serum IFN-γ concentration significantly decreased in third trimester as compared first and second trimester of pregnancy. Pregnant women exhibited higher score of HOMA IR as compared non-pregnant women. There were association between gestational age with body mass index (r=0.28, P=0.005), TGF-β (r=0.45, P<0.001) and IFN-γ (r=-0.50, P<0.001). There was significant association between Insulin resistance and TGF-β (r=0.17, p=0.05). Our findings suggest that changes in maternal cytokine level in healthy pregnant women were anti-inflammatory. Furthermore, Tumor Growth Factor-β appears has a role in induction insulin resistance in healthy pregnant women. However, further studies needed to evaluate role of different cytokines on insulin resistance in normal pregnancy.

Lack of Association Between rs17568 Polymorphism in OX40 Gene and Myocardial Infarction, Southern of Iran

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) is one of the inflammatory cytokines which has an important role in inflammation and migration of other inflammatory cells to the atherosclerotic plaques. OX40 is a member of the TNF super family receptor protein. OX40 and OX40 ligand are co-stimulators for T-cells and can increase inflammatory response in atherosclerotic plaques. The aim of this study was to determine the association of rs17568 polymorphism in OX40 gene with premature myocardial infarction. This case control study was done on 100 patients with premature acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and a similar number of sex, age and some other cardiovascular risk factor matched healthy people. The OX40 rs17568 polymorphism was genotyped, using PCR-RFLP method. A-allele frequency of rs17568 SNP was lower non-significantly in Premature AMI, compared to healthy subjects (49% vs. 51%). The analysis of rs17568 (A/G) polymorphism showed an odds ratio of 1.127 (95% CI: 0.635-1.999; P= 0.686) for the GG genotype and 5.761 (95% CI: 1.200-27.655; P= 0.029) for the AG genotype, compared to the AA genotype. The results of this study indicate that the rs17568 SNP of OX40 gene is not associated with premature AMI in the evaluated population.