A wastewater-based risk index for SARS-CoV-2 infections among three cities on the Canadian Prairie

Wastewater surveillance (WWS) is useful to better understand the spreading of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in communities, which can help design and implement suitable mitigation measures. The main objective of this study was to develop the Wastewater Viral Load Risk Index (WWVLRI) for three Saskatchewan cities to offer a simple metric to interpret WWS. The index was developed by considering relationships between reproduction number, clinical data, daily per capita concentrations of virus particles in wastewater, and weekly viral load change rate. Trends of daily per capita concentrations of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater for Saskatoon, Prince Albert, and North Battleford were similar during the pandemic, suggesting that per capita viral load can be useful to quantitatively compare wastewater signals among cities and develop an effective and comprehensible WWVLRI. The effective reproduction number (R_t) and the daily per capita efficiency adjusted viral load thresholds of 85 × 10⁶ and 200 × 10⁶ N2 gene counts (gc)/population day (pd) were determined. These values with rates of change were used to categorize the potential for COVID-19 outbreaks and subsequent declines. The weekly average was considered 'low risk' when the per capita viral load was 85 × 10⁶ N2 gc/pd. A 'medium risk' occurs when the per capita copies were between 85 × 10⁶ and 200 × 10⁶ N2 gc/pd. with a rate of change <100 %. The start of an outbreak is indicated by a 'medium-high' risk classification when the week-over-week rate of change was >100 %, and the absolute magnitude of concentrations of viral particles was >85 × 10⁶ N2 gc/pd. Lastly, a 'high risk' occurs when the viral load exceeds 200 × 10⁶ N2 gc/pd. This methodology provides a valuable resource for decision-makers and health authorities, specifically given the limitation of COVID-19 surveillance based on clinical data.

234 Remote Surgical Teaching During COVID-19: Early Feedback from Students and Teachers

Background

On the 23rd March 2020 the government issued a nationwide lockdown in response to COVID-19. Using Microsoft Teams software, Brighton and Sussex Medical School transitioned to remote surgical teaching. We discuss the early feedback from students and tutors.

Method

All students (N = 40) and tutors (N = 7) were invited to complete an online feedback survey.

Results

Twenty students responded. Nine preferred remote teaching. The teaching was described as either good (10/20) or excellent (10/20). Small group teaching, lectures and student lead seminar sessions all received positive feedback. Students preferred sessions that were interactive. One hour was optimal (17/20). There was no consensus over class size. 15/20 (75%) would like remote teaching to continue after the pandemic.

All tutors responded. There was a preference towards shorter sessions: 45 minutes (2/7) one hour (5/7). Tutors found virtual sessions less interactive (6/7). All tutors would like remote teaching to continue after the pandemic. Three suggested extending teaching to remote surgical ward rounds.

Concern was raised by both students and tutors regarding the absence of practical skills.

Conclusions

The value of remote teaching has been highlighted by COVID-19. Our feedback recommends a transition towards blended learning; using the convenience of remote teaching to help augment traditional medical school teaching.

cchsflow: an open science approach to transform and combine population health surveys

Setting

The Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) is one of the world’s largest ongoing cross-sectional population health surveys, with over 130,000 respondents every two years or over 1.1 million respondents since its inception in 2001. While the survey remains relatively consistent over the years, there are differences between cycles that pose a challenge to analyze the survey over time.

Intervention

A program package called cchsflow was developed to transform and harmonize CCHS variables to consistent formats across multiple survey cycles. An open science approach was used to maintain transparency, reproducibility and collaboration.

Outcomes

The cchsflow R package uses CCHS survey data between 2001 and 2014. Worksheets were created that identify variables, their names in previous cycles, their category structure, and their final variable names. These worksheets were then used to recode variables in each CCHS cycle into consistently named and labelled variables. Following, survey cycles can be combined. The package was then added as a GitHub repository to encourage collaboration with other researchers.

Implication

The cchsflow package has been added to the Comprehensive R Archive Network (CRAN) and contains support for over 160 CCHS variables, generating a combined data set of over 1 million respondents. By implementing open science practices, cchsflow aims to minimize the amount of time needed to clean and prepare data for the many CCHS users across Canada.

Fatal cerebellar stroke following emergency endovascular stent grafting of a leaking thoracic aortic aneurysm: A case report

Stent-grafting of thoracic aortic diseases has developed as an alternative therapeutic modality in thoracic aneurysm management. Postprocedural complications include mortality, endoleaks, paraplegia and stroke. Other complications that may arise in cases of overstenting the origin of the left subclavian arther include left upper limb ischemia, subclavian steal syndrome and stroke. Posterior circulation strokes due to vertebral artery insufficiency have been reported in the past. In the present case, a fatal stroke caused by a cerebellar infarct culminating in the death of a patient with a leaking thoracic aortic aneurysm is reported. Medical personnel as well as patients should be aware of this possible complication. Vigilance in assessing the contralateral cerebral circulation before the procedure is a prerequisite in less acute circumstances.

Acute heart failure in bone marrow transplantation: Impact of intravenous immune globulin as adjuvant therapy

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Background: Little is known regarding management or treatment of cardiac failure after bone marrow transplantation. We investigated the management, treatment and outcome of new onset acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) after bone marrow transplantation (BMT) with beta blockers, ace-inhibitors and adjuvant intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) therapy. Methods: We retrospectively examined 25 patients with ADHF. Eleven of these patients developed congestive heart failure within 100 days of BMT. Baseline echocardiograms were normal prior to admission and all patients were hospitalized and evaluated for left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), and New York Heart Association (NYHA) class. Patients with acute heart failure were treated with standard heart failure medications and patients post-BMT were treated with standard heart failure therapy plus adjuvant (IVIG) (500mg/Kg/day) for 48 hours. Baseline LVEF and NYHA class of 11 patients pre- and post-BMT were compared with LVEF and NYHA class of 14 patients with ADHF that did not receive a BMT. Results: The baseline diagnosis for all patients in the BMT group was NYHA class 4 and post-therapy improved to class 1.2. The baseline diagnosis for all patients in the non-BMT group were NYHA class 3.7 and improved to class 1.2 with medical therapy. The mean LVEF in the BMT group at diagnosis of ADHF was 27.5% and the mean post-therapy with IVIG was 57.6%. The mean baseline LVEF in the group not undergoing BMT and at diagnosis of ADHF was 28.2% and improved post-therapy to 45.2%. Conclusions: Acute decompensated heart failure in the cancer patient is highly treatable with aggressive medical management. Patients with ADHF after BMT and treated with IVIG may have potential clinical benefits with IVIG and standard medical therapy. Significant improvement in LVEF and NYHA were present in the BMT group versus the non-BMT group. These data suggest that BMT outcomes may be improved with routine heart failure management. Further randomized studies should be conducted.

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No significant financial relationships to disclose.