03. IMIB (Instituto Murciano de Investigación Biosanitaria Pascual Parrilla)

Marked increase in cryptosporidiosis cases, Spain, 2023

Wed, 01 Jan 0010 00:00:00 GMT

Marked increase in cryptosporidiosis cases, Spain, 2023 Peñuelas-Martínez, Marina; Carmena, David; Guzmán-Herrador, Bernardo-R; Palau-Miguel, Margarita; Saravia-Campelli, Gabriela; García-Álvarez, Rosa-María; Guerrero-Vadillo, Mariá; Dashti, Alejandro; Köster, Pamela-C; Guevara-Alemany, Esperanza; Simón-Soria, BackgroundBy mid-September 2023, several event notifications related to cryptosporidiosis had been identified from different regions in Spain. Therefore, a request for urgent notification of cryptosporidiosis cases to the National Surveillance Network was launched.AimWe aimed at assessing the extent of the increase in cases, the epidemiological characteristics and the transmission modes and compared to previous years.MethodsWe analysed data on case notifications, outbreak reports and genotypes focusing on June-October 2023 and compared the results to 2016-2022.ResultsIn 2023, 4,061 cryptosporidiosis cases were notified in Spain, which is an increase compared to 2016-2022. The cumulative incidence was 8.3 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in 2023, sixfold higher than the median of 1.4 cases per 100,000 inhabitants 2016-2022. Almost 80% of the cases were notified between June and October. The largest outbreaks were related to contaminated drinking water or swimming pools. Cryptosporidium hominis was the most common species in the characterised samples (115/122), and the C. hominis IfA12G1R5 subtype, previously unusual in Spain, was detected from 76 (62.3%) of the 122 characterised samples.ConclusionsA substantial increase in cryptosporidiosis cases was observed in 2023. Strengthening surveillance of Cryptosporidium is essential for prevention of cases, to better understand trends and subtypes circulating and the impact of adverse meteorological events.

Implication of Hepsin from Primary Tumor in the Prognosis of Colorectal Cancer Patients

Wed, 01 Jan 0010 00:00:00 GMT

Implication of Hepsin from Primary Tumor in the Prognosis of Colorectal Cancer Patients Zaragoza-Huesca, David; Nieto-Olivares, Andres; Garcia-Molina, Francisco; Ricote, Guillermo; Montenegro, Sofia; Sánchez-Canovas, Manuel; Garrido-Rodríguez, Pedro; Penas-Martínez, Julia; Vicente, Vicente; Martínez, Francisco; Lozano, Maria-Luisa; Carmona-B Hepsin is a type II transmembrane serine protease whose deregulation promotes tumor invasion by proteolysis of the pericellular components. In colorectal cancer, the implication of hepsin is unknown. Consequently, we aimed to study the correlations between hepsin expression and different clinical-histopathological variables in 169 patients with localized colorectal cancer and 118 with metastases. Tissue microarrays were produced from samples at diagnosis of primary tumors and stained with an anti-hepsin antibody. Hepsin expression was correlated with clinical-histopathological variables by using the chi-square and Kruskal?Wallis tests, Kaplan?Meier and Aalen?Johansen estimators, and Cox and Fine and Gray multivariate models. In localized cancer patients, high-intensity hepsin staining was associated with reduced 5-year disease-free survival (p-value = 0.16). Medium and high intensity of hepsin expression versus low expression was associated with an increased risk of metastatic relapse (hazard ratio 2.83, p-value = 0.035 and hazard ratio 3.30, p-value = 0.012, respectively), being a better prognostic factor than classic histological variables. Additionally, in patients with localized tumor, 5-year thrombosis cumulative incidence increased with the increment of hepsin expression (p-value = 0.038). Medium and high intensities of hepsin with respect to low intensity were associated with an increase in thrombotic risk (hazard ratio 7.71, p-value = 0.043 and hazard ratio 9.02, p-value = 0.028, respectively). This relationship was independent of previous tumor relapse (p-value = 0.036). Among metastatic patients, low hepsin expression was associated with a low degree of tumor differentiation (p-value < 0.001) and with major metastatic dissemination (p-value = 0.023). Hepsin is a potential thrombotic and metastatic biomarker in patients with localized colorectal cancer. In metastatic patients, hepsin behaves in a paradoxical way with respect to differentiation and invasion processes

Acute Effects of Surgical and FFP2 Face Masks on Physiological Responses and Strength Performance in Persons with Sarcopenia

Wed, 01 Jan 0010 00:00:00 GMT

Acute Effects of Surgical and FFP2 Face Masks on Physiological Responses and Strength Performance in Persons with Sarcopenia Ramos-Campo, Domingo-Jesus; Pérez-Pinero, Silvia; Muñoz-Carrillo, Juan-Carlos; López-Roman, Francisco-Javier; Garcia-Sánchez, Esther; Avila-Gandia, Vicente Due to COVID-19, wearing a face mask to reduce virus transmission is currently mandatory in some countries when participants practice exercise in sports centers. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to analyze the effect of wearing a surgical or FFP2 mask during a resistance training session. Fourteen people with sarcopenia (age: 59.40 ± 5.46 years; weight: 68.78 ± 8.31 kg; height: 163.84 ± 9.08 cm) that participated in the study performed three training sessions in a randomized order: 4 sets of 10 repetitions of a half-squat at 60% of the one-repetition maximum and 90 s of rest between set and were either (a) without a mask (NM), (b) wearing a surgical face mask (SM), and (c) wearing a FFP2 face mask (FFP2). We found that wearing face masks had no effect on strength performance (session mean propulsive velocity (m/s): WM: 0.396 ± 0.042; SM: 0.387 ± 0.037; and FFP2: 0.391 ± 0.042 (p = 0.918)). Additionally, no impact of wearing a mask was found on heart rate, heart rate variability, blood lactate concentration (WM: 4.17 ± 1.89; SM: 4.49 ± 2.07; and FFP2: 5.28 ± 2.45 mmol/L (p = 0.447)), or rating of perceived exertion. Wearing a surgical or FFP2 face mask during a resistance training session resulted in similar strength performance and physiological responses than the same exercise without a mask in persons with sarcopenia.

Global overview of the management of acute cholecystitis during the COVID-19 pandemic (CHOLECOVID study)

Wed, 01 Jan 0010 00:00:00 GMT

Global overview of the management of acute cholecystitis during the COVID-19 pandemic (CHOLECOVID study) Spiers, Harry-V-M; Kouli, Omar; Ahmed, Waheed-U; Varley, Rebecca; Argus, Leah; McLean, Kenneth-A; Kamarajah, Sivesh-K; Coe, Peter; Griffiths, E; Chan, Anthony-KC; Macutkiewicz, Christian; Jamdar, Saurabh; Wilson, Michael; Toogood, Giles; Siriwardena, Ajit Background: This study provides a global overview of the management of patients with acute cholecystitis during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: CHOLECOVID is an international, multicentre, observational comparative study of patients admitted to hospital with acute cholecystitis during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data on management were collected for a 2-month study interval coincident with the WHO declaration of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and compared with an equivalent pre-pandemic time interval. Mediation analysis examined the influence of SARS-COV-2 infection on 30-day mortality. Results: This study collected data on 9783 patients with acute cholecystitis admitted to 247 hospitals across the world. The pandemic was associated with reduced availability of surgical workforce and operating facilities globally, a significant shift to worse severity of disease, and increased use of conservative management. There was a reduction (both absolute and proportionate) in the number of patients undergoing cholecystectomy from 3095 patients (56.2 per cent) pre-pandemic to 1998 patients (46.2 per cent) during the pandemic but there was no difference in 30-day all-cause mortality after cholecystectomy comparing the pre-pandemic interval with the pandemic (13 patients (0.4 per cent) pre-pandemic to 13 patients (0.6 per cent) pandemic; P = 0.355). In mediation analysis, an admission with acute cholecystitis during the pandemic was associated with a non-significant increased risk of death (OR 1.29, 95 per cent c.i. 0.93 to 1.79, P = 0.121). Conclusion: CHOLECOVID provides a unique overview of the treatment of patients with cholecystitis across the globe during the first months of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. The study highlights the need for system resilience in retention of elective surgical activity. Cholecystectomy was associated with a low risk of mortality and deferral of treatment results in an increase in avoidable morbidity that represents the non-COVID cost of this pandemic.