JAMA network open
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Multicenter Study
Prevalence, Incidence, and Sensitization Profile of β-lactam Antibiotic Allergy in Hong Kong.
Allergy to β-lactam antibiotics is one of the most frequently reported drug reactions, but epidemiological data in Chinese populations are lacking. Ethnic- and region-specific sensitization patterns of skin testing for β-lactam antibiotic allergy are also unknown. ⋯ Results of this study suggest that patients in Hong Kong with β-lactam antibiotic allergy had much higher rates of monosensitization to benzylpenicilloyl polylysine and benzylpenicilloate, making these reagents essential in β-lactam antibiotic skin tests. Such a finding warrants future studies into whether this sensitization is specific to ethnicity or region.
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Sustained spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has happened in major US cities. Capacity needs in cities in China could inform the planning of local health care resources. ⋯ Even after the lockdown of Wuhan on January 23, the number of patients with serious COVID-19 illness continued to rise, exceeding local hospitalization and ICU capacities for at least a month. Plans are urgently needed to mitigate the consequences of COVID-19 outbreaks on the local health care systems in US cities.
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Multicenter Study
Association of Long-term Strenuous Physical Activity and Extensive Sitting With Incident Radiographic Knee Osteoarthritis.
Persons with knee symptoms recognize the health benefits of engaging in physical activity, but uncertainty persists about whether regular strenuous physical activity or exercise can accelerate tissue damage. A sedentary lifestyle of inactivity or underloading may also be associated with deleterious joint health. ⋯ Results from this study appeared to show no association between long-term strenuous physical activity participation and incident radiographic KOA. The findings raise the possibility of a protective association between incident KOA and a low-to-moderate level of strenuous physical activities.
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Comparative Study
Prevalence and Clinical Presentation of Health Care Workers With Symptoms of Coronavirus Disease 2019 in 2 Dutch Hospitals During an Early Phase of the Pandemic.
On February 27, 2020, the first patient with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was reported in the Netherlands. During the following weeks, at 2 Dutch teaching hospitals, 9 health care workers (HCWs) received a diagnosis of COVID-19, 8 of whom had no history of travel to China or northern Italy, raising the question of whether undetected community circulation was occurring. ⋯ Within 2 weeks after the first Dutch case was detected, a substantial proportion of HCWs with self-reported fever or respiratory symptoms were infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, likely as a result of acquisition of the virus in the community during the early phase of local spread. The high prevalence of mild clinical presentations, frequently not including fever, suggests that the currently recommended case definition for suspected COVID-19 should be used less stringently.
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Risk scores used in early warning systems exist for general inpatients and patients with suspected infection outside the intensive care unit (ICU), but their relative performance is incompletely characterized. ⋯ In all hospitalized patients evaluated in this study, including those meeting criteria for suspected infection, the NEWS appeared to display the highest discrimination. Our results suggest that, among commonly used points-based scoring systems, determining the NEWS for inpatient risk stratification could identify patients with and without infection at high risk of mortality.