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Out of 854 COVID-19 patients, 56.6% were men and the mean (standard deviation) age was 45.3(17.2) years. The median survival time was significantly lesser in male COVID-19 patients (16 days) as compared to female patients (20 days). Increasing age, male gender, patients presenting with symptoms of fever, cough, breathlessness, smoking, alcohol consumption, comorbidities were significantly associated with mortality among COVID-19 patients. Patients with older age, male gender, breathlessness, fever, cough, smoking and alcohol and comorbidities need careful observation and early intervention. Public health campaigns aimed at reducing the prevalence of risk factors like diabetes, hypertension, smoking and alcohol use are also needed.

Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common childhood-onset motor disorder accompanied by associated impairments, placing a heavy burden on families and health systems. AGK2 Most children with CP live in low/middle-income countries with little access to rehabilitation services. This study will evaluate the Akwenda CP programme, a multidimensional intervention designed for low-resource settings and aiming at improving (1) participation, motor function and daily activities for children with CP; (2) quality of life, stress and knowledge for caregivers; and (3) knowledge and attitudes towards children with CP in the communities.

This quasi-randomised controlled clinical study will recruit children and youth with CP aged 2-23 years in a rural area of Uganda. Children will be allocated to one of two groups with at least 44 children in each group. Groups will be matched for age, sex and motor impairment. The intervention arm will receive a comprehensive, multidimensional programme over a period of 11 months comprising (1)istry (PACTR202011738099314) Pre-results.

The massive scale-up of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) has led to major reductions in malaria burden in many sub-Saharan African countries. This progress is threatened by widespread insecticide resistance among malaria vectors. This cluster-randomised controlled trial (c-RCT) compares three of the most promising dual active ingredients LLINs (dual-AI LLINs), which incorporate mixtures of insecticides or insecticide synergists to standard LLINs in an area of pyrethroid insecticide resistance.

A four-arm, single-blinded, c-RCT will evaluate the effectiveness of three types of dual-AI LLINs (1) Royal Guard, combining two insecticides, pyriproxyfen and the pyrethroid alpha-cypermethrin; (2) Interceptor G2, combining chlorfenapyr and alpha-cypermethrin; (3) Olyset Plus, an LLIN combining a synergist, piperonyl butoxide and the pyrethroid permethrin, compared with; (4) Interceptor LN, a standard LLIN containing the pyrethroid alpha-cypermethrin as the sole AI. The primary outcomes are malaria infection prevalence in children aged 6 months-14 years and entomological inoculation rate (EIR), as a standard measure of malaria transmission at 24 months postintervention and cost-effectiveness.

Ethical approval was received from the institutional review boards of the Tanzanian National Institute for Medical Research, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and University of Ottawa. Study findings will be actively disseminated via reports and presentations to stakeholders, local community leaders, and relevant national and international policy makers as well as through conferences, and peer-reviewed publications.

NCT03554616.

NCT03554616.

The majority of patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 can be managed using virtual care. Dyspnoea is challenging to assess remotely, and the accuracy of subjective dyspnoea measures in capturing hypoxaemia have not been formally evaluated for COVID-19. We explored the accuracy of subjective dyspnoea in diagnosing hypoxaemia in COVID-19 patients.

This is a retrospective cohort study of consecutive outpatients with COVID-19 who met criteria for home oxygen saturation monitoring at a university-affiliated acute care hospital in Toronto, Canada from 3 April 2020 to 13 September 2020. Dyspnoea measures were treated as diagnostic tests, and we determined their sensitivity (SN), specificity (SP), negative/positive predictive value (NPV/PPV) and positive/negative likelihood ratios (+LR/-LR) for detecting hypoxaemia. In the primary analysis, hypoxaemia was defined by oxygen saturation <95%; the diagnostic accuracy of subjective dyspnoea was also assessed across a range of oxygen saturation cutoffs from 92% toturation monitoring.

Subjective dyspnoea measures have inadequate accuracy for ruling out hypoxaemia in high-risk patients with COVID-19. Safe home management of patients with COVID-19 should incorporate home oxygenation saturation monitoring.

Kidney donors have been reported to have accelerated progression of aortic stiffness and decreased glomerular filtration compared with healthy non-donors. This is a concern because increased aortic stiffness is an independent predictor of overall cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality in the general population. To confirm if arterial stiffness increases after donation, we will systematically review all studies that evaluated indices of arterial stiffness in healthy individuals who underwent unilateral nephrectomy for kidney donation compared with age-matched healthy non-nephrectomised controls.

We will comprehensively search for studies published between 1 January 1960 and 15 March 2021 in MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Central, OVID and EBM reviews. All prospective (cohort, case-control, case series and before-and-after studies) and retrospective non-randomised studies reporting indices of arterial stiffness in nephrectomised and non-nephrectomised healthy participants will be included. Primary outcom and follow-up care of kidney donors.

CRD42020185551.

CRD42020185551.

Studies describe COVID-19 patient characteristics and outcomes across populations, but reports of variation across healthcare facilities are lacking. The objectives were to examine differences in COVID-19 patient volume and mortality across facilities, and understand whether facility variation in mortality was due primarily to differences in patient versus facility characteristics.

Observational cohort study with multilevel mixed effects logistic regression modelling.

The Veterans Health Administration (VA) is the largest healthcare system in the USA.

Patients with COVID-19.

All-cause mortality within 45 days after COVID-19 testing (March-May, follow-up through 16 July 2020).

Among 13 510 patients with COVID-19, 3942 (29.2%) were admitted (2266/3942 (57.5%) ward; 1676/3942 (42.5%) intensive care unit (ICU)) and 679/3942 (17.2%) received mechanical ventilation. Marked heterogeneity was observed across facilities in median age (range 34.3-83.9 years; facility mean 64.7, SD 7.2 years); patient volume (range 1-737 at 160 facilities; facility median 48.