The anti-COVID-19 vaccines, developed for use during the pandemic period, must be evaluated for effectiveness in order to coordinate the vaccination program. Therefore, this study aimed to measure the anti-COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness (VE) and duration of protection against symptomatic forms of infection among healthcare personnel who were professionally exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. A prospective cohort study, which was conducted in a university hospital between January 2021 and April 2022, compared immunologically naïve and previously infected personnel who were vaccinated, revaccinated, or unvaccinated. The VE was measured based on survival rates constructed with the actuarial method, using 30 day intervals. Among the 783 subjects that were included in the study, those that were vaccinated showed a decrease in VE from 90.98% (95% confidence intervals (CI): 74.87–96.77) in the first 30 days to 69.95% (95% CI: 40.29–84.87) at 60 days after vaccination. The VE for revaccinated personnel was 93.27% (95% CI: 77.53–97.99) at 60 days and 86.54% (95% CI: 75.59–92.58) at 90 days after revaccination. For previously infected personnel, protection against reinfection was 94.03% (95% CI: 79.41–98.27) at 420 days and 82.08% (95% CI: 53.93–93.03) at 450 days after revaccination. The highest VE for preventing the symptomatic forms of COVID-19 was observed in the revaccinated, but only for a 3-month duration. Better protection against reinfection was provided by revaccination after passing through infection.
Background. Pulmonary superinfections increase the mortality risk among COVID-19 patients, highlighting the need for enhanced understanding to enable early and accurate diagnosis. Methods. We present the case of a patient, a 76-year-old man, hospitalized for a severe form of COVID-19, with a ground-glass pneumonia, involving 40–45% of lung surfaces. Results. In evolution, the clinical condition worsened, presenting leukocytosis with neutrophilia, imaging towards resorption, and computer tomography images showing the appearance of pulmonary condensations in the right lower lobe, the posterior portion of the left lower lobe and pleural collections. Carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae was isolated from the tracheal aspirate, and the real-time polymerase chain reaction test was positive for Klebsiella pneumoniae and Legionella pneumophila. The investigations that were carried out allowed us to establish the coinfections as a probable case of Legionnaire’s disease and a ventilator-associated pneumonia with Klebsiella pneumoniae. Conclusions. The case analysis revealed that rare pneumonias may remain undiagnosed, and coinfections may be conditioned by pathophysiological factors or components of COVID-19 critical form treatment. Enhanced understanding of these aspects in clinical practice may contribute to reducing mortality risk in COVID-19 patients.
1 January 2022 in Revista Medico-Chirurgicala a Societatii de Medici Si Naturalisti Din Iasi
The complication profile of non-malignant neutropenia is generally determined by its short duration, mild severity and preservation of the mucosal barrier.