A matter of priority: equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines

We need to publicly debate what we mean by “equitable access” to COVID-19 vaccines, whether the prioritisation of individuals should take place at a global level or be decided by countries, and what allocation criteria and mechanisms should look like.

Trapeziometacarpal osteoarthritis – a stepwise therapeutic approach

Osteoarthritis of the trapeziometarcarpal joint, also called rhizarthrosis, is a common finding in the second half of life. It has a higher prevalence in females and is of growing importance in ageing societies. A variety of conservative and surgical treatment options are known, including conservative treatment up to joint replacement. Without treatment, rhizarthrosis can lead to disabling pain and loss of hand function. The goal of this overview of treatment options is to present a stepwise approach that can be initiated by any physician.

Prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in an inpatient population in the Swiss Canton of Basel-Country

Vitamin D deficiency was a common finding in this cohort, affecting all age groups and occurring in over half of the values measured. As current guidelines recommend vitamin D concentrations >75 nmol/l, only 22.1% of measured values indicated adequate vitamin D levels. This issue should be addressed in order to improve quality of life and reduce medical costs.

Characterisation of advanced Parkinson’s disease: OBSERVE-PD observational study – results of the Swiss subgroup

Currently, the characterisation of advanced Parkinson’s disease does not follow standardised diagnostic criteria, which complicates the evaluation of ongoing care and treatment strategies, such as eligibility for device-aided treatment. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the proportion of advanced and non-advanced Parkinson’s disease patients treated at specialised movement disorder centres in Switzerland, to compare clinical characteristics and to assess eligibility for and use of device-aided treatment.

Hepatitis C virus elimination in Swiss opioid agonist therapy programmes – the SAMMSU cohort

With nearly 100% direct-acting antiviral treatment success and a low reinfection rate, treatment uptake directly translates into a reduction of HCV-RNA prevalence. Eighty percent treatment uptake is feasible in opioid agonist therapy patients, and adherence and treatment success are not worse than in other populations.  

Differences in infection control and diagnostic measures for multidrug-resistant organisms in the tristate area of France, Germany and Switzerland in 2019 – survey results from the RH(E)IN-CARE network

Multidrug-resistant organisms are a public health threat. Single-centre interventions, however, are likely to fail in the long term, as patients are commonly transferred between institutions given the economic integration across borders. A transnational approach targeting larger regions is needed to plan overarching sets of interventions.

Patterns of care and economic consequences of using bone-targeted agents for castration-sensitive prostate cancer patients with bone metastases to prevent skeletal-related events in Switzerland – the SAKK 95/16 prostate study

International guidelines state that bone-targeted agents such as denosumab or zoledronic acid at doses used for bone metastasis are not indicated for patients with metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer with bone metastases. Whereas denosumab has never been studied in this patient population, zoledronic acid has been shown to be ineffective in decreasing the risk for skeletal-related events. This study estimates the prevalence and economic consequences of real-world use of bone-targeted agents for mCSPC patients in Switzerland.

Abdominal wall reconstruction using biosynthetic absorbable mesh in high-risk complex ventral hernia

Biosynthetic mesh may represent an improvement on biological and large pore synthetic meshes for high-risk complex ventral hernia repair.  This study reports a large series of abdominal wall reconstructions using biosynthetic mesh in complex ventral hernia. The findings indicate promising early outcome data associated with use of biosynthetic mesh. 

Acute kidney injury in patients with COVID-19: a retrospective cohort study from Switzerland

Data about patients in Europe with corona virus disease-2019 (COVID-19) and acute kidney injury (AKI) are scarce. The authors examined characteristics, presentation and risk factors of AKI in patients hospitalised with COVID-19 in a tertiary hospital in Switzerland. AKI is common in hospitalised patients with COVID-19 and more often seen in patients with severe COVID-19 illness. It is associated with a high in-hospital mortality.