SARS-CoV-2 vaccination modelling for safe surgery to save lives: data from an international prospective cohort study

Abstract Background Preoperative SARS-CoV-2 vaccination could support safer elective surgery. Vaccine numbers are limited so this study aimed to inform their prioritization by modelling. Methods The primary outcome was the number needed to vaccinate (NNV) to prevent one COVID-19-related death in 1 year. NNVs were based on postoperative SARS-CoV-2 rates and mortality in an international cohort study (surgical patients), and community SARS-CoV-2 incidence and case fatality data (general population). NNV estimates were stratified by age (18–49, 50–69, 70 or more years) and type of surgery. Best- and worst-case scenarios were used to describe uncertainty. Results NNVs were more favourable in su…

Early outcomes and complications following cardiac surgery in patients testing positive for coronavirus disease 2019: An international cohort study

The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndromecoronavirus-2, the cause of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in December 2019 represented a global emergency accounting for more than 2.5 million deaths worldwide.1 It has had an unprecedented influence on cardiac surgery internationally, resulting in cautious delivery of surgery and restructuring of services.2 Understanding the influence of COVID-19 on patients after cardiac surgery is based on assumptions from other surgical specialties and single-center studies. The COVIDSurg Collaborative conducted a multicenter cohort study, including 1128 patients, across 235 hospitals, from 24 countries demonstrating perioperative COVID-19 infection…

Machine learning risk prediction of mortality for patients undergoing surgery with perioperative SARS-CoV-2: the COVIDSurg mortality score

The British journal of surgery 108(11), 1274-1292 (2021). doi:10.1093/bjs/znab183

Diagnostic and prognostic value of virologic tests in vertical transmission of hepatitis C virus infection: results of a large prospective study in pregnant women

CPT violation in entangled B0–B¯0 states and the demise of flavour tagging

AbstractWe discuss the demise of flavour tagging due to the loss of the particle–antiparticle identity of neutral B-mesons in the Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen correlated states. Such a situation occurs in cases where the CPT operator is ill-defined, as happens, for example, in quantum gravity models with induced decoherence in the matter sector. The time evolution of the perturbed B0–B¯0 initial state, as produced in B-factories, is sufficient to generate new two-body states. For flavour specific decays at equal times, we discuss two definite tests of the two body entanglement: (i) search for the would-be forbidden B0B0 and B¯0B¯0 states; (ii) deviations from the indistinguishable probability be…