Study to Assess VPM1002 in Reducing Healthcare Professionals' Absenteeism in COVID-19 Pandemic
InfectionRespiratory TractThe aim of this study is to investigate whether vaccination of healthcare professionals with VPM1002 could reduce the number of days absent from work due to respiratory disease (with or without documented SARS-CoV-2 infection). VPM1002 is a vaccine that is a further development of the old Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine, which has been used successfully as a vaccine against tuberculosis for about 100 years, especially in developing countries. VPM1002 has been shown in various clinical studies to be significantly safer than the BCG vaccine. VPM1002 strengthens the body's immune defence and vaccination with BCG reduces the frequency of respiratory diseases. It is therefore assumed that a VPM1002 vaccination could also provide (partial) protection against COVID-19 disease caused by the new corona virus "SARS-CoV 2". A total of 1200 health care professionals (doctors, nurses and paramedical staff) with high expected exposure to SARSCoV-2 infected patients will receive a single dose of either VPM1002 or Placebo. All subjects will be requested to enter data regarding absenteeism, adverse events / serious adverse events, hospitalizations, intensive care unit admissions into an online questionnaire.
Respiratory Infection Monitoring
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)This study will monitor physical bio-markers such as heart rate, respiratory rate, and temperature to detect potential respiratory infections.
Non-Inferiority of Peer Comparison Interventions
Respiratory Tract InfectionsThe objective of this study is to test the hypothesis that the Peer Comparison intervention in the Use of Behavioral Economics to Improve Treatment of Acute Respiratory Infections (BEARI) trial (Meeker et al. 2016) promoting antibiotic stewardship did not adversely impact physician job satisfaction as measured in the study exit survey at trial completion. Detrimental impacts on job satisfaction is a phenomenon that was observed in a randomized controlled trial using a Peer Comparison intervention with different characteristics from the BEARI trial. (Reiff et al. 2022) The BEARI trial sample size, intraclass correlation, and measurement of job satisfaction are comparable to Reiff et al. 2022.
Health Communication to Influence COVID-19 Vaccination Intent and Message Propagation
COVID-19Respiratory Disease10 moreThis is a randomised controlled experiment in the form of a web based survey study which randomly exposes participants to different forms of public health messages, after which participants will be assessed on their intent to take up the COVID-19 vaccine, recommend the vaccine, and also willingness to propagate the exposed message.
Nasal Resveratrol and Wheezing Episodes in Preschool Children
WheezingUpper Respiratory Tract InfectionsAs most of the upper airways infections (UAI) leading to wheezing are secondary to viral triggers, the possible antinflammatory and antiviral role of resveratrol has been suggested in several studies, both in vitro and in vivo. However, its efficacy has been studied only when evaluating upper respiratory symptoms. With the aim to define new approaches in patients with recurrent wheezing triggered by UAI we have performed a prospective observational study to evaluate the efficacy of a short-course of intranasal resveratrol, administered for 7 days at the beginning of UAI, when compared to standard nasal lavage with 0.9% saline solution, in terms of reduction in wheezing episodes.
The Value of Ultralow Dosis CT and Ultrasound in the Diagnosing of Pneumonia in the Emergency Department...
Respiratory Tract InfectionsPneumonia is one of the most common infections in the emergency department (ED). Nevertheless, the current diagnostic tools are often slow and inaccurate. Currently, a chest x-ray is the first choice for diagnostic imaging for pneumonia in the ED, but is inaccurate with low sensitivity and specificity, resulting in both over-and underdiagnosing of pneumonia. Alternatively, computer thermography (CT) and high-resolution CT (HR-CT) offers high diagnostic accuracy but involves significantly increased radiation to the patient, and increased costs and examination time. Lately, two alternatives to chest x-ray have emerged: The first is lung ultrasound (LUS) which has shown higher sensitivity and specificity for pneumonia than a chest x-ray when performed by experts. However, the diagnostic accuracy of lung ultrasound performed by novice operators in the ED still needs investigation. The second alternative to chest x-ray is ultra-low-dose CT (ULD-CT). A ULD-CT is a CT scan where the radiation dose is significantly reduced, while still maintaining acceptable image quality. In effect merging the high diagnostic accuracy of chest CT with the low radiation doses of chest X-ray. The aim of this study is to investigate the diagnostic accuracy of LUS by novice operators in the ED and the diagnostic accuracy of ULD-CT thorax, in patients suspected of having pneumonia.
Observational Program, Study the Preventive Efficacy of the BiVac Polio Vaccine Against the Incidence...
Coronavirus InfectionsVaccine1 moreObservational program, double-blind, placebo-controlled to study the preventive efficacy of the BiVac polio (Oral polio vaccine, divalent, live attenuated of types 1 and 3 vaccine against the incidence of acute respiratory infections, including COVID-19
Evaluation of Dynamic Balance After Recovery From COVID 19 Disease
COVID-19 Respiratory Infectioneffect of post covid-19 on dynamic balance in patients after recovery from covid-19 disease.
Efficacy and Safety of Selective Digestive Decontamination in the ICU With High Rates of Antibiotic-resistant...
PneumoniaVentilator-Associated6 moreSecondary infections remain a major cause of mortality in critically ill patients, mainly because of high prevalence of multidrug-resistant microorganisms. Therefore strategies aimed to reduce the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumoniae (VAP) and bloodstream infections are of utmost important. There is robust data on selective digestive decontamination (SDD) efficacy in reduction of secondary infections in intensive care units (ICU) with low rates of antibacterial resistance. However the data received from hospitals with moderate-to-high rates of resistance is equivocal. This as an interventional parallel open-label study investigating the effect of selective digestive decontamination on the rates of ventilator-associated pneumonia in critically ill patients admitted to the ICU with high prevalence of drug-resistant bacteria. Secondary outcomes include rates of bloodstream infections, mortality, duration of mechanical ventilation, duration of ICU stay, resistance selection and overall antibiotic consumption.
Residual Symptoms and the Quality of Life in Individuals Recovered From COVID-19 Infection: A Survey...
COVID-19 PandemicCOVID-19 Respiratory Infection1 moreThere remains scarcity of literature regarding the patient's health status post-COVID-19 infection. This study analyzes the prevalence of residual symptoms and quality of life (QoL) after COVID-19.