Feasibility of smart intraocular lens

Dear Editor,Wearable biosensors are monitoring implantable devices that provide real-time detection of biomarkers by means of non-invasive measurements[1].There is a high demand for novel sensors that can be comfortably used by the patients for clinical monitoring of ocular diseases.Transducers implanted into eyes have been improved and they have the capacity to monitor parameters such as intraocular pressure(IOP),and also have the possibility of recording lactic acid,glucose or cortisol levels[2-3].

Phylogeography of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Spain:a story of multiple introductions,micro-geographic stratification,founder effects,and super-spreaders

Spain has been one of the main global pandemic epicenters for coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19).Here,we analyzed>41000 genomes(including>26000 high-quality(HQ)genomes)downloaded from the GISAID repository,including 1245(922 HQ)sampled in Spain.The aim of this study was to investigate genome variation of novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)and reconstruct phylogeographic and transmission patterns in Spain.Phylogeographic analysis suggested at least 34 independent introductions of SARS-CoV-2 to Spain at the beginning of the outbreak.Six lineages spread very successfully in the country,probably favored by super-spreaders,namely,A2 a4(7.8%),A2 a5(38.4%),A2 a10(2.8%),B3 a(30.1%),and B9(8.7%),which accounted for 87.9% of all genomes in the Spanish database.One distinct feature of the Spanish SARS-Cov-2 genomes was the higher frequency of B lineages(39.3%,mainly B3 a+B9)than found in any other European country.While B3 a,B9,(and an important sub-lineage of A2 a5,namely,A2 a5 c)most likely originated in Spain,the other three haplogroups were imported from other European locations.The B3 a strain may have originated in the Basque Country from a B3 ancestor of uncertain geographic origin,whereas B9 likely emerged in Madrid.The time of the most recent common ancestor(TMRCA)of SARS-CoV-2 suggested that the first coronavirus entered the country around 11 February 2020,as estimated from the TMRCA of B3 a,the first lineage detected in the country.Moreover,earlier claims that the D614 G mutation is associated to higher transmissibility is not consistent with the very high prevalence of COVID-19 in Spain when compared to other countries with lower disease incidence but much higher frequency of this mutation(56.4% in Spain vs.82.4% in rest of Europe).Instead,the data support a major role of genetic drift in modeling the micro-geographic stratification of virus strains across the country as well as the role of SARS-CoV-2 super-spreaders.

Clinical characteristics and type of antithrombotic treatment in a Spanish cohort of elderly patients with atrial fibrillation according to dependency, frailty and cognitive impairment

Background Available data regarding clinical profile and management of elderly patients with atrial fibrillation （AF） according to dependency, fragility and cognitive impairment are scarce. The objective of the study was to analyze the biodemographic data, clinical profile and antithrombotic treatment according to dependency, fragility and cognitive impairment in elderly AF patients. Methods Cross- sectional and multi-center study performed in consecutive AF patients ≥ 75 years treated with oral anticoagulants ≥ 3 months attended in Internal Medicine Departments in Spain. Results A total of 837 patients （83.0 ± 5.0 years; CHA2DS2-VASc： 5.0 ± 1.4; HAS-BLED： 2.1 ± 0.9） were included. 44.4% of patients had some degree of dependency, 43.3% were fragile, and 32.3% had cognitive impairment. Patients with any of these conditions were older, had a worse clinical profile, with more comorbidities and higher risks of thromboembolic and bleeding events. All these conditions were independently associated among them. Overall, 70.8% of patients were taking vitamin K antagonists, the remaining 29.2% direct oral anticoagulants and 9.7% oral antiplatelets. This distribution was independent of the presence of dependency or fragility, but there was a trend to a higher prescription of vitamin K antagonists in those patients with cognitive impairment （75.2% vs. 68.8%; P = 0.05）. Conclusions Approximately 32%-44% of elderly anticoagulated AF patients attended have some degree of dependency, fragility and/or cognitive impairment. Patients with any of these conditions are older and have a worse clinical profile. Ap？proximately 71% of patients are taking vitamin K antagonists, regardless dependency or frailty, but with a trend to higher prescription in patients with cognitive impairment.

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation in very elderly patients： immediate results and medium term follow-up

Objective To evaluate immediate transcatheter aortic valve implantation （TAVI） results and medium-term follow-up in very elderly pa- tients with severe and symptomatic aortic stenosis （AS）. Methods This multicenter, observational and prospective study was carried out in three hospitals. We included consecutive very elderly （〉 85 years） patients with severe AS treated by TAVI. The primary endpoint was to evaluate death rotes from any cause at two years. Results The study included 160 consecutive patients with a mean age of 87 ± 2.1 years （range from 85 to 94 years） and a mean logistic EuroSCORE of 18.8% ± 11.2% with 57 （35.6%） patients scoring 〉 20%. Procedural success rate was 97.5%, with 25 （15.6%） patients experiencing acute complications with major bleeding （the most frequent）. Global mortality rate during hospitalization was 8.8% （n = 14） and 30-day mortality rate was 10% （n = 16）. Median follow up period was 252.24± 232.17 days. During the follow-up period, 28 （17.5%） patients died （17 of them due to cardiac causes）. The estimated two year overall and cardiac survival rates using the Kaplan-Meier method were 71% and 86.4%, respectively. Cox proportional hazard regression showed that the variable EuroSCORE ≥ 20 was the unique vari- able associated with overall mortality. Conclusions TAVI is safe and effective in a selected population of very elderly patients. Our findings support the adoption of this new procedure in this complex group of patients.

Management and outcomes of patients with Crohn’s disease with first vs multiple surgeries:results from the PRACTICROHN study

Background:Surgery in Crohn’s disease(CD)may be associated with poor prognosis and clinical and surgical recurrence.The aim of this study was to describe and compare the post-operative management and outcomes of patients with CD who underwent first vs recurrent surgeries.Methods:Observational study that included adult CD patients from 26 Spanish hospitals who underwent ileocolonic resection with ileocolonic anastomosis between January 2007 and December 2010.Data were retrospectively collected from the medical records.Results:Data from 314 patients were analysed,of whom 262(83%)underwent first surgery and 52(17%)referred to previous CD surgeries.Baseline characteristics were similar between the two groups except for a higher rate of stricturing behavior at diagnosis among re-operated patients(P=0.03).After surgery,a higher proportion of re-operated patients received prophylactic treatment with immunomodulators compared with patients with first surgery(P=0.04).In re-operated patients,time to clinical recurrence was not associated with the fact of receiving or not prophylaxis,whereas,in patients with first surgery,recurrence-free survival was greater when prophylaxis was received(P=0.03).Conclusions:After surgery,a higher proportion of patients with previous surgeries received prophylactic treatment with immunomodulators compared with patients with first surgery.Although prophylactic treatment was beneficial for preventing clinical recurrence in patients operated on for the first time,it did not significantly reduce the risk of further recurrence in patients with previous surgeries.This suggests that effective prophylactic therapies are still needed in this subset of patients.