BACKGROUND No therapeutics have yet been proven effective for the treatment of mild-illness caused by SARS-CoV-2. We aimed to determine whether early treatment with hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) would be more efficacious than no-treatment for outpatients with mild Covid-19. METHODS We conducted a multicenter, open label, randomized controlled trial in Catalonia (Spain) between March 17, and May 26, 2020. Eligible Covid-19 cases were non-hospitalized adult patients with recently confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and less than five days of symptoms. Patients were assigned to receive HCQ (800 mg on day 1, followed by 400 mg once daily for 6 days) or no antiviral treatment (not-placebo controlled). Study outcomes were the reduction of viral RNA load in nasopharyngeal swabs up to 7 days after treatment start, patient disease progression using the WHO scale up to 28 days, and time to complete resolution of symptoms. Adverse events were assessed up to 28 days. RESULTS A total of 293 patients were eligible for intention-to-treat analysis: 157 in the control arm and 136 in the intervention arm. The mean age was 41.6 years (SD 12.6), mean viral load at baseline was 7.90 (SD 1.82) Log10 copies/mL, and median time from symptom onset to randomization was 3 days. No significant differences were found in the mean reduction of viral load at day 3 (-1.41 vs. -1.41 Log10 copies/mL in the control and intervention arm, respectively; difference 0.01 [95% CI -0.28;0.29]) or at day 7 (-3.37 vs. -3.44; d –0.07 [-0.44;0.29]). This treatment regimen did not reduce risk of hospitalization (7.1%, control vs. 5.9%, intervention; RR 0.75 [0.32;1.77]) nor shortened the time to complete resolution of symptoms (12 days, control vs. 10 days, intervention; p = 0.38). No relevant treatment-related AEs were reported. CONCLUSIONS In patients with mild Covid-19, no benefit was observed with HCQ beyond the usual care.

To address socioeconomic challenges associated with its increasing prevalence, data are needed on country-level resource use and costs associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD). GERAS is an 18-month observational study being conducted in France, Germany, and the U.K. (with an 18-month extension in France and Germany), aimed at determining resource use and total costs associated with AD, stratified by AD severity at baseline. Resource use information and time spent on informal care by non-professional caregivers was obtained using the Resource Utilization in Dementia instrument. Total baseline societal costs were based on four cost components: patient health care costs, patient social care costs, caregiver health care costs, and caregiver informal care costs. Overall, 1,497 community-dwelling patients with AD were analyzed at baseline. Estimated mean monthly total societal costs per patient at baseline differed significantly between groups with mild, moderate, and moderately severe/severe AD (p < 0.001 in each country): euro $1,418, euro 1,737, and euro 2,453 in France; euro 1,312, euro $2,412, and euro 3,722 in Germany; and euro 1,621, euro 1,836, andeuro 2,784 in the U.K., respectively. All cost components except caregiver health care costs increased with AD severity. Informal caregiver costs were the largest cost component accounting for about half to just over 60% of total societal costs, depending on country and AD severity group. In conclusion, GERAS study baseline results showed that country-specific costs increase with AD severity. Informal care costs formed the greatest proportion of total societal costs, increasing with AD severity independent of costing method. Longitudinal data will provide information on cost trends with disease progression.

Background Current strategies for preventing severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection are limited to nonpharmacologic interventions. Hydroxychloroquine has been proposed as a postexposure therapy to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), but definitive evidence is lacking. Methods We conducted an open-label, cluster-randomized trial involving asymptomatic contacts of patients with polymerase-chain-reaction (PCR)–confirmed Covid-19 in Catalonia, Spain. We randomly assigned clusters of contacts to the hydroxychloroquine group (which received the drug at a dose of 800 mg once, followed by 400 mg daily for 6 days) or to the usual-care group (which received no specific therapy). The primary outcome was PCR-confirmed, symptomatic Covid-19 within 14 days. The secondary outcome was SARS-CoV-2 infection, defined by symptoms compatible with Covid-19 or a positive PCR test regardless of symptoms. Adverse events were assessed for up to 28 days. Results The analysis included 2314 healthy contacts of 672 index case patients with Covid-19 who were identified between March 17 and April 28, 2020. A total of 1116 contacts were randomly assigned to receive hydroxychloroquine and 1198 to receive usual care. Results were similar in the hydroxychloroquine and usual-care groups with respect to the incidence of PCR-confirmed, symptomatic Covid-19 (5.7% and 6.2%, respectively; risk ratio, 0.86 [95% confidence interval, 0.52 to 1.42]). In addition, hydroxychloroquine was not associated with a lower incidence of SARS-CoV-2 transmission than usual care (18.7% and 17.8%, respectively). The incidence of adverse events was higher in the hydroxychloroquine group than in the usual-care group (56.1% vs. 5.9%), but no treatment-related serious adverse events were reported. Conclusions Postexposure therapy with hydroxychloroquine did not prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection or symptomatic Covid-19 in healthy persons exposed to a PCR-positive case patient. (Funded by the crowdfunding campaign YoMeCorono and others; BCN-PEP-CoV2 ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04304053 .)

Background: Training in Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) has been widely implemented throughout medical school and residency curricula. The aim of this study is to systematically review studies that assessed the effectiveness of EBP teaching to improve knowledge, skills, attitudes and behavior of postgraduate healthcare workers, and to describe instruments available to evaluate EBP teaching.

Background/Aims: To examine factors influencing the caregiver burden in adult-child and spousal caregivers of community-dwelling patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Methods: Baseline data from the 18-month, prospective, observational GERAS study of 1,497 patients with AD in France, Germany, and the UK were used. Analyses were performed on two groups of caregivers: spouses (n = 985) and adult children (n = 405). General linear models estimated patient and caregiver factors associated with subjective caregiver burden assessed using the Zarit Burden Interview. Results: The caregiver burden increased with AD severity. Adult-child caregivers experienced a higher burden than spousal caregivers despite spending less time caring. Worse patient functional ability and more caregiver distress were independently associated with a greater burden in both adult-child and spousal caregivers. Additional factors were differentially associated with a greater caregiver burden in both groups. In adult-child caregivers these were: living with the patient, patient living in an urban location, and patient with a fall in the past 3 months; in spouses the factors were: caregiver gender (female) and age (younger), and more years of patient education. Conclusion: The perceived burden differed between adult-child and spousal caregivers, and specific patient and caregiver factors were differentially associated with this burden.

Several patient and caregiver factors, including factors associated with informal care, should be included when evaluating care options for patients with AD.

Background:The Cancer Fast-track Programme's aim was to reduce the time that elapsed between well-founded suspicion of breast, colorectal and lung cancer and the start of initial treatment in Catalonia (Spain). We sought to analyse its implementation and overall effectiveness.Methods:A quantitative analysis of the programme was performed using data generated by the hospitals on the basis of seven fast-track monitoring indicators for the period 2006–2009. In addition, we conducted a qualitative study, based on 83 semistructured interviews with primary and specialised health professionals and health administrators, to obtain their perception of the programme's implementation.Results:About half of all new patients with breast, lung or colorectal cancer were diagnosed via the fast track, though the cancer detection rate declined across the period. Mean time from detection of suspected cancer in primary care to start of initial treatment was 32 days for breast, 30 for colorectal and 37 for lung cancer (2009). Professionals associated with the implementation of the programme showed that general practitioners faced with suspicion of cancer had changed their conduct with the aim of preventing lags. Furthermore, hospitals were found to have pursued three specific implementation strategies (top-down, consensus-based and participatory), which made for the cohesion and sustainability of the circuits.Conclusion:The programme has contributed to speeding up diagnostic assessment and treatment of patients with suspicion of cancer, and to clarifying the patient pathway between primary and specialised care.

Our results show that subjective caregiver burden and caregiver time are influenced by different factors, reinforcing the need to consider both aspects of caregiving when trying to minimize the burden of AD. However, interventions that minimize caregiver distress and improve patient functioning may impact on both subjective and objective burden.