Open Access

Bei der «KOLLOQUIA Triesen» handelt es sich um eine öffentliche, interdisziplinäre Tagung zur Wissenschaftstheorie in den Sozialwissenschaften, die seit 2022 jährlich Ende November stattfindet. Zielgruppe der Tagung sind Vertreterinnen und Vertreter sämtlicher sozialwissenschaftlicher Disziplinen, insbesondere der Rechtswissenschaft, der Ökonomik, der Politologie, der Soziologie, der Geschichtswissenschaft und der Philosophie bzw. der allgemeinen Wissenschaftstheorie. Die Tagung soll dazu dienen, sowohl etablierten Experten und Expertinnen als auch jungen Wissenschaftlern und Wissenschaftlerinnen die Möglichkeit zu bieten, ihre Arbeit und Ideen vorzustellen und mit einem Fachpublikum zu diskutieren.

Satisfaction with information regarding pharmaceutic therapy is important because it may strongly affect the appropriate use of drug therapy including medication adherence. Data on this parameter in the clinically important population of patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) undergoing coronary angiography is scarce and is therefore addressed in the present study. We consecutively enrolled a cohort of 515 patients (383 men and 132 women) who underwent coronary angiography for the evaluation of suspected or established stable coronary artery disease. Satisfaction with information regarding pharmaceutic therapy was measured using the validated Satisfaction with Information about Medicines Scale (SIMS-D) which consists of two sub-scales covering action and usage (questions 1-9) or potential problems (questions 10-17), respectively. Further, health literacy, which includes the ability to understand and follow instructions for treatment was determined using the EU-HLS-Q16 questionnaire. For SIMS-D a response rate of 68.4% (n=353, 280 men and 73 women) was achieved. From our patients, 124 (36.4% of males and 30.1% of females) had T2DM according to ADA criteria. SIMS-D scores did not differ significantly between T2DM patients and those who did not have diabetes among men 11.5 [IQR=6-16] vs. 9 [IQR=6-15] p=0.121, nor among women 10 [IQR=5.5-12.25] vs. 10 [IQR=5-17] p=0.537. Independent of gender and diabetes status patients scored significantly lower on items targeting satisfaction with information about potential problems of medication than the in sub-scale for action and usage (p<0.001). In analysis of covariance, health literacy independently of T2DM, gender and age predicted SIMS-D (F=41.3; p<0.001). From our findings we conclude that satisfaction with information about medicines in angiographied coronary patients does not depend on the presence of T2DM or gender but is significantly impacted by health literacy. Disclosure J. Vogel: None. M. Ratz: None. P. Elsner: None. T. Plattner: None. A. Vonbank: None. A. Mader: None. B. Larcher: None. A. Leiherer: None. A. Muendlein: None. M. Frick: None. H. Drexel: None. C.H. Saely: None.

Introduction: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a paramount indicator of cardiovascular risk and is highly prevalent in patients with established cardiovascular disease, especially among those with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Peripheral artery disease (PAD) confers an even higher risk than coronary artery disease (CAD). Hypothesis: We hypothesize that cardiovasculr risk compares between PAD and CAD when analyses are stratified by the presence of CKD. Methods: We prospectively recorded major cardiovascular events (MACE) over 10.0±4.7 years in 1356 patients who had stable CAD, of whom 18.4% had CKD, and in 382 patients with PAD, of whom 20.9% had CKD. Four groups were analyzed: CAD patients without CKD (CAD/CKD-; n=1106), CAD patients with CKD (CAD/CKD+; n=250), PAD patients without CKD (PAD/CKD-; n=316) and PAD patients with CKD (PAD/CKD+; n=66). Results: The incidence of MACE was lowest in CAD/CKD- patients (27.2%) and significantly higher in CAD/CKD+ patients (49.6%; p<0.001), in PAD/CKD- patients (40.9%; p<0.001), and in PAD/CKD+ patients (56.9%; p<0.001), who in turn were at a higher risk than CAD/CKD+ or PAD/CKD- patients (p=0.015 and p<0.001, respectively). The risk of MACE did not differ significantly between CAD/CKD+ and PAD/CKD- patients (p=0.063). In Cox regression analysis after multivariate adjustment including gender, age, BMI, hypertension, history of smoking, LDL-C, and HDL-C the presence of PAD versus CAD (HR=1.51 [1.25-1.84]; p<0.001), CKD (HR=1.85 [1.51- 2.26]; p<0.001) and T2DM (HR=1.53 [1.29-1.83; p<0.001) were mutually independent predictors of MACE. Conclusions: We conclude that CKD, T2DM and the presence of PAD versus CAD are mutually independent predictors of MACE.

Background: Transcatheter edge-to-edge tricuspid valve repair (T-TEER) for tricuspid regurgitation (TR) is always guided by transesophageal echocardiography (TEE). As each patient has unique anatomy and acoustic window, adding transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) and cardiac CT could improve procedural planning and guidance. Objectives: We aimed to assess T-TEER success and outcomes of a personalized guidance approach, based on multimodality imaging (MMI) of patient-tailored four right-sided chamber views (four-right-ch), as depicted by CT, TTE, TEE and fluoroscopy. Methods: Patients were assigned to MMI or classical TEE guidance, depending on TTE acoustic window. In MMI patients, planning included cardiac CT, which determined the fluoroscopic angulations of the specific four-right-ch, while guidance relied heavily on TTE, with minimal intermittent TEE for leaflet grasping and result confirmation. Both TTE and TEE were matched to respective CT and fluoroscopy four-right-ch. TR severity and quality of life (QoL) parameters were assessed from baseline to 12 months. Results: A total of 40 T-TEER patients were included, with 17 procedures guided by MMI and 23 solely by TEE. Baseline characteristics were similar between groups, e.g., age (83.1 ± 4.1 vs. 81 ± 5.3, p = 0.182) or STS-Score (11.1 ± 7.4% vs. 10.6 ± 5.9%, p = 0.813). The primary efficacy endpoint of ≥one-grade TR reduction at 30 days was 94% (16/17) in MMI vs. 91% (21/23) in TEE patients, with two or more TR grade reduction in 65% vs. 52% (p = 0.793). Device success was overall 100%, with no device-related complications, but three TEE-associated cases of gastrointestinal bleeding in the TEE-only group. By 12 months, all 15 MMI and 19 TEE survivors improved NYHA functional class and QoL, e.g., Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire Score Δ29.6 ± 6.7 vs. 21.9 ± 5.8 (p = 0.441) pts., 6-min walk distance Δ101.5 ± 36.4 vs. 85.7 ± 32.1 (p = 0.541) meters. Conclusions: In a subset of patients with good TTE acoustic window, MMI guidance of T-TEER is effective and seems to avoid gastroesophageal injuries caused by TEE probe manipulation. TR reduction, irrespective of guidance method, impacts long-term QoL.

Abstract Aims Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) is the best documented cardiovascular risk predictor and at the same time serves as a target for lipid-lowering therapy. However, the power of LDL-C to predict risk is biased by advanced age, comorbidities, and medical treatment, all known to impact cholesterol levels. Consequently, such biased patient cohorts often feature a U-shaped or inverse association between LDL-C and cardiovascular or overall mortality. It is not clear whether these constraints for risk prediction may likewise apply to other lipid risk markers in particular to ceramides and phosphatidylcholines. Methods and results In this observational cohort study, we recorded cardiovascular mortality in 1195 patients over a period of up to 16 years, comprising a total of 12 262 patient-years. The median age of patients at baseline was 67 years. All participants were either consecutively referred to elective coronary angiography or diagnosed with peripheral artery disease, indicating a high cardiovascular risk. At baseline, 51% of the patients were under statin therapy. We found a U-shaped association between LDL-C and cardiovascular mortality with a trough level of around 150 mg/dL of LDL-C. Cox regression analyses revealed that LDL-C and other cholesterol species failed to predict cardiovascular risk. In contrast, no U-shaped but linear association was found for ceramide- and phosphatidylcholine-containing markers and these markers were able to significantly predict the cardiovascular risk even after multivariate adjustment. Conclusion We thus suggest that ceramides- and phosphatidylcholine-based predictors rather than LDL-C may be used for a more accurate cardiovascular risk prediction in high-risk patients.

<b<iBackground:</i</b Low-density lipoproteins are now proven to be causal for atherosclerosis. Pharmacological treatment focuses on an increase of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptors, particularly in the hepatocyte, which leads to uptake of LDL from blood, thereby reducing the burden to the arterial wall. This mechanism has first been proven by statins to be effective to reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The concept of “the lower, the better” was shown by high-intensity statins and new compounds like ezetimibe, PCSK9 antibodies, inclisiran, and ultimately bempedoic acid. <b<iSummary:</i</b Although first considered only a relatively weak LDL-C lowering drug, bempedoic acid proved to be very effective, for example, in statin-intolerant patients to reduce cardiovascular events in the CLEAR-Outcomes study. In the era of personalized medicine, it should not be forgotten that the individual response to a LDL-C lowering drug can vary considerably. Bempedoic acid has a favorable safety profile, particularly it does not induce muscle problems because its precursor is not metabolized to the active drug in the muscle, and it does not induce hyperglycemia. Bempedoic acid probably is best used in combination with ezetimibe, which leads to LDL-C reductions in the range of moderately intensive statins; in an oral triple combination with a high-intensity statin, LDL-C reductions in the range of two-thirds can be achieved. <b<iKey Messages:</i</b Bempedoic acid is a further weapon against the atherogenic effect of LDL cholesterol – in both primary and secondary prevention.

AbstractIn the modern interventional treatment of degenerated saphenous vein grafts, the use of both bare metal and drug eluting stents have been described so far. Drug eluting balloons have been increasingly used in cases of in-stent restenosis and to some extent de novo stenosis of native coronary vessels. Based on pure logic approach, the use of drug eluting balloons in in-stent restenosis of the saphenous vein graft may be of great interest. Still, few high-quality data on this subject exist and no general recommendations can be made. This paper illustrates a typical case of a symptomatic late in-stent restenosis of a saphenous vein graft occurred 15 months after a percutaneous coronary intervention with implantation of two drug eluting stents. Intravascular ultrasound revealed a mixture of stent underexpansion and severe neointima. This was treated safely with a prolonged high pressure balloon dilatation followed by dilatation with a drug eluting balloon. The primary result was very good. During the intervention the patient remained asymptomatic and was discharged the next day on dual anti-platelet therapy. During the 10-month follow-up the patient remained asymptomatic. This case demonstrates the usefulness and clinical safety of drug eluting balloons in treating in-stent restenosis in the saphenous vein grafts.

During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the Dr. Risch medical group employed the multiplex TaqPathTM COVID-19 CE-IVD RT-PCR Kit for large-scale routine diagnostic testing in Switzerland and the principality of Liechtenstein. The TaqPath Kit is a widely used multiplex assay targeting three genes (i.e., ORF1AB, N, S). With emergence of the B.1.1.7 (Alpha) variant, a diagnostic flaw became apparent as the amplification of the S-gene target was absent in these samples due to a deletion (ΔH69/V70) in the Alpha variant genome. This S-gene target failure (SGTF) was the earliest indication of a new variant emerging and was also observed in subsequent variants such as Omicron BA.1 and BA4/BA.5. The Delta variant and Omicron BA.2 did not present with SGTF. From September 2020 to November 2022, we investigated the applicability of the SGTF as a surrogate marker for emerging variants such as B.1.1.7, B.1.617.2 (Delta), and Omicron BA.1, BA.2, and BA.4/BA.5 in samples with cycle threshold (Ct) values < 30. Next to true SGTF-positive and SGTF-negative samples, there were also samples presenting with delayed-type S-gene amplification (higher Ct value for S-gene than ORF1ab gene). Among these, a difference of 3.8 Ct values between the S- and ORF1ab genes was found to best distinguish between “true” SGTF and the cycle threshold variability of the assay. Samples above the cutoff were subsequently termed partial SGTF (pSGTF). Variant confirmation was performed by whole-genome sequencing (Oxford Nanopore Technology, Oxford, UK) or mutation-specific PCR (TIB MOLBIOL). In total, 17,724 (7.4%) samples among 240,896 positives were variant-confirmed, resulting in an overall sensitivity and specificity of 93.2% [92.7%, 93.7%] and 99.3% [99.2%, 99.5%], respectively. Sensitivity was increased to 98.2% [97.9% to 98.4%] and specificity lowered to 98.9% [98.6% to 99.1%] when samples with pSGTF were included. Furthermore, weekly logistic growth rates (α) and sigmoid’s midpoint (t0) were calculated based on SGTF data and did not significantly differ from calculations based on comprehensive data from GISAID. The SGTF therefore allowed for a valid real-time estimate for the introduction of all dominant variants in Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

In response to escalating climate change concerns, this study evaluates the ecological impact and efficiency of medical sample transportation using drones, combustion cars, and electric cars across various terrains and weather conditions in Liechtenstein and Switzerland. Through a comparative analysis, we found that combustion cars emit the highest average CO2 at 159.5 g per kilometer (g/km), while electric cars significantly reduce emissions to an average of 3.43 g/km, representing just 2.15% of the emissions from combustion vehicles. Drones emerged as the most environmentally sustainable option, with an average CO2 emission of 0.09 g/km, which is only 0.07% of combustion car emissions and 2.6% of electric car emissions. Drones also demonstrated superior transport efficiency, covering routes that were, on average, 17% shorter in flat terrain and 24% shorter in mountainous regions compared to cars. Additionally, drones achieved substantial time savings, ranging from 13% to 80% faster delivery times depending on the terrain and traffic conditions. These findings highlight the potential of drone technology to revolutionize healthcare logistics by significantly reducing carbon footprints, optimizing transport routes, and improving delivery efficiency. Integrating drones into healthcare transportation networks offers a promising pathway toward a more sustainable and resilient healthcare system.

Considering sex as a biological variable in modern digital health solutions, we investigated sex-specific differences in the trajectory of four physiological parameters across a COVID-19 infection. A wearable medical device measured breathing rate, heart rate, heart rate variability, and wrist skin temperature in 1163 participants (mean age = 44.1 years, standard deviation [SD] = 5.6; 667 [57%] females). Participants reported daily symptoms and confounders in a complementary app. A machine learning algorithm retrospectively ingested daily biophysical parameters to detect COVID-19 infections. COVID-19 serology samples were collected from all participants at baseline and follow-up. We analysed potential sex-specific differences in physiology and antibody titres using multilevel modelling and t-tests. Over 1.5 million hours of physiological data were recorded. During the symptomatic period of infection, men demonstrated larger increases in skin temperature, breathing rate, and heart rate as well as larger decreases in heart rate variability than women. The COVID-19 infection detection algorithm performed similarly well for men and women. Our study belongs to the first research to provide evidence for differential physiological responses to COVID-19 between females and males, highlighting the potential of wearable technology to inform future precision medicine approaches.

AIMS OF THE STUDY: We aimed to assess the extent of SARS-CoV-2 humoral immunity elicited by previous infections and/or vaccination among healthcare workers, and to identify reasons why healthcare workers decided against vaccination. METHODS: This nested cross-sectional study included volunteer healthcare workers from 14 healthcare institutions in German-speaking Switzerland. In January 2021, SARS-CoV-2 vaccines were available for healthcare workers. In May and June 2022, participants answered electronic questionnaires regarding baseline characteristics including SARS-CoV-2 vaccination status (with one or more vaccine doses defined as vaccinated) and previous SARS-CoV-2 infections. Unvaccinated participants indicated their reasons for non-vaccination. Participants underwent testing for SARS-CoV-2 anti-spike (anti-S) and anti-nucleocapsid (anti-N) antibodies. Antibody prevalence was described across age groups. In addition, we performed multivariable logistic regression to identify baseline characteristics independently associated with non-vaccination and described reasons for non-vaccination. RESULTS: Among 22,438 eligible employees, 3,436 (15%) participated; the median age was 43.7 years (range 16–73), 2,794 (81.3%) were female, and 1,407 (47.7%) identified as nurses; 3,414 (99.4%) underwent serology testing, among whom 3,383 (99.0%) had detectable anti-S (3,357, 98.3%) antibodies, anti-N (2,396, 70.1%) antibodies, or both (2,370, 69.4%). A total of 296 (8.6%) healthcare workers were unvaccinated, whereas 3,140 (91.4%) were vaccinated. In multivariable analysis, age (adjusted OR [aOR] 1.02 per year, 95% CI 1.01–1.03), being a physician (aOR 3.22, 95% CI 1.75–5.92) or administrator (aOR 1.88, 95% CI 1.27–2.80), and having higher education (aOR 2.23, 95% CI 1.09–4.57) were positively associated with vaccine uptake, whereas working in non-acute care (aOR 0.58, 95% CI 0.34–0.97), active smoking (aOR 0.68, 95% CI 0.51–0.91), and taking prophylactic home remedies against SARS-CoV-2 (aOR 0.42, 95% CI 0.31–0.56) were negatively associated. Important reasons for non-vaccination were a belief that the vaccine might not have long-lasting immunity (267/291, 92.1%) and a preference for gaining naturally acquired instead of vaccine-induced immunity (241/289, 83.4%). CONCLUSIONS: Almost all healthcare workers in our cohort had specific antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 from natural infection and/or from vaccination. Young healthcare workers and those working in non-acute settings were less likely to be vaccinated, whereas physicians and administrative staff showed higher vaccination uptake. Presumed ineffectiveness of the vaccine is an important reason for non-vaccination.

Due to substantial improvements in read accuracy, third-generation long-read sequencing holds great potential in blood group diagnostics, particularly in cases where traditional genotyping or sequencing techniques, primarily targeting exons, fail to explain serological phenotypes. In this study, we employed Oxford Nanopore sequencing to resolve all genotype–phenotype discrepancies in the Kidd blood group system (JK, encoded by SLC14A1) observed over seven years of routine high-throughput donor genotyping using a mass spectrometry-based platform at the Blood Transfusion Service, Zurich. Discrepant results from standard serological typing and donor genotyping were confirmed using commercial PCR-SSP kits. To resolve discrepancies, we amplified the entire coding region of SLC14A1 (~24 kb, exons 3 to 10) in two overlapping long-range PCRs in all samples. Amplicons were barcoded and sequenced on a MinION flow cell. Sanger sequencing and bridge-PCRs were used to confirm findings. Among 11,972 donors with both serological and genotype data available for the Kidd system, we identified 10 cases with unexplained conflicting results. Five were linked to known weak and null alleles caused by variants not included in the routine donor genotyping. In two cases, we identified novel null alleles on the JK*01 (Gly40Asp; c.119GA) and JK*02 (Gly242Glu; c.725GA) haplotypes, respectively. Remarkably, the remaining three cases were associated with a yet unknown deletion of ~5 kb spanning exons 9–10 of the JK*01 allele, which other molecular methods had failed to detect. Overall, nanopore sequencing demonstrated reliable and accurate performance for detecting both single-nucleotide and structural variants. It possesses the potential to become a robust tool in the molecular diagnostic portfolio, particularly for addressing challenging structural variants such as hybrid genes, deletions and duplications.