Saskatchewan is facing a public health crisis driven by high rates of HIV, syphilis and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections, particularly among people who use drugs. Injection drug use is a major contributor to these syndemic infections, exacerbated by structural barriers such as stigma, poverty and limited culturally safe healthcare. Innovative, community-informed approaches are urgently needed to improve prevention, testing and linkage to care.

This study will implement a rapid assessment and response system in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, integrating geospatial mapping of community needle prevalence with pop-up interventions. Needle hotspot maps will be used to guide the deployment of community-based pop-up events offering point-of-care testing for HIV, syphilis and HCV, alongside education on pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and postexposure prophylaxis (PEP). A convergent participatory mixed-methods design will be used to evaluate feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness, guided by the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance framework. Quantitative data will assess changes in knowledge of PrEP and PEP, satisfaction with the intervention and report new diagnoses and participant demographics descriptively. A qualitative substudy will include 30 participants and will explore experiences with the intervention, barriers to care and perceptions of service delivery.

Ethical approval has been obtained from the research ethics board of the Saskatchewan Health Authority (#24–91). Findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations and community reporting. This study may provide a model of community-based geospatial testing and education that could be scaled up and adapted elsewhere.

Open Science Framework https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/HVK3B

Platelet and fresh frozen plasma (FFP) transfusions are routinely employed in the management of severe dengue. Previous research has indicated a potential link between ABO blood groups and susceptibility to dengue, with evidence suggesting that mosquito vector feeding preferences may be influenced by host blood type. These factors could potentially impact transfusion demands during outbreaks. This retrospective study aimed to investigate the relationship between ABO blood groups and transfusion requirements in patients with dengue.

Retrospective study.

The study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital in Kerala.

Clinical and laboratory data were reviewed for 199 patients confirmed with dengue who received blood component transfusions and compared with two control groups: 200 randomly selected patients with dengue who did not require transfusions and 200 patients without dengue who required transfusions, over a period spanning January 2015 to March 2023.

Among transfused dengue cases, blood groups O (41.71%), A (28.14%) and B (23.12%) were most prevalent; however, no statistically significant association was observed between ABO blood group and transfusion requirement. Furthermore, the total volumes of FFP and platelet transfusions did not differ significantly across ABO groups among patients with dengue. Notably, platelet transfusions were significantly more frequent in dengue cases (92.0%) compared with transfused patients without dengue (35.5%), whereas FFP transfusions were more common in non-dengue transfused cases (84.5%) than in patients with dengue (44.7%). Patients with dengue also received significantly higher mean volumes of both FFP and platelets.

Despite earlier reports linking ABO blood types to dengue susceptibility, this study found no significant association with transfusion requirements, warranting confirmation through larger multicentre studies.

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted maternal healthcare access globally, leading many women to give birth outside of healthcare facilities, often assisted by traditional birth attendants (TBAs). This study explored the experiences of Kenyan women who gave birth outside of healthcare facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic based on the Person-Centered Maternity Care (PCMC) framework.

This study used data from descriptive qualitative indepth interviews with Kenyan women who gave birth outside of healthcare facilities between March and November 2020. Participants lived within the catchment areas of six health facilities in Kiambu and Nairobi counties and were recruited by community leaders and community health workers. Interviews were conducted in 2020 via phone and inductively coded and analysed by a team of researchers.

A total of 28 Kenyan women who gave birth outside of healthcare facilities between March and November 2020 completed indepth interviews.

In this sample, approximately one-third of women were assisted by TBAs, while the majority were supported by friends and family members. Women generally described salient aspects of their care pertaining to the PCMC domain of supportive care. During labour, birth and the immediate postpartum, women received emotional support, basic medical assistance and instrumental support such as preparing food and baths. However, women also described concerns about giving birth outside of healthcare facilities, including poor hygiene and lack of privacy in birthing spaces as well as instances of verbal and physical harassment by TBAs. Overall, women worried about potential complications during birth, and many women delayed seeking postpartum and postnatal care.

Women who were unable to access healthcare facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic relied on TBAs and/or friends and family for support during labour and birth. These women faced gaps in PCMC, specifically related to supportive care. Given that birthing outside of healthcare facilities remains common globally, particularly during emergencies such as pandemics, TBAs should be supported to provide more person-centred care to women giving birth outside of healthcare facilities.

Recent studies have demonstrated a beneficial role of steroids in severe community-acquired pneumonia, severe COVID-19 infection and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) of diverse aetiology. This multicentre randomised controlled trial in severe scrub typhus pneumonitis and ARDS will compare the effects of 6 mg of dexamethasone once per day with placebo, in addition to standard treatment, on ventilator-free days (VFD), mortality and ventilatory requirement.

The study, involving six sites, will recruit 440 patients with severe scrub typhus pneumonitis or ARDS to concealed, block-randomised, site-specific assignment of dexamethasone or placebo for 4–7 days. The primary outcome will be VFD, defined as days alive and free of ventilation at 28 days. Secondary outcomes will include 28-day mortality, need and duration of ventilation, and treatment failure, defined as death, or escalation of respiratory support from simple devices (nasal cannula, mask) to non-invasive or invasive ventilation, or the use of open-labelled steroids for worsening shock. The study will also ascertain if antinuclear antibody (ANA) expression during the acute phase of illness will predict steroid responsiveness. Subgroup analyses will be conducted a priori on ANA expression and the need for ventilation. All analyses will be conducted on an intention-to-treat basis. The trial, which commenced in April 2025, would clarify the role of corticosteroids in scrub typhus pneumonitis.

The Institutional Review Board and Ethics Committee of the lead site, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India, has approved the study (IRB Min No 15920 (INTERVE) dated 22 November 2023). The remaining five sites have obtained approval from their respective ethics committees. Study results will be published in an international peer-reviewed journal.

CTRI/2024/12/077709. Registered 5 December 2024.