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Nosocomial transmission of COVID-19 puts patients with other medical problems at risk of severe illness and death. Of 662 inpatients with COVID-19 at an NHS Trust in South London, 45 (6.8%) were likely to have acquired COVID-19 in hospital. These patients had no evidence of respiratory or influenza-like illness on admission and developed symptoms, with positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR test results, more than 7 days after admission (>14 days for 38 [5.7%] patients). Forty (88.9%) of these patients had shared a ward with a confirmed COVID-19 case prior to testing positive. Implementation of a triage system combining clinical assessment with rapid SARS-CoV-2 testing facilitated cohorting so that fewer susceptible patients were exposed to COVID-19 on shared wards. With hospital service resumption alongside the possibility of future waves of COVID-19 related admissions, strategies to prevent nosocomial transmission are essential. Point-of-care diagnostics can complement clinical assessment to rapidly identify patients with COVID-19 and reduce risk of transmission within hospitals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Monoclonal gammopathies frequently cause renal disease, but they may be an incidental finding. Assessment of renal pathology in the context of renal dysfunction and a monoclonal gammopathy therefore serves as a useful diagnostic tool and, in addition, provides prognostic information. There is, however, a theoretical risk of increased hemorrhagic complications from renal biopsies in this setting. The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence of significant hemorrhagic complications after renal biopsies in patients with monoclonal gammopathies., Design, Setting, Participants, & Measurements: The case notes of 1993 unselected patients from four teaching hospitals within the United Kingdom who underwent native or transplant renal biopsies between 1993 and 2008 were reviewed. Subjects were categorized as having a monoclonal gammopathy or not, and the incidence of major hemorrhagic complications between groups was compared., Results: In total, 74 (3.7%) patients (native and transplant biopsies) had a major hemorrhagic complication. One hundred forty-eight subjects with a monoclonal gammopathy were identified. The complication rate in this group was 4.1% compared with 3.9% in the control population (native biopsies only; P = 0.88)., Conclusions: In the population studied, the rate of major hemorrhagic complications after percutaneous renal biopsy was not significantly greater in patients with a monoclonal gammopathy.