Wiener klinische Wochenschrift
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Wien. Klin. Wochenschr. · Apr 2021
Personal protective equipment in the COVID-19 pandemic and the use of cooling-wear as alleviator of thermal stress : A pilot study in plastic surgery staff members.
High temperatures at workplaces lead to health-related risks and premature exhaustion. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic requires many health professionals to perform under unfavorable conditions. Personal protective equipment (PPE) causes thermal stress and negatively affects performance. ⋯ COVID-19 PPE causes considerable thermal stress, ultimately affecting human performance. As opportunity to withstand thermal stress, and improve patients' and professionals' safety, cooling-wear can be considered relevant. Medical personnel performing in exceptional situations may particularly benefit from further development and investigation of cooling strategies.
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Wien. Klin. Wochenschr. · Apr 2021
ReviewClinical manifestations of COVID-19 in the general population: systematic review.
Clinical manifestations of COVID-19 are varied in the general population. This study aimed to systematize the literature regarding clinical manifestations of patients with confirmed COVID-19. A systematic review of the literature was conducted. ⋯ In studies with more than 100 patients, the 3 main symptoms were fever (57.93%), cough (54.21%), and dyspnea (30.64%). Dermatological manifestations do not appear among the main symptoms. The identification of all clinical manifestations of COVID-19 is essential for an early diagnosis and the adoption of preventive measures.
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Wien. Klin. Wochenschr. · Apr 2021
Hydroxychloroquine versus lopinavir/ritonavir in severe COVID-19 patients : Results from a real-life patient cohort.
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is associated with a high mortality. To date no trial comparing hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/RTV) has been performed. ⋯ No statistically significant differences were observed in outcome parameters in patients treated with HCQ or LPV/RTV but patients in the LPV/RTV group showed a numerically lower hospital mortality rate. Additionally, in comparison to other studies we demonstrated a lower mortality in patients treated with LPV/RTV despite having similar patient groups, perhaps due to early initiation of treatment.
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Wien. Klin. Wochenschr. · Apr 2021
ReviewMutant strains of SARS-CoV-2 are more prone to infect obese patient: a review.
The current review critically analyzes obesity as an important risk factor for increased predisposition towards coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), its severity and causal death in current pandemic. Countries with higher prevalence of exposed obese individuals experienced the highest number of mortalities. The analysis also proved that individuals having more adipose tissue in body have a higher level of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), which is identified as functional receptor for COVID-19. ⋯ Furthermore, in silico interactions of ACE2 and different variants of coronavirus 2 (CoV-2) spike S1 protein suggest that mutant strains are more infectious than wildtype as they bind to host ACE2 protein with high binding affinities. Certain specific cancers including cervical cancer, pancreatic and rectal adenocarcinomas have more expression of such receptors and pose additional risk to already immunocompromised cancer patients. This review emphasizes obesity, as the covert risk factor of COVID-19 infection and sensitizes about of calorie restrictions, immunity building and preventive measures.