American journal of infection control
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Am J Infect Control · Aug 2020
ReviewInfection control practices in children during COVID-19 pandemic: Differences from adults.
Limited studies have been published on practices and management of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in children. Despite the fact that COVID-19 rarely caused any severe disease in children, the asymptomatic children might be playing an important role for spreading COVID-19 in healthcare facilities. This review aimed at sharing our experience of how to handle patients with COVID-19 in a pediatric referral and tertiary care hospital to prevent the possible transmissions to the healthcare workers (HCWs). ⋯ Infection control precautions to prevent the possible transmissions to HCWs as well as the other patients and their caregivers from children with COVID-19 are very critical. If sufficient precautions are not taken, healthcare settings may serve as additional source of transmission and spread of COVID-19 in the society.
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Am J Infect Control · Aug 2020
Health care personnel exposure to a patient with asymptomatic SARS-CoV2 infection during a prolonged surgical intervention.
There is ongoing debate regarding the role of aerosols in the transmission of SARS-CoV2 in the health care environment. Here, we report a case in which multiple operating room health care providers were exposed to a patient with asymptomatic SARS-CoV2 infection during a prolonged orthopedic surgical intervention and had no evidence of COVID-19 during the 14-day post-exposure period.
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Am J Infect Control · Aug 2020
Meta AnalysisThe effect of state-level stay-at-home orders on COVID-19 infection rates.
State-level stay-at-home orders were monitored to determine their effect on the rate of confirmed COVID-19 diagnoses. Confirmed cases were tracked before and after state-level stay-at-home orders were put in place. Linear regression techniques were used to determine slopes for log case count data, and meta analyses were conducted to combine data across states. The results were remarkably consistent across states and support the usefulness of stay-at-home orders in reducing COVID-19 infection rates.
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Am J Infect Control · Aug 2020
Medical waste management practice during the 2019-2020 novel coronavirus pandemic: Experience in a general hospital.
It is currently a critical period for the prevention and control of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the medical waste disposal could be an important way to control the source of infection, standardization, and strict implementation of the management of COVID-19 related medical waste should be with careful consideration to reduce the risk of epidemic within hospitals. This study illustrates the practice of medical waste disposal responding to the 2019-2020 novel coronavirus pandemic.
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Am J Infect Control · Aug 2020
Identifying potential undocumented COVID-19 using publicly reported influenza-like-illness and laboratory-confirmed influenza disease in the United States: An approach to syndromic surveillance?
In the absence of widespread testing, syndromic surveillance approaches may be useful for understanding potential undocumented coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the United States. We used publicly available data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention FluView Interactive to evaluate its potential for COVID-19 syndromic surveillance. Unlike the prior 3 influenza seasons, we found a 76% decrease in influenza positive tests and a 27% increase in influenza like illness during the weeks since COVID-19 outbreaks began in the United States, which suggests FluView's potential utility for COVID-19 syndromic surveillance.