International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases
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Int. J. Infect. Dis. · Oct 2020
Is Colombia an example of successful containment of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic? A critical analysis of the epidemiological data, March to July 2020.
Colombia detected its first coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) case on March 2, 2020. From March 22 to April 25, it implemented a national lockdown that, apparently, allowed the country to keep a low incidence and mortality rate up to mid-May. Forced by the economic losses, the government then opened many commercial activities, which was followed by an increase in cases and deaths. This paper presents a critical analysis of the Colombian surveillance data in order to identify strengths and pitfalls of the control measures. ⋯ Colombia has a lower case and mortality incidence compared to other South American countries. This may be an effect of the lockdown, but may also be attributed, to some extent, to geographical differences in surveillance capacity. Indigenous populations with little health infrastructure have been hit the hardest.
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This study aimed to describe the effectiveness and optimum use of tocilizumab (TCZ) treatment by the support of clinical, laboratory and radiologic observations. ⋯ Earlier use of TCZ in COVID-19 infection was beneficial for survival, length of hospitalization and duration of oxygen support. The recommendation for administration of TCZ was based on an increase in requirement of oxygen support, progression in thoracic CT, and elevation of inflammation markers, including IL-6, CRP, ferritin, and d-dimer, and decrease in % lymphocytes.
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Int. J. Infect. Dis. · Oct 2020
Asymptomatic infection by SARS-CoV-2 in healthcare workers: A study in a large teaching hospital in Wuhan, China.
To investigate the proportion and characteristics of asymptomatic infection among healthcare workers (HCWs). ⋯ The findings demonstrated that a high rate of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 carriers existed among healthcare worker close contacts during the outbreak of COVID-19.
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Int. J. Infect. Dis. · Oct 2020
Diagnostic serial interval as a novel indicator for contact tracing effectiveness exemplified with the SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 outbreak in South Korea.
The clinical onset serial interval is often used as a proxy for the transmission interval of an infectious disease. For SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19, data on clinical onset serial intervals is limited, since symptom onset dates are not routinely recorded and do not exist in asymptomatic carriers. ⋯ The relatively short diagnostic serial intervals of SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 in South Korea are likely due to the country's extensive efforts towards contact tracing. We propose the mean diagnostic serial interval as a new indicator for the effectiveness of a country's contact tracing as part of the epidemic surveillance.
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Int. J. Infect. Dis. · Oct 2020
Silent hypoxia in patients with SARS CoV-2 infection before hospital discharge.
To assess the degree of hypoxia and subjective dyspnea elicited by a 6-minute walking test (6MWT) in COVID-19 patients prior to discharge. ⋯ The 6MWT is a potential tool in the diagnosis of asymptomatic exercise-induced hypoxia in hospitalized COVID-19 patients prior to discharge. Due to important methodological limitations, further studies are needed to confirm our findings and to investigate their clinical consequences.