Plos One
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The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus pandemic may cause significant morbidity and mortality in adults, yet severe cases are rare among children. The indirect impact of the pandemic on health care delivery in general and pediatric emergency department (PED) visits in particular has been widely reported. ⋯ A significant drop in PED visits is seen to extend well beyond the peak of the pandemic and the lockdown period. This highlights the potential risk of children with serious emergencies becoming casualties of the pandemic by their not being brought to medical attention. Efforts should be made to raise public awareness among parents and other caretakers of children regarding this matter.
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This study aimed to investigate the knowledge, practices, and attitudes of medical professionals toward Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for the prevention and treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). All 401 medical professionals were surveyed using an anonymous with an investigator using the Questionnaire star APP. The participants answered 14 questions; of the 401 participants, 55.2% agreed with the statement "TCM can be used for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19," 40.4% remained neutral, and 4.4% disagreed. ⋯ Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that age, major and received TCM treatment within the last five years were independent factors affecting the participants' attitudes. In the absence of specific drugs for COVID-19, more than half of the participants agreed that TCM could be used for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 and most participants are willing to take TCM to prevent COVID-19, although unsure about its effectiveness. The main information sources on TCM for the treatment and prevention of COVID-19 were social platforms and hospital training.
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The novel coronavirus pandemic has affected emergency department consultations for surgical pathologies. The aim of our study was to compare the number of acute appendicitis cases and the proportion of complicated appendicitis before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. ⋯ The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a decreased number of consultations for acute appendicitis, with a higher proportion of complicated appendicitis, most likely due to patient delay in consulting the emergency department at symptom onset. Patients and general practitioners should be aware of this problem to avoid a time delay from initial symptoms to consultation.
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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a systemic disease that can rapidly progress into acute respiratory failure and death. Timely identification of these patients is crucial for a proper administration of health-care resources. ⋯ The COVID-IRS scores accurately predict the need for mechanical ventilation in COVID-19 patients using readily available variables taken upon admission. More studies testing the applicability of COVID-IRS in other centers and populations, as well as its performance as a triage tool for COVID-19 patients are needed.
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During the early phase of the Covid-19 pandemic, reductions of hospital admissions with a focus on emergencies have been observed for several medical and surgical conditions, while trend data during later stages of the pandemic are scarce. Consequently, this study aims to provide up-to-date hospitalization trends for several conditions including cardiovascular, psychiatry, oncology and surgery cases in both the in- and outpatient setting. ⋯ There have been varying changes in care pathways and in-hospital mortality in different disciplines during the Covid-19 pandemic in Germany. Despite all the inherent and well-known limitations of claims data use, this data may be used for health care surveillance as the pandemic continues worldwide. While this study provides an up-to-date analysis of utilization of hospital care in the largest German hospital network, short- and long-term consequences are unknown and deserve further studies.