Plos One
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COVID-19 has created an extraordinary global health crisis. However, with limited understanding of the effects of COVID-19 during pregnancy, clinicians and patients are forced to make uninformed decisions. ⋯ COVID-19-positive pregnant women present with fewer symptoms than the general population and may be RT-PCR negative despite having signs of viral pneumonia. The incidence of preterm births, low birth weight, C-section, NICU admission appear higher than the general population.
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Postoperative serum concentration of C-reactive protein (CRP) is one of the objective quantitative indices integrating the effects of preoperative and intraoperative variables. Higher levels of CRP after gastrointestinal surgery are associated with major postoperative complications. To develop a model for predicting CRP levels on postoperative day (POD) 1 in surgical patients both with and without serious conditions and comorbidities, we modified the previous formula for prediction of CRP levels on POD1, and assessed the accuracy of our modified predictive formula for CRP levels. ⋯ CRP levels predicted using duration of surgery, mean NR, and preoperative CRP levels are likely identical to measured CRP levels on POD1, being associated with major complications after gastrointestinal surgery.
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A greater understanding of the antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 in an infected population is important for the development of a vaccination. ⋯ The serological test for SARS-CoV-2 has a high sensitivity more than two weeks after the onset of illness. Additionally, the serological response differs among patients based on sex as well as the severity of infection.
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The purpose of this study was to establish a Korean version of the Central Sensitization Inventory (CSI-K) for Korean-speaking patients facing total knee arthroplasty (TKA) for knee osteoarthritis (OA) and to investigate the psychometric characteristics of the CSI-K. We recruited a total of 269 patients with knee OA who were scheduled to undergo TKA for the study. CSI-K and pain-related outcomes, including the pain visual analog scale (VAS) and the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities OA Index (WOMAC) pain sub-scores, were measured. ⋯ As expected, the CSI scores correlated strongly with the WOMAC pain scores (r = 0.524, p < 0.001) and moderately with the pain VAS (r = 0.496, p < 0.001), the WOMAC function (r = 0.408, p < 0.001), and the EQ-5D scores (r = 0.437, p < 0.001). EFA resulted in a six-factor model. The findings demonstrate that the CSI was successfully trans-culturally adapted into a simplified Korean version (CSI-K) that was reliable and valid for Korean-speaking patients who awaiting TKA for knee OA.
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Digital Infrared Thermal Imaging (DITI) has much potential in the field of maternal-fetal health and wellbeing research. The fact that it is totally non-invasive is particularly important in this context. The purpose of this study was, for the first time, to assess DITI's ability to record fetal presentation and position, and other pregnancy-related physiological factors, via their superficial thermal prints. ⋯ This work represents a first contribution towards the use of DITI for the recording of fetal presentation and position. As it does not require direct contact and since it is completely non-invasive, it could be used to record maternal-fetal dynamic dyadic interaction in pregnancy. However, although the preliminary results are promising, further trans-disciplinary studies with a well-established protocol, more sophisticated thermal cameras, and bigger cohorts are needed.