European review for medical and pharmacological sciences
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Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci · Sep 2020
Homeless persons and migrants in precarious housing conditions and COVID-19 pandemic: peculiarities and prevention strategies.
Homeless persons and migrants in precarious housing conditions are vulnerable populations that have been peculiarly impacted by the Coronavirus Disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic. These populations are more at risk of contracting COVID-19 as they often find it difficult to adhere to public health directives and, if exposed, may be more susceptible to illness or death due to the higher prevalence of underlying physical and mental comorbidities compared to the general population. ⋯ Health, social and government agencies should collaborate to develop services that support these communities, in accordance with the World Health Organization principles. Migrant and homeless centers have a central role, as they provide a significant contribution to prevent infection spread and favor access to early medical treatment to those affected, thus preventing more severe forms of infection.
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Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci · Sep 2020
SARS-CoV-2 RNA contamination on surfaces of a COVID-19 ward in a hospital of Northern Italy: what risk of transmission?
SARS-CoV-2 can reportedly exist on inanimate surfaces for a long duration, but there is limited data available from Italian COVID-19 hospital wards, especially for non-intensive care units hosting patients that do not require mechanical ventilation. Identification of the extent of environmental contamination can help in understanding possible virus transmission routes, limit hospital infections and protect healthcare workers. Thus, we investigated virus contamination on surfaces of the acute COVID-19 ward of an Italian hospital. ⋯ The existence of SARS-CoV-2 on hospital surfaces may be limited, although it was reported to persist for a longer duration on surfaces under controlled laboratory conditions. Thus, effective transmission of SARS-CoV-2 by surfaces/fomites within the hospital ward may be a rare event. However, the results highlight the importance of assessing method sensitivity and including controls when investigating low-level virus contamination so as to avoid the risk of underestimation of virus presence.
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Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci · Sep 2020
Imbalance between procoagulant factors and natural coagulation inhibitors contributes to hypercoagulability in the critically ill COVID-19 patient: clinical implications.
Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) predisposes patients to thrombosis which underlying mechanisms are still incompletely understood. We sought to investigate the balance between procoagulant factors and natural coagulation inhibitors in the critically ill COVID-19 patient and to evaluate the usefulness of hemostasis parameters to identify patients at risk of venous thromboembolic event (VTE). ⋯ Mechanically ventilated COVID-19 patients present with an imbalance between markedly increased factor V/VIII activity and overwhelmed protein C/S pathway. Plasma D-dimer may be a useful biomarker at the bedside for suspicion of VTE.
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Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci · Sep 2020
Impact of weather conditions on incidence and mortality of COVID-19 pandemic in Africa.
The weather-related conditions change the ecosystem and pose a threat to social, economic and environmental development. It creates unprecedented or unanticipated human health problems in various places or times of the year. Africa is the world's second largest and most populous continent and has relatively changeable weather conditions. The present study aims to investigate the impact of weather conditions, heat and humidity on the incidence and mortality of COVID-19 pandemic in various regions of Africa. ⋯ Increase in relative humidity and temperature was associated with a decrease in the number of daily cases and deaths due to COVID-19 pandemic in various African countries. The study findings on weather events and COVID-19 pandemic have an impact at African regional levels to project the incidence and mortality trends with regional weather events which will enhance public health readiness and assist in planning to fight against this pandemic.
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Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci · Aug 2020
Climate and COVID-19 pandemic: effect of heat and humidity on the incidence and mortality in world's top ten hottest and top ten coldest countries.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a global public health crisis with social, psychological and long-lasting economical damages. Weather-related dynamics have an impact on the pattern of human health and disease. The present study aimed to investigate the impact of heat and humidity on daily basis incidence and mortality due to COVID-19 pandemic in ten of the world's hottest countries compared to ten of the coldest ones. ⋯ The results revealed a significant decrease in incidence of daily cases and deaths in countries with high temperatures and low humidity (warmest countries), compared to those countries with low temperatures and high humidity (coldest countries). The findings could be of interest to the policymakers and the health officials on the epidemiological trends of COVID-19 pandemic and weather changes.