World journal of clinical cases
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Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) is a global pandemic and has had a profound impact on our routine surgical activities. Acute appendicitis is the most common abdominal emergency worldwide. Therefore, it is highly essential to assess the influence the pandemic has on acute appendicitis. ⋯ The management of acute appendicitis from Jiaxing effectively reduced the influence of the pandemic and minimized the risk of nosocomial infection.
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The main pathophysiological basis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) causing respiratory failure is a cytokine storm and interleukin-6 (IL-6) is an important component of the COVID-19 cytokine storm. As a specific antagonist of IL-6, tocilizumab may block the cytokine storm of COVID-19. The Diagnosis and Treatment Guidelines of New Coronavirus Pneumonia (7th Edition) includes tocilizumab as a recommended drug for immunotherapy in severe and critical COVID-19 patients. However, the specific clinical efficacy of tocilizumab in the treatment of COVID-19 patients is worth studying. ⋯ Tocilizumab treatment is effective against IL-6 in COVID-19 patients, but it does not completely inhibit the inflammation and cytokine storm in all patients with COVID-19.In the clinical treatment of COVID-19 patients, attention should be paid to the timing of drug administration and other adjuvant treatments.
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The current coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic is changing the organization of health care and has had a direct impact on the management of surgical patients.At the General Surgery Department of Sant'Anna University Hospital in Ferrara, Italy, surgical activities were progressively reduced during the peak of the COVID-19 outbreak in Italy. During this period, only one operating room was available for elective cancer surgeries and another for emergency surgeries. Moreover, the number of beds for surgical patients had to be reduced to provide beds and personnel for the new COVID-19 wards. ⋯ There was a significant reduction in emergency surgeries at our center during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is plausible that there were analogous reductions at other centers across Italy.
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Cancer patient care requires a multi-disciplinary approach and multiple medical and ethical considerations. Clinical care during a pandemic health crisis requires prioritising the use of resources for patients with a greater chance of survival, especially in developing countries. The coronavirus disease 2019 crisis has generated new challenges given that cancer patients are normally not prioritised for admission in critical care units. ⋯ Concurrently, cancer treatment protocols must be adapted to prioritise according to oncologic response and prognosis. Communication technologies are powerful tools to optimise cancer care during pandemics, and we must adapt quickly to this new scenario of clinical care and teaching. In this new challenging pandemic scenario, multi-disciplinary work and effective communication between clinics, technology, science, and ethics is the key to optimising clinical care of cancer patients.
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Spontaneous pneumomediastinum (SPM) is more common in young adults, usually caused by external factors like trauma. It causes symptoms such as chest pain or dyspnea, but it is rare to see elderly patients who develop SPM. Here we report the case of an elderly patient diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) who neither got mechanical ventilation nor had chest trauma but were found to develop SPM for unknown reason. ⋯ We presume that aging lung changes and bronchopulmonary infection play an important part in the onset of SPM in COVID-19, but severe acute respiratory syndrome may represent a separate pathophysiologic mechanism for pneumomediastinum. Although the incidence of SPM in elderly patients is low, clinicians should be alert to the possibility of SPM in those infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 for life-threatening complications such as cardiorespiratory arrest may occur.