Curēus
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We aimed to determine publication trends in leading clinical research journals (impact factor >20) during the rise of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and to check for an increase in publication times of non-COVID-19 original research articles. ⋯ We found that non-COVID-19-related articles began decreasing in volume as COVID-19-related articles increased. In BMJ and Lancet, the COVID-19-related articles began overtaking the non-COVID-19-related articles in number during April and May 2020. However, COVID-19-related primary research articles only began consistently appearing in journal issues during May 2020. Only BMJ and BMC Med publicly recorded complete data regarding their publication timelines. After removing outliers, we found that the mean time from submission to publication for articles published in BMJ from January through July 2019 was 204 days (median: 194 days; IQR: 163-236), and from January through July 2020 was 223 days (median: 218 days; IQR: 177-261) (p=0.04). In BMC Med, the mean time from submission to publication from February through July 2019 was 153 days (median: 150 days; IQR: 123-181), and from February through July 2020 was 163 days (median: 157 days; IQR: 132-191) (p=0.06). Conclusion: We discovered a steadily increasing trend in the percentage of COVID-19-related articles and a concomitant decreasing trend in the percentage of non-COVID-19-related articles published in high-impact print journals during the period from December 2019 through May 2020. For non-COVID-19-related articles published in BMJ, we found a statistically significant increase upon comparing the submission-to-publication times for the period from January through July 2020 with the submission-to-publication times for the period from January through July 2019.
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Objective In this study, we aimed at comparing the seroprevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibodies in healthcare workers (HCWs) in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) receiving and non-COVID-19 receiving hospitals in Peshawar, Pakistan. Methods This cross-sectional analytical study was conducted in a COVID-19 receiving hospital (hospital 'A') and a non-COVID-19 receiving hospital (hospital 'B'). Using stratified random sampling, 1,011 HCWs (439 from hospital 'A' and 572 from hospital 'B') were recruited to participate in the study. Immunoglobulin G/immunoglobulin M (IgG/IgM) antibodies were checked using Elecsys® (Roche, Basel, Switzerland) Anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunoassay. ⋯ Conclusions The non-COVID-19 receiving hospital had a higher proportion of seropositive HCWs than the COVID-19 receiving hospital. The HCWs in the non-COVID-19 receiving hospital who had direct contact with patients had significantly higher seroprevalence. Seroprevalence was highest for administrative staff followed by nursing staff, residents, and consultants. Regardless of the COVID-19 status of the healthcare facility, all HCWs shall be trained on, and consistently follow, the proper protocols for donning and doffing of personal protective equipment (PPE).
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Background and objectives In surgical patients, coronary disease is the main cause of perioperative mortality. The incidence of serious cardiovascular complications is reported as 5% with a probability of 1-2% of death from the cardiac cause in major non-cardiac surgery. B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) is a sensitive and specific predictor of left ventricular systolic dysfunction and predicts first cardiovascular event and death in the general population. The recent guidelines recommended the use of pro-BNP for independent perioperative prognosis in cardiac patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery. The aim of this study is to assess the predictive value of raised pro-BNP levels in patients who underwent major abdominal surgery and evaluate its relationship with cardiovascular complications and mortality occurring up to 30 days after surgery. ⋯ The unadjusted odds ratio for cardiovascular complications was found to be 17.857 (95% CI: 6.56-48.60) while that for mortality was 10.863 (95% Cl: 2.29-51.37). The Kaplan-Meier survival curves showing elevated pro-BNP levels were significantly associated with cardiovascular events, with 30 days mortality at a cut-off value of 164 pg/ml. Conclusion Pro-BNP is a useful marker in postoperative patients for not only predicting cardiovascular outcomes as cited by many previous studies but also mortality.
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Background Social media is a crucial part of our daily life. Facebook, being the biggest social media platform, plays a significant role in the spread of information influencing the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Health care agencies like the World Health Organization (WHO) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) use social media as a platform to impart information regarding COVID-19; simultaneously, there is a spread of misinformation on social media, masking the credible sources of information. ⋯ In total, 22.3% included misinformation, 19.6% were unverifiable, and 27.5% included correct information verifiable by the WHO or CDC. Conclusions Misinformation/unverifiable information related to the COVID-19 crisis is spreading at a distressing rate on social media. We quantified the misinformation and tested Facebook's "fact-check policy." We advise strict initiatives to control this infodemic and advise future researches to evaluate the accuracy of content being circulated on other social media platforms.
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Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic led to a need to introduce video telemedicine for outpatients as an emergency measure without widespread stakeholder consultation. The patient and clinician experience of video outpatient consultation during the peak of the pandemic was studied for acceptability and to gather recommendations to improve the service during continuing infection control measures. Methods Outpatient video telemedicine was introduced over a 14-day period including the provision of equipment, systems integration and stakeholder communication. ⋯ The three significant factors identified for introducing video consultations were successful IT, improved patient experience and digital healthcare records. Conclusions In the COVID-19 crisis, video telemedicine played a central role in outpatient consultations with excellent levels of success. With some differences in satisfaction level, clinicians significantly underestimate the level of patient satisfaction with outpatient video consultation.