Curēus
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Objectives Clinically suspicious novel coronavirus (COVID-19) lung pneumonia can be observed typically on computed tomography (CT) chest scans even in patients with a negative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test. The purpose of the study was to describe the CT imaging findings of five patients with negative RT-PCR results on initial and repeated testing but a high radiological suspicion of COVID-19 pneumonia. Methods Out of 19 clinically and/or radiologically diagnosed COVID-19 patients from our institution, five patients were selected for our study who had typical findings of COVID-19 on CT scan despite two negative RT-PCR results. ⋯ The median score, seen in three patients, was a score of 5, which corresponded to mild disease. One patient had a score of 8, corresponding to moderate disease, and one patient had severe disease with a score of 14. Conclusion Lung parenchymal changes related to COVID-19 can be seen on chest CT clearly despite repeated RT-PCR negative results.
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Background Advancing age and male sex have been identified as risk factors for poor outcomes in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, there is a dearth of data investigating the impact of age on the risk reported with male sex. We aimed to determine the risk associated with male sex in people of different age groups, that is, in people younger or older than 65 years of age. ⋯ In contrast, among younger middle-aged adults (29-64 years), men had higher odds of end-organ damage from COVID-19 compared to women. Based on these observations, age is a more important driver of poor outcomes in COVID-19 than sex. Public health policies need to create awareness for the increased risk of older individuals to COVID-19, regardless of sex.
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Background New York City was the epicenter for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the United States. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to characterize the population of patients admitted with this condition to a community hospital in East Harlem located in the northeast part of the city. Methods A retrospective review of medical records of patients at least 18 years of age, admitted to the hospital with COVID-19 disease from March 14 to April 30 of 2020. ⋯ Most patients were treated with a combination of hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin, zinc, and vitamin C. Twenty-three percent of the patients died from the disease during the study period. Conclusion Morbidity and mortality were substantial in patients with COVID-19 admitted to a community hospital in East Harlem.
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Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by infection with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), usually presents clinically with cough, fever, shortness of breath, and loss of taste and/or smell. COVID-19 can also present with neurologic signs and symptoms, including headache, hyposmia/anosmia, encephalopathy, meningoencephalitis, Guillain-Barré syndrome, stroke, and seizure. Viral transmission occurs through aerosols generated when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or exhales and by direct touching of contaminated surfaces. ⋯ Conclusion Neurological involvement is not infrequent in patients with COVID-19. Neurologic manifestations should be carefully monitored in infected patients. COVID-19 should be suspected in patients presenting with neurological abnormalities and should be included in the differential diagnosis to prevent further virus transmission.
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Background Podcasts and their use in medical education, particularly emergency medicine (EM), are growing and becoming more popular. Many podcasts focus on EM, but the number of podcasts on each EM subspecialty remains unknown. Therefore, the goal of this study was to ascertain the number of podcasts available by EM subspecialty and collect the basic characteristics of each podcast. ⋯ Toxicology and EMS have the most inactive podcasts, while Medical Education and Simulation were the only subspecialties found to not have any identified inactive podcasts. Conclusions The use of podcasts in EM has been increasing overall, but physicians in specific subspecialties, such as EMS and Medical Education, have access to a larger number of podcasts specific to their subspecialty than others. There is an opportunity for experts in Toxicology, Simulation, and Ultrasound to create podcast content.