Articles: pandemics.
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Meta Analysis
GDF-15 (a biomarker for metformin) and the risk of COVID-19: A two-sample Mendelian randomization study.
Regarding the impact of metformin on COVID-19, there are currently varying opinions from multiple studies. Growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15) is a biomarker of metformin use and dosage, and we used two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) to assess the causal effect of GDF-15 (metformin) on COVID-19 susceptibility, hospitalization, and severe COVID-19, thereby guiding the selection of glucose-lowering agents for diabetic patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. ⋯ Our study supports the notion that GDF-15 increases the risk of severe COVID-19 in patients. However, there is no causal relationship between GDF-15 and hospitalization or susceptibility to COVID-19.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has forced physicians to confront difficult choices regarding the allocation of scarce resources, such as ventilators and critical care beds. Developing policies to guide the allocation of such resources has proven challenging. An understanding of physicians' attitudes and beliefs surrounding resource allocation could help inform policymaking. ⋯ Responses from the province-wide survey conducted in 2021 resemble the results of an analogous survey of Ottawa physicians conducted in 2020. Physicians generally felt underprepared to make resource allocation decisions and agreed that official policies should guide such decisions. Identification of factors relevant to resource allocation was remarkably consistent across this sample and that taken in 2020.
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Pol. Arch. Med. Wewn. · Sep 2023
Effectiveness of BNT162b2 vaccination in preventing COVID-19-associated death in Poland.
Development of vaccines was a turning point of the COVID‑19 pandemic. In this study, we describe the course of the vaccination program in Poland and the effectiveness of the BNT162b2 vaccine. ⋯ The study results confirm high effectiveness of the BNT162b2 vaccine in preventing COVID‑19 deaths in all analyzed age groups.
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The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a major global concern, seriously affecting the lives and health of the population. This retrospective study aimed to investigate changes in permanent tooth injury in the Xi'an area of China influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic. The medical records of 466 dental emergency patients in 2019 and 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. ⋯ The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic brought a certain change in the epidemiological characteristics of dental injury in the Xi'an area of China. Dental emergency departments should provide even more timely and effective treatments. It is also necessary to strengthen public education, with emphasis on the importance of timely medical treatment and regular follow-up for dental trauma.