Articles: pandemics.
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Kitchen-related burn injuries are common and preventable. To limit the spread of COVID-19, public health orders encouraged the public to stay at home which may have led to an increase in kitchen-related burn injuries. ⋯ Over 1/3 of burns at the outpatient burn clinic were kitchen-related. About 94 % of these were treated as outpatient only. The incidence of kitchen-related burns did not change during the COVID-19 pandemic, but we found significant differences in ethnic distribution. These results provide a unique opportunity to focus on communication and education and set up preventative measures.
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African health sciences · Sep 2023
ReviewCovid-19 and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Africa: a narrative review.
Coronavirus disease 2019 popularly known as COVID-19 is the current pandemic ravaging the world. It has disrupted so many aspects of humans' life including the healthcare systems of all countries. While governments have instituted preventive measures such as social distancing, self-isolation and lockdown in a bid to control the spread of the virus, the absence of vaccine can lead to poor management of key risk factors (including unhealthy diets and physical inactivity) associated with NCDs and limited access to preventive health services can further contribute to development and progression of NCDs. This study provides a review of available evidences from PubMed, google scholar, online databases, and papers from other sources on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on NCDs in Africa and emphasizes lessons from past pandemics that can be adopted to reduce the burden of the disease.
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Pediatric emergency care · Sep 2023
Observational StudyPediatric Croup Due to Omicron Infection Is More Severe Than Non-COVID Croup.
Croup due to infection with the omicron variant of COVID is an emerging clinical entity, but distinguishing features of omicron croup have not yet been characterized. We designed a study to compare the clinical features of croup patients presenting to the pediatric emergency department pre-COVID pandemic with COVID-positive croup patients who presented during the initial omicron surge. ⋯ Pediatric patients with omicron croup develop more severe disease than do children with classic croup. They are more likely to require additional emergency department treatments and hospital admission than patients with croup before the COVID pandemic.
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The study assessed the relationship between COVID-19 and influenza (flu) vaccination and voting patterns during the pandemic and the time trends between flu vaccination and voting patterns. ⋯ There are existing prepandemic patterns between vaccination coverage and voting patterns. The findings align with research that has identified an association between adverse health outcomes and the political environment in the U.S.
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This study aimed to better understand the inequitable impact of the pandemic by examining the associations between stay-at-home orders and indoor smoking in public housing, measured by ambient particulate matter at the 2.5-micron threshold, a marker for secondhand smoke. ⋯ Stay-at-home orders likely led to increased indoor secondhand smoke in public housing. In light of evidence linking air pollutants, including secondhand smoke, with COVID-19, these results also provide further evidence of the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on socioeconomically disadvantaged communities. This consequence of the pandemic response is unlikely to be isolated and calls for a critical examination of the COVID-19 experience to avoid similar policy failures in future public health crises.