Articles: pandemics.
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Factors such as the thought of losing the patient, the uncertainty of the course of the disease, and the inability to obtain sufficient information about the patient are frightening and alarming for relatives of patients in the intensive care unit. ⋯ In addition to the uncertainty and fear associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, it is very distressing to have a relative who is a patient in the intensive care unit. In this context, it is especially important to improve the level of coping with stress of the relatives of patients in the intensive care unit and to increase their quality of life.
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Pediatric emergency care · May 2023
The Association Between COVID-19 and Febrile Seizure: A Retrospective Case-Control Study.
Throughout the pandemic, febrile seizures have resulted from infection secondary to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). The objective of this study is to determine if there is an increased association between COVID-19 and febrile seizures as compared with other causes of febrile seizures. ⋯ There were 2.7% of the patients with COVID-19 that were diagnosed with a febrile seizure. However, when subjected to a matched case control design with logistic regression controlling for confounding variables, there does not appear to be an increased risk of febrile seizures secondary to COVID-19 as compared with other causes.
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Southern medical journal · May 2023
Medical Students' Perspectives on Opportunities to Engage in the Clinical Care of COVID-19 Patients during the Pandemic.
Recent disease modeling suggests that pandemics are likely to increase in frequency and severity. As such, medical educators must learn from their experiences with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) to develop systematic strategies for ensuring that medical students receive hands-on training in the management of emerging diseases. Here, we outline the process by which the Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine developed and updated guidelines for student participation in the care of patients with COVID-19 and report on students' experiences. ⋯ Many graduating students felt unprepared to care for patients with COVID-19 during residency and many wished they had had more opportunities to care for patients with COVID-19 during medical school. Curricular policies must evolve to allow students to gain competency in the care of patients with COVID-19 so that they are prepared for day one of residency.
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We present the case of a young woman admitted for diabetic ketoacidosis with persistent, asymptomatic lactic acid (LA) elevation during the evolving COVID-19 pandemic. Cognitive biases in interpreting an elevated LA in this patient's care resulted in an extensive infectious workup instead of the low-cost and potentially diagnostic provision of empiric thiamine. We discuss clinical patterns and etiologies of LA elevation and the role of thiamine deficiency. We also address cognitive biases potentially affecting the interpretation of elevated lactate levels and provide guidance for clinicians to determine appropriate patients for empiric thiamine administration.
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Strict visitor restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic have been associated with staff moral distress in numerous clinical settings, yet little is known about effects on perceptions of pediatric end-of-life care. ⋯ The findings support affording some flexibility to visitation at end of life, which may mitigate negative staff perceptions of quality of dying and death. With the profound effects of COVID-19 on end-of-life care provision, these results may have implications for future global challenges.