Articles: pandemics.
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To investigate the predictors of postoperative mortality in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-positive patients. ⋯ COVID-19-positive patients have higher risk of postintervention mortality. Risk factors should be carefully evaluated before intervention. Further studies are needed to understand the impact of pandemic on long-term surgical/procedural outcomes.
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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) placed additional strain on an already struggling health care system. In response, novel solutions such as telehealth have been explored, however, there is significant room for innovation in health care delivery. ⋯ Drive-through medical systems can accurately triage patients presenting with potential COVID-19 and effectively treat lower-risk patients, thereby reducing ED utilization.
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Differences between total deaths registered during the COVID-19 pandemic and those registered in a previous reference period are the most frequently used measures of the pandemic effect. However, these measures do not consider demographic changes and temporal trends in mortality. In this study we estimated the excess mortality in 2020 in Italy considering demographic changes and temporal trends in mortality. ⋯ After considering demographic changes and temporal improvement in mortality the excess deaths in 2020 still remains above 90,000 deaths. More important, considering these factors, the excess at ages <80 years is revised upwards, while the excess at older ages is revised downwards.
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The COVID-19 pandemic, which broke out in Wuhan, China, in 2019, was declared an international public health emergency by the World Health Organization on January 31, 2020. The outbreak on the Diamond Princess cruise ship had appeared first as a cluster infection outside China during the early pandemic. The incident occurred on February 1, 2020, involved an 80-year-old Hong Kong man who was diagnosed with COVID-19. The cruise ship docked in Yokohama, Japan, for 14 days of onboard quarantine; however, cluster infection outbroke rapidly. ⋯ Cruise conditions would accelerate the spread of infectious diseases and were not suitable for onboard quarantine. Early evacuation and isolation of all passengers and crew members would reduce the R 0 value and avoid further infections.
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Observational Study
Is there a diurnal variation of COVID-19 patients warranting presentation to the health centre? A chronobiological observational cross-sectional study.
The circadian clock regulates the function of the immune system, the replication of viruses, and the magnitude of infections. The aim of this study was to analyse whether hospital attendance in Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients presents a diurnal variation. ⋯ COVID-19 infection affected the circadian rhythms of the host through disrupting the circadian rhythms of core temperature and innate immunity mediators. Old patients attend the health care centre earlier compared to younger ones. However, CT during polymerase chain reaction-test was unaffected by the TOD, which limits the conclusion that COVID-19 viral infection exhibits diurnal variation.