Articles: coronavirus.
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The effects of COVID-19 on sickness of medical staff across departments: A single centre experience.
COVID-19 presents a risk to healthcare workers, incurring harm to staff physical and mental wellbeing and difficulties in provision of care and service planning. ⋯ COVID-19 caused a burden of sickness on the medical workforce which must be accounted for in future workforce planning. The disparity in sickness rates across departments is likely to be multi-factorial. Further study is needed to investigate these factors to protect healthcare staff and their patients.
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We conducted a nationwide, registry-based study to investigate the importance of 34 potential risk factors for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) diagnosis, hospitalization (with or without intensive care unit [ICU] admission), and subsequent all-cause mortality. The study population comprised all COVID-19 cases confirmed in Sweden by mid-September 2020 (68,575 non-hospitalized, 2494 ICU hospitalized, and 13,589 non-ICU hospitalized) and 434,081 randomly sampled general-population controls. Older age was the strongest risk factor for hospitalization, although the odds of ICU hospitalization decreased after 60-69 years and, after controlling for other risk factors, the odds of non-ICU hospitalization showed no trend after 40-49 years. ⋯ Excess mortality was observed in both hospitalized and non-hospitalized COVID-19 cases. These results confirm that severe COVID-19 is related to age, sex, and comorbidity in general. The study provides new evidence that hypertension, asthma, Down syndrome, and residence in a long-term care facility are associated with severe COVID-19.
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The SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 variant of concern (VOC) is increasing in prevalence across Europe. Accurate estimation of disease severity associated with this VOC is critical for pandemic planning. ⋯ Absolute risk of death by 28 days increased with age and comorbidities. This VOC has potential to spread faster with higher mortality than the pandemic to date.
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Eur. J. Nucl. Med. Mol. Imaging · Mar 2021
[18F]-FDG PET/CT in oncologic patients with unsuspected asymptomatic infection with SARS-CoV-2.
Spain has been one of the most affected countries by the COVID-19 pandemic, being among the countries with worse numbers, including the death rate. However, most patients are asymptomatic, although they are very contagious. The objective of this study was to investigate the incidence in oncological patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 that are asymptomatic for COVID-19 and at home and that undergo PET/CT for oncologic indications, nonrelated to COVID-19, finding in the PET/CT lung alterations that are suggestive of SARS-CoV-2 infection. ⋯ These results confirm that the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection is higher than suspected and that there are asymptomatic patients that are attending imaging departments to be explored for their baseline oncologic processes. In these patients, PET/CT allows an early diagnosis of COVID-19.
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Journal of cardiology · Mar 2021
Knowledge, perception, and level of confidence regarding COVID-19 care among healthcare workers involved in cardiovascular medicine: a web-based cross-sectional survey in Japan.
The pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has a significant impact on daily practice in cardiovascular medicine. The preparedness of healthcare workers (HCWs) can affect the spread of infection and the maintenance of the healthcare system. This study aimed to investigate the knowledge, perception, and level of confidence regarding COVID-19 care among HCWs involved in cardiovascular medicine. ⋯ This survey revealed the lack of knowledge about adequate infection-prevention measures for COVID-19. More attention should be paid to the preparedness of HCWs, and educating and supporting HCWs involved in cardiovascular medicine is an urgent need.