Articles: coronavirus.
-
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a highly contagious disease that quickly reached pandemic levels. Over 5 million COVID-19 cases and approximately 330,000 deaths have been recorded worldwide. Transmission is primarily spread through direct, indirect (through contaminated objects or surfaces), or close contact with infected people via respiratory droplets, the mouth, and/or nose secretions. Health care professionals (HCPs), including dental HCPs, are recognized to be at considerably high risk for infection due to the close proximity to patients and aerosol-generating procedures. During pregnancy, HCPs may be at even higher risk since pregnancy substantially increases the susceptibility to infectious diseases. ⋯ Dental and health care professionals can use the information in this review to improve their awareness of COVID-19 risks, signs, and symptoms and the associated effects on the health of pregnant health care professionals and their unborn/newborn children.
-
The COVID-19 pandemic is a large-scale public health emergency that likely precipitated sleep disturbances in the community. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and correlates of sleep disturbances during the early phase of COVID-19 pandemic. ⋯ A high proportion of people in Hong Kong felt that their sleep had worsened since the COVID-19 outbreak. Insufficient stock of masks was one of the risk factors that were associated with sleep disturbances. Adequate and stable supply of masks may play an important role to maintain the sleep health in the Hong Kong general population during a pandemic outbreak.
-
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared SARS-CoV-2 as pandemic. Patients with COVID-19 present mainly with respiratory symptoms. Prone position has been traditionally used in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) to improve oxygenation and prevent barotrauma in ventilated patients. Awake proning is being used as an investigational therapy in COVID to defer invasive ventilation, improve oxygenation, and outcomes. Hence, we conducted a retrospective case study to look for benefits of awake proning with oxygen therapy in non-intubated COVID patients. ⋯ Singh P, Jain P, Deewan H. Awake Prone Positioning in COVID-19 Patients. Indian J Crit Care Med 2020;24(10):914-918.
-
Emerging Infect. Dis. · Oct 2020
Community Treatment Centers for Isolation of Asymptomatic and Mildly Symptomatic Patients with Coronavirus Disease, South Korea.
As a part of measures to decrease spikes in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases and deaths outside of hospitals, the government of South Korea introduced a plan for community treatment centers (CTCs) to isolate and monitor patients with mild COVID-19 symptoms. We assessed outcomes of 568 patients admitted to 3 CTCs near Daegu. ⋯ The mean time patients remained at CTCs was 19.6 days (SD +5.8 days) from the day of diagnosis until our study ended on March 23, 2020. Because they offer appropriate clinical triaging and daily monitoring for patients, CTCs are a safe alternative to medical institutions for asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic patients with COVID-19.
-
Comparative Study Observational Study
Zinc sulfate in combination with a zinc ionophore may improve outcomes in hospitalized COVID-19 patients.
Introduction. COVID-19 has rapidly emerged as a pandemic infection that has caused significant mortality and economic losses. Potential therapies and prophylaxis against COVID-19 are urgently needed to combat this novel infection. ⋯ After adjusting for the time at which zinc sulphate was added to our protocol, an increased frequency of being discharged home (OR 1.53, 95 % CI 1.12-2.09) and reduction in mortality or transfer to hospice among patients who did not require ICU level of care remained significant (OR 0.449, 95 % CI 0.271-0.744). Conclusion. This study provides the first in vivo evidence that zinc sulphate may play a role in therapeutic management for COVID-19.