Articles: coronavirus.
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Paediatric anaesthesia · Aug 2020
Enclosure with augmented airflow to decrease risk of exposure to aerosolized pathogens including coronavirus during endotracheal intubation. Can the reduction in aerosolized particles be quantified?
As the pandemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19) has impacted hospital routines in recent weeks, recommendations to reduce healthcare worker infections are being developed. ⋯ Aerosolized particulate contamination in the operating room can be decreased using a clear plastic enclosure with minimal openings and augmented airflow. This may serve to decrease the exposure of healthcare providers to aerosolized pathogens.
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The Journal of infection · Aug 2020
Comment LetterPositive rectal swabs in young patients recovered from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
To investigate the widely concerned issue about positive real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test results after discharge in patients recovered from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). ⋯ The study might suggest the positive RT-PCR after recovery did not mean disease relapse or virus reinfection. Adding RT-PCR test of rectal swabs to the criteria for discharge or discontinuation of quarantine might be necessary.
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During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare professionals are at the forefront of managing the highly infectious coronavirus. As the most common route of transmission is via aerosols and droplet inhalation, it is critical for healthcare workers to have the correct personal protective equipment (PPE) including gowns, masks and goggles. Surgical masks are not effective in preventing the influenza and SARS, so they are unlikely to be able to resist contaminated aerosols from entering the respiratory system. ⋯ Various types of respirators are used in healthcare settings, such as half-mask filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs) and powered air-purifying respirators (PAPRs). The most commonly used FFR is the N95 disposable respirator, which is tight fitting and has a 95% or above particle filtering efficiency for a median particle size of 0.3 µm. This review discusses respirators, their purpose, types, clinical efficiency and proper donning and doffing techniques.