Articles: sars-cov-2.
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Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is spreading around the world. At the end of February, the outburst of the pandemic has hit hard on northern Italian's hospitals. As of today, no data have been published regarding the severity of respiratory failure of patients presenting to the Emergency Departments. Moreover, the outcome the patients forced to undergo Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) or Non-Invasive Positive Pressure Ventilation (NIPPV) due to lack of Intensive Care resources is unknown. "Papa Giovanni XXIII" hospital (HPG23) of Bergamo is one of the largest hospitals in the Country, with an Emergency Department (ED) managing over 100,000 patients per year. ⋯ No funds were received for this research project.
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Emerging Infect. Dis. · Jul 2020
Policy Decisions and Use of Information Technology to Fight COVID-19, Taiwan.
Because of its proximity to and frequent travelers to and from China, Taiwan faces complex challenges in preventing coronavirus disease (COVID-19). As soon as China reported the unidentified outbreak to the World Health Organization on December 31, 2019, Taiwan assembled a taskforce and began health checks onboard flights from Wuhan. ⋯ Taiwan effectively delayed and contained community transmission by leveraging experience from the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak, prevalent public awareness, a robust public health network, support from healthcare industries, cross-departmental collaborations, and advanced information technology capacity. We analyze use of the National Health Insurance database and critical policy decisions made by Taiwan's government during the first 50 days of the COVID-19 outbreak.
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Case Reports
Alveolar macrophage dysfunction and cytokine storm in the pathogenesis of two severe COVID-19 patients.
The novel coronavirus pneumonia COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection could lead to a series of clinical symptoms and severe illnesses, including acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and fatal organ failure. We report the fundamental pathological investigation in the lungs and other organs of fatal cases for the mechanistic understanding of severe COVID-19 and the development of specific therapy in these cases. ⋯ Shanghai Guangci Translational Medical Research Development Foundation, Shanghai, China.
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Tocilizumab (TCZ), a monoclonal antibody against interleukin-6 (IL-6), emerged as an alternative treatment for COVID-19 patients with a risk of cytokine storms recently. In the present study, we aimed to discuss the treatment response of TCZ therapy in COVID-19 infected patients. The demographic, treatment, laboratory parameters of C-reactive protein (CRP) and IL-6 before and after TCZ therapy and clinical outcome in the 15 COVID-19 patients were retrospectively assessed. Totally 15 patients with COVID-19 were included in this study. ⋯ Serum IL-6 level tended to further spiked firstly and then decreased after TCZ therapy in 10 patients. A persistent and dramatic increase of IL-6 was observed in these four patients who failed treatment. TCZ appears to be an effective treatment option in COVID-19 patients with a risk of cytokine storms. And for these critically ill patients with elevated IL-6, the repeated dose of the TCZ is recommended.
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Yonsei medical journal · Jul 2020
Protection of Healthcare Workers Against COVID-19 at a Large Teaching Hospital in Seoul, Korea.
Thirteen patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) visited a university hospital in Seoul before recognizing their disease infections, causing contact with 184 hospital workers. We classified the patients into four risk levels and provided corresponding management measures. At 31 days after the last event, all screening laboratory results were negative, and no symptoms/signs were reported.