Articles: sars-cov-2.
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Indian J Ophthalmol · Jun 2020
Presence of viral RNA of SARS-CoV-2 in conjunctival swab specimens of COVID-19 patients.
To detect the presence of viral RNA of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) in conjunctival swab specimens of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) patients. ⋯ This study shows that SARS-CoV-2 can be detected in conjunctival swabs of confirmed cases of COVID-19 patients. Though the positivity rate of detecting SARS-CoV-2 in conjunctival swabs is very less, care should be exercised during the ocular examination of patients of COVID-19.
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The COVID-19 pandemic demands reassessment of head and neck oncology treatment paradigms. Head and neck cancer (HNC) patients are generally at high-risk for COVID-19 infection and severe adverse outcomes. Further, there are new, multilevel COVID-19-specific risks to patients, surgeons, health care workers (HCWs), institutions and society. ⋯ Until these risks are managed, we temporarily favor nonsurgical therapy over surgery for most mucosal squamous cell carcinomas, wherein surgery and nonsurgical therapy are both first-line options. Where surgery is traditionally preferred, we recommend multidisciplinary evaluation of multilevel surgical-risks, discussion of possible alternative nonsurgical therapies and shared-decision-making with the patient. Where surgery remains indicated, we recommend judicious preoperative planning and development of COVID-19-specific perioperative protocols to maximize the safety and quality of surgical and oncologic care.
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Contradictory data have been reported on the incidence of stroke in patients with COVID-19 and the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection among patients with history of stroke. ⋯ History of stroke increases the risk of death due to COVID-19 by 3 times. Stroke currently seems not to be one of the main complications of COVID-19.
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Coronaviruses are a class of RNA viruses that can cause respiratory and intestinal infections in animals and humans. SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, and a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2 [2019-nCoV]) belong to the family Coronaviridae and the genus Betacoronavirus. At present, the understanding of SARS-CoV-2 is getting deeper and deeper. In order to better prevent and treat SARS-CoV-2, this article compares the infectivity, pathogenicity, and related clinical characteristics of the three human pathogenic coronaviruses, SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV, and MERS-CoV to help us further understand the pathogenic characteristics of novel coronaviruses.