Articles: sars-cov-2.
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J Prim Care Community Health · Jan 2020
Practice GuidelineGuidelines for Frontline Health Care Staff Safety for COVID-19.
This document establishes safety guidelines for physicians, nurses, and allied health care and facility staff who may be exposed to patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in a health care facility. SARS-CoV-2 infection is highly contagious and places health care workers at risk for infection resulting in coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Physicians, nurses, and allied health care and facility staff in all frontline environments must be provided and utilize necessary personal protective equipment (PPE). ⋯ The establishment of these guidelines is necessary in this viral pandemic since such directives can create a standard of safety that is universally accepted. These guidelines establish a framework to provide consistency among health care facilities and staff from the time the staff member arrives at the health care facility until they return home. These guidelines provide a practical description of the minimum necessary protection for physicians, nurses, and allied health care and facility staff against SARS-CoV-2 infection.
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The outbreak of pneumonia caused by SARS-CoV-2 posed a great threat to global human health, which urgently requires us to understand comprehensively the mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) was identified as a functional receptor for SARS-CoV-2, distribution of which may indicate the risk of different human organs vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Previous studies investigating the distribution of ACE2 mRNA in human tissues only involved a limited size of the samples and a lack of determination for ACE2 protein. ⋯ HIPED revealed enrichment of ACE2 protein in the placenta and ovary despite a low mRNA level. Further, human secretome shows that the average concentration of ACE2 protein in the plasma of males is higher than those in females. Our research will be beneficial for understanding the transmission routes and sex-based differences in susceptibility of SARS-CoV-2 infection.
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To summarize an experience of endoscopy-assisted dilatational tracheostomies in patients with COVID-19. ⋯ Endoscopy-assisted dilatational tracheostomy is preferred for prolonged mechanical ventilation, including patients with COVID-19. The undeniable advantages of this operation are fewer intraoperative complications due to endoscopic control, and lower risk of tracheal strictures.
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Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has emerged as a new threat to healthcare systems. In this setting, heart failure units have faced an enormous challenge: taking care of their patients while at the same time avoiding patients' visits to the hospital. ⋯ Our study suggests that implementing an active-surveillance protocol in acutely decompensated heart failure units during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic can reduce hospital admissions, ER visits and, potentially, viral transmission, in a cohort of especially vulnerable patients.