SN comprehensive clinical medicine
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The maternal-fetal/newborn unit is established at risk for COVID-19 infection. This narrative review summarizes the contemporary and cumulative publications which detail maternal infection, antenatal and newborn infections, and maternal/fetal/newborn management and prevention. There is a wide spectrum of maternal disease, but the potential for severe disease albeit in a minority is confirmed. ⋯ The mode of delivery is a medical decision that must include patient risk assessment and patient directives. Both presymptomatic and asymptomatic mothers and offspring can complicate infection control management with the potential for spread to others in several regards. In the interim, infections of the maternal-fetal-newborn unit must be taken seriously both for the disease so caused and the potential for further dissemination of disease.
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With the increased spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection, more patients with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) are being reported worldwide. This systematic review with meta-analysis aims to analyse the clinical features, proposed pathogenesis and current treatment options for effective management of children with this novel entity. Electronic databases (Medline, Google Scholar, WHO, CDC, UK National Health Service, LitCovid, and other databases with unpublished pre-prints) were extensively searched, and all articles on MIS-C published from January 1, 2020, to October 10, 2020, were retrieved. ⋯ Significantly fewer patients in developing countries received tocilizumab therapy than those in developed countries. It is crucial for clinician to recognise MIS-C, to differentiate it from other defined inflammatory conditions and initiate early treatment. Further studies are needed for long-term prognosis, especially relating to cardiac complications of MIS-C.
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The first coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) patients were reported in China on December 12, 2019, and the first COVID-19 patients were reported in Japan on January 16, 2020. Here, we investigated the number of patients in Emergency Departments (EDs) in three major hospitals in Tokyo, and also briefly discussed about the relationship between the number of patients in EDs and health system's capacity. We compared the number of patients in 2020 to the average number of patients from 2016 to 2019. ⋯ The average number of daily patients in 2020 (n = 122) decreased by 17% compared to the average number of patients from 2016 to 2019 (n = 144) (Mann-Whitney test, p < 0.001). This phenomenon might be due to a fear of contracting the virus at hospitals, companies having their employees work remotely and postponing events, people following the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's instructional guidelines for going to the hospital, prevention awareness becoming widespread, and a decreased number of tourists. The number of patients visiting Emergency Departments in Tokyo was decreased and the number of COVID-19 infections has remained within the health system's capacity during the early phase of COVID-19 first wave.