Plos One
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COVID-19 is a rapidly spreading disease that has caused extensive burden to individuals, families, countries, and the world. Effective treatments of COVID-19 are urgently needed. This is the second edition of a living systematic review of randomized clinical trials assessing the effects of all treatment interventions for participants in all age groups with COVID-19. ⋯ PROSPERO CRD42020178787.
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Multiple studies have highlighted the negative impact of COVID-19 and its particular effects on vulnerable sub-populations. Complementing this work, here, we report on the social patterning of self-reported positive changes experienced during COVID-19 national lockdown in Scotland. ⋯ Overall our results highlight the social patterning of positive changes during lockdown in Scotland. These findings begin to illuminate the complexity of the unanticipated effects of national lockdown and will be used to support future intervention development work sharing lessons learned from lockdown to increase positive health change amongst those who may benefit.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Ultrasound-guided dynamic needle tip positioning technique for radial artery cannulation in elderly patients: A prospective randomized controlled study.
Radial artery cannulation, which is a useful procedure for anesthetic management, is often challenging in elderly patients. Recently, the dynamic needle tip positioning (DNTP) technique was introduced to facilitate ultrasound-guided vascular catheterization. Therefore, we performed this prospective, parallel group, randomized, controlled trial to compare the ultrasound-guided DNTP technique with the palpation method in elderly patients. ⋯ Ultrasound-guided radial artery cannulation with the DNTP technique improved the efficiency of radial artery cannulation in elderly patients by increasing the success rate while minimizing complications.
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Meta Analysis
The prognostic value of comorbidity for the severity of COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis study.
With the increase in the number of COVID-19 infections, the global health apparatus is facing insufficient resources. The main objective of the current study is to provide additional data regarding the clinical characteristics of the patients diagnosed with COVID-19, and in particular to analyze the factors associated with disease severity, lack of improvement, and mortality. ⋯ We evaluated the prevalence of some of the most important comorbidities in COVID-19 patients, indicating that some underlying disorders, including hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and chronic kidney disease, can be considered as risk factors for patients with COVID-19 infection. Furthermore, the results show that an elderly male with underlying diseases is more likely to have severe COVID-19.
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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remains a global challenge. Corticosteroids constitute a group of anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive drugs that are widely used in the treatment of COVID-19. Comprehensive reviews investigating the comparative proportion and efficacy of corticosteroid use are scarce. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials to evaluate the proportion and efficacy of corticosteroid use for the treatment of COVID-19. ⋯ The proportion of COVID-19 patients who received corticosteroids was significantly lower than that of patients who did not receive corticosteroids. Corticosteroid use in subjects with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infections delayed viral clearance and did not convincingly improve survival; therefore, corticosteroids should be used with extreme caution in the treatment of COVID-19.