Clinical medicine (London, England)
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Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at increased risk of coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) infection. Personal protective equipment (PPE) and infection control guidelines help limit transmission. However, poor confidence leads to higher levels of anxiety rates and infection. We assessed knowledge and confidence in PPE among HCWs and associated anxiety. ⋯ Confidence in PPE was poor and anxiety was related to inadequate information and training. Thus, improved communication is required for effective response to subsequent COVID-19 waves and similar pandemics.
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Lumbar puncture (LP) is a widely used diagnostic method in patients of all ages. Blood-contaminated cerebrospinal fluid samples are frequent and may compromise diagnostic accuracy. ⋯ Two factors (a week or less between a patient's two LP procedures or a traumatic first LP) multiply the odds of the second procedure being traumatic and contribute to whether a patient's following LP procedure is successful.
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Observational Study
Lung cancer recovery focus post pandemic: an income-deprived area paradigm.
'Stage shift' has been proposed as a marker of impact of Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) in lung cancer services; however, there are no data available specifically from income-deprived areas. Thus, this study evaluated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on lung cancer care in our area (Corby; among the most income deprived in England) and identified focus recovery areas. The study was a retrospective observational study of 668 consecutive patients with lung cancer at a district general hospital, pre-, during and after the COVID peak. ⋯ Our results suggest that COVID-19 negatively affected the whole lung cancer pathway in our area. However, 'stage shift' might not be ideal to assess the impact of COVID-19 in income-deprived areas. Further studies will help the strategic rollout of a screening programme to identify patients with lung cancer earlier on in such areas.
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We present a case in which a patient presented with widespread cutaneous warty lesions misdiagnosed as warts 3 months before the diagnosis of his advanced gastric adenocarcinoma. Florid cutaneous and mucosal papillomatosis is a paraneoplastic dermatosis, following a parallel course with the underlying malignancy, which is most often gastric adenocarcinoma.