Articles: pandemics.
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Comment Multicenter Study Observational Study
Clinical characteristics and factors associated with ICU mortality during the first year of the SARS-Cov-2 pandemic in Romania: A prospective, cohort, multicentre study of 9000 patients.
The epidemiology of critically ill patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) may be different worldwide. Despite similarities in medicine quality and formation, there are also significant differences concerning healthcare and ICU organisation, staffing, financial resources and population compliance and adherence. Large cohort data of critically ill patients from Central and Eastern Europe are also lacking. ⋯ The SARS-CoV-2 critically ill Romanian patients share common personal and clinical characteristics with published European cohorts. Public health measures and vaccination campaign should focus on patients at risk.
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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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Pediatr Crit Care Me · Jan 2023
Multicenter StudyTrends in Disease Severity Among Critically Ill Children With Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2: A Retrospective Multicenter Cohort Study in the United States.
To describe trends in critical illness from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in children over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. We hypothesized that PICU admission rates were higher in the Omicron period compared with the original outbreak but that fewer patients needed endotracheal intubation. ⋯ COVID-19-related PICU admissions were seven times higher in the Omicron wave compared with the original outbreak. We could not exclude the possibility of up to 70% reduction in use of intubation in the Omicron versus original epoch, which may represent differences in PICU/hospital admission policy in the later period, or pattern of disease, or possibly the impact of vaccination.
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The need for effective advocacy on the part of health professionals has never been greater. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has made the connection between human health and social conditions clear, while highlighting the limitations of biomedical interventions to address those conditions. ⋯ When these skills are successfully applied in the appropriate domains of influence, the resulting change falls into three levels: individual, adjacent, and structural. The authors assert that this framework is immediately applicable to a broad variety of health professionals, educators, researchers, organizations, and professional societies as they individually and collectively seek to improve the health and well-being of those they care for.