Articles: pandemics.
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Military Medical Research · May 2020
Perceived infection transmission routes, infection control practices, psychosocial changes, and management of COVID-19 infected healthcare workers in a tertiary acute care hospital in Wuhan: a cross-sectional survey.
Many healthcare workers were infected by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) early in the epidemic posing a big challenge for epidemic control. Hence, this study aims to explore perceived infection routes, influencing factors, psychosocial changes, and management procedures for COVID-19 infected healthcare workers. ⋯ The main perceived mode of transmission was not maintaining protection when working at a close distance and having intimate contact with infected cases. Positive psychological intervention is necessary.
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Review
COVID-19, MERS and SARS with Concomitant Liver Injury-Systematic Review of the Existing Literature.
The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) infection has been predominantly linked to respiratory distress syndrome, but gastrointestinal symptoms and hepatic injury have also been reported. The mechanism of liver injury is poorly understood and may result as a consequence of viral hepatitis, systemic inflammatory response, gut barrier and microbiome alterations, intensive care treatment or drug toxicity. The incidence of hepatopathy among patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is unclear, but studies have reported liver injury in patients with SARS and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). ⋯ Liver anomalies were predominantly mild to moderately elevated transaminases, hypoalbuminemia and prolongation of prothrombin time. Histopathology varied between non-specific inflammation, mild steatosis, congestion and massive necrosis. More studies to elucidate the mechanism and importance of liver injury on the clinical course and prognosis in patients with novel SARS-CoV-2 infection are warranted.
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Since the beginning of the COVID-19 epidemic, a possible explanation for the high heterogeneity of infection/mortality rates across involved countries was hinted in the prevalence of tuberculosis vaccination with Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG). A systematic review was therefore performed on May 2, 2020. A total of 13 articles were ultimately retrieved, 12 of them as preprint papers. ⋯ Most of them did not include main confounding factors (i.e. demographic of the assessed countries, share of peo- ple residing in urban settings, etc.), and simply assessed the differences among incidence/mortality of COVID-19 with vaccination rates or by having vs. having not any vaccination policy for BCG. Even though all studies shared the very same information sources (i.e. international registries for BCG vaccination rates and open source data for COVID-19 epidemics), results were conflicting, with later studies apparently denying any true correlation between COVID-19 occurrence and BCG vaccination rates and/or policies. As a consequence, there is no sound evidence to recommend BCG vaccination for the prevention of COVID-19.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · May 2020
Prevalence and Duration of Acute Loss of Smell or Taste in COVID-19 Patients.
Initially, acute loss of smell (anosmia) and taste (ageusia) was not considered important symptoms for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). To determine the prevalence of these symptoms and to evaluate their diagnostic significance, we (approximately 150 physicians of the Daegu Medical Association) prospectively collected data of cases of anosmia and ageusia from March 8, 2020, via telephone interview among 3,191 patients in Daegu, Korea. Acute anosmia or ageusia was observed in 15.3% (488/3,191) patients in the early stage of COVID-19 and in 15.7% (367/2,342) patients with asymptomatic-to-mild disease severity. ⋯ Most patients with anosmia or ageusia recovered within 3 weeks. The median time to recovery was 7 days for both symptoms. Anosmia and ageusia seem to be part of important symptoms and clues for the diagnosis of COVID-19, particularly in the early stage of the disease.
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JMIR Public Health Surveill · May 2020
Preparation for Quarantine on the Cruise Ship Diamond Princess in Japan due to COVID-19.
Japan implemented a large-scale quarantine on the Diamond Princess cruise ship in an attempt to control the spread of the novel coronavirus severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in February 2020. ⋯ There were several difficulties in implementing large-scale quarantine and obtaining medical support on the cruise ship. In the future, we need to prepare for patients' transfer and the admitting hospitals when disembarking the passengers. We recommend treating the crew the same way as the passengers to control the infection. We must also draw a plan for the future, to protect travelers and passengers from emerging infectious diseases on cruise ships.